The Zodiacs

55. Prior To & After

"Shoot," Omari spoke shortly, his eyes trained on the girl standing with her back to him while he moved around behind her, his hands casually pulled behind his back like he was used to. Zahra maintained her straight posture, letting her fingers release the string of the tightened bow to launch her custom-made arrow forward.

She held her breath, watching the weapon slice through the air and toward the tall tree in the distance. It only took a few seconds that felt like heart-jolting minutes for its carved point to meet the wood and bury itself deep into the plant's long trunk.

"Yes!" Zahra clapped, jumping excitedly at the fact that she'd managed to make the shot on her first attempt. It always went much differently at the old training sessions she used to have in the palace under Master Omari's instruction. She began to confidently think back on all her past failures, blaming on the bad energy of the palace atmosphere rather than on her lack of skill. "First shot!" She spun to face Master Omari's satisfied expression. "You wouldn't even be able to make such a perfect shot if you tried!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, one corner of his lips turning into an amused smirk. They both knew that he'd easily make a much more precise shot if he tried, but Master Omari found no use in proving himself to the girl who was celebrating her own victory. "I knew the bow-and-arrow was your strength ever since you shot your first arrow at my head," he tilted his head in thought.

Zahra furrowed her eyebrows at the thought, not remembering any time that she'd attempted such a fatal attack on the man standing in front of her now. "I don't remember doing such a thing," she challenged the entertained expression on his features.

He raised an eyebrow, turning his head to the side to reveal a scar along the top of his left ear through the growing thickness of his black hair. "The night you fled," he reminded her of the fateful evening that she'd escaped along with Layla and Aaron... the evening that he defied his first direct order from the Pharaoh to spare her life. He'd defied so many other orders since then --all for her.

Then she remembered it. She'd used the weapon in her hand now to attack the Knight before she knew who he really was. But he'd dodged it as the sharp weapon cut through his hood; or at least she'd thought. "Oh...," Zahra chuckled self-consciously, lifting her hand to scratch the back of her head. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be," he mumbled in response, taking the bow from between her fingers as Zahra looked up, questioning when he'd had the time to grab an arrow from the satch on her back without her knowledge. "You were protecting yourself as you should have been," he turned toward the tree, pulling the string back and releasing it to shoot the arrow forward.

It whistled through the air, aimed precisely at her own arrow. Zahra's eyes widened in surprise when the tip of Master Omari's attempt drove right through hers, splitting the wooden arrow down the middle. "That was hot- I mean!" She jumped in surprise at her own words, her hand clamping over her own before she forced it to her side as the Dauha turned to meet her gaze with a raised eyebrow of amusement. "I didn't... that was a mistake."

"Do you regret it?" He tilted his head to the side in a way that dropped the thick hair on the top of his head to the right, stepping closer to the girl as his eyes slipped between hers.

She perked up at the question, blinking at Master Omari's movements closer to her. "Huh?" It was the only thing her mouth seemed capable of forming beneath his focused gaze. She'd known the man for long enough to grow accustomed to him... but why did he still render her so helplessly speechless?

The corners of his eyes crinkled with a smile at her behavior. "Do you regret what you just said?" He cocked his head to the side as if to remind her of the words that just slipped through her mouth moments before. "You said it was a mistake."