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Zoe
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We had sort of let the demons in through the porta. This was bad. Very, very bad. How was I going to live with myself knowing I had caused Winter fairies to die?
The whole way back from Fairyland to my house, I was haunted by images of the fairies we had to leave behind. I only hoped Oberon received my message in time and decided to send help. I’d have to get in touch with Sidelle later tonight and confirm.
When Kieran finally dropped me off at my house, it was nighttime, and I prayed my parents wouldn’t be home to grill me. I couldn’t handle them right now. No one was home. I trudged through the kitchen, picked up the paper, and read the date: Sunday, April 24. Great, I didn’t miss my junior prom. I saw the note my parents had left on the fridge and then walked up to my room, relieved I didn’t have to answer tons of questions. The clock on the wall read 7:34. The house would most likely be quiet for another few hours.
I didn’t hear Shay calling my name—not until he touched my hand. The jolt pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I can stay, if you’d like.”
“I don’t know.” I faced the window.
“Don’t know if you’re okay or if you want me to stay?”
He couldn’t see my smile. “I always want you to stay, Shay.”
“But ...?” He stood next to me.
“I just need some time to process, if that’s all right with you.”
“Sure.” He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek, and I closed my eyes, loving his touch. “Take all the time you need. I’ll always be here.”
I touched the warm electrical trail he’d left on my face. I grabbed a fist full of his shirt and pulled him toward me so I could kiss him. At first it was a little rougher than I was going for, but it then softened. My arms wrapped around his shoulders, and his hands moved to my waist, pulling me closer. He molded his body against mine, threading his fingers through my hair, kissing me back. Any thoughts of how horrible I knew I looked after this impossibly long day simply floated away. Kissing him made all my worries and fears dissolve.
Need tugged at my brain and heart. My emotions swirled around me, around us. Purple light shot out of my body, just like the first time our make-out session had turned hot and heavy. I led him to my bed, letting myself fall onto it and taking him with me. He kissed my forehead, my neck, my lips. With every kiss, I felt the pain of his torture while he’d been in Hell, as well as the longing he’d held for me that whole time. Worst of all was his fear that he might never see me again. I needed him to understand I would never leave him. My breathing became labored as I pushed his dirty black T-shirt up and ran my fingers over his chest. His skin, which had been so horribly disfigured during his capture, was perfect again. Soft. Our kissing broke off, and I ran my finger over the place where the X should’ve been. Then I inspected his shoulder.
“I wouldn’t have fought if I knew I wasn’t at one hundred percent,” Shay assured me. “You don’t have to worry.”
“I still will.”
“I worry about you, too.” He ran his finger along my skin, near my belly button, and I shivered. “Are you always going to glow?” he asked, grinning. “It’s going to be kinda hard to hide us making out if you keep telling the world.”
My face was on fire. “I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. I’m just teasing. I’d shout it from the rooftops if you’d let me.” He lowered his lips back to mine, making me forget temporarily about the Winter fairies’ deaths, the upcoming battle between good and evil, and all the pain Shay tried to keep hidden from me.
A few hours later, I awoke in his arms.
“Zoe?” he whispered. “Your parents are home.”
That got me moving. I rolled off the bed and ran into my walk-in closet, where I selected new clothes. I sprinted into the bathroom, scrubbed the dirt off my face, and combed the rat’s nest out of my hair. My heart pounded as the steps outside my bedroom door drew closer. When I emerged from the bathroom, Shay was gone. I checked the window, and it was shut.
I heard a knock.
“Yes?”
“Are you decent?”
“Yes. Come in.”
The door opened, and Dad walked in. “How was your weekend with Sidelle?”
I prayed he couldn’t read my mind as I lied. “Oh, you know, busy. We had to do a lot of research and organization. I didn’t sleep too much, and our eating schedule was off”—at least that wasn’t a lie—“but you remember how that goes, right?”
“Sure. I remember pulling all-nighters at the U. But we always stopped working to have a little fun.”
“Nope, didn’t do that. Between running here and there for stuff, we didn’t have a chance to have any fun at all.”
