Chaos returned to the room and found Zuri was still soundly asleep, with her body curled on the bed that looked so big for herself, while breathing deeply.
He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, as he leaned over to kiss her temple and tucked a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. She looked so adorable when she put her guard down and was oblivious to her surroundings like right now.
Chaos loved to see her like this, not really caring about the world around her and more importantly, she didn’t need to think about all the heartache and pain that they had gone through or they would endure in the near future.
If he could, he wanted time to stop and he would gladly spend the rest of his eternity with her, just staring at her like this.
This feeling didn’t go away, even after more than one lifetime. Even after both of them forgot about a few things, they always found a way to be with each other again.
Chaos then laid back next to her, as he hugged her small body closer, enjoying her scent while letting her nuzzle against his chest to find a more comfortable position. She did that unconsciously, as if she knew it was him even when she didn’t open her eyes.
Her lips were slightly ajar and Chaos couldn’t help but kiss her.
“I love you, Blue. No matter how many lifetimes we have to go through, I love you the same,” Chaos said softly against her lips.
Zuri didn’t hear that because she was sleeping, not to mention that Chaos had put a spell around her, so she wouldn’t wake up easily, even so he kept saying that for another moment, as he held her close to him.
.....
No matter how many lifetimes, no matter what she became. This feeling wouldn’t change, even if the memories of them together faded away.
==========================
Zuri opened her eyes when she felt the sunlight on her face and Chaos’ soft voice called her name. She felt so lazy and tired, she really wanted to fall back asleep.
“You need to eat something, wake up.” Chaos shook her body, but when that didn’t work, he bent over to rain her face with kisses, which made her giggle.
“What are you doing?” Zuri pushed Chaos’ face away from her. She just woke up, she didn’t think that she smelled nice, thus she pulled the blanket to cover her face, just in case he would kiss her again.
“Wake up now,” Chaos said, as he put down the tray of breakfast on the nearby table and tried to pull away the blanket that was being used as a cover by Zuri now. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“What time is it now?” she asked in a hoarse voice, as she poked her head from the blanket, but she covered her mouth. She needed to brush her teeth first.
“Seven in the morning.” Chaos spread some jam on the bread, before he poured tea in a cup and gave it to her. “We will arrive in the mainland in three hours.”
Zuri shook her head and then murmured something like; I will brush my teeth and wash my face first, before she got off the bed and then scurried into the adjoining bathroom in their room.
This journey seemed very smooth sailing. She wondered if something happened last night that she was not aware of, but it seemed there was nothing major that happened after seeing how Chaos acted this morning.
“Did something happen last night?” Zuri asked once she got out of the bathroom. She wiped her face with a towel and took a bite of the bread that Chaos was holding, refusing to hold it herself, just to make Chaos feed her himself.
“No,” Chaos replied truthfully. Nothing actually happened except for his conversation with the sirens, but since last night went uneventful, thus there was no need for Zuri to learn about that. “How was your sleep?”
“Great.” Zuri took another bite. “I didn’t even have any dream.”
“I will take that as a good sign,” Chaos replied softly to her, as he helped her with her hair that stuck to her face, because she didn’t wipe it properly.
“Didn’t you sleep?” Zuri asked him, because he woke up so early. “You wake up so early.”
“I did sleep.” Chaos made one more slice of bread with jam for her, because it seemed she was so hungry this morning. It was understandable, because last night she didn’t eat her dinner and once they were in their room, she fell asleep.
Zuri took the bread and put it on the tray before she stepped closer to him. She then raised her hand to touch his cheek.
“Your eyes look darker,” Zuri stated. It was not clear since when this became her focus, but she was very sensitive with even the slightest change in him. “Are you okay?”
“I am okay.” Chaos took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Once we are at the McKeltars, we will be fine.”
No. That was not true.
There was not a safe place for them, especially for Chaos, because what they were trying to fight here was himself.
“Okay,” Zuri said, despite what she felt.
=======================
It was such a bliss that nothing happened on their journey back to the mainland, as they headed to the Artzee country.
This country became so eerily strict and the way they made sure no non human being entered their country was extremely awful.
At first, Zuri was afraid that they would be able to out her as a shifter, but then she passed the first test until the third test without any problem.
Needless to say, it must have been Chaos who had made it possible.
And when they finally managed to get out of the checkpoint, Zuri could sigh in relief. “How can we go to the McKeltar manor?”