Page 46 of Amaros

Chapter Twenty-Four

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GRACE WAS STILL GIGGLINGwhen Zoe returned a few minutes later. “Here,” Zoe said belligerently and tossed a box of tissues onto her lap.

“Thanks,” the kid choked out, then mopped up her face.Hiccupping as she tried to catch her breath, her hands were trembling from her laughing fit.“Sorry,” she said eventually and even managed to sound contrite.

Zoe’s arms were crossed and she was staring at the blank TV screen.“It’s not my fault I don’t know much about the birds and the bees,” she said in an affronted tone.“It took guts for me to sneak out and have sex with that guy two years ago.I only dared to leave our hotel room for an hour.Mom would have killed me if she’d found out about what I’d done.”

Grace let out a heavy sigh and her shoulders slumped.“I shouldn’t have laughed at you,” she said.“I’ve never met anyone so innocent before.It’s kind of cute, really.”

“I don’t feel cute,” Zoe retorted.“I feel stupid.”Grace flushed in fresh shame, which made Zoe feel bad.“It’s not your fault, Grace,” she said before the kid could apologize again.She made sure her tone was gentler this time.“I never had the chance to make my own decisions about anything, thanks to my religious upbringing,” she explained.“I don’t even know the basics about how to deal with men.”

“I’ll teach you,” Grace offered.“I know all about what turns them on and how to keep them happy, at least in the bedroom.”From her tone and expression, happy was the last thing she felt about this topic.

“Aren’t we a pair?”Zoe said sorrowfully.“I have too little knowledge about guys for someone my age and you have too much.”

“We balance out,” Grace mused thoughtfully.“Amaros said he has to find the other cambions, right?”

“Yeah,” Zoe confirmed.“We need to locate them before their fathers do.”

“That means they’ll all be living with us at our base,” she pointed out.

Zoe hadn’t thought it through and realized she was right.“We don’t have enough cots for them,” she said.Not to mention clothes, food and other provisions.

“That’s what you’re focusing on?”Grace asked.“Aren’t you worried one of them might latch onto Amaros and steal him away from you?”

“Over my dead body,” Zoe said in a near snarl, fists clenching in impending rage at the notion.

“Whoa, down, girl,” the teen said in mock fright, holding her hands up placatingly.“I was just kidding.”

Zoe’s heart had kicked into high gear and she knew her face was flushed.Groaning, she sank her face into her hands.“I don’t know what just came over me,” she said in shame.

“Maybe it’s the magic spell you mentioned,” Grace said slyly.“What if the Knights of Order have special mojo that makes them irresistible?”

“Are you attracted to Amaros?”Zoe asked, fists trying to clench again.

“Nah,” she said dismissively.“He’s hot, but he’s too strict for me.I like guys who have a sense of humor.”

Zoe relaxed in quiet relief that the teen wasn’t her competition, then mentally kicked herself.“You’re right, though,” she said.“We’ll need to find provisions for all the other cambions we round up.”

“It would help if we knew how many there are and where to look for them,” Grace complained.

“I have a feeling they’re either already in this area, or they’re being drawn here,” Zoe said.“Fate and Anarchy have been manipulating their pawns forever from the sounds of it.They’ll be experts at maneuvering us where they want us to be.”