“Follow me,” I say.
I turn my back on the demon without any hesitation. I know how dangerous Arsen is, but I also know he can’t kill me. I’m so sure of my side of this connection now. I’m not even facing rational fears. I just know what to do, and I know Arsen will obey me.
I glance behind me to see Arsen following obediently like a dog. His expression is unreadable, and he’s staring at me. Cassius is following too, though he’s left a pretty large space between him and Arsen.
I lead the way to the new Command Center. I never saw the Command Center before the base was getting fixed up. The Command Center, though it apparently didn’t get touched in the fight, got an upgrade. I guess the fact that I’ve been invited there proves my place in the hunter ranks has gotten way higher. With everything going on, Fiona hasn’t reassessed my rank and number, but I’m almost certain I’m not an E rank hunter anymore, and I know my strength rating has gone up. She’ll probably reevaluate me soon since everything should start calming down now that the representatives from other branches of the EEA have left along with seven of the angels that were stationed here.
I open the door to the Command Center to see Divya, Fiona, Donovan, and Rynne all seated around the large table in the middle of the room. The table’s surface is one big interactive screen, making it easy to review maps and mark things in real time for planning. It’s similar to, but a lot bigger than, the screens we have in the lobby.
I take an empty seat next to Rynne. Both Arsen and Cassius stay standing by the door, even as Cassius shuts it. They’re only standing close together for a moment before Cassius crosses his way over to me, but he doesn’t sit down. He stands behind me. Arsen stays where he is with his arms folded. He scans everyone in the room before his eyes rest on me again. As if in response to his glare, Rynne places his hand in my lap. I place one of my hands on top of his. I think he’s doing it to reassure me, but I don’t think I’m the one who needs reassuring right now. I squeeze his hand, hoping it makes him feel better.
I start to wonder if I should say something. Everyone in the room seems to be staring at Arsen. Then Arsen speaks before I get a chance to. “If it’s information you want, you picked the wrong demon to wrangle,” he announces.
Fiona replies, “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean I’ve kept to myself.”
Divya asks, “What about the demon named Yuki? Weren’t you two an inseparable pair? What happened to her?”
She’s right. I hadn’t even thought about that. According to Rynne’s information, before we knew that he is an angel, Arsen and Yuki were always together. I know the information he gave us then is confusing now, because Rynne had to hide a lot of things, but that information must be true. There was no reason to lie about it. They sounded like a package deal.
Arsen sneers, “She’s gone—obviously. She left, and she hasn’t come back. I can’t give you any information about her whereabouts because I don’t know where she is.”
“What if we want information about her?” Donovan asks. “You’d probably be able to tell us a bunch then, right?”
Arsen’s eyes flicker over to Donovan. I think I see irritation. “And what do you want to know? How good the sex was?”
Donovan’s jaw clenches as he looks away from Arsen, and Fiona asks, “Is sex the only relationship you had? Surely you know about her abilities at least. Was she good at fighting?”
I feel the need to interject, “Answer their questions and be honest.”
Arsen brings his eyes back to me, and I think I see him flinch. It happens so fast. I can’t be sure.
He says, “Yuki is a rather formidable demon. Her beast takes the form of a fox, but don’t be fooled. Along with being sly, she is quite powerful. It would take a lot to kill her, and good luck finding her.”
“Beast?” Fiona asks.
“Her shifter nature,” Rynne explains. “She can shift into a fox.”
“Would she come if you called her?” Fiona continues.
“I don’t think so,” Arsen says after he works his jaw, like the words are physically painful to say.
Fiona says, “Any demon information we can get is important, but demons with actual locations you know about are the ones we will be focusing on first.”
She glances over to Cassius, as if expecting him to give his input. I look behind me to see for myself how he responds. He only nods his head, apparently approving how this meeting is going.
“So let’s start with that,” I say. “Tell us all the demon names you know, anything you know about them, and tell us any locations you know.”
I catch Rynne staring at me. He’s gazing at me in wonder, rather than the protective way he always seems to be looking at me. I smile at him and lace my fingers through his. He offers a small smile back before returning his attention onto what’s going on.
“Yes, tell us anything you do know and we’ll store it all and sort through it,” Fiona says when Arsen hasn’t readily given up any information.
“I’m thinking,” Arsen says irritably. “I know a few demon names and vague rumors about them. I know even less demons and their actual abilities, and there’s only one demon whose location I know. You’re also basically guaranteed to find demon cities within large cities if you look hard enough, but maybe you already know something about that, or maybe those demons have moved their cities around because of you hunters. I’m sure they don’t want to be anywhere near you, and I haven’t sensed one in Philadelphia. ”
“Start with the most concrete information,” Fiona instructs.
Arsen looks over at me, as if asking if he should really do that.
“Do as she says,” I tell him.
I think I see him wince again.
“Uden,” Arsen says with a rasp. “His is the only location I know. He is an informant who lives on the East Coast in New Jersey. He’s technically inside the boundaries of Cape May, or so he claims. He lives on a secluded beach where he draws people into his pub, the Mermaid Pub, and makes them disappear. Otherwise he’s gathering information and divvying it out to demons for a price. I don’t know his fighting capabilities and I’ve never seen his beast before.”
