Under Northern Lights (The Six Series Book 6)

by Sonya Loveday

  “Take your time,” Cole said, coming over to my bedside.

  His cool fingers touched the side of my head as he peeled away the first of many monitors.

  I licked my lips, realizing they were cracked when I tasted blood. It all came back to me in one brilliant flash. My hand slapped at my chest and I winced in reaction, but the pain was minimal and it sealed the memory in like a branding iron.

  “I died. He shot me, and I died. How am I alive?”

  Since I had nothing in my stomach, it hurt like hell to throw up. I heaved, dry retching to the sound of that final gunshot.

  “Easy, Eli. Everything is okay. You’re going to be okay,” Cole said, helping me sit up.

  “Tell me,” I demanded.

  And he did.

  The arctic temperatures, for the most part, preserved my body. Nadia had insisted on packing me in ice before she allowed Grant to transport my body back. Cole had come for me as soon as the small plane touched down and kept me in the same state. Frozen in time until he had the final pieces to what he called his work in progress. He spoke of coding and currents. Calculations and equations. The complexity he rattled on about was unimaginable. Cutting-edge science so advanced that it was unheard of. The brain, he’d said, if one really thought about it, was nothing more than a live computer.

  It excited him. I could see it in his eyes even if he held himself in check while explaining the intricate way he… “You brought me back from the dead.”

  Cole nodded. “With Nadia’s help.”

  “Why?” It was the only thing I could manage to ask.

  Cole flipped the switch on the wall, and everything but the heart monitor shut off. “Because I’m a selfish man, if not a scientific one. There’s not many chances to carry out such an extensive, not to mention tricky, resuscitation. Being a doctor yourself, would you take the chance for the sake of science? Or more to the point, would you do what you knew you might be able to do in order to bring someone back? Someone who never should have died in the first place?”

  Hearing that was staggering. “But you’re not God.”

  Cole startled me when he chuckled. “No, I’m not, and I’m damn glad of it since he has way more things to deal with than I have the time for. Now… let’s get you to your room.”

  Chapter 22

  Nova

  “Are your sure your aunt will be okay with me tagging along?” I asked Airen as she knocked on the front door to her aunt’s house.

  “Aye, she’ll be pleased for the company,” Airen said.

  The door swung open. The next thing I knew, we were swept inside and then I was enfolded in the warmest hug I’d felt in a long time. “Ye look as if ye need a dram to chase away the chill. Come along then, I’ve a new tea to try and if ye like, ye can add a splash to fill yer belly until tea is done.”

  Tea? Wasn’t she serving us tea? I looked to Airen.

  “Dinner, she means,” she explained as we wandered into the living room.

  The walls were bare, but the outline of picture frames once hung remained. There were a few boxes neatly stacked in the corner, and a random stack of sheets sat on top.

  “Cleaning, Auntie?” Airen asked, eyeing the wall with a smirk. “Or did ye finally decide to take down my wall o’shame?”

  “The wall needs a fresh coat, and so I said to m’self… Brenda, the lassie will be here and none too soon,” Airen’s aunt Brenda said, following it up with a boisterous laugh when Airen huffed.

  “Aye, and with help, too,” Airen answered, scowling.

  Brenda smiled wide, eyes dancing. “It’s good te have ye home, Airen.”

  Airen pulled out the chair in front of her and sat. “Yer lucky I love ye, Auntie.”

  Airen’s accent seemed to thicken the more she bantered with her aunt. I could have sat there for days listening to it, even if they were bickering.

  “Sit, lassie, yer no’ going te get any taller by standing,” Brenda said, claiming her own seat.

  It was nice to feel so relaxed. Even better being in the company of a woman who laughed more often than not. It was an infectious sound. A buoy that signaled hope to help those who felt lost in a sea of grief.

