Page 81 of Origins of Eternity

“Hey. What’s up?” she said into it after she saw Zara’s name on the screen.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

“I’m with Iro. We’re about to have breakfast.”

“At noon?”

“Brunch, I guess.” She laughed a little. “We slept in because it’s the weekend.”

“Oh. Want to maybe get together later? Late lunch or just coffee? I feel like we should talk.”

“You want to talknow?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday, okay?” Zara said defensively. “I’ve been going through some stuff, but I can tell you about it when I see you.”

“Okay. Yeah. I’ll be there. Wherever.”

“Coffee, then? We can go to our usual place.”

“What time?” Arwen asked.

“Two? Three?”

“Three would be better. We still have to eat.”

“Okay. Three, then,” Zara said. “I’ll see you there.”

Arwen disconnected and returned to the kitchen.

“That was Zara,” she said to Iro. “We’re going to grab coffee in a few hours, but I’ll be back right after that.”

“Is everything okay?” Iro checked.

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out.”

CHAPTER 24

Zara

“How are you enjoying your new creation?”

“Enjoying?” she asked as she looked up from her computer.

“Yes. You made her, and now, she’s yours,” Cassia said and sat down next to Zara on the sofa.

“She’s easier than Amy because she wanted this. Amy didn’t even know vampires existed, but I think she’s going to be okay now. She said she used to have crippling depression, and now, it appears to be gone.”

“Yes, being immortal has a way of messing with brain chemistry a bit,” Cassia told her.

“It does?”

“It can. Sometimes, it’s more overt in one vampire over another. Just think of yourself, Zara. You never would have thought you could have the kind of sex you’ve been having recently. You never would have killed a woman.”

“I didn’t–”

Cassia chuckled and said, “Oh, I know; you gave them a gift. But to do that, they had to die first, end their human life to be born anew. You never would’ve done that before.”

“I had no reason to.”