Burning Roses

by Amanda Perry

  “Wow!” Dad murmurs. “It’s perfect for you, kiddo.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I blush under his praise.

  Continuing on without being asked, I go to the spot between my shoulder blades. “I’ll need a mirror to see this one,” I tell no one in particular.

  We file into the bedroom of the suite, which boasts a large full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Lowering my jacket to my elbows, I pull my hair out of the way and turn my back to the mirror. “Cassie, can you move my shirt?”

  She pulls down the back of my shirt to reveal my shoulder blades. In the spot directly between my shoulder blades rests a beautiful, life-like sunflower. An adorable little ladybug sits on one of the bright yellow petals. The ladybug looks too real, I find myself reaching back to touch it.

  “That’s crazy.” Jaxon gasps, poking at the tattoo. “It looks so real, and look at the ladybug. It’s so tiny, just like you. Look, Mom.”

  “I see it, Jaxon,” Leanne assures him with a goofy grin. “It’s beautiful.”

  Their excitement and acceptance of the marks means more to me than they’ll ever understand. They symbolize my new beginning in their world, and my family likes them. I drop my head to hide my growing grin.

  “Do you have any more?” Caleb frowns.

  At first, I don’t understand where his worry stems from, but I quickly realize I haven’t found my mark for Fire, yet. It takes a moment to remember I felt the last stinging sensation on my forearm before I passed out. I remove my jacket completely and search my arm, gasping in shock when I find the mark on my forearm in the exact same spot as Caleb’s.

  A smaller version of Caleb’s band, with the Celtic knots forming hearts wraps around my arm from one side of a bright red rose to the other. The rose rests in the center as the focal point.

  “Perfect.” Caleb runs his thumb across the flaming rose. “Just like you.” He holds his marked arm up to mine. “Now, we match.”

  “It appears we all match her in some way,” Mark says with a confused smile.

  Everyone agrees with my dad, but I don’t understand. “What do you mean, we all match?”

  “Let’s finish cleaning up, and we’ll show you,” Dad promises, giving me a quick hug before leading us to the dining room.

  Patience has never been an issue for me. Lately, though, it seems like all I’ve been doing is waiting for people to tell me more about what I am and the new world I supposedly belong in. My patience is dwindling quickly.

  Chapter 2

  After we clean our dinner mess, we congregate around the living room area, and my dad finally dives into the explanation of our matching marks.

  “All soul mates’ marks match in subtle ways. It’s hard to tell what might match your future soul mate, but when you meet them and see theirs, it all makes sense.” Dad stands and rolls his pant leg on his right leg up. “This is mine.” On the outside of his right calf is a beautiful eagle made up of intricate gray swirls, like gusts of wind. I notice my mark for Air is in a similar spot.

  “And this is mine,” Leanne adds with a grin.

  She turns around and lifts her hair off her neck, her tank top making the mark easily seen. A beautiful, yet tiny hummingbird hovers over some cherry blossoms on the base of her neck.

  Comparing their marks, I notice the similarities quickly. Both have birds and the cherry blossoms on Leanne’s are intertwined by swirls identical to the swirls that make up the eagle on Dad’s mark. “They’re beautiful,” I breathe as I study their marks. “I love them.”

  Dad lifts his chin in Jaxon’s direction. “Show her yours, son. Cassie, show her yours after Jaxon. Let’s see if she can pick out the similarities.”

  Jaxon stands silently and pulls his shirt off. Cassie lets out a wolf whistle and giggles when Jaxon winks her way. He turns around to face Cassie, and on his left shoulder, I find a beautiful water color tree in different shades of green surrounded by water in various blues. It registers quickly that my mark for Earth is located similarly to Jaxon’s and Leanne’s. Her mark is at the base of her neck, and his is on his left shoulder. Mine is located between my shoulder blades. It’s almost like mine was placed between theirs.

  “Check this sucker out!” Cassie shouts, jumping to her feet and lifting her shirt.

  Her water mark is on the left side of her ribs, the same place as mine. Cassie’s mark is larger than I expected. A picture of a water lily floating in a small spot of water is made up of blue and green water colors.

