Page 84 of Interion

Zion cleared his throat to get my attention, and I blinked, pushing the melancholy thoughts aside.

“I'm sorry about your friend. I'm sure he'll forgive you—true friendships don't end over things like that.”

I let a smile slip at the gentleness he showed toward Breno, even though he didn't like the guy. That reminded me of the photo on the sideboard, and when I looked at it, I noticed it was lying face down. A small pang of pain spread through my chest, and I pulled back, not wanting to let it affect our day. Sooner or later I'd ask, but not now.

I watched him fuss with the pizza while the shadows peeked over his shoulders. As he put together the plate, I winked at them. The little ones squirmed in a frenzy, practically erupting on the spot. Zion looked at me curiously and caught me smiling at the shadows.

“Just what I needed—shadows learning to flirt.”

“They're adorable,” I murmured, moving closer.

The little ones clustered on his left shoulder. They were so cute I couldn't ignore them. I held out my palm, and they scurried up my arms to settle there, playing with my hair. Zion handed me the plate, and I headed to the couch. He sat at the table.

“Want to watch a movie with me?” I asked, already turning on the TV and picking a cheesy romance. Kiara immediately perked up.

“I don't really know much about movies,” Zion replied, devouring a slice of pizza. I stared, open-mouthed, but controlled my surprise. “My tutor always thought they were a waste of time. He preferred to fill my schedule with training and strategy books.”

I imagined a young Zion never having time for fun, his head always filled with combat and strategy. It was sad, and obviously, that was how he'd become the best assassin in the army.

“Then come watch with me! There's a really good one about the war between gorgons and faerics,” I called to him, sitting on the edge of the couch and patting the cushion beside me to show he was welcome. I felt a pang of sadness remembering this was Breno's favorite series—I'd always refused to watch it with him, afraid he'd try something romantic and I'd have to turn him down.

“Wouldn't that be seen as glorifying war between races?” He frowned but stood up, interested.

“No, since the whole point of the film is to show that wars are bad and peace benefits both sides.”

Zion gave up on the plate and brought the entire pizza box, setting it between us.

“And how, exactly, is peace achieved in this film?” he asked, arching his left eyebrow.

“You'll have to watch and find out.”

I felt anxious about this moment, and my hands could barely stay still. During the years the general had been away, I hadn't allowed myself to invite anyone else into the house—out of respect for him, and also because I didn't have many friends. Just Breno, who would certainly get the wrong idea. If Zion felt anything like anxiety, he was masking it perfectly, because he dropped his massive body onto the couch and kept eating his pizza.

“I'd forgotten how good it feels to be home, without having to worry about phone calls and war stuff,” he said, looking relaxed. He glanced down at the slice he was nibbling and added, “Not to mention eating junk food.”

“Did you really go five years without a break?” I asked, curious about his life.

“Yes.”

“If it's so exhausting, why don't you stay in the city for good? The students like having you as a teacher,” I said, fishing for information about him.

Zion looked away from the TV and turned to me. The way his gaze warmed when it met mine was intense.

“Because it's my duty. The squad needs me just like the hospital needs you. I wouldn't say things there are exhausting, just... different, and sometimes complicated. But it becomes normal, and even enjoyable on some days.”

“So you like the squad.”

He stayed motionless for a moment, staring at me as if the question were a riddle.

“I do,” he said, looking at his rough hands marked by countless small scars. “It's the only thing I truly know. Besides, people need me, so how could I not like it?”

The next question was already on the tip of my tongue: did he also enjoy what he did to my people? The deaths and wars, killing innocents? At the last moment, I held back and just stared at the TV, remembering we'd agreed to a truce—he wasn't talking about training or the attack, and I shouldn't confront him about his work. I let the subject dissolve like ink in water, and once again, silence settled between us.

The movie started and Zion got excited during the introduction about the wars. Much of the story wasn’t fictional—in the past, there had been disputes between faerics and gorgons, and actual conflicts had been fought. But this happened thousands of years ago, even before the walls were built or the five nations were officially established.

It all started when the first king of Interion officially established his reign over the central lands and founded Interian civilization. At that time, faerics and gorgons lived together in balance, as they always had since the dawn of the world. But the king promoted the idea that the two races should remain separate, believing faerics were superior beings who shouldn’t share their blood. As a result, the gorgons—who feed on the blood of faerics and humans willing to give it freely in exchange for services and favors—were excluded from society. The king claimed they were too dangerous to remain in the city, that they could lose control and kill while feeding.

And so, after widespread chaos and a near-war against the five gorgon matriarchs, the women were forced to live as nomads between the cities, cut off from their food source. The problem is that if a gorgon doesn’t feed regularly, her hunger grows until she loses control—and at that stage, she can take too much blood and kill her supplier. After months of exile, blood deprivation drove them to attack small villages in the forests, losing control as they fed. This was exactly when things went wrong for the faerics, because if a medusa kills while feeding, she loses her soul and transforms into an irrational, bloodthirsty creature. After the transformation, she’s no longer a gorgon—she becomes what’s known as a lamia. The metamorphosis permanently deforms their bodies: their teeth elongate, impenetrable scales grow across their skin, and the lower half of their bodies transforms into a two-meter tail.