Page 134 of Origins of Eternity

“Zara, did you get the–”

“I got it,” Zara said, finishing Alexia’s sentence when Alexia came back into the room.

“Oh, good.” Alexia smiled at Arwen’s friend. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Zara replied and smiled back. “Amy’s in the car, ready to go. We should get out of here before anyone wises up to what’s going on.”

“Right,” Arwen said. “I need to check on Iro anyway.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Sarah asked, moving to Zara’s side and taking Zara’s hand.

“She’ll be okay. It will take a few days, though, I think. What will you all do? You can’t stay at Cassia’s after this.”

“I think go home,” Alexia replied. “But not for good. Just for now.”

“Me too,” Sarah added. “But we’ll stick together. Zara? We’ll stick together?”

“I think we will. I don’t know about Amy, though. She might want to be on her own, and that’ll be her choice.”

“Zara, we can’t have vampires running around DC, killing people,” Arwen said.

“Amy hasn’t killed anyone. Cassia did. I’ll still talk to her and make sure she understands, though. Are you two ready?” Zara asked, seemingly different now, more confident somehow.

She’d just instructed these women on how to pick up and deal with dead bodies, and they had listened to her. Zara looked like a leader, and the two women clearly saw her that way. It would have been nice under different circumstances, Arwen supposed, that Zara had come into her own.

“We’re ready,” Alexia replied and squeezed Zara’s arm before she turned to walk off with Sarah.

“So, what is going on there, exactly?” Arwen lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Well, we’ve…”

“Zara!”

“What? Cassia’s house was basically one big orgy after another. It’s hard to explain unless you lived it, but it was… intoxicating. I know I’ve got a lot to explain to you still, but there was something about being there, around her and all of these women she’d turned… I’ve never been adventurous in any way, but becoming a vampire not only saved my life, it’s turned me into someone who I think I was supposed to be, maybe.”

“That’s great, Zara, but you know those two like each other as more than just vampires with benefits.”

“I know. I like them, too.”

“Youlikethem?”

“I like them enough to make sure that they’re okay and to finish this whole Cassia thing. Then, we will see. I’m kind of still in love with someone else, if you remember.”

“I do. And I’m still sorry.”

“Don’t be. I know the Cassia part of this was bad and what I did to you and Iro wasn’t okay and never will be, but I think becoming a vampire might be the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’m not in pain anymore. No cancer. I’m notlooking at the end of my life being in the next six months, and eventually, I might get my best friend back. The sex has been out of this world, too, honestly, and that’s not something that was very good for me as a human.”

Arwen laughed and said, “Trust me, I know.”

“Yeah? You and Iro? After you turned?”

“Fucking amazing,” she said.

“Yeah…” Zara replied and nodded. “I need to go. I’m not ready to hear all ofthosedetails yet.”

“Zara, you deserve to be happy.”

“So do you. I’ll call you when everything’s done.”