The Zodiacs

66. He Who Bleeds

They reached Luxor the next day, safely managing to sneak past the guarded gates with help from Layla and Asarte. The fire sign maneuvered light waves around them, while Asarte kept their footprints from carving into the loose sediment beneath. If Akil had been here, they wouldn't have needed to go to such limits because he would have simply made them as light as air... if he was here.

The Prince was the one who helped the Zodiacs get a secure location to spend the next two days in while they waited for the Pharaoh's day of celebration. But even when they were no longer around civilians, even when the risk of getting caught had dissipated, nobody spoke. Conversation seemed far too heavy on the Zodiacs' tongues.

Asarte fell asleep in the larger bedroom, mentally and physically exhausted from the grief that'd taken a toll on her body after such a long, draining journey.

Tau was stepping out of the bathroom, ruffling his damp hair after cleaning all the accumulated sand from it, when his eyes caught on the young girl sleeping on the large bed in the far corner of the room. He nearly didn't notice the Scorpio's presence until she stepped away from the window to carefully pull the thin blanket over Asarte's body.

"It's good," he spoke quietly, stepping into the room as Suma sunk into the edge of the bed beside the girl. She glanced in his direction, silently watching Tau approach the two of them with his hands drowned into the pocket of his pants. "...that she's resting."

Suma nodded, lifting her hand to push her hair out of her way and lazily adjust the bandana around her head. "She needs it," she answered.

"We all need it," Tau mumbled, his eyes set on the peaceful breathing of the Virgo. For a moment, she'd been allowed to remove herself from the toxicity of the world they were struggling to survive in. The oldest Zodiac envied her.

They fell into silence, the boy's mind working with all the thought he gave to his worries. Chione's idea balanced on the tip of his brain and, even Tau could see the pleasure that would come from killing the Pharaoh now. He'd never felt such a strong hate toward anybody before. But... "I can't let anything happen to her," he breathed, pulling Suma's attention once more. "She's still so... innocent."

How could somebody wish such a girl so much harm?

How was she a monster?

It wasn't difficult to read Tau's expression, at least not for the girl sitting before him now. "You're thinking about what Chione said," she stated, not questioning her observation in the least. "About killing the King and his advisors."

He nodded, gulping down to clear his airways as the Taurus opened his mouth to speak again. "What they did...," his gaze lost its focus, his thoughts tracing back to all the others. "It's all I can think about."

"So let's do it," Suma reached forward, gently placing her hand over Tau's to reassure the growing worry knitting his eyebrows together. His eyes slid to their contact before he looked up at the girl. "Let's make that bastard and all his men regret ever touching a single one of us."

But Tau's worries were only on the girl who turned over beside them, sniffling as she readjusted herself to a comfortable position.

"And we'll keep her safe, too. We'll keep each other safe... because, if there's one thing Akil nailed into our minds, it's that nobody else will understand and worry about us more than ourselves --this generation's Zodiacs," Suma whispered, wrapping her fingers around his as her lips pulled into a tear-filled smile.

Tau exhaled lightly, the corners of his lips turning up at her words and all the memories they brought. "When did you become so affectionate?" He teased, desperately trying to return any normalcy to their interactions. Would things ever be normal again?