The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 184: Dawn ()

Dawn came much sooner than Zariah had anticipated, especially considering the fact that she had not been able to find sleep for even a moment but had spent the entire night tossing and turning in her bed.

"Was the night always so short?" Zariah murmured to herself as she turned over on her bed.

A quiet groan of discomfort followed after, Zariah just could not get used to how uncomfortable the bed in the inn was.

Zariah had remained at the Ethereal Palace for a short time after the decision was made, there were other matters to discuss with Lords Melvin and Kodin regarding unifying the realm.

The discussions had taken much longer than Zariah had anticipated, Zariah had been unable to focus completely, everyone else was clearly exhausted too,

And so she had called an end to the meeting prematurely.

Throughout this time, Zariah had not set eyes on Askel. She had not seen him since he left the meeting hall in disappointment and as much as Zariah ignored it, she felt terribly guilty knowing she had caused Askel pain.

Zariah had quickly realised if she extended her stay in the Ethereal Palace, she would accord her guilt too much attention and so she had returned to the inn.

"Get your act straight, Zariah." Zariah reminded herself, sitting up on her bed and patting her cheeks lightly.

Zariah had decided she would not return to the Ethereal Palace for the next month, she had to do all she could to keep her resolve strong.

Zariah got up to her feet and headed to the washroom, it was painfully small and unlike anything Zariah was used to but Zariah did not awfully mind it.

She was far away from whatever drama would be going down at the Ethereal Palace and that much was enough.

Zariah washed up quickly and headed back out to her room, sorting through the shelves for the change of clothing Kaileen and Dionne had delivered to her the night before.

While Zariah had left the Ethereal Palace for the inn, she had instructed the Crimson Wolves to remain behind.

Save for Darren and Eloneth who insisted, the Crimson Wolves would remain at the Ethereal Palace.

Zariah’s personal affairs could not interfere with their duties and the reason they had left the barrier in the first place.

When Zariah was dressed in a plain white tunic and an ankle length flared riding skirt, she pulled on her boots and headed down to the ground level of the inn.

Zariah had only gotten to the top of the staircase when she sighted a presence she should have expected but was still unsettled to see.

Sitting right there on one of the wooden tables was Caedmon Grey and as it always did, Zariah’s heart dropped right to the pit of her stomach at the sight of him.

’What is wrong with you, Zari? You will have to get used to seeing him a lot, you cannot fight an urge to bolt at every sight of him.’ Zariah mentally cautioned herself.

Caedmon had not noticed her presence yet and just sat patiently, glancing around the inn ever so often and Zariah took a moment to regain her composure before she took the first step, making her presence known.

Caedmon’s eyes lit up the moment he noticed Zariah and he got up to his feet, a bright smile on his lips.

"Zari!" He called, his tone dripping with barely concealed excitement.

"Right...may I call you that?" Caedmon asked hopefully, his bright smile still perfectly intact.

Zariah resisted the urge to cringe visibly and instead nodded slowly, acknowledging his words.

It did not matter what he called her, Caedmon may not have known it yet but at least Zariah did.

She knew her name would be the very last word he uttered before he breathed his last...it would be good for him to get accustomed to it sooner.

"Did you rest well?" Caedmon asked Zariah.

"I suppose so." Zariah replied casually.

Zariah had just gotten to the last step but Caedmon was already there, offering a hand to help her down still grinning from ear to ear.

There was a twinkle in his eyes, like Zariah’s permission to use her nickname was the best thing that could happen to him.

’How could anyone fake such genuinely played happiness? How could anyone fake that look in his eyes?’ Zariah wondered as she got down the step herself, pointedly ignoring Caedmon’s offered hand.

Zariah walked over to the wooden table and took a sit.

"When I said dawn, I was not expecting to see you at dawn exactly. " Zariah pointed out.

The sun had only just risen, Zariah was not certain how Caedmon had arrived here at exactly this time, unless he had already arrived long before the sun rose.

’I would have sensed it if he had been here for a while.’ Zariah thought to herself.

But Zariah was not so certain of that, she had not even sensed when Caedmon had arrived in the inn, how could she know for how long he has been lurking about?

After a month and a half long coma, her senses were not as they used to be and it would take a lot of recovering before she got back to being at her best.

Nile had said the same too, that Zariah was far from her usual strength and would be so for an indefinite amount of time.

"Forgive me, I couldn’t sleep. I went in search of you at the Ethereal Palace but heard you had come out here... I had no plans to interrupt your rest, I was going to just wait till whenever you awakened." Caedmon explained.

"And the doors were just wide open when you arrived?" Zariah asked with a raised brow. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Oh no, I did meet the innkeeper on his way out to pick up spices. He let me in after I identified myself." Caedmon quickly assured.

"Though... I may have mentioned we were...mates..." Caedmon added guiltily.

"Right..." Zariah murmured, praying dearly for the patience to carry through with this.