He compresses his mouth in a flat line as he tightens his hold over me, pulling me closer and sliding his arm over my shoulder.

"A god," he answers grimly.

"W-what? But how? Why?" I burst out. "I don't understand..." I add weakly.

"I do not understand it either. But I aim to find out." He grinds his teeth, his body tensing.

"You'll help me figure it out?" I ask in a small voice.

He breathes harshly.

"I will not spare anyone who laid a hand on you, human. You have my word," he assures me. "For now, you need to eat. We have a long day ahead of us."

I nod weakly.

He grabs our supply bag, taking out a couple of nut bars and handing them to me. I blink in confusion when I note he's not eating any. Then it dawns on me that I never inquired about the most important thing.

"How are you feeling? I'm so sorry. I should have asked that first." I sigh dejectedly.

His lips twitch, though he forces himself not to smile.

"I am perfectly fine. The venom is out of my system and I am back to my optimal functioning capacity."

"That's good to hear. You scared me last night."

"You were that worried about me?" he asks hesitantly.

"Of course. You're my friend, Ze. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." I smile.

He doesn't return the smile. Instead, he just stares at me, mumbling something inaudible under his breath.

"Let us depart," he suddenly declares, getting to his feet and sheathing his sword at his waist.

"What's wrong with you?" I mumble the question, quickly chewing on the remainder of my nut bar. "I haven't even finished eating."

Wasn't he the one who told me to eat earlier? Now he won't even let me do it at leisure.

He glowers at me, his lips tight and unmoving.

I pop the last piece of the bar in my mouth before placing my hands on my hips and returning his intimidating glare—all the while chewing very loudly. To my surprise, that doesn't seem to bother him. Annoyance gives way to amusement as his lips curl at the corners, his features softening. Grabbing the bag off the floor, he searches for something inside of it.

I frown at his contradictory actions.

"Here," he says, throwing something at me.

I catch it instinctively. But as I open my fist and peel the thin tissue away, I notice a few squares of chocolate.

What...

"What's this?" I whisper.

"Chocolate. You like it."

"Yes, but why do you have it? We didn't pack any."

"I packed some for you," he immediately replies, folding his arms across his chest and proudly pushing his chin up.

My lashes flutter in confusion as I look back and forth from Ze to the chocolate squares.

"But why?" I ask again.