CHAPTER 436: THE PATH TO HEALING

ZINA’S POV

After much deliberations, Zina and Zelkov decided to bury her mother in the West, at a specially built tombstone situated right at the former dwelling place of the Screamers Pack.

The burial was a dreary affair. And Daemon didn’t leave her side for one bit throughout it all despite her insistence that he returned to the North already.

His excuse was that there was no way he would miss such an important event of her life, regardless of the fact that technically speaking, they no longer had any ties to each other.

As he stood by her side through the ordeal, she was secretly pleased to have him by her side, even as she counted down to the days when they would be apart.

A lot weighed on her mind. Most prominent of it all being her mother’s death, and what would be the state of her relationship with Daemon. Even though he promised her he would wait for her, she couldn’t help but feel bad. He certainly did not deserve someone like her. But now, she aimed to be worthy of all the love and devotion he had shown her.

And to be able to do that properly, she had to defeat her inner demons and clear the debts she owed.

The burial was done in just a day, and a few guards were assigned to stay behind and oversee the completion of the tombstone while also guarding the tomb from the eager part of the population who were curious to see the woman once thought to be dead, but had in fact, been kidnapped for more than thirty years by villains.

After that, they returned to the North. And then began the official parting between her and Daemon.

There was not much ceremony to commemorate it. When Daemon dropped her at the Temple, she walked in without looking back at him. Because her path would only hurt more should she hesitate at that very important moment.

Yet as the space between them grew wider, she could feel his eyes on her. And she had a feeling he remained waiting in the space of her absence for seconds that swelled into minutes.

From that day on, the Temple didn’t remain the same. The existing guards were multiplied by hundred, led by Malik Zorch and Mandem Zedd who both hovered over her every minute of the day. They took turns when necessary, but one of them was always present with her.

Zina knew that was the only way Daemon would self-assuredly let go of her sight after everything that had happened, so she wasn’t complaining. If anything, she was grateful that he wasn’t insisting on staying by her side himself.

That would have been more disastrous than having the inhabitants of the Temple give her the side eye as they probably blamed her for the new state of their beloved Temple.

But Sybril was thrilled, and even shed a tear when she saw she had returned safe and sound.

Making a most surprising appearance was Dawn who had now changed her name to Winter. Zina was getting used to the woman and her antics, and that said a lot. The enigmatic woman was as mysterious as the first time they met when she told Zina’s fortune when she was just eight years old.

"I knew you would return to ussss one day, Great Sssseer." Winter said, "There’ssssss no way the moon would abscond the world. So I knew you must return to ussss."

After that, Winter surprisingly agreed to stay in the North and teach Zina more as opposed to returning back to the GreenLands m. It was hard to tell the reason behind her decision, but Zina was quite grateful for it.

So everyday at the Temple, Zina she would wake up five in the morning, praying and meditating for her mother’s soul till twelve in the afternoon. After that, she would meet with the people, mediating on certain matters. She would offer them their guidance and counselling just as she usually did with the Taga Meeting.

Officially, she remained the Theta of the North so that helped. But it also meant that she had an influx of people to see, so much so she could only close nine in the night.

Thereafter, she would burn incense for her mother and would remain in the Temple till twelve in the midnight before she retired for the night, only to wake up five hours later to begin her day.

The cycle soothed her mind and soul. And having the company of Sybril who always acted like a mother to her, and Winter who taught her different tricks to open her visionary ’third eye’ actually helped. Not to mention that some days as she attended to the bustle of people who wanted to see her for one reason or the other, she felt his presence.

At first, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her for whenever she searched for him, she came up empty. But that was when he was just good at hiding himself. Daemon would visit the Temple, but to respect her wishes, would never make himself known.

Her heart and soul were naturally tethered to him, so she always knew. So she stopped searching for him, and instead basked in the quiet presence of him.

Three weeks after their return and the end of the war, Fionna came to see her. The only thing that shocked her more than Fionna’s presence was her teary eyes as she hugged Zina while struggling to control her sobs. If anyone would have told Zina that she would have another woman crying for her so much, much less Fionna WolfKnight, she never would have believed it.

Yet it played out before her eyes, and as she hugged Fionna back, she couldn’t help but see for herself that their lives hadn’t been that different. They grew up together at the WolfKnight’s Pack, two little girls with no one to turn to. As an abandoned orphan, Fionna was forced on the path of becoming a Red Sister whereas she was sold to the North and used as a weapon to bring Daemon down with an outrageous lie.

But now, their paths had converged together and they ended up in the same place. With Fionna now working directly for Daemon in a high position, the both of them had managed to find a home in the North.

Fionna narrated to her that the Red Sisters were experiencing a purge with Daemon clearing them all out. She said, "No more girls would have their lives ripped away at such a young age like it happened with them." That made Zina really smile because she could now tell that she and Fionna were really fighters.

They had conquered so much to get to where they were.

She couldn’t help but notice though that every single of Fionna’s narration, recounting her exploits in the GreenLands, she would mention Marcus with different shades of emotions. Either she was snarling, smirking wickedly, or grinning evilly. Even though Zina was quite glad she was now leading such an interesting life, she couldn’t help but think that something was going on between her and the DireWolf Beta.

But she didn’t comment on that. Time would eventually tell.

But she was eventually realizing something as the days rolled by; one year was such a long time, and it had never felt as long and stretched out as it now felt. And in the few hours she slept, she couldn’t help dreaming about him, who was the family she had to leave in order to mourn the family who gave their life for her.

She knew she had made the right decision. Even now, she could feel herself healing. The grief was still there, but she was getting better. But her heart still ached for him.

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