“No late-night girly talks?”
“I’d zonk out most of the time.”
He frowned. “Seems to me Sidelle would look out for you a little more.”
“She does,” I said, shrugging, “but you know I get my stubbornness from you.”
He turned to leave, then stopped. “Oh, and Zoe?”
“Yeah?”
“You have a mark on your neck.” He pointed at his own to show me where, then wiggled one eyebrow. “And I know she does a good job protecting you. All your friends do.”
He left and closed the door.
Shay shot out of the closet. “He knows.”
“Well, duh, he knows. He pointed out the hickey you left on my neck!”
“Not that. Well, yeah, that too, but he knows about all this stuff.” He came closer to me. “Didn’t you hear him?”
Now, he was making no sense. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Sure it does. I’m sorry, Zoe, but I don’t think your parents are who they say they are.”
What? I stared at him, shaking my head. “Don’t be silly. Of course they are. Kieran and Sidelle would’ve known if they weren’t. They’ve been in my life since I was born.”
He tilted his head, thinking. He let out a long breath. “The next time you talk with Kieran, you should ask him.” He stepped toward the window. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, so you can rest and get ready for school tomorrow. I know you didn’t get much sleep over the last four days. But I’ll be back after I check in with Kieran.”
After he left through the window, I got ready for bed, stunned by his parting words. I did need sleep, but my body wouldn’t rest. Words tumbled around in my mind as I tried to replay conversations I’d had with my parents over these past few weeks. Why weren’t they freaked out more? Did they really know about the Enlightens? And if so, could they be angels like me? Finally, exhaustion overwhelmed me, and I floated off to sleep.
I hadn’t spoken to Aiden since last week. When I noticed the same flame-red car in the same parking spot on the school grounds, it jogged something in my mind.
“Come on.” I pulled on Shay’s sleeve, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. I scanned the parking lot to make sure no one was watching us as we headed toward the sports car.
We peered into the dark tinted windows but couldn’t see the interior. The car shined and was full of so much chrome we could see our reflections almost everywhere. The license plate read: HELBOUND. I had seen this car before. When? Here in the parking lot, some time ago. Who drove it? Think! The driver ... he wore a hat with a red feather. And ... and Morgan. She had been getting into the passenger side. Bingo!
“This car was here two weeks ago,” I declared. “Now, I remember it. It was on the day Vash came to school. Didn’t Kieran tell you that we had this conversation?”
“You sure?” Shay asked. “I haven’t had a lot of time to regroup with Kieran.”
“Yes, positive. It has to be the same vehicle. Cars like that are rare at the school, let alone this town.”
The first bell rang, so we hurried to our lockers, ending our conversation. Later, when I saw Rena in the hall after first period, I stopped her. I felt bad for the way I’d treated her and Quinn the week before, and I needed to set things right again.
“Rena!” I called.
“Hi, Zoe. Hey Shay.” She turned to me. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all weekend. Is your phone on the fritz or something?”
“No, why? What’s going on?”
“Quinn went home Wednesday night after cheer practice and felt sick. Must’ve been bad because her parents took her to the hospital later that night.”
“What?” My stomach ached. The last conversation I’d had with her left a sour taste in my mouth. “Is she all right?”
She shook her head, looking concerned. “The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her. They ran the usual battery of tests, but as of last night, they’re thinking of transferring her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to be seen by a specialist.”
“That’s horrible! I have to go visit her.”
“I can take you,” Shay said. Then the tardy bell rang.
Quinn didn’t return to school, and I never had the chance to visit before the doctors moved her to Rochester.
By Thursday, my life had returned to a normal routine—or at least what I thought normal should be. No demons attacked, no one died, and I continued to attend school. The teachers still piled on homework, even though this weekend was prom, and no one would be doing anything except eating, partying, and dancing. Every afternoon I went to Kieran’s and practiced the Silico with Cali. Her life became a routine, too. She had informed us that nothing happened while on pack land, and Jackson hadn’t found out who helped the demons. So everyone was still on high alert. And every evening I hung out with Shay, or we sat in Kieran’s backyard or mine, or we’d walk to Coffee Grind.
