Wars & Wings (Enlighten Series Book 3)

by Kristin D. Van Risseghem

  Some of the other school students tried to cut in, but after a few minutes of watching Shay and Kieran, they came to realize that it was better to stay on the sidelines in awe.

  Sun tanning girls also noticed them and casually flipped their bodies on their towels to discreetly spy on my boys. My friends and I have the front row seats. Frequently, we’ve been sprayed with sand as the ball came too close when one of the boys dove trying to save it, causing us to shriek.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go so soon,” Cali says. “I barely got here.”

  “Me, too, but...” I look around for anyone too close. “We have to come up with a plan on how to get the sword and how Stella fits into that. She’s only thirteen. I can’t have her in the thick of things when the baddies come out to play.”

  “I get it. Today was perfect, if only for a couple of hours. We all need a break just to be numb to it and get a handle on things.”

  “You should come over, too, and let Vash know what we discuss.”

  “Wait. What are you trying to find, Zoe?” Quinn asks as she pulls her attention from the game. “Maybe I can help.”

  Cali looks at me for help. I nod since I shouldn’t be the one who outs her. Cali should be the one to spill her own secret. “That’s a good idea.” Cali begins to pack her belonging.

  “Are you coming over, too?” Quinn asks.

  “I am.”

  “Um. I think it’s going to be a ... how do I put this?”

  “I already know what you are, Quinn.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, and anything you have to say can be said in front of me and my mate. I’ll text Vash that I’ll be a bit late. Maybe you have some new ideas we haven’t thought of yet.”

  “I’m confused here. If you know about me, then what does that make you? And you said ‘mate’.”

  “I’m a shifter.”

  Quinn leans in. “A what now? Shifter of what exactly?”

  “I can turn myself into a wolf.”

  “Let’s let Quinn mull that over as we pack up. We need to get going. Plus, I want to hear all about you and Aiden,” Sidelle says to me. I glare at her. What does that have to do with anything? Sidelle smirks, knowing something I do not. At least I haven’t put it together yet.

  I think Quinn is too stunned to even make a comment about Sidelle. She doesn’t ask why she’s coming over to Kieran’s house. “All right, it’s settled. Let’s go to K’s place. I’ll go pick up my sister and meet you guys there.”

  We gather the last of our beach items just as the boys end their game and the crowd disperses. A few of the closer girls sigh.

  “That was an epic match, Shay,” Kieran says.

  “Yes, it was. We’ll have to do that again sometime. I knew you’d be competitive, and you held you own. Not bad for never playing before.” Shay grabs my bag and carries it to the car. “So, what’s the plan you girls came up with?”

  “Everyone is going to Kieran’s house. I’ll get Stella and meet you guys there,” I say. “We can figure out the next steps.” I look at Kieran. “Is that okay?”

  “Sounds like as good a plan as any,” he says.

  “STELLA, TELL US EVERYTHING that you’ve seen,” Kieran says. He’s sitting in his usual chair.

  We are back in the den, and Shay and I are nestled against each other on the couch. He’s in his trademark black T-shirt and black jeans.

  “Um, hold up a second,” Quinn says as she sits in the other chair across from Kieran. “I’m new at all this, so what is Zoe’s sister?”

  “Hold on a sec,” I say. “Before we divulge too much information here.” I tap Quinn’s knee, getting her attention. “Everything we say in this room cannot leave it. That means you can’t tell your parents, people outside of this room. Or Aiden. No one. I need to trust you on this, okay? Promise me that you won’t share anything with him.” She stares at me. “You’re going to hear some things about Aiden that you might not know or like. But Quinn, promise me that you won’t say anything about this to anyone.”

  She looks at me for a moment, then nods. “I promise.”

  I confirm to my friends that we all heard Quinn’s promise and give the go ahead to Kieran to continue.

  “We think she’s a Vate or Seer,” he says.

  “How?” Quinn asks. “I mean, since when?”

  “I’m not sure,” Kieran says. “Stella, when did you start seeing things?”

