Zamiel woke feeling strange. It felt like his personal space was invaded. Turning in bed, he peeked through his long lashes and almost got a heart attack when he came face to face with Euphorion. He was so close to pushing him off bed.
What was he doing in his bed? And with no clothes on.
As much as he enjoyed his company, sometimes he just wanted to get rid of him. Zamiel thought of what the best way to wake him up would be. Throw water on him? No, he would enjoy that.
Maybe throw tea on him? He wouldn't like that. But maybe if he added some honey, he would appreciate it.
Euphorion stirred and threw one arm over Zamiel's shoulder.
Oh no! This man was dead!
Zamiel kicked him out of bed and Euphorion fell down with a loud thud, followed by a groan. He turned on his back and lay on the floor for a short moment, until he was fully awake. Then he got up on his feet.
He stretched his arms and yawned as if he hadn't just been kicked out of bed. "Never slept better." He said.
"I gave you your own bed." Zamiel told him.
"I know." He said scratching the back of his head. "But it is too hot. And you are so cold. I needed the cold." He took one of the sheets to wrap around his waist.
"You will go back to the ocean soon." Zamiel told him, speaking telepathically this time.
"Was it as you predicted?" Euphorion asked.
"Yes."
"Oh, I can't wait." He said with excitement.
Zamiel couldn't wait either. He was eager to see Heaven again. It felt like his heart would burst with anticipation. He just hoped Irene would do her part of the plan.
"You know what you have to do?" Zamiel told him.
"Don't worry. I know exactly what I need to do."
Zamiel nodded. "They could be here anytime soon. Get dressed."
Euphorion and Zamiel prepared to execute the plan. Zamiel was a little worried with Euphorion being part of the plan. Could he trust him?
"Euphorion…"
"I know." He cut him off, noticing his worry. "You have no choice but to trust me. If anything else happens, remember the second plan. The offer is still valid."
Zamiel looked at him for a long moment. He knew he had a hard time trusting people, but he would have to trust Euphorion. His intuition told him he could be trusted. "Thank you." He said.
"Where is the boy, today?" Euphorion asked.
Zamiel noticed that Zarin was gone. Hopefully, he went back to his family.
"I don't know."
**********
Irene woke up with heart pounding as if she had a nightmare. But it wasn't a nightmare, just a dream that stressed her out. Her brain starting going in a thousand different directions, and she had to tell herself to calm down.
Beside her, Heaven was still sleeping. She looked relaxed while resting. Irene slowly sat up in bed without waking Heaven and tried to gather her thoughts.
What was Zamiel planning? If she left with Heaven, then God knew what trouble they would be in. Once they left, they couldn't come back. Only those who joined Lothaire willingly could find back to his kingdoms. Others who left his mission would never find their way back again. That was his way of protecting the ones serving him.
His way of keeping people in his kingdom was through manipulation, but he was keeping Heaven through threats. If they left, he would surely find a way to make Heaven come back to him. He wouldn't give up easily.
But Zamiel had promised that he had a plan. She had to trust him. He wouldn't do anything to endanger Heaven's safety.
Now she just had to get them out of here. Until then, she had to remain calm to not cause any suspicion.
Irene quickly got up and dressed. She tried to act as usual until Heaven woke up. As soon as Heaven got changed into something more appropriate, they would leave. Or should she just ignore it and teleport her while asleep?
While thinking about it, Heaven shifted in bed and opened her eyes. Her mouth opened wide in a loud yawn, and she stretched in bed.
"Good morning." Irene greeted.
Heaven turned her head to look at her grandma. "Good morning." She smiled.
"Did you sleep well?"
Heaven nodded. "Yes." She pulled the cover over her shoulders. "But I still want to sleep some more." She said.
Irene frowned. This tiredness was worrying her. Was her granddaughter trying to escape from reality by sleeping. Irene knew she used to do it herself when she didn't feel like living anymore. She used to sleep long hours when she had lost her son. Sleeping was her escape. It was the only time she didn't feel any pain.
Since she was taking them back home, she didn't have to worry about it.
At first, Irene tried to find an excuse to wake her up, but then decided to let her sleep some more. God knew what awaited them when they got back, so she should get some rest to be able to fight what came ahead.
Meanwhile, Irene wasted time doing almost nothing until there was a knock on the door. Irene went to open the door and to her surprise, she found Hezznin standing outside.
"Good morning." Hezznin greeted.
"Good morning."
"I hope I am not disturbing. I came to see Heaven." She said.
"Heaven is still asleep." Irene told her.
"Oh well. Then I'll let her rest. She can take the day off today."
Irene nodded. "What happened to Tezznin?" She asked.
"She will be busy for a while so Heaven will have her training with me."
Irene guessed that Hezznin was probably more cunning than her sister, so Lothaire sent her instead.
"I'll let her know." Irene said.
"We would love if both of you could join our family dinner tonight." Hezznin said.
"Since it is a family dinner, we won't be joining." Irene replied.
Hezznin kept the smile on her face. "If you change your mind, you are still welcome. I won't take more of your time. Have continued good morning." She said and then, with a slight nod, she turned around and left.
Irene closed the door, feeling annoyed by the pretentious kindness. She was glad that she was finally leaving this place. She just hoped she would do it successfully with no mistakes. What could go wrong? And how could she prevent it? She was nervous, but Zamiel would have told her if he predicted any obstacles. This meant that she could just leave with no fear.
When Heaven finally woke up, Irene waited for her to get dressed and then without warning, she grabbed her hand and teleported them.
It worked!
They were in Zamiel's home.
Heaven's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She was in shock.
In a moment Zamiel appeared in front of them, and Irene felt someone behind her. Before she could turn back, Zamiel gave a nod, and she felt two cold hands grabbing her arms from behind.
"Good morning." A male voice spoke. And then she felt a surge of energy, pulling her and taking her somewhere else.
When she finally felt the ground under her feet, the strong hands released her. She looked around and her eyes widened.
Where was she?