NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Chapter 24
As Zedd lay in his bed, the weight of his thoughts pressed down on him. His body still ached from the surgery, and the synthetic tissue grafted onto his left side felt both foreign and uncomfortable. But it wasn't the physical discomfort that occupied his mind. It was the nagging thoughts of Elara and Reina—two people who had become a part of his life in this quiet little village.
Why the hell am I thinking about them? he asked himself.
He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the thoughts that were crowding his mind. He couldn't afford to care about anyone—not now, not ever. His life had been a trail of bloodshed and deceit, and he'd worked hard to distance himself from any emotional attachments. I'm a fugitive, a murderer, and a traitor. That's all I'll ever be.
The memory of his days at the military academy flashed through his mind—the cold, calculating way he had ended the lives of thirty of his classmates and instructors. He'd done it without hesitation, all in the name of his experiments, his thirst for power. It was the way the academy had molded him, turning him into something less than human. And it was that same mentality that had led to his escape—his defecting from the academy, from everything that had once defined him.
But now, in this small village, things had changed.
He thought about Elara—haughty, confident, always ready with a sharp retort. She was the type of person who thrived on control, the kind of person who couldn't stand weakness. He'd seen that when she had tried to play the clever game of outsmarting him. But she was also a bit of a mystery. There was something beneath that tough exterior, something that Zedd hadn't quite figured out yet.
Then there was Reina. The opposite of Elara in every way. Shy, quiet, innocent. Zedd often caught her glancing at him when she thought he wasn't looking. She had a softness to her, a vulnerability that made him want to protect her, even though he knew he should do the exact opposite.
Stop it. Zedd told himself. They're just girls. They don't know what I've done, what I am. They don't need to know.
It was the harsh truth. They couldn't understand what Zedd had been through, the things he had done to survive, and the things that had turned him into what he was today. He had killed without mercy, tortured without hesitation. He had been so deep in his experiments, so consumed by his quest for perfection, that he had lost sight of everything else—everything that made him human.
But here, with Elara and Reina, it felt different. He couldn't quite explain it. For the first time in a long while, he felt... something. It was an unfamiliar sensation, a kind of warmth that he quickly tried to push away.
You can't get attached to them, Zedd reminded himself. Their lives will only become a hell if they're tied to someone like you.
The last thing he wanted was to drag them down with him. They deserved better than to be caught in his web of lies and violence. They deserved a life without fear, without the shadow of his past hanging over them.
Zedd rolled over in bed, gritting his teeth as the pain from his left side flared up. He could feel the foreign tissue shifting, adjusting to his body. It had been an agonizing process, but it would be worth it in the end. Once the grafting healed, he would no longer have the physical limitations of a human body. He would be able to move beyond the constraints that had bound him for so long.
But he couldn't do that while still here. He had to leave. He had already made up his mind.
As soon as the three months are over, I'm out of here. No looking back.
He had no illusions about his future. He couldn't afford them. He would disappear into the wilderness, far away from the village, far away from Elara and Reina. They would go on with their lives, never knowing the true extent of what he had done. They would be free.
Zedd clenched his fists. He wasn't going to let them ruin everything. He couldn't afford to let himself get tangled up in their lives. The moment he did, he would only bring pain and suffering to them. He couldn't be the one to destroy their lives. Not when they still had a chance at something better.
As the pain in his body ebbed away and exhaustion began to take hold, Zedd let his thoughts drift once more. But this time, they were filled with a dark certainty.
I'm a monster. And the world will never accept me. Not now, not ever.
He turned over once more, feeling the weight of the synthetic tissue on his body. It was part of him now—whether he liked it or not. And soon, it would be the key to his freedom. But first, he had to finish what he started. He had to heal. He had to become something more than human—something untouchable.
I'll leave this village, and no one will ever know the truth about me.
For the first time in weeks, Zedd allowed himself to sleep. But even as he closed his eyes, the nagging thoughts of Elara and Reina lingered in the back of his mind, making him question whether he was truly doing the right thing.
But what Zedd didn't know was that he is far from any ordinary human and he won't just forget leave behind elara or Reina