Infinite Classes in the Apocalypse

Chapter 109: Sweet Ivy

Damon was caught off guard. Not just by the girl’s sudden, bold move, but by the unexpected warmth of it. The way her lips felt against his, certain and unhurried, like something that had been decided long before this moment.

Instinctively, he kissed her back.

Just for a moment.

Then she pulled away, her crimson eyes steady on his, close enough that he could see the careful composure she’d rebuilt in the half second since she’d broken it.

"You left," she said. "Again."

"I didn’t expect it to take this long."

"It never does." Something heavy settled beneath the words, patient and old. "Next time you go on some adventure, I want to be the one at your side."

Damon looked at her.

There was a version of this conversation in which he explained why that wasn’t practical, why she was more valuable here, why the citadel needed her in a way it didn’t need him, and why two leaders couldn’t disappear into a rift at the same time. All of it was true, and yet for some reason, he didn’t say any of it.

The silence that settled in the room wasn’t broken by words, but by Ivy’s next move as she leaned into him with another kiss.

Despite seeing her coming, Damon didn’t evade or pull back.

His hands found her small, petite waist as he took in the sweet taste of her red lips. They felt right. Even if the whole world turned upside down, the feeling of her lips on his felt like they would’ve been the only right thing.

The kiss continued for a few more minutes, but to them it might as well have only been a fraction of a second before a sudden knock at the door interrupted their reunion.

Ivy pulled back slowly, the look in her eyes said that they had some unfinished business before she moved toward the door with unsettling composure and opened it with deliberate motion.

The female attendant on the other side of the door was young, slightly out of breath, clearly having climbed the tower stairs faster than was comfortable.

"Apologies for the interruption," she said, eyes carefully directed at Ivy and nowhere else as if Damon didn’t exist despite this being his room. "There’s a dispute at the eastern expansion. Two of the new groups are arguing over land allocation, and... it’s getting loud."

"How many people?"

"Perhaps forty. Maybe more now."

Ivy took a quick glance at Damon, clearly wanting not to leave, but her duty-focused mind persisted.

"I’ll be there shortly," she told the attendant, who nodded and retreated down the stairs with visible relief.

She turned to Damon, and for a moment, she simply looked at him as though deciding what to say.

Then, she suddenly turned back toward the stairs and, confirming there was nobody there, she took two hurried steps toward him, pulling him for a last quick kiss before pulling back just as quickly.

"You should rest," she said. "I’ll find you when it’s handled."

She was gone within moments. The door shut behind her with a quiet click as the room settled back into silence.

***

The second knock came roughly an hour later.

Damon had spent the time resting his eyes and enjoying the comfort of the mattress on his back before the sound shattered his peace.

He dragged himself off the bed with mild reluctance and crossed to the door, pulling it open.

The girl on the other side wasn’t someone he’d expected, or perhaps it was exactly the person he should’ve expected to see.

Eve’s lips curved into a smile as her eyes met his.

"You’re back," she said.

"And you’re still here," he replied.

"Mmm, acting like you’re not happy?"

She pushed her way inside his room without asking permission. Her long leather boots clicked across the wooden floor until she reached his bed and sat down, crossing her long legs in a slightly overexaggerated manner.

Damon studied her for a moment, which the girl liked a little too much. It was like his gaze on her made her mood immediately better.

"I guess you’re here to beg me to register you at the citadel?" he said.

"No," she quickly answered, "I already got registered by your little redhead friend."

Damon’s brow rose slightly. "Then why are you here?"

Eve suddenly got up, moving across the room toward him with a slow and deliberate walk, her hips swayed as she moved. "I want you-" she paused for a moment too long, knowing exactly what she was doing, "-to approve of me being here."

"I didn’t register you, I don’t need to approve of you." He said.

He paused for a second before continuing.

"Why do you want my approval anyway?" he asked, and at the same moment, he activated his new ability, the one that allows him to tell if someone is lying.

"You’ll really have me say it out loud? Oh well..." Her smile widened. "Because I like you."

Damon’s faint frown was immediately replaced by a surprised expression as the lie detection made it clear that the girl standing before him wasn’t lying.

A silence settled over the room. And the most surprising thing about that silence, was that Eve wasn’t trying to break it but simply allowed the confession to settle.

Damon looked at her.

As much as he knew the girl was a liar, he knew that his ability was not. Which meant that her confession just now was true.

That was, in its own way, more unsettling than if she’d been lying.

"I don’t trust you," he suddenly said.

"I know," she held his gaze without flinching. "But you will, and then I’ll make you mine no matter what."

The second she finished her sentence, she moved across the room, her heels clicking across the wooden floor until she reached the threshold of the door.

Then, she turned back for a moment, blowing him a kiss before shutting the door behind her.