†††
ZELAIDE allowed the medics to clean Euphemia’s wounds, but he wrapped her bandages. He refused to let them do much for his own injuries, beyond cleaning him up to stop his blood from dirtying Euphemia’s hair. Nothing else mattered as long as she was safe. Most of his concentration was focused on searching for Shank, but his presence was long gone. Knowing him, he must have escaped during the commotion of the dome being blown open and the helicopter landing.
But now not even his sworn enemy mattered.
“Yumi…” Zelaide muttered in a thin voice.
There hadn’t been a moment of rest for her since her abduction. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and her long eyelashes stuck together. Some of the roundness had gone out of her pale cheeks.
But despite it all, she was still warm.
Zelaide rubbed her soft cheek with the back of his finger.
Ooh, Yumi…how I’ve missed you!
Water droplets plopped onto his cheek.
Raindrops fell from the plastered darkness. Something landed quietly on Zelaide’s back when he bent forward to prevent Euphemia from getting wet. It tugged at his long hair. He raised his face and saw Tipsy climb up his shoulder. A piece of paper had been strapped to his talon.
Tipsy wriggled as Zelaide untied the paper. Inside a single sentence was roughly scribbled in blood.
“You owe me big. –V.”
Zelaide buried his face in the hair of his beloved.
✦ ✦ ✦
†††
“MAN, oh, man was I surprised when that video showed up on my IHT,” Arthur said in a surprisingly quiet voice as he looked into the back of the helicopter.
Heavy rain pelted the round metal frame. The transport helicopter flew through the pre-dawn downpour.
“Someone set up that camera to capture the nitty-gritty details of the night, right?” Arthur guessed. “It wasn’t you, was it? Only someone who could enter that estate without being suspected and knew the inner workings of the security system could have pulled it off.”
Holding Euphemia on his lap, Zelaide stared at the scenery passing below them without answering Arthur. He was content to rest with his mate and didn’t feel like waking her by chatting with the noisy anchorman.
The glowing lights of Romanesque City gradually faded beyond the veil of rain. Only the streetlights illuminating the freeway floated like globes in the darkness ahead, decorating the night like a pearl necklace.
How would they be treated once they arrived in Gothic City? There wasn’t much time to think up a plan. The helicopter would bring them back in half the time it took to get there by car.
“…And so I just have no idea who the sender could be,” Arthur continued talking, uncaring that Zelaide wasn’t listening. Maybe he just liked the sound of his own voice or was trying to see if he could find the answer in Zelaide’s reaction. “Haydn’s security team didn’t have the time or mentality to do it. Not to mention they were all lying on the ground half-dead near the greenhouse when I went to look. No way they sent the dome footage… Haydn sent the rest of his staff on vacation for a few days too. And he’s not the kind of man to expose his own evil deeds…”
Arthur searched Zelaide’s face even though it was turned toward the window.
“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know who sent it, would you? It wasn’t you, right?”
“……”
Silence answered Arthur’s barrage of questions. Zelaide had a general idea of who the sender might be and honestly didn’t care. Meanwhile, Arthur shook his head and shrugged, unable to give up on the extra detail that could really spice up his scoop.
“Well…I don’t know who is responsible, but I owe them my thanks. That video exposed our president’s villainy and perversion. Haydn threw some acting of his own into the mix, which I’m sure he planned to edit before sending it off to us.”
Zelaide’s gaze moved from the window to Euphemia. She stirred on his chest. Arthur gave up trying to get information out of him and cracked a smile.
“Looks like she means a lot to you.”
Zelaide pulled Euphemia even closer and buried his face in her hair. His nose tickled a moan out of her. He lifted his face.
“Hmm?” Euphemia’s eyes flicked open. She relaxed as soon as she saw who she was with and a sleepy smile spread on her dry, cracked lips. “…Zel?”
“I’m here. How do you feel?”
“Decent… Where are we?”
“In the sky. On a heli headed for Gothic City. Be there soon.”
“Okay… I’m thirsty.” Euphemia rubbed her chapped lips.
“One sec.”
Zelaide popped open the bottle in the cup holder, poured it into his mouth, and shared it with Euphemia through a kiss. She drank from his lips like a kitten. Arthur, the Guardians, and the medics all looked away from the couple as they repeated that embarrassing display.