  “Do you see it?” Jaxon asks.

  I nod. “They’re both water colors, blues and greens,” I reply while looking from Jaxon’s mark to Cassie’s and back again. “Yours has Water in it and Cassie’s has the flower in it for Earth. They’re bright and bold like the both of you.”

  “They’re all very similar in placement to yours,” Dad muses. “I wonder if that means something.”

  I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed the locations. I wish I could ask the gods and goddesses if they chose the placements. Being the god of wind, Niyol would decide the wind mark, I would think. The same would be true for Hakan and fire, Binda with water, and Mikaia with air. They would be the only ones who could tell us for sure if it was coincidental or not.

  The thought of the gods and goddesses reminds me I’m supposed to tell everyone what happened when I met with them after the Blessing. I jump up from next to Caleb and spin around to be sure I face everyone.

  “Baby girl?” Confusion colors Caleb’s tone.

  “I have to tell you guys something,” I admit, taking a deep breath. “It happened earlier today, but I couldn’t tell you then because I was told not to.”

  Everyone exchanges worried glances. “What do you mean, someone told you not to tell us?” Caleb asks anxiously. “What happened? Who told you not to tell us?”

  “Erm… Well,” I start quietly, wringing my hands in front of me. “Hakan, Binda, Niyol, and Mikaia.”

  Cassie snorts, clearly in disbelief. “Cute, Ri. What really happened?”

  “The council did all four blessings,” I explain quickly to prove I’m not kidding around. “Everything got really fuzzy, and I guess I passed out. Next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor of this white room. It was strange and completely empty. Then, I met the gods and goddesses. They’re really nice, actually. Did you know Hakan and Binda are soul mates? So are Niyol and Mikaia, I guess. I didn’t know.”

  No one speaks for several beats. Caleb finally scrunches his brow together and stands in front of me. “Did you hit your head today, baby?”

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” My gut twists, hurt he assumes I would make something like this up.

  “Sis.” Jaxon sighs. “No one has ever seen or heard from the gods and goddesses before. The council is the closest connection we have, and even they’ve never had actual contact with them. It isn’t an easy thing to believe.”

  “But I talked to them,” I insist, fighting the urge to stomp my foot like a toddler. “They had some things to say, and I was told to tell you all.”

  Jaxon turns to Cassie with a deep frown. “Maybe she did hit her head during her test or when she fell after the Blessing.”

  “I didn’t hit my head,” I mumble, my cheeks burning. They think I’ve gone crazy, but I know it was real.

  “Kiddo, that’s not possible,” Dad repeats with a small shake of his head. “We can’t just meet up with the gods and goddesses for a chat.”

  “But, it’s—” I try once more, only to be shot down again.

  “It was probably a dream when you passed out, honey,” Leanne adds. “It’s been a really stressful day.”

  Defeated, I nod and drop my head. They don’t believe me, and I won’t embarrass myself further trying to convince them. Their lack of faith hurts more than I’ll admit aloud.

  “Baby,” Caleb says quietly. “It isn’t that we don’t believe you…”

  “Yes, it is, Caleb,” I whisper. “It’s okay. I guess it isn’t that important.
”

  “Baby girl,” he tries again, taking my hands in his.

  The idea of being around them when they don’t trust me to tell them the truth makes my chest squeeze. I need to get away and be alone for a while. The whole day was a lot to take in emotionally and physically. Hopefully, by morning, I won’t be as emotional, and I won’t need to fight to hold in the tears like I do right now.

  “Actually,” I clear my throat and let go of Caleb’s hands once more. The small move causes my chest to squeeze painfully, but I need space before I break down. “I think I’m going to shower and get some sleep, if that’s okay. I’ll see you all in the morning. Good night.”

  Before anyone can say a word, I leave the room and head back to mine and Caleb’s suite. I don’t bother waiting to check if Caleb or anyone else follows me, I simply grab my pajamas and head to the bathroom. After undressing and inspecting my marks again, I hop into the shower.

