Etheria (The Halo Series Book 1)

by Melody Robinette

  He realized, with them being in their twenties, they were at the perfect age to detach from their lives. They were no longer in high school, no longer living under their parents’ roof. Many had yet to settle down and start a family. They were in between stages in life. Finding themselves. The perfect time for the angels to snatch them up and change the course of their lives forever.

  Aurora and Gray were no longer walking side by side. He continued onward at a comfortable stroll, while she pumped her legs slightly faster as if she was having wooden swing set withdrawals and needed her fix. When Aurora went to round the corner she halted, her eyes going wide before she jumped backward and turned to look at Gray with an open mouth.

  “What?” Gray asked in a quiet voice.

  “Sev and Chord,” she whispered behind a cupped hand.

  “What about them?” he asked in a mockingly dramatic whisper.

  “They’re canoodling.”

  “Noodling?”

  “Oh my God, you’re so annoying.”

  A throat clear came from behind Aurora, and they both looked around to see Chord and Sevastion now standing with their arms crossed, watching them with disapproving looks.

  “Told you this was her hide out,” Sev said to Chord after a long silence.

  “You guys didn’t bring us any coffee?” Chord asked in mock hurt.

  Aurora smirked. “We didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “Kidding. We already got coffee.” Chord turned to walk back to the wooden swing set. “Aella gave me a jumbo cup too.”

  Aurora and Gray exchanged amused glances as they followed Sev and Chord.

  “So, I hear you two saved Etheria,” Chord said casually, lifting his jumbo cup of coffee and taking a seat on one of the swings.

  Aurora blushed. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

  “So,” Chord continued with a sly smile. “How’d ya do it?”

  Aurora choked on her drink.

  Gray jumped in to save her. “We just put our Stellar rings together and said ‘it’s Stellar time!’” He hopped onto the swing beside Aurora.

  Aurora laughed, and Chord rolled his eyes. Sev seemed perplexed.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll shut up,” Chord said.

  The four of them drank their coffee, laughed, and talked about everything that didn’t have to do with any of them canoodling or demons or dying. Gray was still amazed at how normal they all were after their experiences in just the past week. One might think such things would change a person. But it didn’t…it just added to them.

  “Look.” Aurora pointed a finger to the left side of the ship. “I think that’s the island.”

  At that moment, the sun chose to peek over the horizon, bringing with it a new day. The light fell over the mass of land that would be their new home for who knew how long.

  When Gray thought of islands, he thought of tropical huts with straw roofs and tanned lifeguards. This island, however, was not tropical looking whatsoever. It was surrounded by a halo of ivory sand and, in the center, sat a town of white marble, silver, and glass. What looked like a circuit of rivers ran through the town.

  He’d never visited Venice, but—judging by the pictures he’d seen—this seemed like an angel-ized version of it. From far away, it is hard to discern what the shapes on the rivers were precisely, but Gray assumed they were boats of some sort.

  The exquisitely designed buildings resembled Etheria, as they were made of the same pearlescent marble that shone in the sunlight. The streets of water flowing between the buildings were a clear, crystal blue. Like the glass elevator on the ship, there were brightly colored murals painted on many of the buildings.

  “Well, that looks like a city fit for a group of unruly angels like ourselves,” Chord announced. “There remains only one important question: Do you think they have sugarclouds?”

  Forty-Two

  AURORA

  Aurora pulled her big red and white candy-cane-striped suitcase out from under her bed and tried to do some damage control. After having worn everything and thrown items back in haphazardly, her belongings would no longer fit. She took armfuls of clothes and shoes out of the bag and decided—for once in her chaotic life—she could try to be organized.

  As she folded her towering pile of dresses, Brielle walked into the room. The brunette looked from Aurora’s mound of clothes to her suitcase and then to Aurora.

  “Want some help?” she asked timidly.

  Aurora realized with some regret it seemed Brielle was almost afraid of her. True, she didn’t agree with some of Brielle’s beliefs, but that wasn’t exactly an excuse for treating her like garbage.

  “Sure,” Aurora answered. “Thanks.”

  “It helps if you roll the clothes instead of folding them.” Brielle demonstrated this for Aurora. “I learned this before my first mission trip. You can fit a lot more this way.”

  “Where did you go on your mission trip?”

  “Honduras. It sort of changed my life. That’s when I decided I wanted to help people instead of only helping myself. I changed my major from interior design to special education.”

  Aurora nodded. “I never told you before, but I think it’s really cool that you do that. My brother’s teachers have completely changed his life.”

  “I wish I had a brother or a sister,” Brielle said. “I hated being the only child. I would always go over to my friends’ houses and get so jealous of their big families. And, when you’re the only child, your parents hold these insane expectations for you. At least, mine did.”

  “My mom is my biggest fan,” Aurora said. “She thinks more highly of me than I’ve ever thought of myself.”

  “You’re lucky,” Brielle murmured, rolling one of Aurora’s dresses like a sushi master. “I hope...I hope you and I can start over, maybe. I realize I probably came off as shallow to you. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately. Especially after Chord saved my life.”

  “He did?” Aurora asked in surprise.

