Oaklie was proud of her efforts and didn’t feel as drained as she usually did.“Let’s get going,” she said through her open window.“We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”
Arkas strode over and climbed in next to her.He slouched down and stretched his legs out as far as he could.He’d already moved the seat back to accommodate his ridiculous height.
While she didn’t want to leave her home, destiny compelled her.Oaklie knew leaving with Arkas would be the only way she would find out what her true purpose was.There was nothing holding her back, since her family was gone and everything on the property had died.
Her dad’s truck was newer than the rusty one she was driving, but it had been his pride and joy.It would have felt wrong to use it during their dangerous mission.
Following the route she’d traced on an old map, Oaklie reached the interstate.“It looks clear,” she said in relief.
“Didn’t the Rapture happen in the middle of the night?”he asked.
“Yeah, but there are always vehicles on the highways night and day,” she said.“Lots of people still would have been on the roads even at midnight when the Rapture struck.The gold comet I saw a few days ago landed at midnight, too, which was weird.It looked like it landed somewhere close to town, but I didn’t hear the collision.”
“That was me,” Arkas said with a grimace.“I landed in a lake.”
“You arrived on Earth in a comet?”she asked skeptically.
“Knights of Order always appear as gold meteors,” he said.“Soldiers of Chaos appear as red ones.”
“Of course they do,” she said, then shook her head.He’d told her his enemies had a red tint to their eyes that reflected their affiliation with Chaos.She’d seen the tattoo of the sword and wings on his chest when he’d sat in front of the fire in just a towel.Apparently, all of the knights had similar tattoos on their chests or shoulders.It signaled their allegiance to Order.
She drove for a couple of hours before they ran into their first problem.“I knew it,” she groaned when she saw a pileup in the distance.A huge truck had tipped over, blocking the way.Cars and pickup trucks had slammed into it.One had caught on fire and the entire pileup had become engulfed.
“I see a ramp over there,” Arkas said, pointing to an offramp just ahead.
“I’ll have to take it,” Oaklie said, then slowed down and exited.It would delay them each time they had to detour around accidents, but there wasn’t much they could do about it.
“When do I get a turn to drive?”Arkas asked as she drove along the far smaller road that ran alongside the interstate.
“You’ve never driven a day in your life before,” Oaklie reminded him.“You’ve never even seen a car before you arrived here.”
“I’ve watched you drive long enough to know what to do,” he said with a scowl.“Besides, Fate imbues us with all of the knowledge we need to function in each new era.”
“Fine,” she said with an eyeroll.“You can have a turn when I stop for lunch.”
“I can’t wait,” he said in anticipation, then returned his attention to watching for trouble.
“All men are the same, even if they’re from another dimension,” Oaklie realized.“You all want to be in control all the time.”
“That’s not why I want to drive,” the warrior protested.
“Why then?”she demanded.
“It looks like fun,” he said with a shrug.“I’m sure my brothers will all want to try the new inventions humans have come up with.Technology like this didn’t exist in the past.It’s mind blowing to see all of the modern devices humans use so casually.People in past eras would have been terrified by something as simple as a toaster.”
Oaklie laughed at that concept.“I guess you’re right,” she conceded.“Besides, it’s dangerous for me to try to drive the entire way to New York by myself.Even cambions get tired.”
“You can rest while I drive, female,” Arkas said, tone softening protectively.“I’ll take care of you.”
She didn’t know how to respond to his promise, so she opted to say nothing at all.He kept showing her a softer side of himself that was as endearing as it was disturbing.He’d been created to destroy his enemies before returning to the Void to be put back in stasis once more.There was no hope of a future with him, but she couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to have a man like him watching over her forever.
Oaklie shook off that idiotic thought.Arkas would be a temporary blip in her life and nothing more.She had to remember that and ignore her growing feelings for him.
