Nyxara
"As far as the connection between us…" She paused, appearing to organize her thoughts before continuing. "When the Patriarch first came to Solhara, it was my family that first sheltered him in repayment for saving my grandfather from an assassination attempt. It was a few years later, during the war for regency, that the Patriarch's path crossed with my family's again." She sat up, put her mug on the coffee table, then took my hand into hers.
Looking deep into my eyes, she told me the story of the bond between the Salgrave and the Ajei. "We were being destroyed by rivals under the order of the regent because we would not side with him. The Patriarch answered our call for help. He supported us in fighting back, and when everything settled, our family swore eternal loyalty to your enclave.
My grandfather felt this would be the only way to repay, the enclave for elevating us to a status of influence we could not have reached without their help. So we became a Crest house of the Ajei enclave. We support primarily in the areas of technology since our family tends to awaken as techno-witches. That is what I am, by the way, a techno-witch. We will go into such specialities during our lessons." She squeezed my hand before pulling her hand away. She looked down at her hands, tracing her palm lines.
"Now for your last question, what happened between us…you happened. But I'm not blind enough to not realize you were charmed by Minette just as she seemed to have charmed you to be in conflict with your family." Though she did not take my hand again, she did keep our knees touching. In a cautious tone, Zen told me how Minette separated Grey and Zen in this life.
"Before you ever met Minette and Koba, you and I grew up side by side. Since I am just a few months younger, we have been playmates since we were five. We spent the Winter and Spring seasons together so we could celebrate our birthdays with each other. When Minette and Koba started vacationing in the area, we felt like the more the merrier. Then slowly I was being excluded from things, but when you realized Minette wasn't inviting me like she said she was, you started inviting me yourself.
Things were good again for a while, but after you debuted here in the capital which the official name is Craé Sharii, you began to change. Eventually, no matter what I said or did, you pushed me away. Our friendship broke the day you confided in me about the Velintra. I had come to check on you because you'd requested sick leave—something you rarely did."
Her eyes had glazed over as she recounted the event that torn these two women apart. The scent of citrus and floral became so poignant around us I was sinking into the embrace of this sadness I somehow knew was Zen's. Oh Zen, I do not know how to comfort you right now. Do you want me to hold your hand or hug you? Do I have the right to offer either?
"I was in shock when you told me that you had started a Velari bond with Koba and that it would be completed once he allowed you to do so. I begged you to go to your parents to get it removed. I screamed at you that I could already sense your bond festering into a hollow-bind, because it had been left incomplete for more than 24 hours.
I had started dragging you kicking and screaming down the hall when Minette and Koba came out of nowhere to pull us apart. You told me I didn't understand and that you didn't want to see me until I accepted Koba as your mate."
Zen wept in silence, eyes fixed on the dark hearth. "Minette looked so smug standing at your side. Koba looked annoyed and was speaking comforting words to you. It was at this point that I knew that whatever was wrong was beyond my ability to fix. I turned to leave. To go to the Matriarch, when you gave me an inviolable command using the bond between my house and your enclave. You commanded me to keep my distance until I accepted Koba and that I could tell no one about your Velintra."
She looked at me with questions in her eyes that I could not answer. That did not stop my chest from feeling heavy or my own tears from welling up. "The command bound me to silence. You had already turned away like you hadn't broken the promise you made to never command me using the bond unless it was to save my life. Minette smiled gleefully and waved me goodbye before she joined you and Koba to head back to your suite. When the door closed, I walked away and informed the Matriarch that you and I had parted ways and then left. I watched over you from afar at the academy, doing what little I could. It has made me angry to watch you wither away, and I could do nothing to help you. So here we are now, almost three years later. Your accident broke the command, so I was free to approach you and speak of the bond."
"Even knowing that I might upset you, I went to Scion Lux and told him what I knew and what had truly happened between us. He commended me and let me know you had been in an accident and could use a real friend now, so he assigned me to be your academic tutor. Now you know everything on my end. Knowing our past now, what type of relationship do you want us to have? Liege and subordinate? Casual friends?"
I will make Minette and Koba pay for the damage they have caused. No matter the reason for their actions, the accumulated karma will be returned thricefold. I can play the long game. I can be the hunter. No one will take what is mine away from me ever again. Not without paying my price.
"Let's start with being friends again. Let us get to know each other again to see if we still can mesh as we once did. How does this sound?" I reached out my hand with a small smile on my lips.
"Sounds wise. It is good to see that maybe your accident was a blessing in disguise." Zen grasped my hand, giving it one good shake, then pulled me into a hug. "It's good to have you back, Nyx. I've missed you."
I hugged her back, hiding my tears and smile. "It's good to have you back too, Zen. I've missed you more than you could ever imagine."