  “It was during the time that Zoe was gone. At first I thought they were dreams, but they were so vivid, and I kept having the same one over and over again. It was like a movie playing on repeat, and each time a small item would become clearer. Gradually, I guessed it was real, and that it was the future.”

  “Maybe when I came into my powers, so did she?” I ask.

  “Could be. I’ve seen you with a sword during the final battle, so I know you find one.” Stella nods. “You must have one to defeat Sammael.”

  “Is that what you’re looking for?” Quinn asks. I nod. “Who is Sammael?”

  “First, maybe you should tell us what Aiden has told you,” Shay says.

  “Not much, actually. He’s told me about Nephilims, our abilities, purpose, and he’s been training me. He said that it’s time I was put on a mission, but he didn’t elaborate on what that would be.”

  “Do you know that he’s the one who kidnapped me?” I ask.

  “I thought you went to Europe?” Quinn shakes her head. “What, Aiden? No, that can’t be right. He would never do anything that terrible. He’s been with me almost every single day since I’ve been out of the hospital. When would he have time to kidnap you?”

  The rest of my friends look at each other.

  “I thought he was good, too, but I know it was him who took me from prom. He held me in a special room until I got my wings.” I sat up and move to the edge of the couch. “But I escaped.”

  “It just doesn’t sound like him, but you would know who your captor was.” She shrugs. “I know in my heart that Aiden would never do anything like that. Perhaps he has a twin or something. He loves me and I him. I see the good in him. Zoe, you and I have been friends since grade school. I would never do anything to hurt you or betray your trust. I hope you know that.”

  “We will agree to disagree on Aiden’s integrity. Since I won’t be able to sway you, just be careful. That’s all. I’m looking out for my friend. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Quinn stays silent and from her facial expressions, she’s a bit mad at me. And that’s fine. She can be.

  “So, Little Stella-san,” Sidelle says. “Where do you think we should start looking?”

  “Paris, France.” Stella pulls out her laptop and powers it on.

  “Are you sure?” I ask. “Because that’s a long trip to be guessing.”

  “Almost positive. I’ve been looking online, and it’s the best guess I have. There are a few more places we can look if it’s not there.” Flipping the screen to me, I see a picture of a stone angel standing high on a pillar. Under it, it says that it’s “The Armed Peace Angel” and stands guard over the entrance at Parc Monsouris.

  “How are we supposed to get there?”

  “You can fly there,” Sidelle says.

  “I don’t have money for however many tickets.”

  “No, silly.” Sidelle chuckles, shaking her head. “We have our own wings.”

  “Zoe, you have wings, too?” Quinn asks, and then turns to Sidelle. “And you?”

  “Yeah, I just got them on my birthday.”

  “What are you exactly? And what does that make Sidelle?”

  “I’m an angel.” We are throwing a lot of information out in the open for Quinn to hear. I would hate if she tells Aiden anything, but she is my friend, and I have to trust her. We’ve been friends since kindergarten. I need to trust in that. Plus, we haven’t really told her anything Aiden doesn’t already know.

  “Sidelle’s a fairy,” Kieran says. “Can you try opening a porta, so we d
on’t all have to fly there? It is a very long trip across the ocean. And I don’t think some of us will all make it there.”

  I smack his knee. “Hey, just because I’m new at this—”

  “I meant Shay,” Kieran coughs.

  “If that fails, we probably can use the company jet,” Cali offers. “I’m sure Vash won’t mind.”

  “All right, everyone into the backyard.” Sidelle ushers us off the furniture. “I need to create an archway, and we’ll see how it goes.”

  We march to the back of the house and open the sliding glass door. Sidelle strolls to one of the trees and gently caresses the trunk. She’s whispering something and pats its bark. Quickly, she snaps off a few branches and bends them back and forth, softening them up. She steps to an evergreen and does the same thing.

  Once she’s done, the branches intertwine together and form a long branch. She calls up some green glamour and molds each end into the ground, forming a tall archway. Again muttering in a foreign language, she waves her hand up and down and across the opening. A cloudy film appears, unlike all the other times I’ve used a porta.

