“What are you—oh, that feels so good.” My heart pounded as he continued brushing my skin against his, creating a delicious friction between us. Lifting my other hand, he stepped forward, sandwiching my arms between our chests. He leaned forward, his blue eyes simmering as they held mine.
“You said your nose itched,” he said, his voice husky.
My breath caught in my throat. All I could do was nod.
He dipped his head. His warm breath lapped my lips as he pressed his nose against mine. Ever so slowly, his nose slid against mine. With each passing circle, his lips lightly brushed over mine, teasing me mercilessly and sending my body in a frenzy. He rubbed the stubble of jaw down over my neck and into the sensitive hollows of my collarbones, making my knees quiver and dip.
“How about your cheeks?”
“Yes,” I said, trembling.
He paused, his lips hovering over mine, our breathing accelerating until he finally tilted his head and pressed his cheek against mine. His head moved in circles, his scruff rubbing against my skin, leaving a tingling sensation that sent electric shivers down my spine. As Tristan lit my body ablaze with his touch, a new itch, I desperately tried to ignore, became more and more pronounced.
My heart violently pounded against my chest, ready to explode. I lost all sense of where I was. I pressed myself deeper into him, trying to capture more of the exquisite sensation.
“Excuse me if my announcement is interrupting you two.”
Startled at the sound of Remi’s voice, I yanked back. At some point, everyone had gathered on the beach. They circled Remi and my parents, who stood on a bench, looking like they were in the middle of giving a speech. Every single one of them had their eyes on us.
Tristan took one look at my father’s surprised face and took a step away from me. “I was scratching her itch.”
Dad scowled. Lucy elbowed Raffi, who looked clueless. She whispered frantically in his ear. He guffawed.
“I mean, she asked me to fix her itch.”
“Oh my god,” I muttered, mortified as the crowd howled.
“Sorry. I’ll shut up now.”
“As I was saying…” Remi glared, shaking his head before turning back to the crowd. “Ari and his scouts were sent undercover to gather as much information as possible in order to find the safe haven. As you can see, this is not the place. There are still many more miles to travel.”
The crowd groaned.
“I understand this is a hardship for many. We will do what we can to make you as comfortable as possible. I’d also like to assure you, the traitorous angels are gone, so we are now able to join the others at the safe haven. There are at least a half a dozen ships on their way there as we speak.”
The crowd vibrated with enthusiasm. I looked at Tristan, excited there were more survivors and relieved our family was safe now.
Tristan stared back at me with a sad expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“I’d like to personally thank Rowan and Lucia Morgan for the great sacrifice they made,” Remi continued. “Their subterfuge allowed the band of scouts to believe they had found the safe haven as well as reveal the traitors among us. As much as my heart breaks over Ian’s betrayal, I was forewarned of this possibility. Lucia, we thank you for your insights and your courage in sharing them with us. Rowan, we thank you for your skill in building the safe haven and ships, that to this day, are hidden from Belial.”
The crowd broke into applause. Lucy beamed. My parents had been in on this all along. They hadn’t betrayed the angels. I wasn’t the daughter of traitors.
“We will sail forth in the morning. But take heed, we are not out of danger yet. I have no doubt Ari and Ian will direct Belial here. Belial will bring his full army, and they will use every means necessary to hunt us down. Because of this, we must remain vigilant. However,” Remi’s eyes drifted down to Tristan, “we have a plan in place that may stall Belial’s army.”
After Remi’s announcement, the crowd dispersed. Some went into a nearby hotel the Guardians had prepared. Others strolled along the beach. I stood by Tristan, waiting for him to talk. He was quiet, his face grim. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He gazed out into the horizon, watching the waves churn in the dark waters.
“Well, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“I’m working up to it,” he said quietly.
“Is this about the scratching comment? That was embarrassing, but it’s not the end of the world. I mean, this is the end of the world.” I waved my arms, motioning to the post-apocalyptic skyline of empty buildings and the cloud of volcanic ash.
He gave me a half smile. “Funny. No, it’s not about that.”
“Yo, Karenna! Enough with the kissy face. Dad’s calling a family meeting.”
I groaned at the sound of Lucy’s not so subtle voice. I’d been planning to introduce Tristan to them once everything had quieted, but she wasn’t making it easy.
“I think you’re being summoned,” Tristan said, darting a wary look at my parents.
“You haven’t met my parents yet. Come with me.”
“I don’ think that’s a good idea. Maybe later.”
“Are you sure?”
“Karenna!” My father’s voice called out.
“Very. I’ll wait for you here.”
When I reached my parents, Dad pulled me to him, giving me a bear hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. I missed you, Dad,” I said, wanting to cry.
“Don’t forget me,” Mom said.
“I missed you too,” I cried as they both encircled me.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you,” Mom said. “Did Marmie show you the video?”
“Yes. But why? Why did you send me to Vegas when Lucy…?” I cried harder, remembering how helpless I’d felt when I thought I’d lost Lucy.
“Yeah, that really sucked,” Lucy said. “I was stuck in the tree house with Blaze. It was really hot in there. And, by the way, just so you know, angels don’t use deodorant.”
