After Dusk

Chapter Six

Halfway to the courtyard, I get nervous. A sweaty palms and butterflies in my stomach kind of nervous. What if Theo's friends don't like me? What if Theo realizes that I'm too ignorant about all of this to be any fun to hang out with? Heck, what if they're power abusing freaks that want to take over the human race? Okay, maybe that one was a bit much, but how would I know? I've never dealt with a group of demigods before. I sneak a peek at Theo from under my lashes.

Will his handsomeness and sunny disposition ever cease to amaze me? I don't think so . His beauty isn't the kind that you ever get use to. He has a certain glow about him that draws me in and holds me tight. His golden eyes slide down to catch me staring. I blush madly, quickly turning to stare straight ahead. My face burns.

Amora stays silent, unease rolling off her in waves. I catch her eye and give her an encouraging smile, hoping to ease some of her nerves. She tries to smile back but it's more like a grimace. I wish I could ease her worry somehow, but the only way to do that is to help her face her fear of talking to these people. Maybe this will be good for me too. I can learn what life as a demigod is like and, hopefully, get rid of this ridiculous image of demigods as power hungry villains out of my head. 

I can now see a group of people lounging around a beautiful tree; a weeping willow, I think it's called. The group of five talks and laughs, oblivious to us for the time being. Four guys lounge comfortably in a haphazard circle, while the lone girl of the group leans against a muscular blond guy who has his arm wrapped around her. Obviously a couple. Okay, so far so good. They don't seem all that scary from here.

"Hey, Theo," a dark haired boy with wine red eyes greets as he stands. Those eyes of his are a bit unnerving, of course this is coming from someone who's never seen someone with red eyes before. The man's build is tall and skinny, but not lacking musculature.

"Egan!" Theo says gleefully, gesturing to me, "have you met Laila yet?"

Egan's strange eyes land on me as he shakes his head and says, "hey, I'm Egan."

I shake his hand, smiling politely. Theo then introduces me to a man with sandy blond hair and playful ocean blue eyes. He's a big guy, almost bear like, but he's not scary. Teddy bear is how I would describe this stranger before me.

"Laila, this is Wade. Wade, Laila," Theo says, seeming to like his new role of introduction.

"Nice to meet you, Laila," Wade says smiling. I note again how totally ripped this guy is. Yep, definitely a descendant of a god.

I smile back, "you too."

"This is Seraphina," Theo says, gesturing to the only girl of the group. She brushes the long, dark locks from her face and stares at me with a pleasant expression. Her eyes are nearly black with a burst of orange around the pupil. It's like a dancing flame in her eyes. How cool. Now, if I had eyes like that, this demigod thing might not be so bad.

We smile at each other, neither saying a word.

"Last, but not least, is-"

"Adam. I'm Adam," says a boy with sandy blond hair and soft grey eyes, interrupting Theo, though he doesn't seem to mind. If anything he seems amused. For some reason, he strikes me as familiar. Where could I have seen this demigod before? Then it dawns on me.

"Adam? Adam Greene? From Winterwood?" I ask incredulously. Is this the man I'd been friends with for so long? Is this where he disappeared to?

He looks at me in confusion, an almost guarded expression on his face, "yeah. How'd you know that?"

I smile hugely. It really is him! I should have known. After this happened to me, I should have recognized the same thing in Adam. Our situations are, after all, eerily similar.