  “It’s not working correctly.” Sweat drips down Sidelle’s face. “It should be, but for some reason, it’s not.” She drops her hands. “We’ll have to take the jet.”

  “Maybe the wards here are too strong,” Kieran says as he pats Sidelle’s shoulder.

  “How are my sister and I going to take a trip to France?” I ask. “Doesn’t it take like ten hours to fly there?”

  “I guess we need to figure out who all has to go because Zoe and I could go by ourselves,” Kieran says. “The only reason we need the plane is for Vash and Shay.”

  “I’m not letting Zoe go without me.” Shay steps in front of me.

  “Shay.” I gently turn him to face me. “I’ll be okay. Kieran will take good care of me. I need you to watch over Stella while I’m gone. Nothing can happen to her.” I turn back to my best friend. “We can fly faster than a plane?”

  He nods.

  Shay’s mouth flattens. I know he doesn’t like it. We’ve always said that we would be there for each other. But with less than two weeks before all hell breaks loose, I really need to kick my search into high gear.

  I think he knows this, too. Ever so slightly, he nods. I mouth, “I love you,” and then face Kieran. “Why can’t we just appear there like I’ve seen you do?”

  “You’ve never been there in real life. You need to know exactly where you’re going and seeing it in photos and movies is different.”

  “I’m going with you, too,” Sidelle says. “We’ve had eons to learn about every nook and cranny of earth. So you need to do this the old fashioned way until you’ve lived as long as us and can pop in and out of places.”

  “Kieran, if anything happens to her—” Shay begins.

  “Nothing will happen.” Kieran leads me away from our small group. “We’ll go there and be back here in a couple of hours. I promise.” He motions for Sidelle to step to my other side, turning to me. “Are you ready, Zoe?” He takes my hand. “I need you to concentrate on your Light. You haven’t ever traveled this far. Take Sidelle’s hand and focus. Wrap it around yourself. Feel it in every cell of your body. Now, think of it expanding like a bubble and include Sidelle and me. Once you have that, picture the Eiffel Tower in your mind.”

  Heat warms our linked hands. When I look down at them, they glow with purple Light. Sidelle’s hand is pulsing with her green glamour. Kieran’s has a slight yellow tint.

  “You can do this, Zoe,” Kieran whispers.

  I know I can. My back tingles, releasing my wings. They don’t hold back any longer. The force of their freedom affects my angelic power. Purple thrusts from my body, and along with it my wings encase us. And we launch into the sky.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Aiden

  “AIDEN?” QUINN WALKS into my room. “Oh, good. You’re here. Your sister didn’t know but let me in anyway.”

  “Do you need something?” I slam the book closed.

  “Am I interrupting you?”

  “Nope, just doing some reading about ... never mind.” I slide the spine away from Quinn’s view. “What’s up?”

  “I ran into Zoe at Coffee Grind and then decided to spend the day at the beach with her.”

  I nod for her to continue.

  “We went to Kieran’s house after.” My body involuntarily flinches at his name. I hope she doesn’t notice. “Zoe said that you were the one who held her captive. I didn’t believe her of course. But why would she lie about something like that?”

  I motion for her to sit on my bed, but she remains pacing the room.

  “She would know who held her prisoner, right? Well, she said it was you. I just can’t believe that. You wouldn’t do anything like that. Would you?”

  “How could I have done something as horrible as taking someone against their will? You’ve been with me on most days.”

  “That’s what I told her, too. I know you. You aren’t that kind of a person.”

  “Come here and sit.” I take her hand and guide her to the bed, trying to calm her down. “Quinn.” My fingers lock with hers. “You do know me, and I would never hurt anyone.” She nods. Her body is tense, and tears run down her cheeks. “Stop crying. I didn’t do what she’s accusing me of.”

  “I know.”

  “What did she say exactly?”

  “She didn’t go into detail about her captivity.” Quinn wipes her face. “But she’s now off on some mission trying to find a sword. Kieran and Sidelle went with her to Europe to look for one.”

  “I see.”

  “Do you know anything about that?”

  “Not a clue.” My thumb rubs the top of her hand in a soothing pattern.

