CHAPTER 440: ONE YEAR LATER (I)

ZINA’S POV

*One Year Later*

It happened like a dream, but one year passed like it was nothing.

One year of healing her wounds and dedicating herself to the memory of her mother.

One year of not seeing Daemon.

And it was only after one year passed did she realize that the latter was in fact, harder than the former.

Mourning the dead was easy. But being away from the man she loved as much as she loved life itself whilst pretending it was the easiest thing to was was so hard. So damn hard it took sheer willpower not to run away from the temple to the Ice Palace.

And now that the waiting period was officially over, she became at such a loss she could only stare into space that morning, thinking about nothing in particular.

That day didn’t only mark the one year anniversary of her mother’s death, but it also marked one year since the last fight against the deformed. It was also the one year death anniversary for the people that lost their loved ones in the carnage of their appearance.

That day, she made her way to the shrine of the Eldermen, the three ruling power over the Northern temple.

For the first time, she went without Sybril who usually accompanied her on such occasions for the simple fact that that day was a far special day.

The sentinels ushered her into the dimly, almost blue, lit shrine that was otherwise empty save for three glowing cone-like shaped forms that towered all the way to the ceiling which in reality housed the three elder men.

Zina tilted her head in their direction curtly. "Eldermen, I have come to announce that I have finished my mourning."

For seconds, nothing was said. That was until a gruff voice carried to her.

"You give us far too much deference while you report such a flimsy matter. Your one year of dedication to the memory of your mother has touched the heavens, we cannot dispute it either."

She smiled. "I have also come to bid you farewell." She announced.

"So you still refuse to follow the path of a High Priestess." The only female among the three said to her, her voice bouncing off the walls with raw authority. "That will be a true waste of potential. You might have already given yourself to a man, but if you begin now to hone yourself—"

"I shall not become a high priestess." Zina interrupted the woman before she could go on any further about the state of her virginity, or lack thereof.

"I do not believe it is the path for me."

The female voice scoffed quietly. "The moon goddess is said to pave the path of the great beast wolf. Honing your already excellent spiritual powers is just the right way to go about it."

"Becoming his wife, sharing weak and woe, one heart and one bond, is also another right way to pave his path. Besides, haven’t you already seen it for yourself that the Alpha King is more than capable of rising to power on his own? As a matter of speaking, he does not need me."

It was her that needed him. But she didn’t say that.

Silence engulfed the room, only to be broken later by the third Elderman who had refused to utter a single word until then.

"The great seer is right." He said in a calm yet steady voice, "In one year, his royal majesty has managed to assimilate the powers of three of the five high ranking packs. He has killed dissent, and made such significant progress in his mission to unite the North under one banner. Civil wars still abound of course, but it goes without saying that he is achieving a feat his ancestors could only dream of."

"There’s so much that still lies on this path," the first Elderman all but growled, "his majesty is merely brushing the tip of the iceberg."

"Which is why I will stay by his side," Zina pressed on, "whether it be the role of a wife, a mate, a theta, a great seer, a Luna Queen, I am willing to play all of them at once."

The room seemed to be still again. This time for the longest time as if they were having a private conversation that stretched for minutes.

"Farewell then." The three echoed in one voice that almost startled her, "past events have already long taught us that this is a fate that we cannot interfere in. Your mourning of one year is hereby acknowledged."

Emotions clogged her throat, but cleared past the fog, standing firm before them. "Thank you, Eldermen."

And then she left the shrine.

Seraph waited for her outside with tear-filled eyes while she held onto some of Zina’s lighter luggages that contained personal effects. Leaned against the wall was Fionna who was dressed in leather trousers and a leather corset top that gave her a menacing, lethal look.

She flipped a coin repeatedly, eying Zina carefully. "Does this mean I will never have to return to this damned temple again just to look for you? I have been holding back from saying it for a year now, but they need to get rid of whatever incense smell seems to cling to this drab air."

Zina approached her with hands akimbo while her heart raced at what she was about to do next.

Something not so crazy. Because she was about to enter the palace of ice, to propose marriage to her husband that was never officially an ex-husband, although could be said to be an ex-husband by virtue of the fact that their mate bond was severed.

She sucked in a deep breath, staring at Fionna who she had been conspiring with for the past few months or so for this particular day.

"That will depend on how you have performed." She said while they walked together to the exit doors of the temple. Malik Zorch and the rest of her guards followed closely. "What does Daemon’s movement look like today?"

"There’s good news; he is in the palace." Fionna answered.

Zina eyed her. "That sounds like there’s bad news."

Fionna smiled a wolfish smile. "How very perceptive of you. There’s bad news in fact; he will no longer be in the palace in the next two hours. He has an important meeting with the Alpha of some pack in the South."

Zina hardly waited for her to finish what she was saying before she tore into a run, running for the carriage that would take her to Daemon.

Because she could not miss today.

She could not let this day slip past her.

Not when she must make him believe that in all her life, no one had ever loved her the way he did so effortlessly. And that she never wanted to love another save for him.