Trial of Anubis

١٩: WRAITH

    A new day somehow signalled a renewal of incantations. All precautions cast previously were shattered, signalled by the footsteps above, chatter on the balconies and hum of electronics. Wraith sat up with a grunt.

      Ziara mewled. She'd rolled to the side in her sleep to the other pillow, but as if sensing him being awake, she curled back around his torso and hooked her thigh over his, snoring.

      Wraith didn't want to disrupt her sleep, something told him they wouldn't be getting much peace after this, but if there were no more safeguards, they couldn't risk staying at the apartment. He scooped her up in his arms and shouldered the door open.

        To his dismay, Carn had regained his faculties and had been moved from the kitchen floor to the couch, "Morning mutts, shame none of you died in your sleep."

        Unlike last night, his bruised and swollen eyes were self-aware rather than lost in a subdued, glassy haze.

       Hissing, Lacy backhanded him. She'd taken Wraith's advice and bound her knuckles in Anuka's bandages. She'd also changed out of her traditional khalasaris and wore orange cotton shorts and a tank top to blend in with the Ungifted outside. Elijah tried to pull her back to the safety of the other side of the coffee table, but she shrugged him off, clenching her jaw.

      Nathanial leaned over the breakfast bar with a coffee, "Can someone gag that rat, so I don't have to listen to his bullshit? It's too early for that."

       Wraith rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he heaved a loud sigh. Ziara huffed and moved again. Wraith cupped the back of her thighs when she wrapped them around him, snuggling into his neck. His brow crinkled, was she still asleep?

        He leaned down to sit her on the sink, but her grip tightened around him.

         "No," she murmured softly.

           He cocked his head at her, trying to see if her eyes were open, "A shower will help you wake up. We need to get ready to leave soon."

       "No," she repeated.

          Wraith sighed, "The hekka veil broke, we aren't protected from Ungifted anymore."

        "Don't. . .care," Ziara nuzzled her forehead into the hollow of his throat. "Tired."

        Wraith rolled his eyes again and lifted her up. Opening the door of the shower with his boot he reached in and flicked the hot tap before quickly retracting his arm. The sound of water seemed to entice her to loosen her legs and stand up on her own, though she kept her cheek firmly against his sternum. He almost forgot how much shorter she was than him despite being above average height.

      "S. . .stay," she whispered.

       "Ziara," his lips pressed together.

       "Please," he felt her tears warm his shirt.

        Chewing the inside of his cheek, Ziara's plea won. He turned her towards the shower and nudged her. He bent to untie his boots and remove his socks and then began to unbutton his shirt. He didn't look at Ziara as he did so, he somehow couldn't.

       She pulled down her shorts and threw her shirt to the side but kept her underwear on, feeling her way along the glass to the door, still half asleep.

        "I'm not here to make you uncomfortable," Wraith said, pulling his belt through the loops.

       "You've seen me in less," she shrugged, leaning against the tiles. "Didn't think much about it."