  It’s been a while since I let myself really cry and let everything out. At a young age, I was taught tears equaled weakness and crying made everything worse. I can’t hold it in a lot of times, but I do my best. I don’t want anyone to consider me weak, even though I am.

  Now, hidden in the shower and alone, I allow my emotions to overflow. I sit on the floor of the shower and hold my legs to my chest, resting my forehead on my knees. The last few weeks, especially today, have been hectic, and I desperately needed this time to myself. Most of my life was spent alone, so constantly needing to be available to everyone and on my best behavior exhausts me.

  The gods and goddesses told me I need to trust my family without doubt and without exception. Doesn’t trust need to go both ways, though? I know I can’t honestly say I trust them all, and it won’t happen overnight. To an extent, I do, especially Caleb. Still, I can’t say there’s not a lingering drop of doubt in the back of my mind, wondering when he’ll grow tired of me and tell me he’s done. The day will come; I’m sure of it.

  It’ll take hard work on my part to stop waiting for my father and Jaxon to snap and become the type of men I’m used to. It won’t be easy to truly believe Leanne cares about me and doesn’t hold resentment toward me for invading her home and her family. Even with Cassie, I wonder if she truly wants to hang around with me or if she feels obligated.

  The trust needs to go both ways between everyone else and me. They may not trust me completely yet, and I can understand why—we’ve only known each other for a few short months. Still, I need them to know what I was told. How can I make them believe me, though? I know I wasn’t dreaming; I spoke to the gods and goddesses. They told me to warn my family and to trust them. Should I go against what I was told and keep the conversation and information to myself? The tears flow faster and harder as I mull over my dilemma.

  I wish I could talk to someone else about everything that’s happening. Besides the fact I have no one to talk to who would believe me, I was told to keep the information between me and my family only. I toy briefly with the idea of knocking myself out again to meet up with Niyol, Mikaia, Hakan, and Binda and ask them what to do. After one brief meeting with them, I know with my whole being they would help me and listen to my problems.

  It would be silly to go to such extreme measures to try, though. Instead, I resign myself to keeping the meeting a secret for now. With a quick shake of my body to clear my thoughts, I do my best to pull myself together. I’ll figure out everything on my own, I’m used to doing things alone. I stand up and turn off the now freezing water, wondering how long I sat in here. I was so lost in my head I didn’t even notice the water change temperatures.

  I dress quickly to warm my body and dry my hair. After brushing my teeth and cleaning up my mess, I head out to the bedroom. The first thing my eye catches is Caleb passed out on the bed, fully clothed. It appears like he waited for me to come out but got too tired and fell asleep. Even though I’m still upset with him for not believing me, I decide to help him. He can’t be comfortable in his clothes, and if he stays asleep, he’ll need to be comfortable. It takes a few long minutes for me to untie and pull his shoes, then socks off his feet. I manage to pull his belt loose and take his phone and wallet from his pockets. The rest of his clothes wouldn’t be easily removed, so I leave them on and cover him up. Hopefully, it’ll be enough for him to sleep well.

  Even though I want Caleb comfortable, I can’t bring myself to sleep next to him. I need more time to think and figure out what my plan is now that I’m doing this alone. After ensuring he’s set for the night, I pull an extra blanket from the wardrobe and make myself a bed on the couch. The day dragged on forever, so exhaustion sets in quickly, allowing me to drift off in minutes.

  I know I’m dreaming again. I open my eyes to a pitch-black room with Samael’s voice taunting me from all corners.

  “Riley,” he whispers in a sing-song voice. “Come play.”

  “Riley! You know you can’t win!”

  “Riley, don’t get used to your new family and that boy you think cares about you.”

  He sounds closer this time. “They will die soon, and I will make sure you watch.”

  “Riley…”

  “Riley, please wake up!” Caleb’s voice breaks through my nightmare, and I realize I’m crying and screaming. “Open your eyes, baby girl!”

  Caleb shakes me, and my eyes pop open as the last of the nightmare disappears. In that moment, my frustration with Caleb from earlier disappears, and I throw my arms around his neck, sobbing against his shoulder. I can be upset with him again later; right now, I need him.