  The tea warmed me up, and the conversation carried me forward. Life would go on. That was all there was to it. It would hurt, but with hurt came healing, and with healing came closure so as to move on. Sitting at Brenda’s kitchen table might not have been the first step, but it had been a big one.

  “Ye have paint on yer nose,” Airen said, pointing at me with the brush in her hands.

  I felt my eyes cross as I tried to look down, but then gave up when I felt a wave of dizziness roll through me.

  Airen laughed and set the brush down. “It’s good to laugh, aye?”

  It was. “Is it as hard for you as it is for me to be around them?”

  She gave me a knowing look before kneeling to put the lid on the paint can. “It is now with… they’re a close group. The Six. But ye never feel like an outsider with them. They take ye in, and that’s that. Only nothing like this has ever happened before. And I think it’s really hit them hard, especially with no way of saying goodbye.”

  “I got that with Noni,” I said as she picked up the paint can and then carried it over to the closet.

  “Aye, and ye need that to move on the best ye can. It’ll get better once they have that as well,” Airen said, cocking her head as we both heard the sound of keys jingling outside the front door. “That’ll be Aunt Brenda.”

  “Well, will ye look at that? Nothing better than a fresh coat of paint,” Brenda said as soon as the door was closed behind her.

  “Don’t ye mean free labor?” Airen asked.

  “Cheeky.” Brenda shook her head and motioned us to follow her. “I suppose ye’ll be wanting a bite to eat. Come along and sit ye down… after ye wipe the paint off yer paws. Did ye roll in it, lass?” she asked, picking up a chunk of Airen’s hair with a sound of amusement.

  “Oh, aye, used my head as a brush to make the painting faster,” Airen said as she walked over to the kitchen sink.

  “At least you don’t look like the paintbrush got away with ye,” Brenda said, making a circuit around me.

  Airen scowled in our direction. “Aye, she kens how to paint. Ye made yer point.”

  Brenda smirked. Then, with a briskness born to those who knew their way around a kitchen, she had hot tea on the table and served the most delicious meat-filled pastries I’d ever sank my teeth into.

  While she and Airen caught up, I listened, answering when asked a question, but for the most part, I kept quiet. Airen had needed the time with her aunt. She might not have realized it, but I could tell by the way she shook off the layer of grief and became animated the more they talked.

  When it was time to go, I followed Airen out the door after another one of Brenda’s soul-mending hugs.

  “Oliver called,” Riley said, poking her head out of her room.

  “Aye?” Airen put her hand on my arm, holding me in place without asking me to stay.

  “He said we’re headed back to Chicago.”

  “Tell her the best part!” Ace called out from somewhere behind her.

  She laughed. “Hold your horses. I’m getting to it.”

  “We’re going home for Christmas!” Jared shouted as he came out of his room and barreled down on us.

  Airen shrieked and darted out of the way when Jared made a grab for her. He got a devilish sort of look on his face. Before I knew what was happening, he had me over his shoulder and then spun me in a circle. “That means you too, Super Nova.”

  “Oh, God, put me down before I get sick,” I said, digging my elbows into his back.

  He laughed like a loon and then set me on my feet. I staggered, but he kept his hands firmly on my shoulders to keep me from smacking into the wall.

  When my eyes stopped rolling about in my head, he let me go. Giving another whoop of laughter, he then darted back to his room as he called, “Christmas at the
cabin, Murph!”

  His door slammed. Riley chuckled, followed by Airen.

  “I guess that means he’s really happy?” I asked.

  “He is. We all are. Maybe Cole realized we need this,” Riley answered. “A real house at Christmas… How long has it been?”

  “Too long,” Paige said, coming up behind us. “Were you painting, Airen?”

  Airen rolled her eyes and then looked at me. We broke into a round of giggles.

  “Must have been drinking, too,” Paige said as she smirked when she walked around us. “God, I can’t wait to be home.”

  “Oh my God, I’m gonna kill him before we ever get to Alabama,” Murphy said as she slipped out of her room and then moved to lean against the wall.