  Brielle dipped her head in a nod. “Yeah. And he could’ve left me there on that carousel. But, he didn’t. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve been taught my whole life and what I’ve learned here. A lot of the things don’t match up. Then I thought…why would I listen to what humans have to say about what God wants when I’m in the presence of real, live angels? Why not just talk to them and learn from them? So, I think that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “I think that’s really wise of you, Brielle,” Aurora said sincerely.

  Brielle smiled then, rolling the last of Aurora’s dresses. “There. With room to spare.”

  “Thanks,” said Aurora. “Now, let’s get off of this damned boat.”

  Brielle and Aurora met Sev, Chord, and Gray on the top deck where they decided to get their last batch of sugarclouds—just in case the island didn’t have them.

  Chord stuffed a handful in his mouth and let out a long moan. “I think these sugarclouds and I are Stellars. I feel spiritually connected to them. Can you imagine? I could, like, procreate with them and make sugar babies and then eat them.”

  “You truly are an oddity; you know that?” Sev said, though Aurora couldn’t help but notice his hand linger on Chord’s arm.

  “We’re all oddities here,” Chord said.

  The five of them took the glass elevator down to the lowermost rotunda. Aurora was amazed at how much her life had drastically changed since the day she'd stepped foot on this ship. She’d thought she was going on an innocent little cruise with an attractive guy from New York who had incredible, hazel eyes. A guy she thought she’d never see again.

  As it turned out, she would never not see him again, given he was literally a part of her. Connected in a way no one else ever could be.

  If he lived, she lived. If he died, she died.

  Walking at the back of the group, Gray looked over at Aurora with those beautiful eyes of his and flashed her a lopsided smile. It made her wish she wasn’t so screwed up inside so she could jus
t get over herself and kiss him again.

  “You ready for this?” she asked him, nodding her head towards the island ahead of them.

  “I’m ready if you are.”

  He reached out his hand for her to take. A small gesture, but one that came with a load of responsibilities and explanations. If only she could stop overthinking things. If only she could allow herself to give into him like he needed her to. Like she wanted to. Looking at his hand, she pushed back the voices in her head telling her not to.

  Knowing full well Aurora would never meet him half way, Gray moved his hand further until it clasped hers.

  And this time…she let him.

  Keep Reading for a Sneak Peek of the next book in the series, Echo.

  ECHO

  (Book 2 of the halo series)

  ECHO

  Book 2 of The Halo Series

  ONE

  AURORA

  There wasn’t a wooden swing-set on Arx Isle, but there was a tree with a low-hanging branch, standing on a high hill, overlooking the island.

  So, for the past two months, this had been Aurora’s new place of solitude. It was difficult for her to believe two months here had only been minutes in the real world. She didn’t feel like time was moving more slowly. In fact, it felt like it was flashing by, like a high-speed train she’d just missed boarding.

  She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was a Halo—a half angel—because, she sure as hell didn’t feel angelic. But, as Samuel had proved to her, angels didn’t always act as they should. The day the demon portals were opened on Etheria still ran through Aurora’s mind like a slideshow of pictures she was being forced to watch when all she wanted to do was run away.

  But they were always there.

  Some were unbearable, like flashes of dead Halos and poisonous demons dripping with black blood. Others weren’t so bad at all, like the kiss she’d shared with Gray—a kiss so powerful, the demons couldn’t bear to remain on the ship with them. A super-powered kiss.

  Aurora and Gray were Stellars, meaning the stars known as Celestials which housed a piece of their souls, had crashed into one another—ultimately fusing until they’d become one. So, yeah, they were soul mates. Literal soul mates. Something Aurora struggled with on a daily basis.

  Once they had left the magical oblivion known as Etheria, Aurora felt like she’d been thrown back into reality—even though Arx Isle was nothing like reality. It was still solid ground. And Aurora couldn’t walk on solid ground when she allowed herself to be blinded by her feelings for Gray.

  So, what did she do? Stifled them, of course.

  Gray seemed unsurprised by her sudden avoidance of him during daily Halo training and angel lessons. She had to hand it to him; his ego was impressively resilient.

  Training was becoming increasingly easier, and Aurora grew more confident by the day. Because Samuel was no longer on their side—or no longer pretending to be—Aurora, Gray, Chord, Sev, and Brielle were assigned a new Power leader. Her name was Verity and, if she were human, she’d be considered either a hippie or a hipster, depending on which generation you were from. Strawberry blonde hair fell to her waist with small strings of braids hiding in her loose curls. Verity was also remarkably tall. Even lofty Brielle was dwarfed by Verity.

  Due to the deadly battle on Etheria, two girls named Luna and Logan had also been added to their assemblage because the rest of their group had perished. Luna and Logan happened to be twins, but they couldn’t look more unlike one another. Logan’s scraggly mane was jet-black with dark blue streaks running throughout, and she wore tinted contacts that made her eyes look aquamarine. The other twin, Luna, had ash blonde hair and eyes of steely gray, like storm clouds before a heavy rain.

  Their personalities matched their appearances. Logan was edgy, sarcastic, and blunt—on the verge of being downright rude at times—and Luna was quiet, sweet and calm. Aurora got along with them alright, though Logan had come close to being backhanded a couple of times.

