Eve’s breath caught and her eyes widened as Zeph closed the distance between them with a kiss. His lips were tender as a whisper against hers, and for a moment after, they lingered as they shared a breath.
Zeph ran his fingers down the side of her face then reached to take the hands that had finally escaped her pockets. Eve dropped her gaze to their intertwined hands and smiled.
“My family loves you, you know. I mean, I knew they would, but you’ve won them over completely. I’m pretty sure they like you better than me.” His tone was teasing, but he really meant it.
“Zeph, why do you talk about yourself like that — like you think you’re not worth anything? Why do you think that?”
A pained look twisted Zeph’s face. “I’ve never lived up to anyone’s expectations, especially not my family’s.”
“Well, their expectations must be pretty unrealistic then, because, as far as I can tell, you’re a really great guy.” Eve gave his hands a squeeze. “I could tell from the moment I first saw you that you were one of the special ones.”
Zeph startled at the phrase. “What do you mean — special ones?”
Eve bit her lip and shrugged. Should she tell him? She’d never shared her secret with anybody, but something urged her to confide in him. “It’s just this feeling I get about certain people. Like they have a glow about them. I know it sounds silly, but I’ve always been able to recognize this unique goodness in some people. I see it in your whole family.”
Zeph’s mind began whirling. It sounded like Eve could recognize Celestia! Should he tell her what he was? What if she thought he was crazy? Maybe he should feel her out a little bit.
“Eve, who else do you get that feeling about? Anyone I know?”
Eve stared at him curiously. She expected him to dismiss her confession at best and make fun of her at worst. Instead, he seemed… intrigued. Did he get the same feelings?
“Well, actually, your friends Cheydan and Maddock, and Señorita Santino.”
Zeph stopped walking and turned to face her. He couldn’t ignore this moment; it was too perfect to pass up. Besides, she deserved to know the truth about him, and herself.
“Eve, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Eve’s heart beat loudly in her chest, and she sucked on her lip, afraid of his suddenly serious tone. “Okay.”
Zeph didn’t want to have this conversation while they were walking down the street, so he pulled her into a nearby wooded area and found a place to sit on a fallen tree. He turned towards her and nervously moved her hands back and forth from the tree between them to his lap before letting go to wipe his palms on the knees of his jeans.
“Zeph, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
Zeph ran his hand through his hair and softened his face. “Sorry, it’s nothing scary, or at least I hope it doesn’t scare you away. It’s just not something I talk about, in fact, you can’t tell anyone, but I think you need to know.”
Eve kept quiet but nodded, her innocent face so open and trusting.
“Eve, my family and I, and Cheydan and Maddock, and Señorita Santino, are Celestia Divisa.” He watched her face for recognition of the name, but saw only confusion.
He took a big breath and continued. “We’re half human… and half angel. And I think you’re one, too.”
Eve stood up and backed away, shaking her head, doubt clouding her eyes.
Zeph jumped up, reaching for her hands, but Eve pulled away and turned, hustling out of the woods and back onto the street.
“Eve, wait.” Zeph hurried to her side.
Eve glared at him, huffing, and kept walking. “I’m not an angel, Zeph, and neither are you! Is this a ploy to try to get me to like you or something, or are you just insane?”
“Neither! I’m not trying to get you to like me. Well, I want that, but that’s not why I told you. I thought we had a connection, Eve. It thought you of all people could accept the truth. You told me you believed in angels!”
Eve whipped her head around, her long, titian hair flying, her cheeks stained the same color. “Hypothetically, yeah! But that doesn’t mean I believe that you’re one. Or me! Do you hear how nuts that sounds, Zeph?”
Zeph’s face crinkled. “I know, I know, it sounds like lunacy, but you have to believe me, Eve. I wouldn’t have told you if it wasn’t the truth. I really am half angel.”
“No, Zeph, what you really are is crazy. You know, just for the record, I was falling for you. But now I just feel like an idiot for ever thinking I could attract a decent, normal guy.” Eve reached the driveway and yanked open her car door.
