Chapter 92 Happy to help

Chapter 92 Happy to help
~ Tyra ~

By midday, we finally arrived at a large field that stretched farther than my eyes could see.

At first glance, it looked beautiful. The entire place was covered in what I assumed was lush green grass, and the sight immediately caught my attention. The blades were slightly raised, reaching up to about my ankles, and they moved gently whenever the breeze passed through them.

For a few seconds, I simply stood there admiring the scenery. After everything we had encountered since leaving the alcove, the peaceful field looked almost inviting. It was the kind of place that made me want to walk straight through it without giving it a second thought.

That thought lasted only until Zaran spoke.

"Oh no... this is not good," he complained, his face immediately taking on an unpleasant expression.

I turned toward him, the admiration I had for the scenery slowly disappearing as I followed his gaze toward the field.

"What is not good?" I asked, looking around to see if there was something unpleasant lurking nearby.

Despite my efforts, I couldn't see anything that seemed remotely dangerous. Zaran's entire attention remained fixed on the grass, however, and the concern written across his face made me look at it again.

"This field," he responded. "We can't go through unless we are suicidal and craving the most torturous and painful death imaginable."

I stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was still alright in the head. His words made absolutely no sense to me.

How does walking through a field translate into dying a torturous and painful death?

I turned my gaze toward Kosi, hoping he would somehow make sense of what his master was saying.

Unfortunately, he had the exact same expression on his face as Zaran, and yhat only made my confusion worse.

"What are you talking about? Are there traps buried in there?" I asked, desperate to understand what exactly was going on.

"Not traps," Zaran answered. He paused briefly before adding, "Weapons."

My eyes widened.

"What? Where?" I immediately looked closer, scanning the field with more attention than I had before. I squinted at the grass, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that resembled a weapon, but I saw nothing.

Everything still looked like harmless grass.

Instead of answering me or explaining anything, Zaran moved closer to the edge of the field. He squatted down and studied the grass carefully before reaching out with his index finger.

I watched in confusion as he dragged his fingertip across the blade of one of the grasses.

By the time he lifted his finger, it was already bleeding.

"Oh my God," my hand flew to my mouth as I stared at the blood gathering on his fingertip. "Why the hell did you touch it when you knew how sharp it was?"

He looked at his bleeding finger, then at me, and somehow managed to look completely unbothered by the fact that his blood was still pumping out from the cut.

"Would you have believed me if I explained it to you with word of mouth alone?" he asked.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again because I knew exactly what he meant. Still, that didn't mean I was going to let him get away with being reckless.

"You should have at least tried something else first," I shot back, already reaching into my bag in search of something that could stop the bleeding. "I have some paper towels in here."

I finally found them and pulled them out before searching again.

"And I have an elastic band as well." I held both up before turning my attention back to him. "They should be enough to stop the bleeding. Give me your hand."

"No," Zaran instantly refused. His expression hardened as he dropped the injured hand. "My hand is fine. It's just a small cut. It will close up in no time. I need to figure out how we will cross this field."

He dismissed my concern so easily that I almost stared at him in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me."

I wasn't going to argue with him from where I stood, so I walked toward him with confident steps.

"Give me your hand."

He didn't. Instead, he moved it behind his back, deliberately putting it out of my reach.

I followed, and he moved it again. I followed once more.

Before I knew it, we were practically going around in circles, with him continuously keeping his injured hand away from me and me stubbornly following him around in an attempt to get it.

My patience finally ran out.

"Zaran..." I called his name in a frustrated, scolding tone as I stopped directly in front of him, cutting off his attempt to move away again.

He looked down at me.

"Stop being stubborn. You can't be losing blood when you are already this weak. Give me your hand."

For a moment, he simply stared at me.

Then, to my surprise, he finally extended his injured hand toward me after letting out a tired sigh.

I immediately took it before he could change his min, and quickly went to work, carefully wrapping the paper towels around the cut and making sure they covered the wound properly before securing them in place with the elastic band. I tightened it just enough to hold everything firmly without making it uncomfortable for him.

Once I was satisfied with my work, I stepped back and examined his hand one more time.

"Now we can figure out how to cross the field. But first, is there really no other way apart from this?"

Zaran stared at the makeshift dressing on his finger for a few seconds before lifting his wrist and checking his watch again. Whatever he saw on the device seemed to make his expression slightly more concerned.

"There is another way, but it's one hell of a long journey. So our only option is to go through here," he answered.

I looked toward the seemingly endless field again.

"Can't Kosi fly us across?" I asked, remembering what Zaran had told me earlier about falling from Kosi's back before I found him lying in that strange field.

"Kosi hasn't had anything to eat for five days now, so I doubt his strength can carry two people."

"Kosi can try, master. Kosi still strong," Kosi offered enthusiastically, looking more than ready to prove himself.

Zaran glanced at him.

"Strength isn't the only problem. Kosi in his ghoul form can only carry one person, not two people."

"Oh." My shoulders dropped slightly.

For a moment, it seemed like we were back to having no solution.

"Unless..." Zaran suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"Unless what?" I asked, hope rising inside me again.

"Unless we can hang on to his leg while he flies us across." He said it slowly, clearly thinking through the idea as he spoke.

Then, after a brief moment, his expression brightened and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes. I think that will work."

He immediately turned toward Kosi.

"Kosi, you will shift into your ghoul form, and I will hold on to your leg while holding on to her. Then you fly us to the other side," he explained. "Think you can do that?"

Kosi nodded without hesitation. "Kosi can do that."

"Perfect."

Zaran turned back toward me and studied me for a moment before speaking again.

"You have to wrap your hands around my neck and hold on tight."

My brows shot up.

"Your neck?" I repeated, staring at him. "The same one you have been doing everything possible to stop me from touching? I can touch it now?"

The disbelief in my voice was impossible to hide.

"This is not the time to mess around, Tyra." He frowned, clearly annoyed by my reaction.

"I'm not messing around. I am asking a legit question based on your past actions." I refused to back down, keeping my eyes fixed firmly on him as I waited for an answer.

He stared at me for a moment, looking like he was seriously reconsidering whether explaining himself was worth the effort.

"I just told you to wrap your hands around my neck, so yes, you can touch my neck." The words sounded like they had been forced through clenched teeth.

"Okay..." I finally resigned myself to it and stepped closer.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, doing my best to ignore the strange sensation that erupted between our connected skin. I forced my mind away from the feeling and concentrated on holding on properly.

Zaran placed one hand firmly around my waist, securing me against him before reaching out and grabbing hold of Kosi's leg.

Kosi had already shifted into his ghoul form, his massive body rising into the air as his wings carried him upward.

Within a few seconds, our feet left the ground.

Kosi carried us steadily through the air. I kept my face close to Zaran's shoulder, concentrating on my grip and trying not to think about what would happen if I slipped.

Fortunately, the journey across the field did not take as long as I feared.

By the time we safely reached the other side, Zaran released Kosi's leg and immediately loosened his hold around my waist.

My feet touched the ground again, and I stepped away from him while Kosi descended beside us. He quickly shifted back into his human form, bending slightly as he tried to catch his breath.

"You did well, Kosi," Zaran praised, giving him an approving look.

"Thank you, Kosi," I added, smiling at him.

Kosi's face brightened. "Kosi happy to help."

He gave us a wide smile, clearly pleased with himself.

We didn't waste much more time before continuing our journey. However, only a few seconds after we started walking, I stepped directly in front of Zaran.

He had no choice but to stop.

I turned around to face him, planting myself directly in his path.

He looked at me, then his eyes narrowed slightly. The expression on his face told me he already knew I was about to say something that would infuriate him.

And he was damn right.