Zalpa led the group through the forest and never stopped until she reached a narrow cavity in the ground hidden by a series of leaves that radiated an ominous aura. She carefully removed the cover and guided everyone through the many dark passages that unfolded after the entrance until she arrived in a relatively large area that Khan found familiar.
The underground area was similar to the cave that Khan had seen during his first meeting with Zalpa. Red symbols covered the rocky walls and filled the circular hall with an eerie light. She had hung a few Tainted animals and monsters to the ceiling, and two empty cauldrons stood on the ground.
The peculiar sight would normally leave students and humans stunned, but they were too tired to question Zalpa. They had to travel for many hours to reach the cave, so they sat on the ground as soon as she felt that they had arrived in a safe area.
Liiza had returned in Khan's arms during the travel, but she had to leave him to plead Zalpa when she hesitated to take out potions. The old Niqols wouldn't hesitate to heal the students, but she didn't want to help the humans. Still, she found herself unable to refuse Liiza due to how sad she appeared.
Luckily for the group, Zalpa already had many potions in store.. She only had to modify some of them to increase their effectiveness on humans. Those remedies abided by the old ways, so they exacted a price in terms of mana that made Paul, Kelly, and the injured Niqols fall asleep in a few minutes.
Zalpa didn't immediately demand a summary of what the group had gone through in the past weeks. She tinkered with one of the red symbols on the wall to reveal a hidden cavity that contained a stash of food, and she threw a few ingredients into a cauldron to prepare drinks.
Everyone soon had drinks and food at their disposal, and many ended up falling asleep after their exhaustion had the better of them. Only a small part of the group remained awake and gathered around Zalpa to explain what had happened since the meeting in the valley.
"[The sunlight is stronger than I expected]," Zalpa commented after Khan completed his explanation. "[The Lysixi should have been immune, like the Aduns, but it seems that this crisis is worse than before. Also, I can't believe that those damned bastards have turned on their own kind]."
"[Don't you agree with them]?" Khan asked.
"[I definitely do]!" Zalpa declared while moving her eyes between Khan and the girl sitting between his legs, "[But surviving the crisis should have the priority. We can always kick out the humans after they help us with the sunlight]."
"[Zaza]," Liiza called while adjusting her position between Khan's legs.
"[I gave you food, drinks, and potions]," Zalpa snorted. "[I will say whatever I want]!"
Liiza sighed, but Khan promptly caressed her hair. She glanced at him before taking his hand, kissing it, and wrapping it around her waist. Khan could only hold her tightly at that point.
Zalpa inspected the situation with aloof eyes. Khan's story had been detailed, but he had avoided mentioning a few important events. He didn't say anything about Zama's death, and he had also decided to keep Yeza's acknowledgment for himself. It was better to let Liiza talk about those topics when she felt ready.
Still, Zalpa wasn't stupid, and she also knew Liiza quite well. She couldn't understand the precise reason behind her lingering sadness, but she noticed how the couple wasn't hiding the nature of their relationship anymore. Moreover, the Niqols and humans around them treated those affectionate gestures as a regular occurrence, which revealed that something had changed in those months.
Felicia, Ryan, Brandon, and George were the only humans around Zalpa, and they inevitably remained surprised in front of her blatant hatred toward their kind. The old Niqols also ignored them completely and looked only at Khan and Liiza, so they never had the chance to join the conversation.
However, at least for now, the humans didn't feel the need to interrupt the conversation. Zalpa had allowed them to rest and recover, so they didn't want to endanger that situation. Their doubts and questions would have to wait for when Khan was alone.
Zalpa glanced at the humans and students for the first time since the beginning of the conversation after the couple fell silent. They mostly avoided her gaze or bowed politely, but their reaction only annoyed her.
"[Alright]," Zalpa eventually exclaimed before standing up. "[Lii, come with me. Let's have a real talk]."
Liiza nodded and stood up while taking Khan's hand. He imitated her, and Zalpa didn't forget to voice her disagreement with that scene. "[Do you have to bring him along]?"
"[Zaza, just accept him]," Liiza replied while lowering her head and blushing a little. "[Even my mother did that]."
Khan tried to maintain a stern face, especially after everything that had happened in the past days, but Zalpa's surprised expression made him feel a bit proud. Of course, the old Niqols didn't hide her annoyance, which she revealed by staring at him coldly.
"[What tricks did you use to make Yeza accept you]?" Zalpa asked, and everyone on the scene bent toward Khan to listen to his explanation.
That topic was quite popular, but the crisis had made everyone unable to question Khan about it. They didn't even have any right to ask that stuff due to Liiza's past and position.
"[I can't say anything]," Khan reminded by pointing at his neck.
The envoys had to drink a restriction before the meeting with Yeza, so Khan had never managed to describe what had happened back then. He could only talk with the other recruits in the academy about that event, but he had never disclosed much.
Zalpa snorted again and closed the distance between her and Khan in less than a second. He found her hand on his neck. The sudden event made Felicia and Ryan start to stand up, but Khan showed them his palm to interrupt their actions.
Two azure symbols lit up on Khan's neck, and Zalpa closed her eyes before pulling her arm back. Khan felt as if she ripped a chunk of his skin off, but everything turned out to be okay when he checked one of the spots previously occupied by the restrictions.
Liiza had remained still during the scene. She knew that Zalpa wouldn't hurt Khan due to how important he was for her. She had limited herself to show a firm expression while continuing to stare at the old Niqols.
"[Won't this create political issues]?" Khan asked while scratching his neck a few times and clearing his throat to get rid of the strange feeling that the removal of the restriction had originated.