  After being surrounded by people all day, Aurora relished her time alone in the branch of the tree. She’d taken to bringing a journal with her, writing and sketching things she couldn’t get out of her mind. A lot of her drawings were of Gray, though she’d never admit this or let him see. Others were of angel wings and faceless demons with protruding horns.

  On this particular day, she chose to sketch the view before her, as she was uncertain how long she’d be there or if she’d ever come back. Her cellphone—dead and useless now—lay somewhere in her suitcase, so she had no way to photograph the place, and mental pictures always fade. She wasn’t as good of an artist as Chord was, but she could draw more than stick figures, at least.

  Suddenly a twig snapped behind her.

  Aurora didn’t even have to look to see who was interrupting her much needed alone time.

  “Hello, Grayson,” she said dully.

  “Good to see you too, ‘Rora.”

  She shuddered at the nickname he knew she hated and closed her journal to look over at him. Two months’ time together hadn’t gotten rid of the butterflies that filled her stomach each moment she laid eyes on his head full of dark, tousled curls, his full lips that turned up into a crooked smile, or his kaleidoscope eyes of green, gold, and light brown. He wore his Halo armor, a leather-like uniform of blood red and ebony, laced with demon kryptonite. AKA: salt.

  “Have you been training?” she asked him. “It’s a Sunday.”

  He shrugged. “I’m a workaholic, I guess. And I’m not a creative introvert like you, so I have no other ways to entertain myself. What’re you drawing today?”

  He climbed the rest of the way up the hill until he was level with the branch upon which Aurora was sitting. “Just the island. It’s not very good.”

  Taking the journal from her hands, Gray opened it to the page she’d bookmarked with her charcoal pencil. His fingertips brushed against her hand, and a shocking current coursed through her veins. Breathe, Aurora reminded herself sternly.

  “I think it’s really good,” Gray said, examining the half-finished drawing. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

  “Well, we both already knew that.”

  “True. Are you planning on doing this all day?”

  “I try not to plan anything on Sundays.” Aurora took the journal from Gray before he was tempted to flip through the rest of it and see his own eyes peeking up at him from the pages. “Day of rest, remember?”

  “Ah.” Gray nodded. “So, I suppose that means you don’t want to ride the rapids with the rest of us?”

  “In that case, screw relaxation.” Aurora immediately jumped down from the tree branch. “I’m always down for riding the rapids.”

  Gray chuckled. “I figured as much.”

  “Let me just go change into my Halo armor,” Aurora said. “Last time I was thrown up against a rock, and my bathing suit and tee-shirt did not provide sufficient padding.”

  “I’ll go tell the others you’re coming.”

  Aurora nodded when what she wanted to say—what her body wanted her to say—was: No, why don’t you just come with me. Come into my room. Take off my clothes. Make me feel like you did the day we saved Etheria.

  But she didn’t say this, of course. That would be far too honest—far too dangerous. That would be going far too far.

  TWO

  GRAY

  Every time Aurora rushed away from him without acknowledging their massively complicated, yet mutual infatuation, another little piece was chipped off of the growing hole now residing within Gray's core. Because that day on Etheria when they had both given in for just a moment, he’d felt completely full. Everything bad that had ever happened to him just sort of fell away, becoming temporarily insignificant.

  Now, as he watched her trample down the path to town, he wondered what their world would be like if Aurora's past hadn't been so dark. Aurora had scars. Deep, jagged scars that pulled and tugged and made themselves known with every passing moment.
Her body had been violated against her will by a man she had trusted and maybe even loved in a sick, unhealthy way.

  Whenever Gray thought about her going through that, it made him physically ill. He wished he could take the memories away from her. All of them. But, then, would Aurora still be Aurora? She’d told him of how she’d become a different person after that. A stronger person. Gray just couldn’t ever picture Aurora as weak.

  The others were waiting for him at the dock where they’d flagged down two boats sturdy enough to take down the rapids.

  “Is Aurora coming?” Chord called as Gray came into view.

  “Yep!” he answered. “She’s going to change into her Halo armor in case she gets thrown into another sharp rock like last time.”

  “Damn.” Logan swept her wavy, black and blue hair into a high ponytail. “I should’ve thought of that.”

  As it was, Logan was wearing a black one-piece suit with blue parachute pants, perhaps to match her hair color. Gray wasn’t sure. Fashion was lost on him.

  Luna looked uncertainly down at her delicate yellow cover-up and white shorts. “We still have time to change.”

  “Eh, you’re fine.” Chord waved a dismissive hand at the two of them. “We’re Halos. If we can’t take a couple of sharp rocks, we’re kind of screwed.”

  “Sharp rocks aren’t affected by a crux or a sword,” Sev said mildly as he flipped through the pages of an incomplete demon book he’d found in the library downtown.

  Chord pursed his lips but said nothing. Gray wasn’t exactly sure what had gone wrong between the two of them, but something clearly had.

  “Ready!” Aurora called a few minutes later, jogging towards them in her Halo armor that, in Gray’s opinion, fit her perfectly in every miserable way. “Sorry, I thought I needed extra protection this time around.”