I grinned, though I kept my gaze on the sidewalk. I'd been doing what I could to sneakily take care of him, but now that I had his permission? Well, he might just end up regretting it.
"Okay, then I will," I decided as I started making plans. The first thing was getting him to eat properly. I'd brought him lunch that day because I wanted to talk to him, but it would be much better if I made him eat with everyone. He used to do that a lot before things started going wrong, and it would be good for him to spend some time with everyone, to see that no one blamed him for what was happening.
When we got to the Sanctuary, Zephyr and I parted ways at the door to his office after he helped me put away the wheelchair. I handed him the bag with the shirt, and he eyed it distrustfully before accepting it because he knew me well.
"I'll see you at dinner," I said, and he pursed his lips.
"I need to catch up with the work I missed this morning," he said apologetically, and I rolled my eyes.
"I'll see you at dinner," I repeated firmly, and he sighed, then disappeared into the office without agreeing or disagreeing.
I shook my head, then made my way to the Forest, my shopping bags stacked in the cart behind me. Most of the space in the cart was taken up by my body, but there was enough to stash all the bags without worrying about them falling off.
"Did you rob a store?" Silas asked with a whistle as he peered at my cart, his shaggy black hair falling forward, and I snorted.
"Yeah, Sy. And they were nice enough to give me shopping bags to carry my loot since I forgot to take a bag," I teased, making him laugh. He was in his human form, so he was only a few inches taller than me, and his cute little tusks were fully visible. Before he met Touya, he used to hide his tusks with a mask when he was in his human form, even around us, but he didn't do that anymore.
His black eyes sparkled as he shook his head, then trotted beside me as I started walking to my place. "Touya said you took the headmaster to the human world."
"I did. He needed a break."
"That he did. Did you two have fun?"
"We did! We shopped, we ate lunch at a really nice café, hung out in a park for a while, and even visited Khush and Dustin," I listed, knowing that if I was forthright, Silas wouldn't ask as many questions. I didn't want to talk about our conversations because they wereours, but I knew Silas wouldn't be satisfied without some concrete details.
"Oh, and I told him he needed to take better care of himself or I would, and he basically gave me permission to do it," I said, figuring that part I could share. Plus, I would need everyone's help if I wanted to make good on my promise. It would have tobe a team effort, and I knew everyone shared my desire to take care of Zephyr, though not for the same reasons.
"Oooh, he shouldn't have done that," Silas said with a wince because he knew me well, and I chuckled.
"Too late."
Silas grabbed my shopping bags and stashed them into my cabin to deal with later. Then we found Touya. He was integral to my plans, since he knew the ins and outs of Zephyr's daily tasks and what could and couldn't be moved around. If we wanted to make Zephyr's schedule more manageable, he was the one to do it.
I'd also need to talk to Nolan, since other than Zephyr, he was the most powerful person here, and he could pick up the slack once I convinced Zephyr to let him help stabilize the Sanctuary. I wanted to convince Zephyr soon so Khush and Dustin could come back before the baby's arrival, and this time, I would ask everyone in the Sanctuary for help.
I understood better now why Zephyr was so reluctant, but I needed him to see that things were different now. He wasn't alone anymore. His familiar might have been gone—and the wound left from that might never heal—but he had people on his side now. He had me, yes, but he also had the others: Nolan, who would help the moment Zephyr said yes, Touya, who wanted to take care of him like I did, and Silas and the rest of the Sanctuary residents who loved him immensely.
Zephyr had a pocket dimension full of people who loved him, and I would make sure he saw that.
Six
Zephyr
A bark made meglance up from the book I was reading, and I grinned as I spotted the big black dog racing toward me. The streak of white between her brows and on the tip of her tail, the little white patches on her feet that looked like socks, were a familiar sight.
"Rei!" I exclaimed as I dropped the book on the bench beside me and leaned forward just as she crashed into me. I wrapped my arms around her neck, holding her tight as she panted in my ear. I could sense Lord Fredrick watching her from adistance, but I ignored him, focusing intently on my familiar. "Are you okay?" I asked, like I did every time.
Ever since I'd found her, Lord Fredrick had used her as another means to control me. Sometimes, I thought it would be better if I'd never found her. But she was the only spot of light in my otherwise dark world, so I was grateful for what little time he allowed us to spend together. When we were apart, just knowing that she was close was enough to get me through my studies.
Zephy, she cheered in my mind, her voice delighted. Lord Fredrick had told me only the familiars of sorcerers could use actual words to communicate with their sorcerers, and it was another thing I was grateful for. Rei was the only person I could talk to here, and I didn't know what I would do without her.I'm okay! I'm happy now that I'm with you!
"Me too," I murmured, ruffling her shaggy fur. "Come on. You wanna play fetch?"
Yes, please!
I threw balls of magic for her to fetch, and she did so with joy, like she did most things. I grinned the whole time, thinking of nothing but the happiness she brought me.
When Lord Fredrick came to take her away again, my heart ached like it did every time. I watched him grab her by the collar, wishing I could tell him to be gentle, wishing I was strong enough to grab her and take her away from here.
