by Lila Felix
“Ari, please. Haven’t you made the guy wait long enough? Let’s just go to Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, or something. You’ve got the dress. You’ve got the groom. You’ve got the—me.”
Theo was not the Eidolon anymore. After being released from Paraiso, he no longer had the power to flash, walk through walls, or pinpoint Colby’s location.
But to look at him and hear him speak, it wasn’t obvious that he’d lost all of that power in one shot.
In fact, he was happier now than I’d ever seen him.
He held the same respect in our hearts that the Prophetess did and maybe even more. He gave up everything for our people. And we honored him for it by knowing who he was, but at the same time, treating him and Colby just like everyone else—except for times like this—when he was still allowed to officiate a sealing.
And he would be officiating our sealing.
Ari looked at me. From one second to the other, her face changed. It was the same face she made when a movie ended. But a little softer than the face she made when her lips tasted coffee in the morning.
It was the face she had in the morning light.
“I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? It doesn’t freaking matter. Who cares? Nobody. Theo? Can you seal us tomorrow in Belize? Belize is always good.”
I didn’t wait for Theo to answer. I walked over to Ari, lifted her by her waist, and crashed my mouth down against hers. She might be high maintenance—she might have three times the smart mouth that I did—but she was mine.
Five years later
Malynn had a beating coming. If she showed me that shit-eating grin one more time, I didn’t care how big my belly was, she was going to get my foot shoved right up Main Street.
“Stop smiling at me like that. It’s not funny.”
Malynn lived in our guesthouse. Even though Theo had come back, she stayed true to her word. She was now my number-two best friend. At times like this one right here, where I had a two-year-old running around naked and a four-year-old who was currently painting the couch with shaving cream while I waddled the floor trying to rein it all in—she was kind of handy.
If she would only wipe that look off her face.
“This is not all. There are more to come. I told Theo that I saw it. Even when he was gone, the vision never changed.”
What a know-it-all.
And if she talked to me about how many kids she had seen me having, I was going to punch her in the uterus.
“Now, when I have a renter in the baby apartment and my bladder is the size of a flea’s ass, is not the time to remind me of how many more tenants I’ll be having in the future. So… either stop Theodore Jr. from painting with shaving cream or slap a diaper on Rebekkah. Either way, shut your trap and rustle up a kid.”
She laughed but grumbled out something about grumpy pregnant women.
Grumble all you want, woman—just help.
“Colby?” she asked, choosing the naked kid.
“Yeah?”
“Do you ever think about that time? When things were different? Do you wish it had gone any other way?”
I thought about it all the time. When Theo came in from work in his suit and tie—he was now a website designer—I was reminded of the time when the world weighed on his shoulders and there was no clocking out for him—even during sleep. In between pregnancies, because I chose not to flash when I was pregnant, I went to some of the places we were during that time. Some of them conjured up good memories and some of them didn’t.
Every time the kids called Uncle Torrent on Skype and I saw his face—it was hard on me still. I guessed that time would heal those things, but it was too soon, and I was too busy to even pay attention to it.
We didn’t keep in touch with Regina or any of the other Synod. I assumed they went back to try to find some sense of normalcy. And while they had stepped in to help us fight a common enemy back then, I would never be able to forgive them for what they did to our people.
Sway and her mate put traveling bloggers to shame. They went everywhere—no place was off limits.
Collin and Ari had one son and named him Ramsey, after us. Ramsey and Rebekkah were born only weeks apart. Collin worked at the New York City library, but thanks to his flashing wife, he was able to live near us and work there at the same time. Thank goodness there were no security cameras in the basement of the library or else they would be in trouble.
We lived like anyone else.
We weren’t afraid of being tormented anymore by shadows of so-called government people or conference tables full of women who threatened to take our powers. All of that was Sanctum and his cronies. He was taking our people’s powers and blaming it on anyone he could.
He was the coward in the dark.
But we weren’t afraid of the dark anymore.