Dad chuckled. “Let’s sit. We’ll explain everything.”
We settled around a nearby picnic table. Lucy snuggled next to Mom. I sat beside Dad. I took turns touching Mom’s hand and Dad’s shoulder to make sure they were real. I’d thought I’d never see them again.
Angling his body toward Lucy and me, he tented his hands on the table and began. “We always knew the day would come, the end of this world. We had every intention to meet up with Remi in Vegas when we saw the signs. But one day Ari showed up and changed everything.”
Mom took a tissue from her dress pocket and dabbed the corners of her eyes. “We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know who to trust. Not when your lives were at stake.”
“He promised us no harm would come to you or Lucy if I worked for Belial.”
“So you joined them,” I said.
“Not really,” Mom said.
“But you said you did in the video,” Lucy pointed out.
Mom squeezed Lucy to her. “We told a white lie to protect you, honey. We’re so sorry to have done that.”
“Remember when we went on the Hawaiian cruise for our anniversary?” Dad said. “Well, that’s not where we went. This is the first time we’ve been to Honolulu.”
“I don’t understand. What about all those postcards you sent us?” I asked.
“Marmie had one of her friends send them,” Mom said.
Lucy whistled. “Aunt Mamie lied and didn’t break down about it. It’s a miracle.”
“Don’t tease, Lucy,” Dad said. “She felt bad about doing it, but she knew she had to. Your mother and I had to meet with Remi at the safe haven to make it ready. It was at that time Remi had the idea for us to make the deal with Ari.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. “Cool, my parents were double agents. Wait until I tell Gracie. That’ll show—no that’s not cool. I know, I’ll
tell Raffi.”
Dad frowned. “We were reluctant double agents, Lucy. This wasn’t a game for us. Although we had no plans to follow through on our deal with Ari, I did make a few swords for him, though nowhere near enough to supply Belial’s entire army. Some of them are plain swords, not that Ari or Belial will know until they try killing an angel. Remi and I agreed to lead Ari here to make them believe this was the safe haven. No one knew about the plan, not even Blaze.”
“That’s why Blaze went to save Lucy,” I said. “But why did you send me to Vegas?”
“We…we…” Mom broke down, bawling uncontrollably into her tissue.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Lucy said. “Blaze didn’t smell that bad.”
Mom laughed between sobs.
“You don’t have to explain,” I said, patting Mom’s back. “We trust you.”
“We want you to know,” Dad said. “We made a mistake. Your mom knew you and Jo were planning to sneak off to Vegas. She’s always been able to sense what is going to happen before it happens. We thought we were keeping you safe by putting you near Remi and Lucy with Marmie. We were so sure Ari would come after us. We don’t know how he found out where you were. Everyone thought you were going to Dallas.”
I was quiet for a moment. Then realization suddenly hit me. “Dorian.”
“That rat,” Lucy muttered.
“You said it, sister.” I fist bumped her before continuing. “Jo told Dorian where we were, and he told Ari. He was the only other person who knew. And he’s Eljo.”
“Speaking of the Eljo…” Mom began, but then stopped when Dad furiously shook his head. “Anyway, despite Blaze’s lack of human hygiene, we are forever grateful to him.”
“Are you all friends now?” Lucy asked.
“I wouldn’t say friends. More like people with a mutual goal.”
Lucy suddenly sat up, her eyes darting around the beach. “I didn’t see Blaze on the beach. Have you seen him?”
“He had to leave to take care of some business,” Dad said.
“Where?”
“I can’t say. Not yet. What I can say is Blaze is helping with the plan Remi mentioned. We should have safe passage to the haven thanks to Tristan.”
“Tristan?” My stomach tied itself into knots. This was one of those “other shoe dropping” type moments. This had to be why Tristan had suddenly withdrawn into himself and gone silent. “What’s the plan?”
“Tristan’s giving Phanuel what he’s always wanted. He’s going home.”
24
Karenna
With the last of the food eaten and the beach emptied, I sat alone at the picnic table. I didn’t know how much time had passed since Aunt Marmie had brought us a hotel keycard or how long it had been since Mom’s eyes had darted from Tristan to me. She’d kissed my forehead and told me to take my time a few minutes ago—or had it been hours?
Timed seemed to have stopped as I watched Tristan, not daring to move from where I was, as if by doing so I could keep the sun from rising.
Moonlight glowed silver on his wings. They slowly moved as he walked barefoot along the shore. His every move was like a ballet. The curve of his muscled arms, the arch of his wings, he was art personified.
He was more than beautiful. He was strong, compassionate, loyal…my friend.
And he was leaving.
I squared my shoulders and made my way to him. When I neared, he sucked in a breath and stopped. He kept his eyes on the horizon, unable to look at me. He felt it like I did. This was it, our goodbye.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. “You know I’m leaving.”
“Yes,” my voice cracked. I cleared my throat, forcing my voice to stay steady. “You’re going home.”
“I am, but I won’t be staying. Only long enough to stop Father.”
Hope leaped into my chest. “How? I mean, will your father even let you go?”
“I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t…for your own safety.”