  “Do you know what this means?” Riley asked, bouncing on her toes.

  Murphy snorted. “Yeah, Jared’s going to be even more of a pain in the—”

  The bedroom door was snatched open. “Ah… ah… ah… Be nice, Murphy. Santa Jared is listening.”

  Paige deadpanned and said, “Well, that saves me a stamp.”

  Jared flicked her off, grabbed Murphy, and tried to pull her back into the room. “Come on , Murph, we can fill our digital carts and leave them so when people start acting like grinches, we can take a gift away and cackle.”

  “You’re breaking my heart, oh, jolly one.” Paige returned the hand gesture.

  Jared huffed. “Mark that down, Murphy… one less present for Paige.”

  Murphy groaned. “You’re going to be an impossible pain in the ass from now until Christmas.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Yeah, but you’ll love me despite it.”

  She chuckled. “Yes, Jared, despite all of it, I still love you.”

  He pulled back and gave her a look that said he was contemplating something.

  “What?” Her head tipped as she watched him, waiting for him to answer.

  He shook his head, and then scooped her up in his arms. “Nothing, just love you,” he said, carrying her inside their room. The door closed with a bang, and the muffled sound of Murphy giggling followed.

  “Yep, that’s my cue,” Paige said, wandering back to her own room.

  “We were about to put on a movie if you’d like to come hang out and watch it with us,” Riley said as I set out to go to my own room.

  “Are you sure you want company?” I asked.

  Ace stuck his head out the door. “Do you girls want popcorn?”

  Riley wiggled her eyebrows at me.

  I nodded.

  “Make two bags,” Riley said, hooking her arm through mine. “I’ll share with you, Nova. Ace always hogs a whole bag to himself.

  “Hey! I heard that,” Ace said.

  Riley laughed. “I meant for you to.”

  The movie started, and I found myself settled into the recliner in their room with pillows and a throw blanket. It didn’t matter what movie it was. The company alone filled me with a sense of belonging.

  There had been a split second where I’d thought I’d be left behind when they headed out to Alabama, until Jared had announced I was going too. Relief had washed over me. It wasn’t as if I was needy. Had I not been invited, I would have made it through the holidays on my own. Being alone would have sucked since it would be my first Christmas without family… without Noni.

  My concerns were no longer valid. I’d be tagging along with them, the newly adopted member of their group. I’d never be one of the Six, but that was okay with me. As long as I had their friendship, that was all that mattered.

  Chapter 23

  Eli

  “Christmas at home?” I stared at Nadia, dumbfounded.

  She nodded. “They’ll be coming back from Scotland soon, so that means we need to get you on your feet.”

  As much as I wanted to see everyone—especially Ace and Aiden after everything that happened—I wanted to see Nova more. I promised her I’d be back. She had to have thought I’d just told her that so leaving her would be easier.

  “Nadia, I don’t want to go to Alabama,” I said, bracing myself for an argument.

  She helped me up from my bed. Once I was on my feet with her arm around me, she said, “I thought you’d be happy to go home for Christmas.”

  I would have been, had it not been for the fact I’d left my heart in Alaska. It took all of my strength to stay upright and put one foot in front of the other. I had no idea how long it would take for me to be back at full strength, let alone to be able to walk again without assistance.

  “Her grandmother passed,” Nadia said, causing me to stumble.

  I felt sick. “When?”

  “Right after we came back from Mongolia,” Nadia answered, halting as I put my hand out and caught the wall.

  “I need to go to Alaska,” I said.

  Anger burned through me. I’d left her when she’d needed me the most. I wasn’t going to wait any longer than I had to. Nova had to be going through hell. Whether she wanted me there or not, I was still going.

  “The facility isn’t ready yet,” Nadia said as I pushed off the wall and wavered until I regained my balance.

  “I still have a house there… or at least Nova does,” I answered.

  “It was sold,” Nadia said.

