Chapter 58: I Still Want to Be Your Guide

"Okay," Summer replied without thinking twice. "I can do that."

Archer looked a little surprised by how quickly she agreed.

Then, after a moment, he gave her a small smile, something that seemed especially difficult for him to do today. "Thank you."

"No problem," Summer said.

With her free hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled something out before holding it toward him.

"It was supposed to be candy," she said. "But most of the candy they sold at the foot of the mountain was ginger candy, so I bought you chocolate instead."

Archer tilted his head slightly, confused about why Summer was suddenly giving him that. "Chocolate?"

Summer noticed his confusion, so she immediately explained, "Back in Zone 87, I promised I’d give you candy if you were a good snake. But we ended up separating before I could keep my promise, so... here."

She placed the chocolate in his hand. Archer looked down at it for a moment before saying, "This chocolate bar seems a little too big for me to eat by myself. How about we split it?"

Summer was about to refuse the idea of sharing his reward, but after staring at the chocolate for a moment, she finally nodded. "Okay."

Archer opened the wrapper and broke the chocolate into two pieces. He looked at both sides carefully before handing the bigger one to Summer.

Summer found it a little odd, but she thought that maybe Archer didn’t like chocolate that much, so he didn’t want to eat too much of it.

So in the end, she didn’t ask.

They ate the chocolate in silence while continuing the light guiding until their time was up.

Before they separated, Summer suddenly asked, "Will you get out of prison tomorrow?"

Archer answered as casually as if they were talking about the weather. "I’ll get out tonight."

Summer nodded. "Good to hear."

Somehow, Summer didn’t ask how. After all, the most important thing was knowing that Archer would be free soon.

After saying goodbye, Summer headed back toward the visitor screening area. When she asked one of the guards about Ilya, she found out that he had already gone outside.

Without panicking about being left behind, Summer simply walked out of the building as well and found Ilya sitting near the edge of the cliff, right beside the prison wall.

He already had his metal arm and leg back, but even with them on, he still looked strangely vulnerable.

"Hi," Summer greeted Ilya the moment she got close to him.

Without looking back, Ilya replied softly, "Hi."

The cold wind brushed against his face, lifting a few strands of his golden hair.

For some reason, the sight reminded Summer of the tired golden eagle she had seen inside his mental sea.

Quiet. Worn out. And somehow a little lonely.

Summer walked over and sat beside him. For a moment, neither of them said anything. They simply looked out at the wide snowy land stretching far below the mountain and then Summer finally spoke. "Archer told me what happened."

Ilya’s eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his calm. It seemed like he had already known that his biggest secret was never really a secret in the first place.

"I see," he said in a tired tone. "We can go to the bureau tonight."

Summer raised her eyebrows. "For what?"

It wasn’t like they were planning to get married, or was he proposing to her?

"To get rid of our mate bond," Ilya said. "The procedure would be complicated, but since I’m the one who received the mark, you shouldn’t feel any pain."

"Wait, what?" Summer stared at Ilya in even more confusion. "Didn’t you want me to be your Guide after going through the health screening?"

If that was no longer happening, then that also meant Summer would lose a steady sources of income.

"You... still want to be my Guide?" Ilya asked in confusion. "I thought..."

He suddenly stopped talking because deep down, he didn’t want to finish that sentence either.

"I never said I didn’t want to be your Guide, did I?" Summer asked back. "Besides, our compatibility is really high, and I don’t feel any side effects from doing it."

Ilya pressed his lips into a thin line before speaking again. "But what if... what if you get sick after guiding me?"

He suddenly held his breath when he remembered what had happened last night.

"My blood... my blood is dangerous. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let my sperm inside you. I think we should check your body right now."

Summer’s eyes twitched slightly because Ilya was speaking so openly.

His seed had indeed felt warm, but it had felt like normal liquid instead of metal.

"I’m fine," Summer said. "I lowered your pollution level yesterday, so you were still able to control your ability even while you were in heat."

Besides, Summer was starting to think she had some kind of natural immunity.

Otherwise, how else could she survive mating with Ilya or Archer for hours without anything happening to her?

"But still, I don’t think there’s any absolute guarantee," Ilya said.

Summer took a deep breath before finally reaching for his hand. "Ilya, I’m not your last Guide," she said gently. "I can’t say I’m stronger than him, or stronger than any of your previous Guides. But if I tell you I feel fine, then I really do feel fine."

After living with a metal body for so long, Summer had become very aware of even the smallest changes in her current body.

If something hurt, she noticed.

If something felt wrong, she noticed that too.

But even after spending hours guiding and mating with Ilya, she hadn’t felt sick or hurt.

If anything, she had only felt a kind of happiness and pleasure she had never experienced before.

"And what happened last year..." Summer softened her gaze as she added, "That was an accident."

She gave his hand a small squeeze. "I think those children cared about you too much to hate you for what happened."