“Thank you.” Euphemia wiped her mouth.
“How’s your leg?” he asked, rubbing her back.
“It’s been better. How are you doing?”
“Well enough. Stopped bleedin’.”
“……”
I feel like I’m forgetting something important… Euphemia looked around her for the first time since waking up. She knew she was in a helicopter, but wasn’t in a position to see anything other than Zelaide for the first few minutes.
“Mr. Molina…?” she murmured.
“You finally noticed I’m here? You two were so absorbed in your own little world I wasn’t sure where to look.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Blushing, Euphemia looked down and realized she was still sitting on Zelaide’s lap. She quickly slid off onto the empty seat beside him. Her leg throbbed, but she’d rather put up with the pain than the embarrassment. Zelaide clearly looked disappointed when she glanced back at him. He allowed her to leave his lap, but had no intention of releasing her as his arm remained securely wrapped around her shoulders.
A-Are Beast Bloods all right with public displays of affection? He’s going to give them the wrong idea… Though I prefer it that way.
“E-Excuse me!” In any case, she wanted to change the topic. There were a lot of things she needed to confirm now that her brain was working again. “Can you tell me what happened to Mister Haydn?”
“Oh, him? He was transported to Romanesque’s city-run hospital for the time being. He’s under heavy security and will be escorted to Gothic City tomorrow. Your older sister made that call. The hot line between the two mayors has got to be getting literally heated by now.”
“Then Erica already knows what happened?” Euphemia asked somberly.
“I told her as much as I learned. I also sent her that video. Your boyfriend there won’t tell me anything further.” Arthur glanced over at Zelaide who was still incorrigibly holding onto Euphemia and glowering at the other man. The famous anchorman could only smile dryly in return.
“I see. Oh yeah! What happened to Ronaldo? I haven’t seen him since we both passed out at the restaurant. Our drinks were spiked…”
“I just received word from the team that arrived after mine saying they found a young man confined to the compound’s basement with a number of Muta held in cages. He’s on his way to the hospital now. Report said he was drugged out of his mind, but it’s nothing he can’t recover from.”
“I hope he recovers soon…” Euphemia said, worried for her coworker. “He tried to protect me.”
“The first SOS alert was sent by his IHT. Don’t forget to thank him later. We were able to locate you guys sooner because of it. And we also discovered a Nightz refinery in the same basement. Our team also found trucks full of pure Nightz and several fields of Night Blooms in the dome’s artificial Wilds. It’s not the largest Nightz facility we’ve uncovered, but running it on a smaller scale has allowed him to steadily pump it out without being suspected. My reporter instincts tell me he has similar properties in every city on the planet… May the twelve colonies have mercy on us all for letting him deceive us for so long,” Arthur grumbled bitterly.
“Oh no!” Euphemia cried, startling everyone in the helicopter. “What about my gerbils?!”
“What gerbils?” Arthur cocked his head.
“My gerbils! My experiment finally succeeded, but I left the gerbils at the experimental farm!” she groaned, clasping her hands over her mouth.
“Hahaha!” Arthur belted out his first genuine laugh of the night. “You’re more worried about some lab rats than yourself after all you’ve been through? You’re a funny one. Well, we’re landing soon, so let’s handle the small details once you settle back in. Your gerbils aren’t going anywhere. Look out the window. You can see Forzarin Gate’s imposing silhouette.” He pointed out the windshield.
The night sky was faintly illuminated by the coming dawn.
Beyond that, they could see Gothic City’s spires as the nighttime lights started to shut off. The floating fortress city stood beautifully above the darkness.
The rain stopped as if its droplets were sucked back up into the sky. Bands of light shined down through the clouds. Dawn had arrived.
“Zel…”
“Yeah, I’m looking.” Zelaide nodded. But he wasn’t looking outside the window.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
“Very pretty.”
Light shined through the window onto her face. The light had a golden hue that gradually dyed the world yellow.
Daybreak.
A new day, a fresh start.
Safety assured, Euphemia rested her head on Zelaide’s shoulder and he leaned his head on hers. Bathed in the morning light, they finally closed their eyes together.