Page 163 of Interion

He laughed, probably thinking it was a joke. While Aish and Breno positioned the target ten meters farther away, I saw Zion watching us from the other side of the field. Around him, some students were also watching, entertained.

“And you? Where did you learn to shoot?”

“Ready!” Aish shouted, raising a hand.

“My mother taught me when I was little.”

“Was she good?”

“Aim!”

He aimed with concentration and I did the same.

“She was more than good. She was Drutes. She used to say the Goddess of War walked beside us. So we never miss.”

My whole skin broke out in goosebumps.

“Fire!”

We finished tied, all ten arrows lodged in the center of the target. By the time we finally went to put away the weapons, the sun had already set and most of the students had left. Breno and Aish had left earlier since they’d made plans to marathon some old movie they liked. Hiro, meanwhile, seemed happy and distracted, listening to music through his red earbuds while throwing a stick for Kiara to fetch. I sat down at the archery bay table to watch the two of them having fun.

“Hiro?” I called, while he smiled watching Kiara’s playful gait as she ran to fetch the stick from among the trees. Hiro was the only one who had gotten close enough to Kiara to touch her, and now she followed him everywhere, her eyes happy and bright from having made a new friend.

“Yeah?” he replied, lowering his headphones to his neck.

“Why only now?”

He looked at me and frowned, seeming confused.

“You’re going to have to be more specific. I can’t even remember what I had for lunch.” He gave me a restrained smile. Dimples marked his cheeks.

“We studied together for four years. You had the chance to talk to me that whole time and never even bothered to learn my name. Then Aish showed up and here we are. Why now?”

He turned to me, this time ignoring Kiara, who dropped the stick at his feet and waited expectantly.

“It’s complicated for me, Kyller.”

He crossed his arms and looked around, visibly uncomfortable.

“Complicated how? I don’t want to be annoying or anything. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about it. You’re also part descendant and you ignored me all those years.”

His eyes met mine with a serious look. A look I’d never seen on Hiro.

“Do you know what my last name is?” he asked, picking up the stick and throwing it into the air again. The muscles in his arms tensed, straining the shirt that was already tight in that area.

“Zois,” I murmured, trying to understand where he was going with this.

“Do you know anyone else with that last name, besides me?” he asked, following Kiara as she ran toward the horizon, now almost covered by darkness.

“No, you’re the only one I know.”

“And Voluz? Do you know anyone else with that name?”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Zion and I. We're the only ones I know.”

I thought about mentioning Serguei, but quickly realized it wasn't a good idea since people didn't know he was Zion's father. Serguei didn't need a last name to be feared—his first name alone was enough.