“I’m going home, Zeph. Tell your parents I said thanks for the meal.”
Zeph watched her drive away, the ember of hope he had for their relationship snuffed out.
Chapter 11
Eve wasn’t sure if she was grateful or disappointed that her mom wasn’t home when she got back from Zeph’s house. She washed her face, trying to reduce the redness and puffiness from crying in the car on the drive home, and grabbed a math book — something concrete and predictable to distract her from the craziness of the last few hours.
She couldn’t concentrate on the equations, though, because her mind kept drifting back to Zeph’s face and the looks of adoration he gave her all day. Why did the one guy who finally liked her for her have to turn out to be crazy?
Now she’d have to explain to everyone why she quit seeing him. She’d almost rather say he was a jerk than admit the truth. But the thing was, he wasn’t a jerk. He was the sweetest boy she’d ever met, and every time she thought about him her heart still pattered.
She didn’t want to badmouth him to her friends or her mom, and she was sure he didn’t want her telling everyone what he’d said. They’d think he was as crazy as she did, and for some reason, she couldn’t work up any desire to hurt him. She didn’t dare admit it, but she knew that she still liked him.
Instead, she avoided her mom the rest of the weekend and gave only the vaguest answers when she started questioning her about her time with Zeph. She could see the disappointment on her mom’s face when she didn’t act interested in girl talk, but Eve just couldn’t bring herself to come up with a good excuse for why she wasn’t going to see him any more.
She thought she’d gotten over her disappointment and was back to her usual self by Monday, but as soon as she sat down in her 1st period Spanish class, Señorita Santino gave her a strange look that left Eve wondering if her heartbreak was obvious.
When the teacher was done with her lecture and had given the students a worksheet to complete, Señorita Santino sidled up to Eve and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Eve, can I talk to you in the hallway for a minute?” Her voice was serious, and Eve’s eyes widened, and her hands started to tremble.
She nodded and slipped out of her chair, nervously smoothing her dress as she followed her teacher out of the classroom.
“Eve, I want to talk to you about Zeph,” Señorita Santino said bluntly, and Eve’s mouth fell open. What did her teacher know about her love life?
“No matter how I say this, it’s going to sound weird and crazy, so I’m just gonna go for it.”
Eve stared blank-faced at her teacher, blinking slowly. This conversation was starting to sound familiar.
“Eve, if you like Zeph, I think you should give him another chance. Zeph isn’t crazy, and he isn’t making up stories. He is what he says he is.”
“What?! Wh… How do you even…” Eve shook her head, trying to clear her muddled brain. “He told you we broke up? He asked you to talk to me? I don’t understand — why am I even having this conversation with you? You’re my teacher!”
Eve’s face turned pink, and she covered her eyes with her hands, trying to make the craziness go away. The teacher put a hand on her shoulder.
“Eve, no. Zeph didn’t say a word to me.”
Eve pulled her hands away and stared at her teacher — the woman who seemed so smart and put togethe
r. Now, Eve wondered if she was the one who was crazy. There were just too many weird things happening. The world wasn’t making any sense anymore.
“Then how do you know anything about all this?”
“I have a special gift, Eve, all of my kind do. One of my gifts is a talent for knowing things. And I knew as soon as you walked into class this morning that you needed me to tell you this.”
“Señorita Santino, I’m sure you like Zeph, I mean, he’s a really nice guy, but you don’t understand. The things Zeph said were just…”
“He told you he was a Celestia Divisa.”
Eve’s eyes bugged out at the familiar term, and she glanced around to make sure no one else had heard it. “He said he was half angel,” she whispered. “He said you were, too.”
Señorita Santino nodded. “And he thinks you are, as well.”
Eve shook her head. She still couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. “And you expect me to believe that?”
“Lots of people believe in angels, Eve.”
“Yeah, but they don’t claim to be one!”