Today was no different. Cali and I had advanced to the next level, which was the actual hand-to-hand combat. She partnered with Vash, and I went with Shay since neither would intentionally hurt us. We decided that as soon as we were comfortable with our sparring partners, we’d switch. Vash and Shay each had their own fighting styles, so we would pick up new maneuvers or stances through working with both.
“Hey, Sidelle, did you hear that Quinn still isn’t better?” I asked during a break.
“Yes, I heard. I wonder what she has.”
“You don’t know?”
She scowled. “I don’t go poking around people’s brains, so no, I don’t know what ailment she has. Sorry, Zoe.”
The last two days of school passed quickly, even though Quinn was MIA. Aiden seemed upset about something. Maybe he missed her. The gossip of the week was about Aiden and Morgan. One of the seniors had thrown a party on Friday night during the long weekend, and they’d both shown up. Shortly after, they’d left ... together. Rena told me that on Saturday, he’d had a lunch date with Quinn, then a dinner date with Morgan. For me, that was the last straw. I decided that whatever ailed Quinn was Aiden’s fault—or at least I’d blame him for it. Rena, after I badgered her for a full day, finally said that Quinn and Aiden had hung out together a couple of nights last week, too. Aiden had even gone to her house to check on her. How could he flirt with her and still date Morgan? Because on Monday, he and Morgan were inseparable, either joined at the hands or by the lips.
By Friday afternoon, I had managed not to say a single word to Aiden at school or at home. Hopefully, he got the message loud and clear. After Shay dropped me off at my house, I ran to my room, wanting to grab a change of clothes so I could get in one more practice before prom weekend officially started. I noticed the blue light on my cell phone flashing, so I checked to see who it was. I hoped it was Shay letting me know to come over ... but it wasn’t.
Aiden: Are you mad at me
I punched at the phone’s keyboard.
Me: What do you think?
Aiden: Where are you
Me: What do you want?
Aiden: I want to explain
Me: Why? Seems obvious
Aiden: Please
Me: Fine. My backyard.
I stepped outside and waited. It wasn’t long before heavy footsteps approached through the grass. Not bothering to look up at his face when his black combat boots came into my peripheral view, my head eyes focused on the ground. Aiden didn’t say anything as he sat on the swing beside me, and that bugged me. I wanted him to hurry and spit out whatever he wanted to tell me. By sitting here, I was losing precious time with Shay. We stayed silent for a long time, and I still didn’t say anything. He’d called the meeting, and I wasn’t about to break first. I watched him fiddle with his hands, like he was nervous or trying to figure out what to say.
“Zoe, I’m sorry,” he eventually said, looking at me with pleading eyes. “It’s not what you think.”
“Whatever,” I snapped.
“I didn’t—”
“I said whatever. Say what you came to say. Then go away.”
He blew out a sigh. “I ran into your friend, Kieran, earlier today. He asked me a lot of questions about my tattoo, so I showed it to him. It’s no big deal. Then he drilled me about ...” He swallowed, taking a deep breath. “About the Enlightens, asking what I knew about the Orders. I didn’t know you knew, and I couldn’t figure out how to tell you about me. Now, I don’t have to.”
I glanced at him, surprised, but he was looking at the ground. This was totally not what I’d been expecting to hear about.
“You don’t know what it was like for me,” he said. “I hated the thought of moving to Minnesota. Then on the night before the move, I had a dream about a girl with brown hair and green eyes. There wasn’t any storyline to the dream, but I kept seeing a face, like flashing images. Imagine my surprise when I saw you on your front step, next to the house we’d just bought, and you looked so much like my dream, except you were too far away for me to see clearly. Sarah wanted me to hurry up and pick out the bedroom I wanted. I literally ran into the house, so I could come back outside and meet you. I checked each room’s view before I picked my room, and I hoped the purple one was yours.”
