Chapter 221: Hunter’s confession.

Zyra’s plans to have a word with Tessi seemed to be against the universe. Every time she was close to approaching the young woman, someone intercepted her. A hunter that wanted to hunt tomorrow. Someone that needed a job in the shelter. Another that wanted some training advice. An herbal scavenger that asked about herbal ration distribution. Each interruption pulled her further from her goal, and by the time she finally broke free, Tessi was gone.

"She teleported out," Yanxi shared, shrugging as if it were nothing. "But she will be back in no more than an hour."

Zyra’s stomach sunk. Teleporting out in this weather was risky, so it had to be urgent.

Before she could demand details, a familiar hiss wound around her ankles. Spice slithered up, eyes wet and voice trembling.

"Mother," the snake cried, "Tyrant bullied me again. You have to come and get revenge for me."

Zyra crouched, stroking its head, torn between laughing and being angry on behalf of the snake. "Why are you calling me mother?"

"You hatched me, you are my mother." Spice replied. Then it went back to sobbing--if a snake could sob! Zyra had no time to pursue Tessi’s issues for the moment. She figured she would get answers tomorrow. For now, there was a child snake in need of her care.

****

The next day, after the morning spar, Zyra wiped the sweat off her forehead and glanced over to Hunter. He didn’t seem like his usual bubbly self. Normally, he’d be boasting about a clean kick or telling her all the ways in which she had martially disappointed him, but right now, he was just staring off into space.

Zyra usually hated minding other people’s business. But something kept nudging her. An annoying little tug at her gut.

She walked over, tossed her towel onto a rack, and leaned against the wall. "You good?"

Hunter kissed his teeth with a sharp tsk and let out a sigh so long it sounded like a deflating balloon. He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Just_ thinking about a few people I miss," he muttered.

Zyra’s brows raised. "Family?"

Hunter nodded.

Her face practically screamed with questions, but she clamped her mouth shut. She wasn’t going to pry. Hunter, however, could see the internal battle happening on her face. He chuckled faintly. Truth was, he considered Zyra a friend of sorts. There was just something about her that made him drop his guard. Her mother had that exact same effect on him back in the day.

"I have a grandfather," Hunter said softly, breaking the silence. "He’s a strict principled man. Terrifying when he’s crossed, but_ honest and very kind."

Zyra nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on him. "He sounds like someone you should reach out to once in a while, anyone else?"

Hunter took a deep breath, inhaling like he was trying to swallow all the air in the room. "I also have a father who is as tender hearted as a baby." he shared, his voice dropping an octave. "That man’s heart is softer than warm butter. In a world full of ruthless people, I always worry he’s going to end up as collateral damage someday. He will be used and discarded like used tissue." The candidate to ruin Horas was none other than his own mother.

Zyra wondered what kind of crazy environment Hunter grew up in for a father to be used and discarded, but she kept her mouth shut. Instead, she unstrapped her leather combat gloves, stepped closer, and gently touched the top of his hand to comfort him the same way she did with Spice. "There, there."

Hunter smiled. He turned his palm and gently traced the top of her hand. He blinked, surprised. Soft. Way too soft for someone who punches like a professional boxer.

"It’s okay to miss people you love, you know," Zyra said gently, looking away a bit awkwardly. "I miss my parents. Especially my mother. Sometimes_ it hurts so much I can’t even breathe." She paused, twisting her mouth from side to side. "When I don’t want anyone to know that I am crying, I drink a hot beverage and pretend it hurts. Or, I lock myself in the bathroom and have an unnecessary shower."

Hunter nodded knowingly. "So that’s what you were doing last night."

Zyra snapped her head toward him, her cheeks suddenly flushing red.

Hunter pointed to his ears with a cheeky grin. "Light sleeper. Survival senses, remember? I heard the sniffling but I did not want to pry."

Zyra opened her mouth to argue, but just let out a huff. She didn’t deny it. Hunter reached up, unclasped a silver chain from around his neck, and pulled off a small pendant. He grabbed Zyra’s hand and placed it right in her palm.

She looked down at it. It was a beautifully carved piece of jade in the shape of a drop of water, surrounded by a delicate ring. "Are we sharing gifts now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She tried to hand it back. "Look, it is not my birthday and if this is a trading thing, I owe too much debt right now to give you anything equal."

"It’s yours," Hunter said simply.

Zyra frowned, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean, mine?"

"Your mother gave it to me," Hunter explained, leaning forward. "She said it was the ’guardian of a warrior’ A lie by the way, she just wanted to make me brave or something like that. But, I never could take it off."

Zyra’s brain stalled. The confusion on her face was so thick you could cut it with a blunt sword. "How_ how do you even know my mother?"

"She was my martial master," Hunter said, a proud smile touching his lips. "I’m only this good at fighting because she beat the basics into me."

Zyra blinked once. Twice. She started scanning her brain, frantically digging through childhood memories. Did her mother ever mention a random kid named Hunter? "The only people my mother ever trained outside the clan were the young masters from the Kaelion family. I went to their estate with her once and their dogs almost tore me into pieces!"

Hunter just gave her a calm, silent nod. "You had no business opening that kennel, good thing I came on time and those dogs bit me instead."

He showed her the scar that it left on the back of his heel.

"Oh heavens! That was you! You are the boy with----the scars on his body..." Zyra finished slowly, like she was unsure. Then suddenly she perked up. "Why didn’t you tell me all this! I mean I would have been nicer to you when we met."

Hunter exhaled, "Did you read the contract? No getting involved in each other’s personal lives."

"Forget that damn paper!" Zyra shouted.

Hunter chuckled. You said it, he thought.

Zyra’s jaw went slack. She didn’t look mad_ just deeply, utterly bewildered. "So_ Elliot Kaelion is your brother or cousin who married Lita? Not your friend?"

Hunter nodded again. "Brother." Although he hated to admit it.

Zyra folded her lips into a tight line as the math fully clicked in her head. Her eyes slowly widened, and then a wave of pure, unadulterated realization hit her like a lightning bolt. "So Lita and I are what?! Sisters-in-law?!" Zyra shrieked, her voice echoing off the gym walls. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

She glared at him like he had personally engineered all this just to annoy her.