Page 36 of Amaros
Their conversation petered out and Gracelyn fell asleep.She was exhausted, so they remained quiet during the rest of the journey.Amaros noted where the landslides were, knowing they would need to be cleared away.Some of the boulders were far too large for one knight to move.His team would make short work of it once he’d gathered them all.
Zoe kept sliding glances at him, then looking away before he could catch her eye.He wished he knew what she was thinking, but he would need to touch her to try to pick up on her mood.All he knew was that she was feeling disturbed about something.Given that her entire life had been uprooted a few days ago, it was understandable that her mind was uneasy.
At last, he turned off the road and gingerly eased around the boulders.Grace woke up and was instantly alert.“I slept like a rock,” she said, sounding more relaxed now.“Did I miss anything?”
“Only a madman ranting on the radio,” Zoe said.“It was uneventful apart from that.”
“Cool,” the kid replied.“Can we eat before we start unpacking the tank?”
Amaros smiled a bit at the nickname the girls had given to the truck.“I’ll unload the gear,” he told them as they climbed out of the vehicle.
“Thanks, Amaros,” Zoe said warmly.Their eyes met and her face became flushed.“Let’s eat,” she said to Grace, then hurried away.
“I need to talk to her alone,” Amaros murmured.He knew he needed to tell her about the choice Fate had given him, but he kept putting it off.Maybe he should speak to his team first and hear their views on the topic.He didn’t want to be the only Knight of Order to choose to remain in this world.His men were weary of the endless wars.Maybe they would decide to fade away and allow new warriors to take their places.
That thought chilled Amaros.He didn’t want any of them to die permanently.He also didn’t want to relinquish his duty.Fighting was all he’d ever known.Allowing himself to vanish would feel like giving up.Plus, Zoe wouldn’t have anyone to watch over her if he left.Grace seemed to be loyal to her, but she wasn’t a skilled warrior like he was.
Lost in his conundrum, Amaros began unpacking the truck.
Chapter Nineteen
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GRACE MIGHT HAVE SHRUGGEDoff Zoe’s feeling that she was magically being drawn to Amaros, but Zoe couldn’t put it out of her mind.It felt like there was an invisible bond tying them together.Their attraction was mutual, that much Zoe knew.The teen was right, though.It would break her heart if she fell for the knight only for him to leave when his job was done.
“I was going to keep my mouth shut and my opinion to myself,” Grace said quietly while Zoe was handing her an energy bar.“But I think you should go for it,” she told her.
For a second, Zoe thought she was telling her to fall for Amaros.Then she came back down to reality.“Go for what?”she asked, opening the energy bar.They would keep for months and they had a large supply of them now.
“Take Amaros into the woods and have your wicked way with him,” the kid suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.“I promise I’ll stay here, so I can’t hear your screams of passion.”
Zoe gaped at her, then clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her snorts and giggles.“You really have a way with words, Grace,” she said when she had herself under control again.
Grace had laughed just as noiselessly.“I’ve never pretended to be a lady,” she said with a shrug.Taking a bite from her energy bar, she spoke with her mouth full.“So?Are you going to do it?”
“Of course not,” Zoe said, sneaking a look towards the doorway.She couldn’t see the warrior from here, but she could sense him outside.“Like you said, it would be stupid to fall for him, since he won’t be staying here forever.”
