“I’m sure about how I feel about you.”
He smiled. “You might not be submissive, but you always say what I need to hear to push aside my insecurities and doubts about how this would work between us. You know I need to hear these things and feel wanted. Don’t you?”
“We lost our parents and felt unwanted by society and our families. We are each other’s family now. I don’t want you to hurt anymore. I’m here. You are here. We aren’t alone.”
He kissed her and showed her how her words affected him and warmed his heart.
Chapter Seventeen
GRACE
Grace and Noah’s happy moment ended with the commotion on the lower floor.
“Grace, you need to come and see this!” her best friend, Andrea, yelled from downstairs.
“Are they always this loud and hysterical?” Noah asked.
“Yes.”
Noah rubbed his forehead. “They are screaming instead of looking for the people they want to talk to.”
Andrea called again. “Grace, let go of your book. This is urgent. You need to see the news.”
“It seems, it’s actually something important,” Grace said, getting up and rushing downstairs.
When she entered the living room, everybody had their attention on the TV screen.
Grace stopped beside Andrea, who was standing behind the couches, watching the news.
“What’s happening?” Grace questioned.
“The capital was attacked. A bomb exploded, and people are dead,” Andrea replied.
Grace’s stomach dropped. “Did something happen to Grandpa?”
“I have no idea, but it’s said that the heir to the celestial throne was killed.”
Grace’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Your uncle, Prince Lucas, is dead, and they have no idea how many more celestials died in that explosion.”
Noah’s hand touched Grace’s back. “We should call the place your grandpa is staying at and make sure he wasn’t near the explosion,” he suggested.
“Looks like the angels aren’t immortal, after all,” Michael said.
Noah glared at Michael. “You’re not helping.”
“I’m sure Vincent is well. The bomb was placed in the Celestial’s district,” Michael said, narrowing the distance between Andrea and him. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
Grace frowned at Michael’s affection towards her friend.
Andrea folded her hands in front of her chest, becoming worried. “This is troublesome. We need to know if our headmaster is alive.”
“There’re no reports of explosions near the Council’s District,” Darren said from his seat on the sofa.
“The news said that they were looking for more bombs,” Craig explained from his spot beside Darren.
Leaning against Noah’s warm embrace, Grace looked at the TV. “Do they know who detonated the bomb?”
“Probably the vampires. They’re unhappy with the way the world is ruled,” Michael said.
“That is a very prejudiced claim,” Noah accused.
“Just because you’re half of them doesn’t mean you can defend them when they attack us. They targeted a werewolf ruled country. If the celestials are attacked, a new world war will ensue.”
“It wouldn’t be wise of the vampire empires to start a war they can’t win. Vampires are outnumbered if the celestials go against them,” Noah rationalized.
Michael clenched his jaw and analyzed Grace and Noah’s closeness. “Are you a couple?”
Grace snapped her eyes at him, aware of the intimacy she was displaying.
“Grace is upset and worried,” Noah replied.
“She seems comfortable in your arms,” he accused. “You spend a lot of time in the attic.”
Grace circled Andrea and pointed a finger at Michael. “As far as I’m aware, you and I aren’t a couple. I don’t understand why you’re questioning us when there’s something a lot more important happening in our capital.”
“That’s enough.” Andrea put herself between Michael and Grace. “Grace can date whomever she wants.”
“Not one of our teachers,” Michael protested.
Grace snarled at him. “Noah’s my mate. Do you have a problem with that?”
Noah grabbed her shoulders before she pushed Andrea aside to intimidate Michael.
“Calm down. This is no place to…” Noah looked at the rest of the students who were deadly silent, staring at them. “I guess we could announce it like this.”
“M-mates?” Michael stepped back with widened eyes. “He’s half-vampire.”
“And I’m half-angel. He’s also half werewolf. What’s your point?”
“The celestials will never approve of this,” Michael claimed.
Grace rolled her eyes. “As if I care about what my other relatives think. My grandfather is my only family. Noah is part of my family now. Right now, we are wasting time discussing this when Grandpa might be hurt.”
Andrea intervened. “We should go to the office and call the headmaster.”
“He was due to return home today,” Grace stated. “Maybe he’s on the road.”
Darren got up from his seat, ruffled his hair, and fixed the scarf around his neck. His brown hair partially covered his blue gaze. “The bomb was targeting the celestials. The Parliament wasn’t targeted. If the headmaster is still in the capital, he should be at his friend’s home. I’m sure he’s safe.”
“Where are you going?” Andrea asked Darren when he left the sofa and walked to the door.
Darren shrugged. “The bell is ringing. Am I the only one who heard it?”
Grace took Noah by his hand. “We should call Grandpa.”
They walked to the office and left the rest of the students in front of the TV.
Before Grace could dial the number, someone knocked on the door.
Darren peeked inside. “Grace, did you order a pizza?”
“No. Why?”
“There’s a delivery guy with a pizza at the door.”
“Ask the others if they ordered it. Do you need money to pay?”
“The guy says he’ll only deliver the pizza to you. I tried to pay for it.” Darren sunk his hands in his pockets and let his shoulders sag.
Grace frowned and looked at Noah. “I’m sure I didn’t order anything.”
“It was probably one of them and gave the restaurant your name,” Noah deduced. “We can call the headmaster after sending the delivery guy away.”
“Fine. I’ll accept the pizza.”
Grace huffed and headed to the hall, where a man wearing a red vest with a pizza box in his hand was waiting while peeking inside the mansion. Andrea was in front of him with folded arms as if guarding the entrance.
“Did you order the pizza?” Grace asked Andrea.
“No. It wasn’t me. But we could share it if the owner doesn’t come forward.”
