Page 240 of Eternal
“Emergency. I have to go shopping with the Huntress. Help.”
There’s a short silence, then Vik bursts out laughing loudly. I can hear Kat laughing in the background too.
“You’re stressed about shopping?” Vik wheezes.
“I’m serious, Vik,” I snapped. “It’s not funny.”
“It’s hilarious,” Vik says immediately.
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’snot!”
I hear Kat absolutely losing it in the background, then she yells over the line, “Oh my God, we forgot to teach her basic social skills!”
“Honestly, this is on us,” Vik says, sounding way too proud. “We raised a fully functional battle weapon but forgot to teach her that.”
“I’m hanging up,” I grumble.
“You’ll be fine,Kroshka,” Vik says, still laughing. “Just remember, if you get scared, make a joke or something. Humans love that.”
Kat cackles. “Or like… a flower? No wait, a joke and a flower!”
I hang up mid-laughter, flipping them off even though they can’t see it, not that it would stop them.
I threw on clean jeans I brought with me, and a t-shirt, wiped down my boots so I didn't look like I crawled out of a sewer and tied my hair back.
By the time I'm done pacing around, I hear a car pulling up outside, I’m ten seconds away from jumping out a window to avoid this whole thing.
Because that’s not usual for me, instead, I force myself to breathe and step outside.
Zanae’s waiting in a car, window down, music blasting loud enough to hear it from the elevator.
She’s drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, and smiles when she sees me.
“Hey,” she says, reaching over to unlock the door. “So happy to see you, Sorry about the music… if it’s too loud, tell me, okay?”
It’s... It’s a lot, the warmth, the complete lack of calculation behind it.
I slide into the passenger seat, still stiff, still feeling like I’m walking into an ambush without backup. The second I click my seat-belt, my phone buzzes again.
New number.
Morning. It’s Elijah. Assigning you a new mission today: bodyguard duty for Zanae.
I blink at it, laugh under my breath and turn the screen so Zanae can see.
“Apparently I’ve been given a new mission today.”
She glances at it, smirking, then she shakes her head like she’s seen this a hundred times before. “Sometimes,” she says lightly, flipping on her blinker, “he forgets I almost killed him when we first met.”
And that... that makes me laugh.
Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.
The shops Zanae picked aren’t the flashy ones, quiet streets, clean windows, expensive but discreet. It's calm, and safer, in a way.
