I woke up abruptly, sitting bolt upright and blinking, trying to see in the brightness of the sun. “Aeryn!” I heard Zulu’s familiar voice cry and two soft hands gently pushed me back down onto the soft blanket, layed out over the sand. “Sh, you must rest, my brother.”
At the mention of brother, I got a terrible headache. “Ugh,” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose and squeezing my eyes shut. When the throbbing pain had dulled slightly, I squinted up at her, trying to see in the bright light. She was biting her lip, her eyes deep with worry. It didn’t help my train of thought that she was wonderfully, head-over-heals gorgeous when she was concerned.
“Are you alright?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered, sitting up again and waiting for my blood to rush down from my head. I winced and tried to stand.
Her hands stopped me again, “Loria Aeryn, permit me to stop you.You must have rest to recover after the Ritual.”
What I really needed was to recover from what I’d found out about Zulu.