Part 4
Zera’s POV
I don’t know how long I stayed there on the floor with my face buried between my legs, but I knew a few hours had passed by. I also got a little sleep with a very weird dream attached to it.
My head still ached, but not as much as it did when I confronted Aaron, and it could be because I had no one to aggravate me yet. If I had taken the herbal tea Aaron’s brother, Ivan, brought over earlier, perhaps the headache would have gone faster, but Aaron stepped in and stopped me from having it.
‘You could have taken it when he first offered it to you, but you wanted to be dramatic.’ The voice in my head reminded me.
I haven’t moved an inch in the last few hours. I stayed with my head buried between my legs and my eyes shut. I have thought about a lot of things, from my life to my family and loved ones and then to my job and my home. I wonder if I could return to it and live life as I did before.
The answer is no; I’d never be able to live the innocent, naive life I once lived. I knew a lot of things I didn’t know then. Supernatural beings existed and walked among us; Aaron, the man I had a child with, was one of them. Henry was, too.
I would never have believed Henry wasn’t human if I hadn’t seen it myself. I had known him as the sweetest and kindest of people, but from what Aaron said, he did that to get close to me. It made no sense. He had so many chances to hurt and harm Zion and me. Why did he wait for so long just to do it? Many questions ran through my head, but I knew I would never find the answers to them. Henry was dead, and he would never answer the questions I had for him.
I wondered what else I didn’t know. Who else was around me living a lie? I had kept my circle small, yet predators stayed among them.
The door made an unlocking sound and soon cracked open, and my head snapped up to see who it was.
Since the bed was king-size, it was bigger, which made it harder for me to see who was at the door while sitting on the floor. I stretched my neck, and a slight pain shot through me. I adjusted my head and waited for whoever it was to come closer.
Footsteps approached me where I sat beside the bed, and not long after, someone stood before me.
I lifted my head and found Ivan in a navy blue long-sleeve shirt and vest, standing with his hands tucked into the pocket of his grey trousers. A young male with dull brown eyes stood behind him, wearing black trousers and a shirt and holding a medium-sized ceramic tray in his hand. The tray had a glass of water and a plate on it, but I couldn’t make out what the plate contained.
I sprang to my feet and stepped towards him. I trusted little about what was happening, but Ivan was nice to me earlier, even though he didn’t get to give me the herbal tea. He could be of help to me. Perhaps he could help me get to Zion, my son.
“Ivan!” I called out.
His green eyes narrowed at me, and I could swear the eyes I had seen earlier were blue, not green. Aaron had a flicker in his eyes once in a while, so that had to run in his family as well. His hair then was also black, not blond. I guess my eyes had been deceiving me, or the ache in my head was affecting my other senses.
“I am not Ivan; I am Damor. Ivan is my twin brother, and I’ve been told he looks like me.” His voice came out almost as deep as that of Aaron but lacking the hoarseness. He didn’t seem pleased that I had taken him for Ivan, even though they looked very much alike. I guess looking like his twin brother wasn’t a compliment to him.
“You’re his twin brother,” I repeated, everything finally making sense. Ivan had a much friendlier expression than this one, and I knew Damor would be just like Aaron, or maybe worse.
“Yes, I brought you food,” he announced, stepping back, and the younger male moved to keep the food tray on the table at the corner of the room, close to the window.
“You brought me food,” I repeated what he had just said, and his eyes narrowed on me as if I were crazy.
“Yes, I just said that,” he answered, dismissing the young male who brought in the food, and he bowed and took his leave. “I still don’t know why I have to accompany the cook. I’m not a servant,” he ranted in displeasure.
“Then why did you?”
He took a long breath. “Aaron has a distrust for everyone but his siblings. He believes in keeping you and Zion safe. This is one way to do that.”
At the mention of my son’s name, my eyes lit up. “How’s Zion?”
He almost gave me a pitiful look. “He’s fine.”
I scoffed inwardly.
He must have seen my disbelief because he stretched his left hand forward so I could see the golden bracelet on his wrist. “It’s a gift from my mom, and I swear by her grave that your son is fine,” he answered.
I nodded, believing his words. “Is he awake?” I asked because I was told he was resting the last time I raised the question.
“Yes, he is.”
“Can I see him?”
He shook his head. “You can’t. That’s left for Aaron to decide. All I can do is give you your food and make you eat it. Now, come and eat. I have other important things to do.”
“Why can’t I see my son?”
“Because Aaron doesn’t trust you around him,” he blurted out, and his look showed that he shouldn’t have said that.
“I am his mother!” I exclaimed in disbelief and threw my hands up. My anger returned in massive folds.
“Aaron was right. You’re a stubborn one. I was instructed to bring you food, and I have done that.” He moved towards the table where the food tray sat. “Now, please come and eat,” he beckoned. “Aaron wouldn’t be happy if you starved yourself in his house.”
Making Aaron happy was the last thing I wanted to do. He was making me miserable by keeping me locked up here like an animal and denying me my right to see my son. So why should I give him anything less than misery?
I got up and walked towards the table where the tray of garnished pasta and vegetables sat. I threw it off, so it fell and scattered on the floor. The tray, plate, and the glass of water broke into pieces, and the food poured out on the floor.
Anger mixed with panic flashed in Damor’s eyes for the first time since he had been in this room.
“Fuck!” he cussed, and his eyes darted to me as if I had just done a sacrilegious thing, and they glowed red like his brother’s. “Aaron made that himself and will not be happy that you wasted his effort.”
I picked up the broken glass from the floor, and the broken pieces dug into the flesh of my palm. My blood rushed out the next second, pouring onto the floor. “You tell him I am not some slave that can be locked up until I become obedient to him. I have a life, friends, and family. I have a job and a son, and he cannot keep me away from him. I’d rather die than give him up.”
“Mommy?” Zion called out, and I froze in my stand, realizing that my son was in the same room with me.
My head whipped around, and I found him at the door with Aaron, who held onto his hand. His innocent hazel eyes stayed on me, and he looked terrified as he stared at me as if he had beheld an alien. And it broke my heart.
He had walked in and found me losing my temper and throwing things around like a mad woman, and now he thought something was wrong with me.
I dropped the broken glass in my hand, and I stepped towards him. “Zion, son.”
He stepped back and hid behind Aaron’s legs, making my heart hurt even more. Now I was the villain of my story, and Aaron, the hero.
My eyes blurred, and tears ran down my face. “Zion,” I sobbed, and my lips trembled.
“I wouldn’t advise you to come any closer,” Aaron said. I looked up and found his disapproving gaze on me. His hard gaze travelled to Damor, who hadn’t said a thing since my crazy rant went off.
He turned from me and lifted Zion into his arms. “Ivan would come to have a look at your hand,” he said before walking out of the room.