Chapter 146-Don’t need fixing

Chapter 146: 146-Don’t need fixing

Varitreya made a sharp gesture of disapproval toward Zolani the moment Maisa returned to the main room.

"Do you mind explaining what this is?" Her voice carried the unmistakable authority of a princess.

On an ordinary night, Zolani would have immediately felt the weight behind those words. As a mixedblood standing before a whiteblood princess, she would have instinctively lowered her gaze, straightened her posture, and shown the proper respect demanded by Varitreya’s position.

But tonight was anything but ordinary. Zolani’s emotions were gone. With her humanity switched off, the instinctive fear and pressure that normally came with standing before a whiteblood barely registered. Varitreya’s presence no longer carried the same weight.

Zolani simply looked at her. "Relax, Princess," her voice was calm. "I just wanted some fresh air."

"Fresh air?" Disbelief clouded Varitreya’s face.

"Yes." Zolani shrugged. "It’s no big deal. Chill."

That single word struck a nerve. Chill? Varitreya’s eyes narrowed. She hated when vampires made careless mistakes and then dismissed them as though they were nothing. Worse, she hated when they used her reaction to make it seem as though she was the one being unreasonable.

"I should chill?" the irritation in her voice deepened.

"Yes," Zolani nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Absolutely."

Varitreya’s blood stirred. She had been perfectly calm before this. She had been having a peaceful night before Zolani decided to turn off her emotions and create yet another problem that Varitreya now had to solve.

"Say that again."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Maisa immediately sensed the shift. The flower of fate might have fallen silent, but she could still see the emotions playing across Varitreya’s face.

Anger, frustration and beneath both, the overwhelming responsibility of someone who felt obligated to keep everyone around her from falling apart.

’Oh no.’

Maisa hurried forward. She stepped directly between the indifferent Zolani and the increasingly irritated princess.

"Zolani isn’t in her right frame of mind," Maisa forced a smile. "There’s no need to lose your temper over this. Please don’t take it personally."

Varitreya stared at her.

Maisa swallowed. "I’ll take responsibility for her," her voice became more determined. "I’ll get her humanity back on."

"You?"

Varitreya and Zolani spoke at exactly the same time. The disbelief in their voices was almost identical. Neither of them looked particularly convinced that Maisa had any idea what she was doing.

"Yes. Me." Maisa straightened. "I’ll do it."

’I have to,’ she inwardly thought, her gaze shifted toward Zolani. ’I owe her that much.’

Varitreya studied her for several seconds. Maisa looked determined and Varitreya had enough problems already. She had Lumi, Addessa and Kayden to worry about.

She couldn’t afford to fight every battle herself. Finally, she exhaled. "Fine."

Her expression remained stern. "I’ll trust you." She pointed a warning finger at Maisa. "Don’t let me down."

Maisa nodded immediately. "I won’t."

She meant it. She had no intention of letting anyone down.

Varitreya then turned her attention toward Zolani. "And as for you..."

Zolani tilted her head innocently.

"Behave yourself," her voice was firm. "Having no humanity is not an excuse to cause trouble. Misbehave again and I’ll remind you how to feel... the hard way."

Zolani merely shrugged.

Varitreya shook her head. Without another word, she turned and walked away in search of Lumi. She still needed to convince her not to seal away her magic, and that problem was already demanding enough of her attention.

Maisa watched her disappear. Only when Varitreya was safely gone did she release the breath she had been holding. She took a moment to steady herself and then she turned around.

Her gaze landed on Zolani. For a moment, Maisa simply stared.

Zolani still looked beautiful. If anything, the strange combination of colors now running through her hair made her appearance even more striking.

But Maisa couldn’t admire any of it. Especially those ruby pink eyes, they were wrong.

They were Zolani’s eyes, yet they didn’t feel like Zolani. The warmth that had once lived inside them was gone. Just an empty, crystal-clear stare.

