[Ouch! I thought we agreed: no pinching!]
Two weeks after the battle with Apophis, Zia and I were sitting in the food court at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Why there? I’d heard the Mall of America was the biggest in the country, and I figured we’d start big. It was an easy trip through the Duat. Freak was happy to sit on the roof and eat frozen turkeys while Zia and I explored the mall.
[That’s right, Sadie. For our first real date, I picked up Zia in a boat pulled by a deranged griffin. So what? Like your dates aren’t weird?]
Anyway, when we got to the food court, Zia’s jaw dropped. “Gods of Egypt…”
The restaurant choices were pretty overwhelming. Since we couldn’t decide, we got a little of everything: Chinese, Mexican (the Macho Nachos), pizza, and ice cream—the four basic food groups. We grabbed a table overlooking the amusement park at the center of the mall.
A lot of other kids were hanging out in the food court. Many of them stared at us. Well…not at me. They were mostly looking at Zia and no doubt wondering what a girl like her was doing with a guy like me.
She’d healed up nicely since the battle. She wore a simple sleeveless dress of beige linen and black sandals—no makeup, no jewelry except for her gold scarab necklace. She looked way more glamorous and mature than the other girls in the mall.
Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, except for a little strand that curled behind her right ear. She’d always had luminous amber eyes and warm coffee-and-milk skin, but since hosting Ra, she seemed to glow even more. I could feel her warmth from across the table.
She smiled at me over her bowl of chow mein. “So, this is what typical American teenagers do?”
“Well…sort of,” I said. “Though I don’t think either of us will ever pass for typical.”
“I hope not.”
I had trouble thinking straight when I looked at her. If she’d asked me to jump over the railing, I probably would’ve done it.
Zia twirled her fork through her noodles. “Carter, we haven’t talked much about…you know, my being the Eye of Ra. I can guess how strange that was for you.”
See? Just your typical teenage conversation in the mall.
“Hey, I understand,” I said. “It wasn’t strange.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, it was strange,” I admitted. “But Ra needed your help. You were amazing. Have you, uh, talked to him since…?”
She shook her head. “He’s retreated from the world, just like he said. I doubt I’ll be the Eye of Ra again—unless we face another Doomsday.”
“So, with our luck, not for a few more weeks, you mean.”
Zia laughed. I loved her laugh. I loved that little curl of hair behind her ear.
(Sadie says I’m being ridiculous. Like she’s one to talk.)
“I had a meeting with your Uncle Amos,” Zia said. “He has lots of help at the First Nome now. He thought it would be good for me to spend some time away, try to live a more…typical life.”
My heart tripped and stumbled straight into my ribs. “You mean, like, leave Egypt?”
Zia nodded. “Your sister suggested I stay at Brooklyn House, attend American school. She says…how did she put it? Americans are an odd bunch, but they grow on you.”
Zia scooted around the table and took my hand. I sensed about twenty jealous guys glaring at me from the other tables of the food court.
“Would you mind if I stayed in Brooklyn House? I could help teach the initiates. But if that would make you uncomfortable—”
“No!” I said much too loudly. “I mean, no, I don’t mind. Yes, I’d like that. A lot. Quite a bit. Totally fine.”
Zia smiled. The temperature in the food court seemed to go up another ten degrees. “So that’s a yes?”
“Yes. I mean, unless it would make you uncomfortable. I wouldn’t want to make things awkward or—”