“Querida, what mess are we in today?” He smiled when he got home, and I knew he was grateful for everything that had happened. We flashed together, of course, and I was grateful that I could bring my babies anywhere in the world that I wanted with the blink of an eye.
But sometimes, when Theo looked to the stars or outside in the rain, I saw the longing in his eyes. I knew the look so well.
The lightning, once it blew through temples and invaded veins, could never be forgotten.
“Not much. Rebekkah went to Columbia after turning on the TV. Damn Netflix and their National Geographic shows.”
He chuckled and picked her up, whispering in her ear about not flashing without Mommy. He told them stories every night about how Daddy was once the Eidolon. He was their hero in those stories and every day.
“Mommy can bring us everywhere once she has your baby brother, okay? Or next time, you can bring me with you.”
He brought her to the couch and sat down with her in his lap, and began a story about when we found out that we could travel together. She listened intently, hanging on every word, while I took the opportunity to sit and listen to his side of things.
I often think about the purpose of all those events, and I finally came to a conclusion: Everyone needed a wakeup call once in a while—societies where people were being treated inhumanely—countries where their children were starving—groups of people who used and abused others—and even the Lucents.
Even Rebekkah’s death had a purpose. Five years later, the hate for what Sanctum did bubbles up and festers once in a while. We tolerate his presence, but things will never be okay between all of us.
We Lucents simply needed to be reminded that it wasn’t a group of women, or scary people who chased us for our powers, that we needed to be afraid of.
All we needed to do was embrace who we were and be free—finally.
I wouldn’t be here without the Lord giving me a mind that likes to make up crap and tell everyone about it.
To my husband: If we could go anywhere in the world in a flash of lightning, I would still come home to you and our three stooges.
To Jaime Rodriguez, the best daggum PA in the world.
Rebecca Ethington, Ashleigh Russell, Mandy Anderson, Jamie Magee, and Delphina Miyares, thanks for sticking with me even when I sometimes push back.
To the Clean Teen Publishing Team: Rebecca, Marya, Courtney, and Melanie, y’all are the absolute best. I ask some pretty silly questions, but still, you answer with no hesitation. I am blessed to be a part of your team. Oh, Cynthia, bless your heart for having to put up with me. That’s all I have to say.
Marya, you rock at the lightning. And the Theo. And the lightning making Theo even cuter. To all the bloggers who continue to support me, you rock. Keep up the amazing work.
There are readers, and then there are the Rink Rats. #RR4LIFE
Lila Felix is full of antics and stories. She refused to go to Kindergarten after the teacher made her take a nap on the first day. She staged her first protest in middle school. She almost flunked out of her first semester at Pepperdine University because she was enthralled with their library and frequently was locked in. Now her husband
and three children have to put up with her rebel nature in Louisiana where her days are filled with cypress trees, crawfish, and of course her books and writing. She writes about the ordinary rebels who fall extraordinarily in wild, true love.
www.lilafelix.com
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If you enjoyed The Lucent Series, we recommend you also check out Dating an Alien Pop Star by Kendra Saunders.
Daisy Kirkwood has only just escaped her small-town life and run away to New York City, the land of last-minute secret gigs at famous musical venues, when she’s kidnapped by aliens. Unfortunately, no one ever writes about how to handle alien abduction in those fancy NYC guidebooks.
Griffin and Dev are supermassively sexy aliens from a politically and environmentally troubled planet who arrive on Earth with very little knowledge about human ways other than what they learned from a wayward E! News signal. Their mission is to pretend to be the most influential people on the planet—English pop stars, of course!—and gain the help of a powerful secret society. Upon arriving, they abduct Daisy Kirkwood, a nerdy young woman who loves music but could seriously use a bit of help in the love-life department. Though Griffin and Daisy initially squabble, neither can deny the intergalactic sparks whenever they’re too close to each other. Together, they must face murderous aliens, cultural misunderstandings, bad backup musicians, and the dark side of fame and the media, all set against a tight deadline…
Part High Fidelity, part Bridget Jones’ Diary, part Doctor Who, Dating an Alien Pop Star is a sexy romantic comedy.
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