The information Arsen gives us about Uden turns out to be the only real information he has. He does give us a list of demon names, and for some of them he knows about their “beast” and abilities, but most are just names and rumors he’s heard.
He really isn’t a good demon for information gathering. It’s kind of surprising. I don’t think he’s lying about any of it though.
Fiona taps the edge of the table and says, “We’ll focus the majority of our manpower, on finding this Uden for the time being. It sounds like finding the rest of these demons is going to be more of a wild goose chase. As for the angels…” She looks over to Cassius.
“The angels left here are at your disposal. Use them in any way you feel would be helpful,” Cassius says.
Fiona hesitates. Then she nods. “Thank you.”
Arsen is still standing near the door with his arms folded. He’s staring at me again. I can’t figure out what kind of look he’s giving me. He’s just staring.
“I’ve told you what I know,” he says, never taking his intense green eyes off me. “What else do you want from me?”
“Fiona?” I say.
“Nothing at the moment,” she comments. “Everyone is dismissed for now—except for you, Divya.”
I glance at Rynne. He doesn’t look at me. His eyes are trained on Arsen now.
“Stay in the base and don’t cause any trouble,” I say to Arsen. “That’s what you can do.”
I stand up, keeping Rynne’s hand in mine and pulling him up with me. He was pretty quiet during the whole meeting, which isn’t exactly surprising. It was interesting that he kept all of his opinions to himself though. I get the feeling he’s uneasy about all of this. I don’t blame him. I’ve been feeling so uneasy about it too, but not anymore. I know everything’s going to be okay. For
once, maybe I can reassure him. While Fiona gets everything in order, I can steal a little bit of time with Rynne. I haven’t spent nearly enough time with him lately.
“Call us if you need us,” I say to Fiona.
She waves me away as she focuses on talking to Divya. Donovan exists the room and Cassius joins Fiona. He probably wants to know exactly what’s going on, so that makes sense.
“Maybe we should stay,” Rynne comments as I lead him away from the table.
“Nah, they’ll tell us if they need us,” I say with a smile. “I have to take this chance to spend some time with you. I haven’t seen you at all lately.”
“I’d like that,” he says so only I can hear him.
When we’re just about to reach the door to exit the room, Arsen stands in front of us, blocking the way. Why hasn’t he left yet?
Irritated, I say, “Do you mind?”
He glares at me. “What the hell am I supposed to do exactly? Hang out? Shoot the breeze with some hunters and angels?”
“I don’t know,” I snap back. “You can do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt anyone or leave the base.”
He leans down so our eyes are closer to level. If I thought his eyes were intense before, they’re even more intense now. I can barely return his glare. Rynne’s hand tightens around mine as he presses into me slightly. Arsen completely ignores him, however.
“And what are you going to do?” Arsen asks.
I don’t back down, and I stare him right in the eye—even though it isn’t comfortable. “I’m going to hang out with Rynne, and I don’t want you hovering around us.”
Arsen leans back, standing up straight again. “Good, because I don’t want to see it. Any of it,” He turns around so his back is facing us, and he opens the door. “If you need me, however, you need only call.”
One second he’s standing in front of us, and the next I feel a rush of wind and he has disappeared. I relax slightly now that he’s gone. My shoulders kind of ache. I hadn’t noticed the tension building up inside of them. God, I hate him. I hate having to work with him, but I have to do this. It’s for the good of everyone. I can’t just get my revenge.
“He almost seems jealous,” Rynne remarks.
I shudder. “Don’t say that.”
“Sorry. How are you feeling?”
“I feel surprisingly okay,” I say. “Even with Arsen here. I’m not feeling my anxiety like I normally do.”
I smile and squeeze his hand, and then I reach up for a kiss. He leans down and kisses me, using his free hand to stroke my face. The feeling of his hand on my cheek fills my stomach with butterflies. His skin on mine always feels so good. Everything about him feels good. I don’t even feel nervous right now. It’s like my nerves have been subdued along with my anxiety. I’ve always felt comfortable around Rynne, but I’ve always been self-conscious too. Not right now. Right now it’s just me and him.
“Things are finally looking up,” I say as I press my forehead to his. “I feel like I can do hard things, practically anything, and I won’t fall apart.”
“Should we get some lunch?” Rynne asks, smiling.
“That sounds good,” I say.
As if to prove my point, my stomach starts rumbling. Rynne and I laugh.
We go to the cafeteria and get a couple of sandwiches for lunch. Nothing fancy. We sit down at one of the tables, eating together in relative silence. Once in a while we make some small talk. Mostly we enjoy each other’s company. It’s almost like the two of us are back in school. That seems like a lifetime ago now.
I miss Didi and Connor so much.
“You okay?” Rynne asks. He must have noticed my mood slip.
“I’m okay,” I say, offering a small smile. “I was thinking this feels a lot like when we were in school together. We’re just missing Didi and Connor.”
“I’m sorry,” he says, sincerely apologetic for something out of his control.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” I tell him.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting,” he clarifies. “If I could make it go away, I would.”