He grinned, but he kept looking down. “Imagine my joy when I walked up and you smiled at me. I didn’t want to scare you, but the truth is I had to make a conscious effort to slow my breathing. Because the fact is, it was your face I had dreamed. Then add to my surprise when you came to my room. You were so cute, especially when you got all huffy. I’m sorry, I didn’t handle that moment well. I was ... I was shocked.”
He finally looked at me, and I was struck again by so many things, like how incredibly hot he was, and how the color of his eyes was so like Shay’s.
“I still can’t believe I found you,” he said. “Then that night we sat on our windowsills and talked? Man, I loved that and every night since. I wanted to get to know you. You, Zoe, all of you. I had to. I—”
I didn’t like where this was going. It made my stomach churn. I changed subject. “Why are you dating Morgan and not Quinn?”
He shook his head. “Quinn’s with Caden.” He got off his swing and surprised me by kneeling in front of me. When I didn’t move, he leaned back to sit on his feet. “Sure, we spent time together last week, but we’re just friends.”
His hand hovered above my knee, but he pulled back when he saw the look of warning in my eyes.
“Does she know that?” I asked.
“She knows now.” He sighed. “Zoe, I didn’t know you knew about Enlightens. How was I supposed to tell you that she’s a Nephilim?”
“What? Quinn?” What on earth? “How do you know that?”
“I can tell.” He tapped the side of his head. “She doesn’t have a tattoo yet, so she hasn’t made the full transition. She doesn’t know about us, Zoe. About Enlightens, I mean. I had to tell her to help her prepare for it. She told me she was adopted, so I knew she wouldn’t know about all this. I mean, who would teach or train her? So I took it upon myself to help her through the transition until she gets her tattoo. That’s why she’s been out sick. The transition is happening now.”
I thought about what Aiden had said. Of course he wouldn’t have known I knew about the Enlightens, and that meant all this had been a massive misunderstanding. He had checked on Quinn, testing the waters with her to find out what she knew. When he realized she didn’t know anything, he’d helped her since there was no one else.
“Wouldn’t Kieran know this?”
“Maybe. Have you asked him?”
“No, I’ve been busy this week and didn’t have a chance. Sidelle didn’t know, so I left it alone, chalked it up to some mystery disease.”
That’s when I noticed Aiden’s expression was one of fear. He didn’t know what I was thinking, and he seemed genuinely concerned. Realizing I’d been wrong about him felt like a huge weight lifted. My anger vanished. He grabbed the metal chains of my swings, forcing me to face him, and pulled me over until our heads were only inches apart. His beautiful eyes were wide. When they dropped to my lips, I smiled, and he closed the distance between us.
At the last second, he stopped, and my brain caught up with my body. I scrambled away, my fingers pressed to my lips. My stomach heaved with the knowledge that I’d almost kissed him. No, wait. He’d almost kissed me. What had come over me? Even though I hadn’t done anything, I felt sick with guilt. Shay was the love of my life and my soul mate. We were meant to be together.
“I can’t. Shay’s my boyfriend. I won’t betray him.”
He cleared his throat. “Sorry.”
“Look, I gotta get going,” I said, waiting for him to release the chains of my swing. “I’m meeting him for a date.”
Aiden completely ignored what I’d said. “Where did you and he meet?”
I guessed I could spare a few more minutes. I loved to talk about anything to do with Shay. “In a warehouse in the Void. It sort of blossomed from there.” I sighed. “When we touch, we ... um, how can I say it? Um, well ... it’s like an electrical current goes through us. As our relationship got more intense, so would the shock. Kieran said it was because we were soul mates.”
“Wow, soul mates. Guess it’s true then. It does happen.” He sat back on the other swing. “So is that what this is?” He pointed to the inside of my wrist. “I’ve never seen one like that on another Enlighten.”
I shrugged, words wanting to come out of my mouth. “I don’t know what it means, but I guess I should tell you something else ... about me.” I looked him in his eyes, hoping I was doing the right thing. “Do you know about the Prophesy?”
“Yes. Everyone knows it.”
“Well, here’s the thing—” A tingle shattered my mind, like a gateway being pushed open. “I’m the Redeemer.” I couldn’t stop the words even if I wanted to. And did I want to?