"And ruin that?! They look so cute!" Damian argued.
I groaned groggliy and peeled back my eyelids. Erin and Shaunee were glaring at Damian while he watched me. Apparently, something was up.
"Well, gol' durn you guys! You woke her up!" Stevie Rae scolded. My eyes flickered to see her standing in front of me with her hands on her hips, scowling at the Twins and Damien.
"No, no. I should probably get up anyways." I mumbled turning my head and gasping. Erik was right there, his blue eyes smiling at me. Oh, so that's why Damian said that they were cute. He was talking about me and Erik.
"Hey," Erik said huskily. His eyes were slightly guarded but less cold than they used to be.
"H-hey," I stammered. My heart was fluttering like a hummingbird's wings at how close his face was to mine.
"Did you sleep well?" He smiled at me. It was a small, tense smile, but it was still there.
"Yeah, I did. You?" Since I couldn't think of anything to say I kept the converstation polite. Oh, but hell I wanted to just hug him so very tight. Argh, stupid, overwhelming emotions.
"I slept well, thank you." He said. His arms slid off of me and he stood up, rolling his shoulders as he stretched. I felt utterly exhausted still. I closed my eyes and layed my head back.
"Z? Are you okay?" Stevie Rae asked with concern.
"Uh, earth to Okie Girl. Hell no she's not okay. She's got the world in her hands. Remember, she's the fledgling and has to save the world," Aphrodite said snobbily. Gosh, she can be sooo annoying and mean.
"You think I don't know that? She just looks like a corpse and I'm concerned." Stevie Rae shot back in her contrified twang.
"Stevie Rae is right, Z. You don't look so good." Damian chimed in.
I opened my eyes with a sigh so I could look at them. They were all looking at me with a smiliar concern on their faces, "I don't feel so good either. But that happens when you have to save the world. Don't worry about me. Say, do we have any food? I'm starved."
"Nope." Erin said.
"Negative." Shaunee added.
"We can go get some though. The tunnels lead to all kinds of stores." Stevie Rae suggested.
Shaunee and Erin immediatly perked up. Shaunee sighed dreamily, "Like the mall? Oh do I need so hot-"
"Fiiiiine boys." Erin finished. She eyed Erik and pinched the air as if pinching his butt.
"Oh, you so wish," I muttered. She shot me a wink.
"Okay, nerd herd, let's find some food. And clothes. I feel like I haven't showered in decades." Aphrodite said, grimacing.
I rolled my eyes, "All right. Let's go everyone." I stood up but sat down immediatly when my knees wobbled.
Erik stepped forward, "You okay, Z?"
I sighed and looked up at him, "I don't feel well. I'm not sure if I can walk."
He shrugged, "Then I'll carry you."
As he leaned down to pick me up I protested, "No Erik, you-"
"Enough Zoey. You're too self-sacrificing for your own good." He interrupted, scooping me up into his arms. He shifted me so that I was comfortable and started to follow the others. I was quiet, listening to his even breathing. My eyes stayed trained on his face, watching his blue eyes wonder around him, often landing on me but quickly glancing away. Finally, he spoke, "Any plan yet?"
I sighed, "No, nothing. I have no friggin' idea what to do about any of this. Neferet is just waay too powerful for me and this new guy, Kalona, is way scarier than her. And probably more powerful, too. How can I, a fledgling, defeat them?"
"Because you're a special fledgling, Zoey. You are gifted by our goddess Nyx. You are chosen. Zoey, you can do this." Erik said softly, his eyes steady on my face.
Woah, where did this confidence in me come from? Oh god, I don't want to disappoint him. I don't want to fail now that he seems to trust me with this. "I'm scared, though. I'm scared to fail, to let everyone down. to be the death of so many people. Neferet is more experienced than me."
"But she doesn't think. She just does. Zoey, you think about what you do before you do it. You know what you are doing when you do something." Erik's jaw clentched as he said that, his eyes going hard.
"Erik, no I don't. And I wasn't thinking when I hurt you." Tears leaked out of my eyes and I reached up to wipe them away. Darn tears.
Erik beat me to it. His thump wiped away a tear gently, "Maybe so. But Zoey, I can't stay mad at you. I don't want to. I want to forgive and move on."
I blinked rapidly in shock. "I don't understand."
But he didn't answer. He just fell silent and kept walking.
