Chapter 433: New leaf.

Zyra did not rush to answer his question. Even if he knew what she desired, he couldn’t truly make it happen at the snap of a finger. Not even this fake wishing fountain could help.

"Many things," she muttered.

The old man tossed a high-grade energy stone into the fountain and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, the grand elder looked out softly at the ripples in the water. "I wished that my daughter, Zena, returns safely."

Zyra’s smile faltered just a little, a sweet yet heavy warmth washing over her heart. "She has to...and my dad as well." Zyra murmured, clutching a stone tight in her palm. So many people were rooting for her mother, and they seemed to forget her father. "They have to... because I don’t think I can face the reality of them not coming back. I have never once made peace with the claims of their death. And now that I know Tori heard from my mother after her reported time of death, I am even more hopeful."

Before the mood could get too gloomy, a group of Soul Maidens strolled by the fountain in a neat little line. Among them was Seraphine Peters, who immediately stopped in her tracks, pressed her hands to her sides, and bent forward at a sharp ninety-degree angle_ looking like a human pocketknife.

"Greetings, Divine Maiden!" Seraphine sang out with over-the-top respect.

Zyra blinked, almost coughing on her own breath at the dramatic title. "Uh... hi, Seraphine."

Seraphine then offered a polite nod to Kaelion. "Grand Elder."

The grand elder gave the girls a small, graceful bow back. But the second Seraphine and her clique walked out of earshot, the grand elder tilted his head toward her receding figure and leaned into Zyra with a low murmur. "That one right there? Trouble. Capital T."

Zyra giggled. "You noticed too?"

"Notice? I got a whole stack of reports about her on my desk, and let me tell you, none of them are pleasant, her history is awful." Kaelion scoffed, shaking his head.

Zyra let out an amused sigh. "According to Claudia, she seems to have ’changed’ and turned over a new leaf. But I told Etania to keep both eyes glued to her anyway." Zyra smirked. "Because a leopard doesn’t just wake up one day and decide to change its spots."

The grand elder hummed in full agreement, a chuckling rumble in his chest. "Smart girl."

He reached out and gently patted Zyra’s shoulder, his expression warming up as he looked at her tired eyes. "Now go get some sleep, Zyra. You’ve earned it, and tomorrow... tomorrow is the big day."

Zyra moved toward the lodging house where the majority of the officials were set to spend the night. As she walked up the wooden steps, the silence hit her like a wall. It was quiet. Way too quiet. And it definitely wasn’t because everyone had gone to bed early like good little boys and girls.

You could practically taste the heavy tension and thick anticipation hanging in the cool night air. People were just sitting around outside on benches, staring blankly at the star-lit sky, while others stood frozen with far-away looks in their eyes, as if staring into a deep void.

It was almost as if everyone was secretly thinking the exact same terrifying thought: If tomorrow goes south, we are doomed. It will be the third world war against the Somnivores.

Zyra plastered a brave, sunny smile on her face as she walked through the courtyard, throwing out little head nods left and right. But deep down in her gut? She was sweating bullets too.

As she rounded the corner toward the hallway, Achilles stepped out from the shadows. The second he locked eyes with her, he snapped his feet together and gave her a sharp, military-grade salute.

Zyra stopped, blinking at him. He didn’t utter a single word_ just stood there looking like a very solemn statue.

She let out a small chuckle, shaking her head as she kept walking. "Did he lose his tongue, or did somebody steal it?" she muttered under her breath. "Since when does seeing me require him to act like I’m the general?"

She finally reached her room, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. Hunter was right there. He was standing motionless by the window, staring out into the dark night_ which was his classic trademark move whenever something was heavily bugging his brain.

The moment the door was closed, Hunter turned around. The serious look on his face instantly melted, replaced by a soft, warm smile that made Zyra’s heart do a little happy flip.

"Hey," she said softly. She leaned against the door, crossing her arms with a playful smirk. "Can I pay an energy stone for your thoughts? You look like you’re trying to solve the secrets of the universe."

Hunter chuckled, leaning back against the sill. "I was just thinking that... we’ve prepared enough. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. And if war comes, we are ready for that too."

Zyra walked over to him. "Yeah. I think so too."

Closing the small distance between them, she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her cheek against his back. Hunter immediately relaxed into her touch, resting his warm, large hands right over hers.

"Hey, Zyra?" he asked softly after a quiet moment. "Do you... do you think he’ll be there tomorrow?"

Zyra let out a long, heavy sigh into his shirt. "I don’t know, Hunter. I really don’t know." She slipped out of the hug and turned him around so she was looking right up into his handsome face. She lightly patted his chest. "You know, you still haven’t told me your father’s name yet. I think I deserve to know at this point!"

Hunter smirked, looking down at her. "Alright, fine. It’s John."

Zyra blinked. She repeated the name softly under her breath, tilting her head. "John? Wait... really?"

She couldn’t help a snort of laughter from escaping her nose. "I have to be honest with you, dear husband, I didn’t expect an alien to have such a normal, human name! I was expecting something super dramatic like Lord Dark-Doom the Ultimate Destroyer or something."

Hunter burst into a loud, genuine laugh, the heavy gloom in the room completely shattering. He pulled her tight into his arms, burying his face in her hair as his chest bounced with laughter. "You are ridiculous, that is not a real name."

"I’m just saying John is not a good alien name," she giggled into his shoulder. "Maybe this is why the Somnivores are so angry."

"Because they have ordinary names!" Hunter exclaimed.

Zyra shrugged. "Think about it, Hunter. If you meet an alien named John and one named Lord Dark Doom the Ultimate Destroyer, which of the two will you be more afraid of?"

"John." Hunter replied in a fit of laughter. "John could be a code name. Lord Dark Doom is cliche." He held her close, kissing the top of her head. Slowly, their laughter faded back into a comfortable, sweet silence.

They stood there together by the window, holding onto each other tightly as the massive weight of tomorrow washed over them, ready to face whatever came next side by side.