Page 11 of Amaros

“She wasn’t raptured like the others?”Amaros asked.

Grace made a noise of derision.“As if.My mom was almost as evil as the monster that spawned me.”

“We need to get moving,” Zoe said as her intuition nudged her.“We can swap stories on the way.”

“I’ll need to scan her soul before she can join us,” the knight said.

Instant and unwanted jealousy twisted Zoe’s insides.She didn’t want the warrior to touch another female, even if she was just a kid.“Is that really necessary?”she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral even as she pushed her idiotic jealousy away.“She’s what, fifteen years old?”

“I’m eighteen,” Grace corrected her.“I just look younger than I really am.”

“Every time I’ve encountered your kind in the past, they were as evil as their sires,” Amaros told them both.“This time, they can apparently swing towards Order or Chaos.”

Zoe kept in her further protests as he held his hand out.Grace didn’t hesitate to grasp his fingers.She grimaced when she felt him rummage around in her soul.“Do I get to go with you, boss man?”she asked when he let her go.

“You can join us,” Amaros said begrudgingly.He flicked Zoe a look and she interpreted what he wanted her to do.

“I’m Zoe,” she said and held her hand out.“He’s Amaros.Welcome to the team, Grace.”

Grace took her hand and Zoe was hit with the girl’s entire life story in quick flashes.Gasping in reaction, the teen yanked her hand away.“Rude much?”she snapped in annoyance.“You should give a person some warning before you invade their privacy like that.”

Deep sympathy for Grace’s plight had Zoe blinking back tears.“I’m sorry,” she said and meant it.“Can I give you a hug of apology?”

Grace looked at her warily.“I’ve never been hugged before,” she said doubtfully.“I don’t really see the point of it.”

That broke Zoe’s heart and cemented Grace’s place in her life.“It won’t hurt, I promise,” she said and held her arms out.“I won’t invade your privacy again.”

Grace stepped forward and stood there stiffly as Zoe put her arms around her.Mary Zayden had been strict and highly religious, but at least she’d loved her daughter.Grace’s mom had been the opposite.

“That doesn’t feel so bad,” Grace said, relaxing slightly.Her arms went around Zoe and she leaned her head on the taller woman’s shoulder.“It’s kind of nice, actually,” she said.

Amaros cleared his throat a minute later, reminding them that they had to get moving.Zoe knew her eyes were shining with tears, but both of her companions pretended not to notice how emotional she was.

“Can I drive?”Amaros asked as Grace retrieved the backpack she’d hidden behind the car.

“I don’t know.Can you?”Zoe retorted.

“Fate gave me all the knowledge I require to exist in this era,” was his cryptic response.

Shaking her head at how strange her life had become, she handed him the keys.“I guess Grace and I can teach you,” she figured.

The knight didn’t need any instructions from them.He adjusted the seat, then smoothly started the car and took off.