-Carter Kane-

"Carter?" Zia spoke with a hint of surprise when she met me in the hallway this morning.

"Hey, Zia." I smiled a bit to the bags under her eyes. "Busy day yesterday?"

"Well, I discovered some distressing news from Janet when I got here." She continued a bit harshly.

"Oh, on what?" I wondered, Janet has been one of the adults Amos had sent to watch over us.

"She's found herself playing maid rather than actually being a guardian or teaching." Zia's eyes grew irritated. "You do realize Amos asked her to come here to teach, not play babysitter?"

"Well, I've told Amos repeatedly that we don't need any adults worrying over us-" I explained.

"You are the Pharaoh, Carter." Her voice scorned. "We would be leaving your sister and initiates to ensure your safety."

"Man, you guys worry way too much-" I complained.

"All it will take is another Jacobi incident to cause a crisis in the Per Ankh." Her eyes narrowed.

I laughed nervously, recalling how close she was to succeeding. Even worse that it happened to be an attempted assassination on the most powerful magician of the world who even managed to control Set during the fight. "We got pretty lucky." I added.

She sighed, releasing her irritation. "More than lucky, Carter. You three would have easily been killed."

"Awe, do I hear concern for the Kanes?" I teased.

She playfully punched my arm in response. "Come on Carter, I consider you family. And I've done a good amount of aiding you three over the past three years."

"Yes you have, perhaps too much." I added.

"Well, thankfully, after Apophis, the rest of the Per Ankh accepted Amos as Chief Lector, so I managed to get a bit of a break." She reminded. "I assume you've met our odd guests in Cairo?"

"Yes, in fact they are here as we speak." I admitted, her eyes narrowed in response.

"What?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"Oh come on, they need our help." I defended quickly.

"Do you know what happened last time we met?" She snarled.

"Yes, both my dad and Amos explained the details for me." I rolled my eyes. "We might be able to make peace with them, Zia-"

"Peace? They'll trash us if we keep contact with them!"

I wanted to comment on her English turning American, but decided not to push her rage any further. "We prove our worth and they'll know better than to cross us." I stood my ground. "And they're focused on Gaia rather than us. Practically harmless-"

"Practically harmless you say?" She snapped. "That's what we thought of you and Sadie when I found you, remember?"

"Look," I grew irritated having to defend my choice from everyone, "I'm Pharaoh. I've decided making peace with them will benefit us in the long run. If you have a problem with how I run things, make a complaint to Horus instead."

Her hands clenched. "May I remind you I host an even more respected God than you do?"

"Ra won't fight me." I spoke easily, which agitated her further for she knew it to be true. "Let's get some breakfast."

She relaxed with a deep sigh. "Fine."