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Chapter 141: Trust
Silence settled again, heavier this time.
The kind that only came when both people were too tired to keep up the banter, but not quite ready to fall asleep either.
Seren broke it.
"...You didn’t say anything when I showed up."
"Huh?"
"If it was anyone else, they would’ve freaked out or gotten all awkward. You just let me in."
Zayn blinked at the ceiling. "Would’ve been kinda cruel to leave you out there."
"...Still. Thanks."
Zayn glanced over.
Her face was turned toward the wall now, her voice muffled in the pillow. But there was a hint of honesty in it that was rare for her.
He smiled softly. "Anytime."
Zayn fell asleep quickly.
Faster than Seren expected.
She lay there beside him for a while, listening to the soft, steady rhythm of his breathing.
The little half-snore he let out a few minutes later made her roll her eyes, but she didn’t move.
Instead, she stared up at the ceiling, unmoving and quiet, as thoughts kept turning in her head.
She slowly unwrapped herself from the blanket cocoon. It was warm under there. Safer. But she needed to think, and the heat didn’t help.
Her cheeks were a bit pink, but she didn’t bother covering them.
What the hell was wrong with this guy?
First, he’d shown up out of nowhere and humiliated her.
She’d been part of a full bandit group — not elite, sure, but strong enough to hold their own.
Then this idiot came in swinging his fists and using soul energy to beat them all senseless.
And instead of killing her or turning her in, he carried her.
She scowled faintly at the memory.
He carried her like some annoying parcel, tossed over his side like a bag of onions. And then —
He threatened her. Of course. She remembered that part very well.
But then, in the next breath, he bought her clothes.
He introduced her to his friends.
He defended her when people gave her looks in the inn.
Let her stay in their room.
Let her tag along on the dungeon break.
He even gave her an order to protect one of his own friends to help defend herself.
And now this.
She turned her head to look at him. Zayn’s face was calm.
Peaceful, even. His golden hair was a bit messy, the blanket half-slipped off his shoulder. He looked... soft.
Too soft.
She frowned.
Why did these people trust so easily?
Not just him. His friends too.
Elisse had smiled at her.
Bran had bonded with her like she wasn’t some former thief.
Kara had offered her medicine when she scraped her knee after the raid.
Even Tobias, Mr. Glasses, only glared a bit before shrugging her existence off entirely.
If she were them, she wouldn’t have trusted herself. Not even a little.
Seren thinned her lips.
She reached for the blanket and gently pulled it up to cover Zayn properly.
He didn’t stir.
She hesitated again, but then, slowly, she laid back down.
Not in her usual burrito style — this time, she kept herself facing away from him. Their backs were just barely touching.
And for some reason, that made her heart do something weird and wobbly in her chest.
She frowned at nothing.
Then pulled the rest of the blanket over herself and closed her eyes.
"...Idiot," she whispered under her breath, already half-asleep.
...
Zayn stirred just as the first hints of sunlight peeked through the edges of the wooden window.
He let out a long sigh and rolled onto his back, blinking against the light.
The inn room creaked slightly as someone walked past in the hallway, followed by muffled morning voices and the distant clatter of kitchen pans.
He turned his head to the side.
Seren was still asleep.
Correction — Seren was snoring.
Loudly.
Zayn winced a little, watching her mouth puff out every few seconds like a frog before letting out another honk of a snore.
Her hair was a mess of strands splayed across the pillow, and her tiny body was curled up like a cat, the blanket wrapped tightly around her again.
He blinked down at her, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and chuckled under his breath.
Then, very gently, he reached out and rubbed her head.
"Mornin’, monster breath," he said with a yawn. "Time to wake up."
She didn’t move.
He patted her again.
"Come on. Dungeon breaks don’t mean you get to nap for twelve years."
Seren’s eyes blinked open.
For a second, she just stared blankly at the ceiling like she’d forgotten where she was.
She blinked again, turned her head slowly, saw Zayn rubbing her hair —
And then remembered everything.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red.
"Stop touching me, you freak!" she barked, smacking his hand away. "What is it with you and my head?! I’m not a dog!"
Zayn snorted. "Sure could’ve fooled me with all that snoring."
"I do not snore!"
"You do. You sounded like a goblin trying to whistle."
Seren flushed harder and smacked a pillow into his face. "I hate you!"
Zayn laughed under the pillow, then tossed it aside. "Good morning to you too."
She glared at him for a beat longer, breathing heavily like she’d just fought off an army.
Then, finally, she slumped back onto the bed, pulled the blanket back up over her face, and mumbled:
"...Jerk."
But there wasn’t really any venom in it.
Zayn leaned against the headboard, watching the morning sunlight slowly spread across the wooden floor.
The inn’s sounds got louder — Bran’s voice was faintly audible downstairs, probably organizing a drink.
It was just another day.
Zayn rubbed the sleep from his neck and smiled slightly, still looking at the lump of black hair beneath the blanket beside him.
He didn’t know exactly when she started trusting them — maybe she still didn’t. But that didn’t matter yet.
They had time.
He’d give her that.
He got off the bed and stretched, while opening the curtains, the sun wasn’t as blinding as usual but damn it was hot.
"Come on, let’s go downstairs for breakfast and head back to where we stay?"
"Where we stay?" Seren asked, sitting up on the bed.
"Timberstead."
