one another, even though he hadn’t hesitated when he’d been offered the bond? Wasn’t that what had happened with Misha? Besides the fact that we never should’ve been bonded, I had sensed a growing unrest in him, but I’d been so wrapped up in myself that I hadn’t paid attention.
Not until it was too late.
Zayne had learned that my mother was supposed to have brought me to his father, and because she hadn’t done that, his father thought Zayne was supposed to take in Layla, somehow mistaking me, a Trueborn who rocked a whole lot of angelic blood, for a half demon, half Warden.
Which was kind of a big oops.
I had no idea how Zayne felt about any of that. Or if it mattered to him that it should’ve been me he’d grown up with.
I picked up the bun and removed the thick tomato slice as I opened my mouth to speak. But I made the mistake of actually looking at his carton of food. He’d gotten a grilled-chicken sandwich. My lip curled, because it looked about as appetizing as an unseasoned chicken breast could look. While I smacked my bun back onto my burger, Zayne took his top bun off.
“You’re a monster,” I whispered.
Zayne chuckled. “You going to eat that?” He pointed to the tomato that I had gotten rid of. I shook my head. “Of course not. You don’t like vegetables or water.”
“Not true. I like onions and pickles.”
“Only if they’re on hamburgers.” He carried his box of food around the island and dropped onto the stool beside me, plucked up the tomato, then plopped it on his poor grilled-chicken sandwich. “Eat, and then I’ll show you what I got when I met with Nic.”
We ate side by side, exchanging napkins, and there was no urge to fill the silence with idle words. There was an intimacy in it that was quite surprising. When we were finished, I volunteered for cleanup, since he’d gotten the food and I’d done nothing but sleep. Once I’d finished wiping down the island, I returned to the stool beside Zayne.
“Before we look at what you got, I have a favor to ask.” I took a shallow breath.
“Done,” he replied.
My brows lifted. “I haven’t told you what the favor is.”
He lifted one large shoulder in a shrug. “Whatever it is, you got it.”
I stared at him. “What if I was asking for you to trade in your vintage Impala for a minivan from the ’80s?”
Zayne looked over at me, his brows furrowed. “That would be a seriously weird request.”
“Exactly, and you just agreed to it!”
His head tilted. “You’re weird, Trin, but I don’t think you’re that weird.”
“I feel like I should be offended by that statement.”
Zayne grinned. “What’s your favor?”
“I need help...with training.” I squared my shoulders. “Misha and I trained every day. I don’t need that, but I do need to practice in a certain area.”
That got his full attention. “What area?”
“You know I don’t have much peripheral vision.” I shifted my feet from the floor to the bar on the stool. “It’s literally a blind spot for me, so when I fight, I try to keep enough distance between me and my opponent so they stay in my central vision.”
He nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Well, Misha knew my weakness and he exploited it, which is why he landed so many hits. I would do the same thing in a fight. Anything goes.”
“Same,” he murmured.
“And I doubt Misha kept that to himself. He could’ve told Bael. Maybe even this Harbinger,” I explained. “I need to get better. I don’t know how, but I need...”
“To learn not to rely on your vision?” he suggested.
Exhaling, I nodded. “Yes.”
Zayne’s lips pursed. “Working on that is a great idea and training is always smart. I didn’t think of that.”
“Well, the whole bonding thing did just happen, so...”
He shot me a brief grin. “Let me think of some ways to work on what you’re asking.”
Relieved, I smiled. “I’ll do the same. So, what did you want to show me?”
He unrolled the paper, spreading it across the island. “I got Gideon to print the plans from Senator Fisher’s house that Layla took pictures of. I figured you’d want to see them.”
I hadn’t been able to see them that night, so this was incredibly...thoughtful of him. Leaning over the document that ended up being half the size of the island, I scanned the designs while Zayne rose from the bar stool. I didn’t have experience looking at construction plans, but within