Myth's Friend (Book 3 of Seven Series)

Chapter 21- Zanaya's POV

I breathed a small sigh of relief when she said that, and I slowly nodded while my whole body started to relax. I didn't say a word and looked at the people that were gathered there before I looked at her with wide eyes filled with nervousness and fear, pausing from getting some more food in my bowl.

My stomach growled in hunger, and my cheeks turned red while I blushed. However, I made no move to get some more food because I had gotten myself half a bowl of food already.

Eira cocked her head to the side and studied me with a small smile on her face, raising an eyebrow in question, and amusement flashed through her eyes. "Hungry?" she asked as if she had heard my stomach growl, and I hesitantly nodded while my cheeks turned a different shade of red.

"Ummm, yes, yes, I am," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, and I couldn't help but look away from her. "I am hungry."

She chuckled and gestured toward the bowl in my hand where I had half a bowl of food and nothing more or nothing less. "Get as much as you want and do not get half a bowl, then," she said and offered me a tight smile while she tucked her head closer to her chest. "You will need your strength. We have a long journey ahead of us."

I hesitated and looked at my bowl that was in fact half full before I looked at her and her empty bowl that was still on the table beside her. "But what about you, Eira?" I asked and furrowed my brows with a frown on my face while a look of worry flashed through my eyes. "And what about everyone else that is gathered? Shouldn't we wait for them to get something to eat before I get some more food?"

"We have eaten, Dear," Laura said with a shake of her head before she glanced at Eira, who had finished with the water and was putting it back in the fridge. "Well, almost all of us had eaten." She looked at me and smiled, tucking her head closer to her chest. "Go ahead and get more food, Dear. Eira and Daniel eat last anyway after everyone has had their fill."

"Really?" I asked and turned my attention back to Eira, and she nodded in confirmation with a small smile on her face. "Why?"

"Because I eat a lot," she said and shrugged, biting back a small grimace. "Sometimes I am not back for a day or two, and I eat, but I do not eat a lot when I am out working, so when I get back here, I am super hungry and will eat anything in sight."

"And I thought we had discussed that you do not do that, Eira," David said and scowled, narrowing his eyes at the young female, and she looked at him with a small smile on her face. "It is annoying as it is that you are gone for hours on end but days?"

"Well, sometimes one thing leads to another and then another thing leads to something else, and I have to make sure that everything is fine," Eira said and shrugged with a small grimace on her face. "I mean, we don't want anything bad to happen. Right?" She raised an eyebrow in question while she stared at the male in front of her.

David bit back an annoyed sigh and shook his head. He pursed his lips in annoyance and rubbed the bridge of his nose while he looked at the young female. "And what if it deals with you?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "You can get killed."

Eira shrugged and looked at him with a nonchalant expression on her face. "I have cheated death twice," she said coldly. "I am sure that I am going to cheat death a few more times before my time as a Holder is through."

David and Laura looked at each other before they looked at her with an equal look of worry on their faces, and a small frown appeared on their faces. "What do you mean, Eira?" David asked. "Are you saying that you will almost die a few more times?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied me, and the frown seemed to grow deeper.

Eira shrugged and pressed her lips into a thin line, biting back a small grimace. "Possibly," she said before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "I can't see the future, but with an uncle like mine..." She trailed off and shrugged, and the small grimace appeared on her face that she tried to hide. "It doesn't seem too far-fetched, if you know what I mean."

David sighed and shook his head, pursing his lips in annoyance. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and bit back a small sigh. "Th-"

"I am not going to do what you suggest, and we are going to talk about it later. Zanaya, Sweetheart, go ahead and get more food if you want it. Don't worry about me," Eira said and looked at me, and she smiled while her eyes grew warm.

I hesitated but did what I was told to do and grabbed some more food. My whole body was tense, and my heart became filled with guilt because I had no idea how much she needed to eat and if I was getting too much.

"Don't worry about it, Zanaya," Eira said with a small chuckle in her voice as if she knew what I was thinking. "I am able to cook for myself and can get some food out of my bag if I need to. Keep going if you need to."

"We also have leftovers from last night's meal," Laura said. "It was supposed to be for Eira, but she hadn't been home since last night." She gave Eira a pointed look and raised both eyebrows in unison.

"Duty called," Eira said and shrugged, looking nonchalant and not annoyed at all. "What else was I supposed to do? I did send a message this time and not like the other few times that I had to leave..." She rubbed the back of her neck and grinned sheepishly, looking at their scowling faces.

"You could have come back and gotten Ralph and I," Daniel said and scowled, narrowing his eyes, and a look of annoyance flashed through his eyes. "Especially since you are the one that people have been waiting for."

Eira shrugged and grimaced, and she looked nonchalant. "I think that they were waiting for everyone," she said, "not just me. I mean, we are all Holders and have different powers and have different worlds to protect."

"But you are the prophecy child," David said, and Eira wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips in annoyance. "S-"

"Please don't remind me, David," she said and shook her head, biting back a small groan of annoyance. "I don't need to be reminded, even if it is true."

I didn't say a word and finished getting what I wanted before I stepped away from the pot with a full bowl of food. I looked between the two of them with wide eyes, not knowing what to say or do next.

Oh, Gods help me...

Eira looked at me and smiled, tucking her head closer to her chest as if she knew what I was thinking. "Go ahead and go into the dining room, Zanaya," she said and gestured toward the double doors. "I will be there shortly with my bowl of food, and Daniel will come with our drinks. After that, we will get you settled in for the night and then start everything else tomorrow."

"Like finding out where we have to go?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, and she nodded in confirmation.

"And the gate that will allow us to go directly toward Yervon to get your dagger." She shrugged and grimaced. "But that isn't going to be until further into the future because you need to find the clues first."

"Why do I need to find the clues first?" I asked, panicking ever so slightly with a nervous look on my face. "How do I-"

"You will know in time," Eira said, interrupting me with a shake of her head, "so for now, go ahead and eat and then get some rest. You'll need it."

She paused and looked at everyone that was gathered in the room before she looked at me, and her whole face grew grave. "You'll need it because I think that this is going to be the last time you will get actual rest until we get your dagger and set Yervon up with the rest of the worlds that we are able to get to and then the rest of the worlds we have to find and save afterward."

Oh, Gods no...