Chapter 7

"Thank goodness you're all right!"

Arms crushed me. The air was being slowly squeezed out of my lungs. Black spots danced in front of me. I tried to focus my eyes, but then the ground seemed to snap up and crash into me.

"Nevada!" I choked out. "I really need to breathe!"

The arms released their iron-grip on me. My best friend stumbled back from my front door, looking sheepish. "Sorry. I'm just so glad you're all right. After what happened at the Oval…" She shuddered.

"I'm fine." My ears were ringing. I knocked on my head to make it stop. But it didn't stop.

Nevada's honey-colored eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

"My ears are ringing."

Her mouth hung open. "Did that fiend?—"

"It wasn't the fiend. It was my crazy best friend who strangled me with a hug the moment I answered the door."

"Oh." The word popped on her lips. "Maybe you should sit down."

"Yeah." I waved her inside. "Come on in."

I closed the door after her. Then, limbs heavy and tired, I trudged over to my ugly sofa. When I plopped down, the ancient piece of furniture let out a satisfying squeak.

Nevada lowered herself gracefully beside me. Her eyes gave me a long, thorough looking-over.

"Yes?" I said, sliding down the sofa until I was low enough to lean my head against the frayed backrest. "What are you doing?"

"My best friend in all the world was in the middle of a battle." Her gaze continued to sweep over my body. "I'd be a bad friend if I didn't make sure you're all right. Plus, Dante would totally chew me out. He wanted to come, you know, but the Knights tasked his team to help with the Oval cleanup. And your mom's tending to the wounded."

"Were there many wounded?"

"I'm looking at one right now." She frowned when she saw the bruises on my arms.

"I'm fine." I stretched out, wincing when my body protested with a jolt of pain.

Nevada's lips pinched together. "That is not very convincing."

Yeah, so I felt as sore as a bruised peach, but nothing appeared to be broken. And I wasn't bleeding either. A total miracle, considering the day I'd had.

"I'm fine," I said again. "Most of my body parts are still attached." I managed to get one of my tired eyes to wink.

"Very funny." But Nevada didn't look amused. She looked worried.

"If I weren't all right, could I do this?"

I jumped off the sofa and forced my aching body to dip into a bow. I'd watched Kato very closely when he'd bowed to me, so I knew it was a good bow. Maybe even a bow worthy of a Knight.

Nevada must have been thinking the same thing. "Practicing for your grand debut, Sir Savannah?" she asked, standing.

I made a face. "Err, please don't call me ‘Sir'. It makes me feel like a boy. And I actually like being a girl."

Nevada smiled. "Girls don't get into half as much trouble as boys do."

"Yeah." I thought of some of the crazy stunts Dante had pulled over the years.

"Though you get into at least twice as much trouble as anyone I know," she said. "But very well, Dame Savannah."

I nodded crisply. "Better."

Both laughing, we fell back onto the sofa.

"I'm glad that you checked to make sure I'm all right." I squeezed Nevada tightly to me, and it didn't hurt nearly as much as it helped.

"And I'm glad that you're all right." She pulled back far enough to give me a curious look. "So, any idea who that madman at the Tournament was?"

"No." Frowning, I started fiddling with a loose thread in the sofa's stitching. "The Watchers took him away before we could talk to him."

"I can't believe you helped the Knights." Her eyes were wide. "That was really brave."

"Want in on a little secret?" I looked away from the thread. It was a poor distraction. "I was freaking out the whole time. And when he threw that big street sign at me, I nearly peed my pants."

Nevada sighed. "You're always in danger whenever that White Knight is around."

"It's not his fault," I said. "I have a hard time minding my own business."

"Really? I had no idea. You're always so indifferent and unobtrusive." She smirked at me. "Seriously, though, you really need to stop running headlong into danger, Savannah."

That earned her a very big eye-roll. "Actually, Kato said pretty much the same thing to me."

Except he'd called me Seven. I blushed again.

"Who is Kato?"

Nevada's question drew me out of the memory.

"Kato is the White Knight."

"I didn't realize you two were on a first-name basis." She hit me with a knowing smile. It was almost sappy.

My cheeks burned.

A chuckle still lingered on Nevada's lips when she said, "You should invite him over."

My eyes bulged. "You want me to invite a Knight over here? To my house?"

"I think you want to."

My whole face was scorching now. I buried it in my hands.

"Is it your mission in life to embarrass me?" I grumbled.

"Pretty much." She patted me on the back. "That's what best friends are for."

When I stole a peek at her through my fingers, she was grinning. I was so glad I hadn't told her that I'd seen Kato's face. Then I never would have heard the end of it.

"Hey, can you stay here for a while?" I asked her. "It's been a rough day, and I don't want to be alone right now."

"I'm always here for you, Savannah." She wrapped her arm around me. "No matter what."

"Thanks," I said, resting my head on her shoulder.

Lightning flashed outside the windows, hot and bright. We waited, but no rain came, only thunder. The rumbling continued throughout dinner, which we ate together. It continued long after Nevada left. The dry lightning storm raged on all night, searing away the remnants of the day.