  “Please d-d-don’t leave m-m-me,” I whisper over and over again. Samael said he was going to kill my family, including Caleb. I couldn’t survive it if Samael got to them. Samael may be right about Caleb not caring for me as much as I wish he does, but he can’t leave me—none of them can. I wouldn’t survive on my own.

  “Baby, shhh, it’s okay.” He holds me close and rocks me gently in his lap. “I’m here, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Harsh gusts of wind hit us, and I wonder why Caleb would open a window in the middle of the night. A quick search around the room shows them all closed.

  Caleb notices my confusion. He pushes my hair out of my face and kisses my forehead. “It’s you, baby. You’re causing the wind.” He picks me up and takes me over to the bed, sitting down with me in his arms.

  As soon as he explains it to me, I realize he’s right. My mind is still somewhat foggy and focused on Samael. All of my instincts scream to do whatever I can do get myself and Caleb away from the threat. “S-S-Samael said he would k-k-kill you all,” I cry. “Please d-d-don’t let him. I can’t—”

  “Baby girl,” Caleb interrupts me, placing his hands on either side of my face, turning me to give me no choice but to stare into his eyes. “I am not going anywhere. None of us are. Samael is an idiot if he thinks he can hurt us. We’ll all be fine, including you. Please calm down, your tears break my heart.”

  Samael’s threat continues to ring loud in my mind, but I nod and curl into him. As my tears slow, so does the wind in the room. Caleb waits until the gusts finally die down to scoot me off his lap and stand to remove his jeans and shirt. He stops briefly and searches around the room, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

  “Did you take my shoes off?” He raises an eyebrow.

  I shrug and drop my eyes to the floor. “I didn’t want you to be too uncomfortable.”

  “I thought you were mad at me?” He lies down next to me and pulls me back to his side.

  “Not so much mad as upset,” I mumble, though not convincingly. “But I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  He lets out a deep sigh and adjusts our position so my head rests on his chest. “I love you, baby.” He kisses the top of my head. “Go to sleep, we’ll talk in the morning, okay?”

  I nod against him and press myself closer to his side, drifting back to sleep to the sound of his steady breathing.

  What feels like moments late
r, I open my eyes to a familiar room. It isn’t the hotel room, though. Instead, I’m back in the endless, stark white room, and Binda, Hakan, Mikaia, and Niyol stand right in front of me. They look quite upset but, luckily, not toward me. Their hard stares focus on something behind me. I spin around to find what has them irate. My jaw hits the floor when I come face to face Dad, Leanne, Jaxon, Cassie, and Caleb standing with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

  “I believe we have some things to talk about,” Hakan growls.

  “Oh boy,” Leanne whispers while I turn back to face the gods and their goddess mates.

  Chapter 3

  My gaze bounces between my family’s shocked expressions and the angry gods and goddesses in front of us. The shock shows different for each of them, though. Jaxon’s skeptical and suspicious, while Cassie appears confused. My dad’s attention bounces back and forth between each of the gods and goddesses. He turns to me a few times with guilt hidden in his eyes. Leanne stands like a contrite child who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her cheeks glow bright red, and she won’t look at anyone. Caleb is the only one with a completely blank expression. He isn’t giving away his thoughts at all, and it’s unnerving.

  No one utters a word for what seems like hours, and I’m at a loss for words. I want to know why we’re all here, but I’m sure as heck not going to be the one to speak up first. The gods and their goddess mates don’t appear mad at me yet, and I want to keep the attention off me.

  “So,” Hakan finally speaks, his voice hard and loud. “You decided, even though Riley is The Chosen, she cannot be trusted to tell the truth? You dare question her, or us, for that matter?”

  Dad and Leanne stare wide-eyed at Hakan. Leanne turns a bit green, and I wonder if she may throw up.

  “How do we know this isn’t just some dream or one of the Fallen messing with our minds? Maybe they passed our defenses,” Jaxon asks suspiciously.

  Regret flashes in his eyes the second the words leave his mouth. He turns white as a sheet and swallows hard. I would too if Hakan fixed his deadly glare on me as harshly as he does Jaxon.