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“Hello,” Kieran says into his cell phone. “Yes, she’s right here. Just a second.” He mouths, “your mom.” He then says louder, “Here, Zoe.”
“Mom? You got my note. Yes, I’m leaving right now and will be home in a bit. I missed you, too. Mom, it’s okay. I’m here now, but I can’t run across the street until you hang up. Yes, I love you, too.” I toss the phone back to Kieran. “I have to go home.”
“We’ll reconvene tomorrow.”
I turn to leave and hide my wings.
“Zoe, it’s good to have you back.” Kieran steps beside me and embraces me. I feel and see his gold Light pulsing just under his skin and know just how much he missed me.
“I’ll take you home,” Shay says.
The twenty-nine steps it takes to get to my house isn’t fast enough. My parents are standing in the driveway when I open the door of Kieran’s house. Dropping Shay’s hand, I run to greet them. They don’t close the distance. My mom is clutching Dad. Stella hovers in the doorway.
I plow into my parents and cling to them.
“Welcome home, Zoe?” Mom asks as she pushes me back.
“Yes, I’m really missed you guys.” Tears run down my face.
“Zoe.” Dad’s arms tighten around my shoulders. “Oh, Zoe. We thought ... we thought that you’d never come home again.”
“No, Dad, I’ll always find my way home to you guys. You’re my family.” I motion for Stella to join us. “Stel, come give me a hug! I’ve missed you so much.”
“Zoe!” She hurls her body down the steps and flings her arms open. “I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve missed you like crazy.”
“I know, Squirt.” Mom’s shoulders shake from crying, and she can’t get any words out. “I know, Mom. I know.” I squeeze her waist and lead them all back in the house.
“How was Europe?” Mom asks.
Wait. What? Kieran must have told them something about my absence. “Long. I’ll tell you guys as much as I can, but for now, I just need to hold you guys.”
Once my parents settle down, we stop crying, and of course after Mom made me a quick sandwich.
“Go rest, but then you’re going to have to give us something.”
I excuse myself to go rest. I couldn’t tell them where I was, who kidnapped me, or why. Plus, Kieran or Shay needs to tell me what, if anything, they’ve told them, so our stories line up.
Taking the steps up to my bedroom, I stop in Stella’s room and grab her cell phone to text Shay.
Stella: Zoe here. Can you come over later? I’m going to rest for a bit.
Immediately, I get a response.
Shay: I’m already here.
I push open my bedroom door and find Shay leaning against the windowsill. God, I’ve missed him.
He’s dressed in all black: boots, jeans, and T-shirt.
“Close the blinds,” I say as I shut my door. With everything that I now know of Aiden, the last thing I need for him is to spy on me through his own window. “I left my family downstairs because I didn’t know what story you’ve told them. They haven’t asked me anything but they will. I’ll probably have to go into the police station and give a report or something.”
“No, Zoe, you won’t have to do that.” Shay opens his arms. I step into his embrace and place my head in the crook of his neck. “Kieran’s taken care of it. As for your parents, we told them that you went on a trip. A few days after ... when ... Michael stopped by and Mind Wiped them.”
“Is that why my Mom was acting all weird?” I look up into his aqua eyes. I’ve missed them so much.
“Probably. He used only a bit, just enough to cloud memories. They know you’ve been gone, but it’s like a day to them.”
“And Stella?”
“She was a bit harder to wipe because she believed so strongly you were kidnapped.” Shay brushes my hair from my face. “Michael told her that you’re on a summer trip, and it was a deal of a lifetime, and that’s why you missed your last weeks of school.”
“I don’t think she bought it. I watched her in the speculo. She knows something.”
“Possibly. I’ll let Kieran know.” He presses his forehead to mine. “Can I see your wings again?” He grins sheepishly.
Every time I need my wings, they appear faster. I don’t need to really think about them anymore. They are a part of me now.
Purple light bounces off my walls as I extend my wings to their full height. They tower over Shay. Memories of my first encounter of his wings rushes to my mind. Heat bubbles to my face as Shay’s stare penetrates straight to my soul.
We stand across from each other as he inspects my wings. He makes a slow circle around me just as I had done to him.
He glides his fingers lightly on my wings.
I shudder.
His familiar smirk appears on his lips.
Not only is purple light pulsing in the room, it’s met by a faint silver color. Shay’s T-shirt disappears and is replaced with brilliant, white wings springing from his back. With my enhanced vision, the silver specks aren’t just silver, but varying shades of gray, too.
We stand with our wings out, and I wrap mine around us, shielding us from prying eyes.
Footsteps make their way up the stairs.
“Shay, get into the closet. Someone is coming.”
“You can hear that?” His wings disappear as he steps into the walk-in closet.
“Yes. I don’t know if they—” I tilt my head. “—Dad will come in here or not, but I told them I was going to lie down.” I flip the switch to my light off and leap into bed, pulling the covers over my body and making my wings disappear.
The door cracks open, and a head pokes through.