The bell rang then, and Eve was glad for the excuse to end the conversation. She shoved her way through the exiting crowd back into the classroom and grabbed her things from her desk.
“Eve, if you want to talk about it, I’m here for you. Any time,” Señorita Santino called out, and Eve gave her one last skeptical glance before leaving.
Her mind was a jumbled mess the rest of the morning. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Señorita Santino had said, how she’d validated everything that Zeph had claimed. Zeph was just some guy she barely knew, but Señorita was a teacher she respected and admired. Could she really be a half angel like she claimed? The whole idea was just too bizarre for her brain to sort out.
When she walked into the cafeteria at lunch time and saw Zeph sitting at his table with his friends, she couldn’t resist marching over.
When Zeph caught sight of her, the look on his face morphed from surprise, to happiness, to worry as she stomped towards him, her own features steeled with determination.
“I need to talk to you,” she said, dropping her lunch bag on the table and tossing her hair behind her shoulders, her green eyes flashing.
“Uh, we can leave,” Cheydan scrunched his face and picked up his lunch tray, elbowing his brother, Maddock.
“No, no, it’s okay. Stay. You might as well. If what Zeph says is true then it’s no secret to you two.”
The twins glanced between Zeph, Eve, and each other, their eyes wide and questioning. Zeph gulped but nodded.
Eve sat down and turned her body to face Zeph’s, her strange emotions flooding her body with endorphins, making her fearless.
“Señorita Santino came up to me in class today,” Eve said and waited for Zeph to look guilty, but he just looked confused instead.
“She told me I should believe you.”
Zeph’s eyes bulged, and he dropped his hands, rattling his tray.
“She told me she was a Celestia Divisa, or whatever you call yourself, and she said she knew I needed to hear it from her. Did you talk to her about us, Zeph? Did you somehow manage to convince our Spanish teacher to tell me she was an angel just so I would believe you?”
The twins’ mouths fell open, and Zeph shook his head, his face twisted with angst. “No, Eve, I swear, I didn’t tell anyone. But it doesn’t surprise me. She’s like that, she… knows things.”
Eve turned her attention towards Cheydan and Maddock. “What about you two? Zeph says you’re angels, too. Is that true?”
The twins glanced towards Zeph, trying to decide how to respond to her. They couldn’t believe he’d told her what they were; spilling the secret was a big no no. But now that he had, they didn’t want to deny it and make Zeph look like a liar.
“Quit looking at Zeph and tell me the truth. Are you or aren’t you?” Eve demanded.
“It’s true,” Maddock answered. “It’s supposed to be a secret, though,” he glared at Zeph, “so I don’t know why he decided to tell you.”
“I told you why, Eve. I care about you, and I want you to know the truth about me. And I think you’re one of us.”
Eve shook her head, her brow wrinkling. “I just don’t get it, Zeph. Let’s say I suspend reality for one second and believe that you really are an angel. Why do you think that I’m one?”
“Well, you know how you said that some people, like me and Señorita and these guys, have a certain… glow?”
“Yeah.” Eve bit her lip, suddenly seeing her own experiences in a different light. Could it really be true that the people she’d always thought were special somehow were actually angels?
“Well, I see the same light coming from you.”
Eve snorted and rolled her eyes. “Zeph, I’m just a normal teenager. I’m not an angel.”
“So am I. We just happen to have some angel blood in our veins. I don’t see it in your mother or brothers, so I think your birth father must have been Divisa.”
A whirlwind of conflicting emotions swirled through Eve, and she stared at Zeph, trying to find an explanation in his clear, blue eyes.
“That doesn’t make any sense, Zeph.” She shook her head, dismissing him.
“Why not? You said yourself he left when you were a baby and you don’t know anything about him.”
Eve sighed. “Well, aren’t angels supposed to be good? If he was an angel, why would he leave me?”
Cheydan and Maddock looked at him curiously, wondering the same thing.
Zeph bit his cheek, trying to figure out how to answer her. “Well, Celestia are still half human, so they don’t always do the right thing. It is strange for a Divisa to abandon his family, though. Your father is kind of a mystery to me.”