  “I hope she finds what she’s looking for. Stella said that a great battle is coming soon.” Quinn moves her body to face me. “Did you hear about that? Is that the mission you were going to tell me about?”

  “Ah, well, the cat is out of the bag now. Yes, there is a fight coming. No one knows exactly when, but I have a feeling it’ll be in a couple of weeks. Maybe less.”

  “That’s what all the training was for?”

  “Yes, to prepare us to win against the opposing side. I assume that Zoe or her friends told you who we would be battling?”

  “Someone named Sammael, but, come to think of it, no one ever said who he is. They wanted to know what I’ve been doing with you.”

  “Did you tell them?”

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I? We haven’t done anything wrong. I told them that you have been training me to use my Nephilim skills.”

  “Are you going to meet up with her again? After she comes back from Europe?”

  “Not sure. We didn’t make any plans or anything.”

  “Well.” I shrug. “If you do see her, could you find out if she finds a sword or not?”

  “Sure.” Quinn’s voice is hesitant.

  “I’m just curious if she does. It’d be cool because then we all have swords for battle.” I lean against the headboard, trying to act casual. “Did you have a chance to show her yours?”

  “No, they needed to hurry and then off they went. But yeah, okay. I’ll pop over to Kieran’s tomorrow and find out.”

  “Great. They’ll be prepared for the upcoming fight then, too.” I move Quinn closer to me. “So tell me more about Zoe’s sister.”

  “Kieran said that she’s a Vate and can see the future. No one seemed to know anything more than that.”

  Interesting. I check my phone for the time. “I’m sorry to do this to you, but I have an appointment to be at so no training today.” Quinn doesn’t need to know she has helped me enact my plan. Now, I have to get the fourth part of it going.

  ME: Will you meet me for coffee?

  I eagerly wait for Morgan’s response. Quinn left a couple minutes ago. That was a close call, but I think she was satisfied with my answers.

  Morgan: Time?

  Me: 10
minutes

  Morgan: What’s so urgent?

  Me: Are you going to meet or not?

  Morgan: Fine

  Of course she will meet me. I dropped her like a bad habit, and she didn’t like that very much. She’s only good for kicks. Well, she does have some redeeming qualities, like ... hmm, I can’t think of anything. She does give Zoe grief that no one else can do, which I do like.

  Driving to Coffee Grind—the only shop that serves a good cup of Joe around this quaint town—doesn’t take long. I don’t have to wait for Morgan; she’s already sitting on one of the high back chairs. The place is rather busy for a late Friday evening. It is one of the few places for all walks of life to hang out without driving into the Cities.

  I swagger past Morgan, faking that I don’t see her. She needs to get my attention. I feel her gaze on me, but she doesn’t call my name. The place isn’t big, so a few steps later I’m nearing the back wall. Turning, I spot her and she waves.

  “Oh, there you are,” I say. “I didn’t see you sitting there. You’re more gorgeous than I remember. Did you change your hair?” Her eyes cut into mine. “Thank you for meeting me. I wanted to apologize for our breakup. I know you took it pretty hard.”

  “Are you trying to get back into my good graces?” Morgan crosses her long legs. “Your new fling cut you loose?”

  “No, it wasn’t like that.”

  “Then you’re not seeing Quinn?”

  “Not in the way you think.”

  “Always so cryptic with you. So, you want to get back together with me? When did you realize that I’m exactly what you’re looking for?”

  “I’ve always known you were meant to be with me.” I give her my most dazzling smile, the one that melts souls. “Besides, you and I are one in the same.” She motions for me to sit on the loveseat. I snag her hand and pull her body closer to me as we crash onto the cushions. “Will you take me back?” My breath tickles her ears. “Please?”

  “I should let you suffer more.”

  “But you won’t, will you? Say you’ll be mine again.” I squeeze her hand and trace along her jaw line with my other. She’s thawing; her body is giving her away. “As a celebration of us getting back together, I thought we could reacquaint ourselves. A nice road trip so we can talk and then when we get to our destination, we can do other things to reconnect.”