The Zodiacs

64. Incapable Coward

"Asiya!" Master Omari's body shot forward in the panic that always loomed over his sleep, drowning his mind with nightmares. His hair was matter to his forehead from the cold sweat that contrasted with the warm air blowing through the abandoned cave.

Then a pair of hands reached toward him in an attempt to steady the ex-Knight's frantic breathing. He flinched away, quickly shoving the outstretched arms away from his body with a protective reflex learned from years of waking up the same way within a palace, surrounded by people patiently waiting for him to slip up.

But Omari regretted his instincts the moments his eyes landed on the blonde girl that fell off of her knees at his deflection, grunting as her legs slipped out from beneath her.

He met Zahra's gaze with wide eyes, realizing his own mistake when he noticed the surprise that made the girl flinched back. Her eyes were slightly widened at the aggression in Master Omari's behavior. But the twitch in her eyebrows that was nearly unnoticeable wasn't because of the way he'd shoved her back, it was because of the same name he always seemed to mutter in his sleep.

"Seven...," he pressed his hands into the ground to straighten his posture as Omari reached toward her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Everybody's outside," Zahra changed the topic, unsure where her own boundaries stood in regard to the other girl that seemed to overtake Master Omari's thoughts. She scratched the side of her arm, consciously pulling herself away from the ex-Dauha. "Tau says we should start moving now so I came to wake you up."

His eyes slipped down the fingers that barely managed to touch the girl before she moved herself away, sensing the discomfort already building in her posture. They were the only ones in the cave; there was no doubt she'd heard Asiya's name just like she'd heard it all those times before while he was unconscious. "I see," Omari's tone dropped to a whisper that only emphasized his hoarse voice.

Zahra nodded once, lingering for a moment as she pressed her lips into an unconvincing smile, but the boy saw right through her. She was feigning --pretending --just like she had done the first night he caught her in the basement. "I'll go then... while you get your things together," she began to rise, unsure where to look to avoid Master Omari's gaze.

"I don't have any things," he mumbled with a shrug as his own features pulled into a light-hearted twinkle to match hers. Even the lack of energy seemed to carry into his movements.

"Right," she chuckled self-consciously, pulling herself onto her feet to stand over the man who'd only just woken up. His eyes remained on her, but Zahra did everything possible to avoid his.

But she didn't say much more as she turned and began out of the cave, toward the distant voices of all the Zodiacs standing outside. Asarte could be seen demonstrating her new abilities of raising herself using a precise accumulation of sand beneath each of her feet, but even the youngest girl didn't seem happy. The sky was still a dark shade of blue, not joined by the brightness of the warm sun; it made everything feel blue.

Zahra hated it.

Master Omari hated it.

He quickly pushed himself off of his hands to stand, calling out to the girl before she could get too far away from him. "Seven," he spoke, not needing to raise his voice for the sound waves to carry through the cave and easily circle her.

Her footsteps slowed to a stop just a few feet away and Zahra turned to meet his gaze, she didn't try to seem so content this time their eyes met. She tried to pretend like it was only the Kaboos that was making him call out to another, but the Kaboos was gone and he still seemed to only think of Asiya.