Eve nodded. Her father had always been a complete mystery to her, too. Her mother had never been willing to talk about him.
“Señorita Santino said your people… Celestia Divisa…” The words rolled around awkwardly in her mouth.
Zeph nodded.
“You said they have special gifts. Like, what kind?”
“Spiritual gifts, like faith or kindness.”
“Like your mom and your sister?”
Zeph smiled and nodded. “You can recognize them?”
“I usually get a sense from … certain... people.” She still couldn’t quite get herself to admit that they were angels. “Cheydan’s gift is patience, right?”
Zeph nodded eagerly.
“I’m not sure about the others.”
“Their names will tell you. We’re always named after our gifts. My dad’s name, Geoffrey, means peace, Maddock means giver of gifts. Amora Sophia means love and wisdom.”
Eve nodded, starting to understand. “Two gifts? Is that common?”
Zeph shook his head and barked a sharp laugh. “No, it’s very rare. Señorita Santino is a double Divisa. Both her parents were Divisa, not just one.”
“Like you and Charisse?”
Zeph nodded, dreading where this was going. The part where he has to admit what a loser he was.
“Does Charisse have another gift besides kindness?”
“No, double Divisa don’t always have a double gifting. They’re so rare, though, that no one knows quite what to expect from them. Charisse just has one gift, but it’s very strong. And she excels at everything. She’s the golden child.” Zeph stared intently at his hands, not willing to make eye contact.
Eve could sense his reticence, so she worded her question carefully. “What does the name Zephaniah mean?”
Zeph sighed and gave her a small smile before hiding his eyes again. “It means ‘the Lord has hidden’. As far as we know, I don’t have a gift. I’m a freak.”
Eve’s face softened with compassion. “I don’t think that.”
Zeph grinned. “So does this mean that you believe me?”
Eve smoothed her skirt over her knees and sighed. “Well, it is a lot to take in. But I guess it kind of makes sense, in a
weird, totally insane way.” She grinned, and Zeph knew he’d won her over.
“I mean, I’ve had these feelings about people all my life, and no one ever understood what I meant. Plus, I’ve always had this thing for angels.”
Zeph nodded eagerly, his spirits lifting like a hot air balloon.
“Zeph, if my dad was an angel, do you think my mom knew about it? Does she know what I am?”
Zeph rubbed his chin, contemplating. “Well, Celestia use their gifts to help people in little ways all the time, but they’re also capable of miracles. When a Celestia helps someone with a miracle the emotional effect is so strong they usually fall in love, and Celestia are allowed to reveal themselves to their mate. If your mom fell in love with a Celestia, he probably told her what he was.”
“Do you think my mom’s been hiding this from me all these years?”
“I don’t know, maybe. But the fact that your father left her is very strange. Maybe he never told her.”
“I have to talk to my mother, Zeph. I have to find out what she knows.”
Zeph nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”
Eve opened her lunch bag and pulled out an apple, contemplating. “Zeph, how do Celestia Divisa know what their gift is?”
“They usually inherit their parent’s gift. The Dominion confirms it at the naming ceremony, and they show a penchant for it right away. It gets stronger as they grow.”
Eve grew restless and sucked in her lip. “Well, if I’m one of you, then what’s my gift?”
“Uh, I’m not sure. I can’t see it. I can usually recognize Celestia’s gifts right away, but yours… eludes me.”
“Maybe I don’t have one, either.”
“No, I’m sure you do; I’m the only Celestia I know who doesn’t have one. Yours is probably just underdeveloped because it wasn’t nurtured.”
“Have you talked to your friends and family about me? What do they think?”
“Well, that’s the weird thing. I’ve always assumed everyone could recognize Celestia and their gifts like I do. It’s a tight community, though, so everybody already knows everybody. But when I started asking people if you looked like a Celestia, they didn’t know what I meant. I don’t think everyone can see what we see.”
Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 8