"[The humans would have removed it anyway]," Zalpa commented before crossing her arms and waiting for an answer.
"[I refused her]," Khan simply explained, and those few words were enough to leave everyone stunned.
Yeza was so beautiful that even those who weren't into women would find it hard to refuse her. The feat would be harder to accomplish in a formal meeting where the Niqols could reveal her captivating abilities. Yet, Khan claimed to have overcome the challenge, and many understood that his relationship had played an important role there.
Zalpa didn't believe his words, but Liiza nodded as soon as her eyes fell on her. The old Niqols could only accept that truth, but she continued to feel annoyed about it. She didn't say anything before turning and walking toward the opposite side of the cave.
Zalpa tinkered with a red symbol, and another cavity opened. The new area resembled a proper room with other runes on its walls, and she didn't hesitate to enter it.
Khan and Liiza followed Zalpa, but the latter turned to grab his neck again after the others in the cave became unable to see the trio. Zalpa pushed Khan on the nearby wall, and her expression revealed deep killing intent as she studied his face.
"[No one can refuse Yeza]," Zalpa stated in a chilling voice. "[I won't let you trick Lii]."
"[I did]," Khan repeated without showing any fear.
Zalpa tightened her grasp, but Khan's face remained resolute. That reaction only enraged her, but Liiza soon placed a hand on her arm.
"[He is the only reason why I managed to overcome Zama's death]," Liiza explained, and her revelation left Zalpa stunned.
The old Niqols felt unable to pour strength into her grip. She let Khan go as she turned toward Liiza and took her into her arms. Liiza sniffed, but she quickly pushed her away to inspect Khan's neck.
"[He isn't tricking me]," Liiza explained without looking at Zalpa. "[My mother decided to let him go after he stabbed his own leg]."
Zalpa's gaze immediately went on Khan, and he nodded to confirm those words before focusing on Liiza. The grief that the girl had suppressed until now had returned after talking about Zama, and he couldn't let her handle it on her own.
Zalpa didn't know what to say. Every fiber of her body was against the political relationship between Niqols and humans. Still, the scene in front of her made her belief shake. Khan and Liiza shared the same emotions. Actually, Khan's feelings appeared stronger at times.
"[You could have chosen a good Niqols]," Zalpa sighed.
"[I chose him]," Liiza whispered while wrapping her arms around Khan's torso, "[And I won't forgive you if you threaten him again]."
"[It's fine]," Khan whispered.
"[It's not]!" Liiza shouted, forcing Khan to show a helpless smile toward Zalpa.
"[I will never like you]," Zalpa commented.
"[I don't care]," Khan responded. "[Though let's try to go along for her sake]."
Zalpa cursed in her mind. Khan was even focusing on Liiza's well-being. She couldn't find anything against him, so she snorted before looking toward the entrance.
"[We should leave tomorrow]," Zalpa announced while changing the topic.
"[Can't we delay the departure by one day]?" Khan asked.
"[Why is that]?" Zalpa questioned in her hoarse voice. "[Are humans so frail]?"
"[Tomorrow is Liiza's birthday]," Khan revealed, "[And the Niqols would only benefit from a party]."
Liiza revealed a warm smile before moving her arms around Khan's neck and kissing him. Zalpa's ended up opening her mouth in surprise. Khan didn't only remind her about Liiza's birthday. His suggestion even focused on the students' well-being.
"[I guess I can use one day to prepare a few things]," Zalpa admitted. "[We still need to march for a while before reaching the safe area in the end]."
"[Thank you]," Khan said during a polite bow after Liiza let his lips go.
"[I'm not doing this for you]," Zalpa snorted. "[We also have to talk about the techniques that you are using. Your knowledge might be incomplete, and I don't want Lii to get hurt because of that]."
"[We want the same thing then]," Khan added, and Zalpa scoffed in front of that innocent answer.
"[Zaza]," Liiza uttered in a cute voice as she lowered her head to hide her faint blush, "[Can we use this room? We never had a decent chance to remain alone after everything that has happened]."
"[I refuse to let a human fuck you while I'm here]!" Zalpa promptly shouted, and her voice was so loud that it resounded even in the other area.
"[Zaza]!" Liiza scolded.
"[I don't care]!" Zalpa continued. "[I can barely bear to see you two together. I won't give you the chance to remain alone]!"
"[Do you prefer us to do it in front of everyone]?" Liiza teased, but her voice carried a faint determination that Zalpa didn't miss.
"[You wouldn't dare]," Zalpa gasped.
"[I don't know]," Liiza whined while tightening her embrace. "[I felt so sad lately, with only Khan to cling on to. My emotions are bursting. I wouldn't really care if someone were to see us. He might prefer the forest to avoid unwanted attention, but there are many monsters there. I don't know if we have a choice]."
Zalpa opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out of it. She cursed using words that Khan didn't know before groaning loudly and addressing the request. "[Fine, take the damned room]!"
Zalpa cursed again before leaving the room and closing the entrance. The rocks moved to seal the area, but a simple red symbol appeared in that spot. Even Khan knew how to activate it. A bit of mana and some pressure would be enough to open the wall again.
"[I didn't expect you to use your grief to our advantage]," Khan stated, but a sniff followed his words.
Cold tears fell on his neck and made him lift Liiza before sitting on the ground. It took a few caresses and some kisses to make her reveal her face. She was finally dealing with her grief, and Khan could see how that feeling was overwhelming her.
"[Don't lie if it hurts you this much]," Khan scolded her softly while caressing her cheek.
"[At least we got some privacy]," Liiza showed a warm smile disrupted only by her tears, "[So make sure to hold me tightly]."