Guardians Of The Zodiac

Chapter 15

I paced around my bedroom while so many thoughts swirled around in my head at once. Was I wrong in refusing to help Anya? Was I being petty and anxious because she had come to see me at Nexus? Or was I just scared of getting Nexus involved with any more of my Guardian affairs?

"Tara, you have to calm down. Your blood pressure is skyrocketing..." Trinkette analyzed.

"Not to mention your essence is seriously flaring up," Iris added as she went to catch my lamp that almost knocked itself right off my dresser due to my unstable magic pressure.

"How can I calm down? You saw what happened down there. We both let our emotions get the better of us and now..." I sighed deeply and collapsed into my bed.

Serena flew over to me and put a cold compress on my forehead. The tremors happening in my bedroom came to a halt and Iris was able to secure my lamp back into place.

"I don't know what the right thing to do is," I muttered.

"Yeah, you do," a different voice answered and I didn't have to sit up to know Ryder was standing in my doorway. "We both know you want to help her. So why are you hesitating? And don't say it's to protect us because that excuse is starting to get old."

I didn't know what to tell him so I just huffed out all of the air that was stored in my lungs as if I was trying to push out all of the bad mojo.

"She's your friend, isn't she? You can't keep running from your past, Tara. How many times do I need to tell you that before it gets through your thick skull." His voice was gentle even though his words cut deep.

"I'm not trying to run from my past. I would want nothing more than to help Anya and her House and Guild members," I finally sat up to face him.

"Then what's the problem?"

When I hung my head and didn't answer right away he walked over and sat down beside me, waiting for me to speak. "I promised Elliot that I would keep my head down and lay low. Accepting Anya's request would only do the opposite,"

"Then why did he come with Anya in the first place?"

"I think it was his way of trying to look out for me. Anya is the Guardian of his House and so he knows the way she thinks and is aware of how resilient she can be sometimes. She's pushy and tough like a harsh wind refusing to let up. He probably came with her so he could get that message across to me. He's worried."

I purposely left out the part where Elliot informed me about moles amongst the Officials before Anya's visit because there was no need to add more fuel to the fire, but it made me wonder how Anya found out. It wasn't in Elliot's character to just blab that information around to just anyone. If she found out on her own then he probably came along with her to look out for her and made it seem like he should be the one to make the request instead of her for appearance purposes.

"You and Elliot must have been really close at the Estate," was all Ryder said.

Looking up at him was a mistake because he had such a hard look in his eye that put me on edge.

"Elliot aside, I think there's more to it," he gave me a pointed look which I rolled my eyes at.

"What if I can't help? Then what?" I continued.

"Well, you won't know until you try. You shouldn't count yourself out until you've given your all. And you should do what you feel is right. Not what Elliot or anyone else thinks you should do."

His whole demeanor lightened up as he offered me a smile. Something that seemed to be rare for him lately.

"He's right, Tara," Cooper voiced as him, Naudia and Hazel walked into my room. "You're free to make your own choices. To help or not to help is completely up to you."

"And you know you can count on us to back up whatever decision you make!" Hazel winked at me.

"Just as long as you don't try to be that cool ever again. What was that all about anyway?" Naudia folded her arms.

"Yeah! If Nexus needs a Guardian then I'll be that for them, if they need a friend or an ally then I'll be that too. They were a family to me when I needed them most," Hazel quoted my words back to me.

"I don't know. I thought it was pretty adorable," Cooper laughed.

"I was trying to sound like an admirable Guardian," I pouted as my cheek flushed, completely embarrassed by being forced to re-live the whole ordeal.

"Well, you did your best," Ryder chuckled as he put a hand on the top of my head and ruffled up my hair.

"For a Guardian of Love though, she's kind of intense," Naudia mentioned.

"That's actually a pretty common misconception," Trinkette informed.

"Yeah, Anyaloves love but only when it's in the form of admiration." Serena added.

"And that admiration has to be for her and only her." Iris spat.

"Isn't that a little odd for a Gemini though? I mean, I thought that they were more go with the flow type," Cooper inquired.

"They are. Which is why Anya was chosen for Gemini. Each Guardian experiences signs of their people, but they also show traits opposite of them too. It's so that they're more suitable to guide their House properly. Imagine a flighty leader guiding even more flighty followers. Nothing would get done and it would just be a mess. Anya is flighty in her own way, but she is still definitely a force to be reckoned with," I explained.

"So then what are we doing here? Do we trust her or not?" Naudia suddenly snapped impatiently.

"I think what Naudia means is are we going to help?" Cooper let out a laugh.

I think Hazel noticed the confused look on my face because she jumped forward and held out my arm. "We're in this together, Tara. We're a team remember?" she asked and I looked down at our matching tattoos.

Then, Ryder placed a hand on my shoulder and when I looked up at him he was giving me his usual toothy grin as if excited for the next adventure that awaited us. His confidence gave me comfort.

"I guess it won't hurt to go check it out at least," I grinned back at him.

"I'll go let Miranda know!" Cooper raced out the door with Hazel and Naudia following behind him to go prepare for our trip.