After only one short month, Zoe had sold the apartment she had been living in. She and Dante now shared a bed regularly. Zoe still worked at the Snake's Lair during the day. Life was back to normal. Starting at the beginning of May, Dante began to get called for assassination jobs.
"Spring is the time for rebirth, for change. A lot of disliked figures are being presented with more power than others would want in Tusaine right now. They need me to be there." This was the first time Dante and Zoe would be apart since the fight. She hugged him tightly,
"Don't get hurt, okay? The last thing I need is to have a gimp boyfriend." She grinned impishly at him. He laughed and ruffled her hair.
"I promise, no getting hurt." With that, they kissed each other goodbye, and Dante set off for Tusaine. He'll only be gone three weeks, it won't be that bad. Zoe thought to herself.
But Zoe's mental rationalizations did not hold. The bed was cold and lonely at night without Dante's sleeping frame next to her. The days were dreadfully boring and went by at a crawl. After the first week, she began to dine nightly with Dante's family, gaining some peace from being around Ashlar and Karana, and talking with Twilight. She loved Dante's family - they had basically accepted her into the family. When she ate with them, just like every other member, she was required to help make the food. It was over those three weeks that Zoe attained most of the recipes she began to cook on a regular basis. Three weeks finally passed, and late Saturday night, two strong arms enveloped Zoe, waking her from a sound sleep.
"Dante!" She exclaimed, and hugged him tightly. He laughed and hugged her back, sitting down on the bed. He was dressed all in black, a combonation of light cloth and riding leather. The outfit was covered in a thin layer of dust.
"Did you miss me?" He questioned, stroking her hair. He curled up in his lap, ignoring the streaks of brown that were dirtying her white sleeping gown.
"Horribly. I spent most of my time with your family, when I wasn't working." He chuckled softly, kissing the top of her head. "You're not hurt, are you? Everything worked out fine?" Zoe asked, playing with his fingers and looking up into his dark eyes. Dante nodded,
"Everything went perfectly. I have not a scratch on me." He kissed her swiftly. "And now, I want to bathe. I'm hot, dusty, and I smell like my horse." He told her, standing up and stripping down to his breeches. She smiled and settled back into the bed. Dante was back. Life was good.
Through May and June, Dante was between home and Tusaine often, checking to make sure everything was running smoothly, and assuring those who had hired him that no one would be caught. Of course, no one would ever be caught. Dante had learned his fighting skills from traveling with Shang warriors for a better part of his adolescent years. He had enough skill to become a true Shang, but his mind was set on being an assassin. He wished to avenge his mother's past, something he rarely talked about. Even his own teacher, the Shang Hawk, never knew the secrets that kept him dead set on his career choice. No one other than Dante and his family knew his full past. The Shang Hawk knew he had been born in Carthak, although his mother was a Tyra native. Dante's father was a man involved in the goverment, and although he claimed to be in love with Karana, would not accept responsibility for his newborn child, and Karana and Dante were thrown out into the streets. The Shang Hawk did not know how they had eventually landed in Galla, or how Karana had married Ashlar, but he was happy for Dante.
In the beginning of June, Dante was offered the job of a lifetime. His biological father, still in Carthak, was about to be given the job of Emperor's Advisor. The man was extremely conservative in his manner of thinking, and the people of Carthak were afraid this type of man would put Carthak's evolving economy into a serious downward spiral. The rogue and assassins of Carthak knew Dante and his work well, as well as his connection the this man, and politely offered Dante the job.
"Iris?" He called. It was June 1st, although the air was suprisingly cool. Zoe giggled and joined Dante out on the porch. He still hadn't adjusted to calling her by her true name.
"What's up, Dante?" She asked, expecting some kind of silly request. Her smile faded when Zoe saw how serious his face was set. "Oh, no.. where do you have to go?" She had read his mind.
"Carthak." Dante told her simply, staring straight ahead at the darkening road. She didn't move either.
"For how long?"
"I don't know.. years.. maybe forever." Zoe gasped, tears beginning to run down her cheeks before she could truly digest the news.
"I'll go with you." She told him firmly, wiping at her cheeks. For the first time during the conversation, Dante turned to look at her, and she saw tear lines down his face.
"You can't, Iris. It's too dangerous.. I will be traveling all over the country.. you can't." He pinched the bridge of his nose, then moved the hand slowly through his hair. "I'm sorry." He told her gently. Zoe walked over, putting her arms around him tightly. He returned the embraced, pulling her into his lap.
"I love you so much, Dante.." She said, her voice breaking. She began to sob into his chest. He held her tightly, kissing and stroking her hair, and murmuring soft words of comfort to her.
"I love you too, Zoe." He finally told her, using her true name for the first time. When her sobs finally subsided, she looked up at him.
"When do you leave?" She questioned, accepting Dante's fate with a grim look on her face.
"In three days." He told her, his tone as grim as her face. His answer brought on a fresh drove of sobs that wracked her body and pulled heavily on his heart. He held her tightly until she calmed once again.
During the last three days Zoe and Dante had together, they spent every single moment together, from the time they woke in the mornings, to the time they finally went to sleep, late at night. But three days flew by, as time always does when it is most precious. Dante was packed and ready to leave the third night, at dusk.
"I'll ride through the night and most of tomorrow. I should reach the border by midday." He told her. Zoe could only nod. "My darling, I will come back. If I can't, I will send for you once things are safe. Okay?" She nodded again, tears starting to stream down her face. They held each other almost too tightly, their kisses full of desperation and the hidden knowledge that these kisses may very well be their last. Finally, Zoe let her arms slip from around him, and squeezed his hands.
"If you die, you better write me a damn good explanation why." He laughed, although it was strained, almost forced. Dabbing away her tears, he kissed her again.
"I love you, Zoe of Conte. For always and forever." She stole one last swift kiss from him, and allowed him to mount, although she still gripped his hand tightly.
"I love you too, Dante Kedar. For always and forever." Then, with a forced smile on her face, she watched the always dark and mysterious love of her life ride off into the dimming, early summer light. Zoe collapsed onto the ground and cried for a long, long time.
