Page 110 of The Last Guardian

Join the right path.

I opened my eyes and looked at Zaidkiel. His face split me in half. He went utterly still—eyes fixed on mine, unblinking, as if he faced a ghost, face white.

Shock and agony crossed his eyes as he kept searching mine, as if he had finally understood something he had been searching for for ages.

“The memories—” I paused, taking in a hard swallow. “Haedeon has orchestrated everything for years. Is it possible he used my blood to erase my memories?” My fingers found their way to my charm. The stone turned so fast between my fingers it almost burned my skin.

Zaidkiel’s lips parted. His eyes searched mine, again and again. But he stayed silent.

“Zaid?” My pulsing blood pounded in my ears.

His gaze dropped. “I—” He paused. The unspoken words stretched between us in a thick rope. A sharp sigh escaped his lips. Zaidkiel swallowed, trying to keep his composure but failed. “Your blood…”

I glanced at my wrist, the white patterns still etched on my skin, rooting inside my bones. “It probably helped Haedeon put the mark on me, too.” I gazed up and added, “But to what end? What does he want from me?”

Zaidkiel’s eyes fell on my wrist, his jaw clenched, but he never answered. Speechless. He was utterly speechless.

My heart pounded in my chest, making me catch my breath. What in the Hells did Haedeon want to do with my blood? He had erased an entire part of my life. So why had he not killed me when I was breathing the same air as him?

“Fuck,” Zaidkiel muttered, passing a hand through his black hair. “I need to see what I can find.” Something was bothering him, but Zaidkiel still didn’t mention more.

My heart fell from my chest as a buzzing heat prickled under my skin. “Why are you so upset?” I tightened my jaw, trying to keep my composure. To not let the fear and anger take hold of me. “What⁠—”

“Return to the house, Princess,” Zaidkiel said, stumbling back, as if something scared him. Was it me?

“No,” I snapped, my fist curled at my side. “What’s wrong? Why are you⁠—”

But Zaidkiel had already turned his back on me—stunned, then gone, disappearing behind a row of tents with dust clawing at his boots.

He left so abruptly it felt like a blow to the chest. I’d expected something—a word, a glance, a shred of decency. Anything but this.

The urge to shout, to chase him down and force him to look at me, tore at my nerves. Heat flooded every fiber, anger surging hard enough to hurt.

It hurt.

And the worst part was that I couldn’t tell what hurt more—his rejection, or the fear that had flashed in his eyes when he looked at me, like he’d already decided I was something dangerous. Something to run from.

THREE FULL DAYS had elapsed—three days that Zaidkiel had spent avoiding me like I was a plague of some kind.

Was he keeping his distance because of what happened between us before the Rite or because of what he saw in my memories? I wasn’t sure.

Zaidkiel had been nowhere to be seen since that day. Was he staying in the camp? Or in his quarters on the ship? Perhaps he had travelled to another town to completely avoid me? Perhaps it was because of Eirlys—the risk she warned him about.

You’re worth every risk, Alyana.

A knot formed in my throat at that thought—at those words he said so many nights ago.

Whatever the reason was, I should be thrilled. It should be a relief to put some distance between us—to not let this attraction drive us.

So why wasn’t it?

My heart stumbled each time someone entered the house, always followed by a tight knot that it was never Zaidkiel who passed through the door.

Zaidkiel had been so kind and thoughtful during our journey, so caring and gentle, that finding myself with nothing now felt unnatural—it let a weight hang inside me.

His hot and cold temperament was irking me. Stars, he was insufferable sometimes.

Every night, memories played in my mind like a hurricane, bursting everything inside my soul. My mother’s body. Uncle Marlon’s words. Nevan pulling me forward to bring me inside Haedeon’s wing.