“That’s okay. How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a couple of days? A week at the most.” He turned and gazed down intently into my eyes. “No matter what Father does, I’ll come back to you.”
“A couple of days? That’s all?” I let out a breath. I was worried about nothing. It’ll probably take us twenty-four hours to get everyone ready and back on the ship. “It’ll take longer than that to reach the haven, don’t you think? Maybe Remi can give you the route we’re taking.”
Tristan shook his head, looking despondent.
“Why not?”
“I meant to say two days in Celestial time. Time moves differently on Earth than in Heaven.”
“I remember. You said something about Earth revolutions.”
He let out a shaky breath. “I only used that as an example. It’s not an accurate calculation because time moves faster on Earth.”
“So a week in heaven is how many days on Earth?” My muscles tensed with dread, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
His eyes dropped, focusing on the wet sand. “There’s not an exact time equivalent.”
“Ballpark figure.”
“Well…”
“Is it an extra couple of days? An extra month?” My mouth went dry when he still didn’t answer. “Please, Tristan.”
Slowly, he looked up. “Four.”
“An extra four days. You had me going there. Why didn’t you—”
I sucked in a breath as tears pooled along the rim of his eyes. His lips parted, but nothing came out. He ran his tongue over his lips and swallowed before finally speaking.
“No. A week is about four months.”
Cold slammed into the pit of my stomach, making me hunch over. Four months. One hundred and twenty days. We would be at the safe haven by then, a place where only an elite few knew the whereabouts of, including my parents.
“My parents have been to the haven. They know where it is. I’m sure they’ll tell us. I’ll get them right now.”
I spun around, ready to run to the hotel and away from what it would mean if my parents gave in to my pleas to reveal the location. Tristan was faster. He latched onto my arm before I could take a step, forcing me to face reality.
“Don’t place them in that position. Don’t make them chose between your safety and your friendship to me.”
“But how will you find us? I won’t ever see you again.”
“Don’t say that. I’ll find you. I promise.”
“You won’t because if you do then that means the warrior angels would be able to find us too.”
He was silent for a moment. His blue eyes glistened as his face filled with anguish. “There’s no way around this. I have to go back. My father will never stop until I do. He’ll take everything I care about to get his way. He already has. It’s time I did what I was born to do. It’s the only way.”
The wind tousled his hair over his eyes. I brushed it off his forehead. If anything defined an angelic prince, it would be imprinted for all to see.
There was nothing but smooth, perfect skin.
“Your circlet. Why isn’t it there?”
“Because I’m not a true Throne. Not like Zac or Val…was.”
“I don’t understand. You’re taking a stand against your Father. You’re protecting us.”
He shook his head, his eyes drifting downward. Warm water washed over the sand, lapping at our feet. “A true Throne is selfless.”
“You are selfless.”
“No. What I’m doing is selfish…well, partially. I do want to stop this war, but that’s not the main reason.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
His dark lashes lifted. Vivid pools of blue glistened. “For you.”
“Tristan,” I whispered, reaching up to touch him. My fingers traced his face—the dark dusting of stubble along his square jaw, the silky arches of his eyebrows, the cupid’s bow of his sensuous lips. I memorized every single inch of his body and soul.
D
espite what he’d said, he was doing this for more than me. I knew him. He was doing it for all of us, for gentle Calder, forced for the first time to pick up a sword and take a life. For his valiant best friends, Zac and Val. He wanted to show them they were not alone in this.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he rasped.
In his eyes, I saw it, the doubt he may not find his way back. I blinked fast, fighting against tears pricking my eyes. Fate was cruel for putting me in Tristan’s path. It was like there was a curse between us, making us feel so intensely for each other only to tear us apart.
“What if you can’t come back? What if your father…I don’t know. Maybe he’ll use the Dark Ways to keep you there. Maybe he’ll somehow convince you to stay.”
“I won’t fall for his lies. I won’t ever let go of the hope we will overcome this. And in the end, when this is all over, we’ll be free.”
My heart warred with my mind, knowing he had to go and wanting him to stay. I clenched my jaw, biting back pleas to persuade him to stay.
Please, don’t go. You can’t leave me.
Then he said it, the words that made my heart sing with bittersweet sorrow.
“I’ll be free to love you.”
His lips pressed gently against mine, moving slow and sensuous, tasting every crevice of my mouth. I weaved my fingers into his silky hair, needing to feel him close to me. He responded, his strong arms pulling me tight against his chest. Our breathing grew frantic, and he deepened the kiss. His stubble scraped my chin, chaffing it raw as his kisses grew desperate. He kissed with a desperation of a man holding on for dear life. I tasted a saltiness and was unsure if it came from tears or the spray of waves crashing on the nearby rocks. I didn’t want to know. I wanted to commit this moment to memory and sear every bit of it into my mind.
I pushed up onto my toes, kissing him with passionate fervor. Tristan’s fingers speared into my hair, and I let go with a wild abandon. He was it. He was my angel.
“Karenna,” he murmured my name over and over as if it were a solemn oath, a promise he would move Heaven and Earth to return to me.
When he finally pulled back, we gasped for air. His eyes were wild with emotion.
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