Page 132 of Interion

“...what I mean is, if it works out, it'll be spectacularly good for my résumé, but if it goes wrong... I'll be neck-deep in shit,” I told the chimera while stroking her head beside the bathtub. “Look on the bright side—now you have a friend who not only understands neural surgery but can actually perform it. That doesn't mean you should go taking risks out there, but if you hit your head during a flight, I can patch you up.”

She rubbed her cold nose against my wrist, and I kept scratching her ear. Then I wiped the cream from my eyes and looked at her. The chimera tilted her head slightly, studying me with curiosity.

“I'm happy,” I told her. Kiara wagged her tail as if she understood. “Nervous and anxious to find out how the surgery went, but I'm happy. I did something that'll go down in history—something bigger than anything Ambrose ever achieved. If it works out, we'll raise the bar for neural surgery! I swear, if everything goes well, you're getting two bowls of food filled to the brim.”

Her tail started wagging even harder, swinging in every direction. That thing had enough force to knock me across the room. Then she licked my hand and mouthed it gently—a clear sign she was hungry.

“I know, I know... I'm hungry too. We'll go downstairs to eat in a minute.”

She rested her head on the edge of the bathtub, sniffing.

“I'm happy, really happy about the surgery, but I have to admit it's not just because of that. Having you with me all this time is one of the biggest reasons,” I murmured, leaning closer and reaching out with both hands to smooth her leonine whiskers. She snorted in my face. “I don't think my life would make as much sense if I came back to this house and it was empty. And now... maybe... Zion will stay.”

Her tail stopped moving, as if she'd grown apprehensive too.

“Yeah, I know he's stubborn, but I... like having him around.”

Kiara gave me the same judgmental look she had yesterday when I'd come home reeking of air freshener and arousal.

“No, it's not because of that,” I explained with a laugh, giving her ear a little flick. She shook her ears playfully. “Stop judging me over that whole thing—you know I can't control this biological attraction. I like having him around in a way I can't explain. It's almost like I could feel safe anywhere in the world, as long as he's with me. I feel good. Maybe it's just the bond making me delude myself, but I don't think so. I really do like having him around, now that I've started to understand his past.”

Kiara snorted in agreement.

“I saw the real Zion yesterday, and... it wasn't what I expected.”

Kiara snorted again.

“So, getting to know other sides of him is a good thing—maybe I can understand him better. Actually, I need to ask about Kaori. I'm curious to know more about the bastard gorgon who brought the matriarchs to their knees.”

My mind started wandering, imagining all the adventures they must have had together. I still needed to learn Akira's story, but I was certain that would be a difficult topic, which was why I wouldn't ask—I'd let him tell me when he was ready, even though I was curious.

“There's so much I need to ask him—I don't even know where to start.”

My stomach rumbled loudly, echoing through the bathroom and cutting off my thoughts. Kiara stared at my belly from over the edge of the tub as if there were some creature in there, her ears perked up in surprise. I just laughed and ruffled her fur.

“Enough talking—let's go eat.” I stood up and wrapped myself in my bathrobe. Then I heard a growl behind me. Kiara was glaring at me furiously.

“What's wrong, Kiara?” I asked, startled.

“Well, well, your little pet doesn't like me.” Serguei's voice echoed in my head, and I jumped.

“And that’s supposed to be a surprise after you threatened to torture her?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I merely put her to sleep, and don’t speak so openly about torture—she doesn’t need to know those details,” he replied with feigned offense.

I huffed indignantly.

“What do you want here, Serguei?”

“I came to collect on the favor.”

A shiver ran up my spine. I wasn’t prepared to have the favor called in so soon, and now that I thought about it properly, I was afraid of what he might ask.

“And what would that be?”

“I want you to come have dinner with me,” he said without preamble.

I frowned, wondering if I’d heard him right.