“Zoe?” Dad whispers and doesn’t say anything more. “I’m glad you’re home.” He quietly shuts the door.
We wait a few minutes and listen to the retreating footsteps as they head back downstairs. I hear the TV volume click and know that they are settling in for the evening.
“The coast is clear, Shay. You can come out.”
“You must have gotten enhanced hearing, too?”
“Yes, so now you’re not the only superhero in the room.” I give him my best smirk. “Plus, my vision is better.”
I scoot over and peel back the covers, so Shay can join me in bed.
“I love your wings,” he says. “I knew they would be purple.” I turn on my side and nestle into his. “You’ve learned a lot, haven’t you?”
“I had to. No one else was there to teach me.”
“I’m sorry, Zoe.”
“For what?” I prop myself up on my arm. “It wasn’t you who kidnapped me or held me prisoner for two months.”
“I know, but I should’ve been the one to be with you and teach you how to use your gifts.”
“I’m here now, so we can start tomorrow. I need tonight to be just us.” I kiss his cheek.
We remain silent, and I return to his side, content to listen to his breathing. I can tell he wants to say or ask me something. His silver Light swirls like an aura.
“I know you went to Las Vegas.” I bit my lip. “And in our last Dream Walk, you had mentioned that you were looking for someone, and that someone said she knew of me being held by someone high up.”
“Are you jealous?” Shay asks. I can feel his smirk and his eyes staring at me through the darkness.
“No.” It’s a bit too quick. My face flames. I have no right to be mad or jealous of him. “I’m not. Really.”
“I was looking for Oriana. She’s a Knight who I’ve helped a couple of times years ago. She keeps up on most demon gossip, and I thought she would know something. That’s all it was.”
I don’t respond. I’m afraid if I do, something will blurt out that’s irrational. I bite my tongue.
“How did you escape?” Shay asks.
“Aiden arrived in my room and watched me transform—”
“I want to hear more about that, too, after your great escape.”
“As a parting gift, he created a window. I guess you could say that it’s like a speculo mirror because it showed me landscapes that I wished to view. It could fill the room with sound and smells. I kept it on an ocean scene so different fragrances would waft in. Sometimes I’d hear waterfalls. Birds chirped or would fly by.” I trace swirls on his bare chest. “After my wings appeared, Aiden left to go take care of something. It got me thinking that if Aiden could conjure the window that I should try escaping. Before all this happened, I had to dig for my Light, but now it’s always there, just within my reach. Power surged through me. I took a chance that the window would shatter, and I could fly away.”
“You’re so brave.” Shay kisses my forehead. “It must have worked because you’re here with me now.”
“Yes, it did. The moment I broke free of the room, I felt it. My wings flared with Light, and I launched through the protection barrier. I flew around, trying to get my bearings. I was in Four Corners, and I made it home. That long trip is where I learned how to make myself invisible and how to fly.”
“We should go tomorrow to a vacant field or something, so you can show me what you’ve learned. Maybe there is still some things I can teach you.”
“I’d love it if you would.” My mouth finds his in the dark. “And maybe we can figure out more of my powers.”
“Do you think he let you go? I mean, I’m really glad you’re here, but your escape seems too easy.”
“Yeah. I thought that, too. Maybe he did, or he forgot to ward it against me. Or maybe he can’t contain me.”
“I won’t ever leave your side again. That, I promise you, Zoe.” Shay tightens his grip around my waist. “So, tell me about your transformation. I want to hear all the details. Don’t leave anything out.”
“Well. It must have been the time of my birth because I felt power run through my body. It was like nothing I ever experienced before. My Light was always a floating dot that shot around inside, and I had to look for it. But this was different, my whole body tingled, and Light danced around every part of me.” I shiver thinking about it. “My back prickled, and purple wings sprouted. My hearing and eyesight became enhanced. I could hear Aiden’s voice in my head.” I sit up onto my knees. “Wait. No. I could hear Aiden before my change. We touched twice in that room, and both times an electrical shock coursed through us. It’s the same shock that you and I feel but different. I questioned it in my mind. I know I didn’t voice it, but Aiden answered me, telling me that he knew what it meant. But he disappeared and never came back.”
“Do you think he’s your soul mate, too? I’ve never heard of anyone having two in the same lifetime.” He rakes his hand in his hair. “I guess it’s ... possible. If he is, he’s going to have to go through me to be with you.”
“I honestly don’t know. We’ll have to ask Kieran tomorrow. Oh, let me talk to K in my mind. Maybe it’s an angel thing.”
My body relaxes, and I kick out my legs and sit yoga-style. I only think of Kieran. His blue eyes, the soft smile he wears, the wavy blond hair, and his gentle soul. It’s like I’m tuning into his frequency.
“K, can you hear me? Let me know if you get his message. I’m testing something.”
We wait for a response, but nothing comes back to me. I lie back down on the bed, and Shay wraps his arms around me as my body again molds to his. We fall asleep in the protection of each other’s arms.