  “What?” I jerked away from her and landed hard against the wall. My hand shot out in front of me. My meaning clear—don’t touch me. “What do you mean the house was sold? What about Nova? She lived there. Are you telling me that it was sold right out from underneath her?”

  Nadia sighed. “You should know better than to ask that.”

  I snorted. “I should know better than a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean I do. What happened with Nova? Where is she?”

  “She’s safe, Eli. And she’s finally got her life back. She’s doing what she wants to do,” Nadia answered.

  I gave her the sternest look I could muster. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  “Why?” she asked, scrutinizing me.

  “What do you mean, why?” Was she set on confusing me?

  “Why do you want to know where she is?” she asked, crossing her arms as she waited.

  “Uh, I don’t know, maybe because I’m worried about her. She’s my friend, and I promised I’d go back to Alaska when the Siberia mission was over. Only the Siberia mission ended up getting me killed.” I paused, sucking in a sharp breath. “Did you tell her? Does she think I’m dead?”

  I clenched my fist against my stomach and fought to stay upright as I waited for her to answer.

  She uncrossed her arms. Moving to the other side of the hallway, she leaned against the wall with a soft sigh. “They all think your dead, Eli, because we weren’t positive you could be brought back.”

  I slid down the wall, head hanging as I tried to catch my breath and will my erratic heart to slow. Words were impossible at the moment.

  “We didn’t do it to hurt anyone. We did it so that if it didn’t work, we weren’t hurting them all over again,” Nadia explained.

  Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, and I let them fall. I let her see what her admission did to me.

  “That’s why they’re coming back here before all of you head out to Alabama. They need to know you’re alive,” Nadia said, pulling her knees up and hooking her arms around them.

  “And Nova?” I asked.

  “Nova will be coming with them,” she said, smiling at me.

  “She’s with them? But you said—”

  “No, I didn’t say. You only heard what you wanted to hear. Yes, I kept the information from you, but only so I could find out how you really feel about her. You love her, don’t you?” Nadia asked.

  I dashed the tears away and wished I had the strength to crawl over to where she was so I could wring her neck for putting me through all the unnecessary bullshit in order to get to the bottom of how I felt. “How can I want to throttle you and still care about you at the same time?” I blew out a long breath. “Yes, I love her. Satisfied?”r />
  Nadia popped up from the floor and came to stand in front of me. She put her hands out. Once I was on my feet, she said, “I’ve never been so scared in my life. Never take a bullet for me again.”

  I put my arm around her waist and gave her a light squeeze that felt more like a spasm. “Deal. As long as you don’t tell everyone I’m dead and then bring me back again. Being a zombie once over is enough to deal with.”

  Nadia laughed. “I think I can agree to that. Can you agree to something for me in return?”

  “How about you ask and then I’ll decide if I can agree with it?” I countered, heaving a sigh seeing how close we were to my room.

  “It’ll get easier. Each day, you’ll get stronger. Now, let’s get you into bed. After, I’ll tell you what I’d like to ask of you,” she said.

  Once my pillows were fluffed up behind me, Nadia sat on the edge of the bed. “What happened to you… Cole bringing you back? That’s, shall we say, uncommon.”

  I snorted. “That’s putting it mildly.”

  She nodded. “Which means that it would be really hard to explain as well. For the interest of not raising too many questions, I’d like to tell everyone that you were in critical condition and your survival rate was so low that Cole didn’t want to give anyone false hope.”

  “You don’t want anyone to know what he did?” It wasn’t a question really, but it had come out sounding like one.

  “I think for the sake of keeping what happened a top-secret procedure, it’s best that part remain between us.”

  “Who else knows?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Top secret, remember? Do you think you can hold to that agreement? I only ask because something like that isn’t guaranteed to work all the time. The conditions were right for you, but it won’t always be that way. And really, Cole would like for what happened to be kept under the strictest of confidences. Too many things could go wrong if the information were to be leaked.”