“I know you would.” I move my hand so my fingers can brush across his arm. “When things settle down, I think I’m going to try to find them. Didi and Connor. They’re like the sister and brother I never had. Even before I had you, I had them. It would be nice to see them again.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.”
Rynne places his hand on top of mine, burying my hand in the warmth between his hand and arm. I smile. This is usually the point where my cheeks would go red, but I’m not embarrassed. I’m just happy. I’m like a different person without feeling all of my constant anxiety and embarrassment. It’s a good feeling. This is the person I’ve always wanted to be.
“Then again,” I say, “maybe I’ll never see them again. Maybe there will never be a dull moment after this. It’s hard to know what waits for me in the future. I should just be happy that Didi and Connor don’t have to be a part of any of this.”
Rynne frowns.
Before he can apologize again, I say, “Don’t apologize. I wasn’t complaining. I’m glad to be here with you. If I had to pick living without knowing any of this versus going through what I’ve been through, I think I’d actually pick what I’ve been through. I miss my parents terribly, but now that I know all of this, now that I know I can do something about all of this, it makes it somehow bearable.”
“God, I love you,” Rynne says as he takes my hand and kisses the back of it.
His kiss is like an electric shock that stems from his lips and travels up my skin. It disperses into a surge of energy through my body. Then heat flashes in my stomach. I move my hands and place them on either side of his face and kiss him on the lips. We’ve never kissed very deeply, but right now I want to. More than anything, I want to explore every inch of his mouth. Rynne’s lips are soft against mine, so it’s not hard to press my tongue against his lips and divide them as I bypass his teeth and find his tongue. He’s right there with me for only a few second before he stops abruptly.
He pulls back. I try not to show that his action hurts, but I must do a poor job of it. He looks at me apologetically and says, “Tasia, there’s something you need to know about angels. It applies to even made angels like me.”
Slightly confused, but unsure of what to say, I simply nod my head.
He continues, “We don’t kiss like that. We don’t do anything that could lead into sex. The only time any of that is okay is when two angels are ready to, and doing it with the purpose to, conceive.”
He can’t look me in the eye. Maybe he really did want to kiss me, or maybe he’s embarrassed.
“Oh,” I say quietly. “I wasn’t thinking about sex exactly.”
Rynne replies quietly, “I know. I’m sorry. It’s okay for me to kiss you, but not like that.”
I think for a moment. “So even made angels aren’t allowed to have sex?”
“That’s correct, unless we have a mate and intend on creating a new life.” He scratches the back of his head. “For natural angels, being able to conceive is really rare, so they’re basically obligated to do it when the time comes. Though, I guess that only applies to female natural angels. It’s not something I’ve really worried about learning. My body still functions like a human’s, so understanding that part of natural angels doesn’t really matter for me.” He looks at me apologetically. “I’m sorry if this is awkward to talk about.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s good for me to know exactly where you stand. I can’t say I’m not a little disappointed though.”
“I’m sorry.”
I smile as I gently lean into him. “Stop apologizing. Don’t worry. It doesn’t change how I feel about you. I do have a question though. Are natural angels and made angels so different that they couldn’t have kids together? Is that what you were implying?”
“Yes, that’s right. But like with made demons, a made angel could technically have children wi
th a human.”
Rynne gently brushes his fingers across my face and kisses me. It’s nothing like the kiss I tried to initiate, but I think I understand the difference he was talking about. There’s a difference in energy. It’s really subtle. I’m not sure it can even truly be defined, but this is a kiss of pure adoration—without the heat. I guess that’s the best way to describe it.
Angels are complicated.
I’M FUMING. I’m practically holding myself together by nothing more than my beast’s fierce desire not to go against Tasia. It’s stronger than its desire to go off on that angel that she’s with. I don’t understand why I’m feeling so jealous. My logician argues it isn’t jealousy. It’s irritation because she sent me away. How am I supposed to be close to her, how am I supposed to get her on my side, if she sends me away?
She told me to stay in the base, but I think I’ll attempt to bend that command slightly. It’s too stuffy in here.
I can’t think.
Going to the roof is still within base boundaries, and I’ll be able to hear anything I should need to hear. Probably. I doubt she’ll be calling me anyway. I don’t know. I just need some fresh air. I’ve been in this base too long. It’s almost night, and it’s driving me crazy—though the nearly crippling feelings I got from it before have all but disappeared since I woke up. Now the hunter base is nothing more than the same irritating prickle it’s always been with a few angels added to the mix.
I move through the base with ease, bypassing hunters quickly and getting hardly any glances in return. It’s like the novelty of having a natural demon at their disposal has already worn off.
I can’t believe I’m allowing myself to be treated this way. I’m not even getting anything I want out of this. Everything is on Tasia’s terms, and none on mine. She had me kill for her. It’s not that I care about my own kind, but I also don’t want to help angels in any way. Fuck them. My beast hums in my chest, agreeing with that sentiment, and yet it insists on doing anything Tasia wants. Anything it takes to get her to see me.
The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love, Book 2) Page 21