Maisa’s chest tightened. ’f only I could still feel the bond...’ the thought came painfully.

If the flower of fate had still been connected to her, she would have known. She would have felt Zolani’s pain and known something was wrong long before things reached this point and maybe she could have helped her.

Maybe Zolani wouldn’t have reached the point of shutting everything off. ’This is all my fault.’

Maisa didn’t know how painfully accurate that thought was. Because the pain that had driven Zolani into the depths of despair had been caused by her.

"Zo..." Maisa’s voice softened. "I’m sorry."

Zolani stared at her. The sight of Maisa’s remorseful expression almost made her laugh. How ridiculous!

The very person who had made everything around her feel poisonous was standing in front of her, apologizing as though words could repair the damage.

As though saying sorry could bring back everything that had been lost and Maisa could simply decide to fix her.

"I know I’ve been absent..." Maisa stepped closer. "...even though I’ve been right in front of you."

She reached out and gently took Zolani’s hands. "I’m sorry," her fingers tightened slightly around Zolani’s. "I promise I’ll do everything I can to help you turn your humanity back on."

Maisa’s voice trembled with sincerity. "And when it comes back, we’ll face whatever pain you’re carrying together," she looked directly into Zolani’s eyes. "You don’t have to face it alone."

Zolani didn’t react. She simply allowed Maisa to hold her hands and waited patiently until the emotional speech was over.

She asked, "Will you help me face my sister’s death?"

Maisa’s smile disappeared while Zolani’s expression remained empty.

"Or..." she tilted her head. "...will you help me face the fact that you were the one who killed her?"

The words struck Maisa like a bolt of lightning. She froze up as every thought vanished from her head.

Her eyes remained locked on Zolani’s ruby-pink gaze, but her pupils trembled violently.

She knows? Her soul seemed to shudder inside her chest.

For several seconds, Maisa couldn’t breathe and then the rest of her body finally caught up with the shock.

Her hands began trembling, Her shoulders shook even her lashes fluttered uncontrollably. The hands holding Zolani’s slowly slipped away.

It felt as though an invisible fist had slammed into her chest and punched every ounce of energy, air, and light out of her body.

Zolani watched her silently and then she delivered another blow. "Or perhaps..." Her voice remained frighteningly calm. "...you’ll help me come to terms with the fact that I was falling in love with an Everheart vampire hunter?"

Maisa’s mind snapped back into reality. Her eyes widened. Without thinking, she lunged forward and covered Zolani’s mouth.

"Shh!"

She immediately looked around. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She scanned the room, desperate to make sure no one had heard. The name Everheart couldn’t be heard by anyone, not there or in the vampire nation.

Zolani’s eyes narrowed. She grabbed Maisa’s wrist and roughly pulled her hand away. "Don’t," her voice was colder than before.

Maisa stared at her.

Zolani stepped closer. "I don’t want to feel anything ever again."

There was no anger in her voice and that was what made it worse. There was simply emptiness in her tone.

"I don’t want my emotions back."

Maisa opened her mouth. "Zo..."

"Any attempt to change that..." Zolani’s ruby-pink eyes hardened. "...and I’ll tell the entire vampire nation who you really are."

Maisa’s blood ran cold.

Zolani leaned closer. "You are Maisa Everheart," the name seemed to echo inside Maisa’s head. "The youngest daughter of the famous Everheart vampire hunter family."

Maisa’s face went completely pale.

Zolani held her gaze. "Got it?"

Silence settled as Maisa had no answer. No excuse, threat or clever response. For once, there was nothing she could say.

She simply stood there, staring at Zolani as the truth settled over her like a death sentence.

The girl she had promised to save had just become the one person capable of destroying everything she had built in the vampire nation.

And the worst part? Maisa couldn’t even blame her. She had no idea how to fix Zolani anymore because Zolani didn’t want to be fixed.

She wanted to remain numb and she was willing to destroy Maisa’s entire life to make sure no one took that numbness away from her.