“How much do I owe you?” Grace asked the pizza guy.
He leaned down his head, his cap partially shadowing his face. “Ten tokens.”
“That’s cheap,” Andrea said. “Does it have pineapple? I can’t eat it if someone ordered a pizza with pineapple.”
The guy hid his right hand behind his back with a slight bow and showed the box to Grace. “No pineapple.”
Grace took a blue bill from her back pocket and unfolded it. “Do you—”
She didn’t finish the sentence because an invisible force shoved her against the door, and the delivery guy flew back as if pushed from behind. The pizza box dropped on the floor when the guy flew back.
“What’s going on?” When she glanced back, she saw Darren rushing to the entrance with his hands glowing with elemental magic.
“Step away from the entrance,” Darren ordered with white glowing eyes and thundering voice.
“Why are you attacking the delivery boy?” Grace asked out of breath while Andrea held on to Grace’s arms and helped her up.
A blur exited the mansion, and Grace s
aw Noah grabbing the guy by his neck.
“It’s empty,” Andrea said. “The box is empty.”
“He had a needle in his hand,” Darren explained when he stopped at the entrance. His eyes aimed at Noah.
“Noah,” Grace called. “Be careful.”
The guy squirmed in Noah’s hands until he stopped moving.
“He’s dead,” Noah shouted back, dropping the guy’s body to the floor. He analyzed the body and extracted a needle from the guy’s hand.
Andrea, Grace, and Darren rushed to Noah’s side.
“Is he dead? Really dead?” Andrea asked, holding her hands against her chest. “He’s turning green. Ugh, what did you do to him?”
“Nothing. I didn’t snap his neck. He just swallowed something and died,” Noah explained.
“Was he planning to attack Grace with that needle?” Andrea asked.
Noah shared a look with Grace before replying, “I’m not sure. Maybe it was poison. Who let him in here in the first place?”
“I just opened the door. He was already there,” Darren said, his magic already gone.
“No one checked him at the entry?” Grace asked, still in shock.
Noah surveyed their surroundings. “How did he get here? Where’s his vehicle?”
“We should search for an ID,” Andrea suggested and turned to Darren.
“Why me?” Darren asked.
“I don’t want to touch a dead body.”
“I don’t want to touch it, either,” Darren complained.
“You shouldn’t touch that needle. We don’t know what’s inside,” Grace said to Noah.
“Someone grab a forensic kit from the infirmary,” Michael barked the order, appearing behind them. “Where’s the doctor?”
“It’s Sunday, the majority of the school staff aren’t here,” one of the students reminded Michael.
Grace saw more students gathering on the porch and talking among themselves.
“Were we attacked again?” Michael asked. “Did they come for the hybrid?”
“They came for Grace,” Darren replied.
Michael frowned. “First, the angel crown prince, now they attack his niece. Someone is targeting the Celestials.”
“Your reasoning isn’t wrong on this one,” Noah said, joining Grace. He had covered his hand with his sleeve to hold the syringe and not tamper with the fingertips.
“We need to call the authorities,” Lori said from among the group of students.
“And call the headmaster,” Noah added. “Until we understand what’s going on, we are on high alert. No one lets anyone enter the premises. Not even delivery guys. Understood?” He faced the students and some of the teachers who had gathered outside.
Miss Steller—the Spells, Enchantments, and Telepathy teacher—pushed past the students and offered Noah a small plastic bag for him to store the syringe. “Is it broken?”
“No, it’s intact,” Noah replied to her question.
“Good. It might be dangerous to us, too. Once Dr. Chambery returns, he can analyze its contents.”
“We should form groups and scout the premises,” Mrs. Allain proposed. She was another teacher.
“That’s a good idea,” Michael said, coming closer.
“Michael and Mrs. Allain can form the teams. Grace needs to stay indoors. I’ll call the headmaster and see if he wants us to call the authorities before he arrives,” Noah said.
“If he’s still alive,” Michael added.
Grace punched his arm. “Stop with the negativity. Of course, Grandpa is alive.”
“Your uncle is dead. Someone just tried to kill you. The headmaster might be in danger.”
“I didn’t think about that,” Grace mumbled with a pensive expression. “Noah, we should call him asap.”
“The headmaster’s car is at the front gate,” a student announced, exiting the mansion.
“We should make sure it’s really the headmaster and not someone posing as him,” Noah recommended. “Did someone open the gate?”
The student nodded. “I didn’t know.”
Noah looked back, and everybody stared at the path that gave access to the front of the mansion.
A black car slowly drove to where they were.
Chapter Eighteen
GRACE
The Kingdom of Sanabria was on high alert due to the recent events. Two bombs were found in another big city, Kuticute, where Celestials had an embassy. Like last time, the new crown prince had been targeted, but the bombs were dismantled before they could create causalities.
At the academy, Noah continued his job as a new professor while the headmaster had his hands full with the bomb attacks and the attack on his granddaughter’s life.
Celestials being the target of terrorists was something unheard of. They were impartial, and most of the inhabitants of this world thought of them as guardians, almost gods.
“Who could be targeting the angels?” Grace asked her grandfather.
Since Vincent Delacroix had returned, even with the attempt on Grace’s life, the academy’s students and staff felt safe.
“Someone who wants this world to start another world war,” he replied from across his desk. Rubbing his temples, he added, “The students’ parents are worried about their safety. Some wanted them to return home and for me to close the academy until the culprits are caught.”
“I can’t blame them. They’re in danger because of me.”
“You have Noah and me to protect you. I’m pleased with his performance and how he seems to care about your safety. I might have misjudged him.”
Grace smiled. “I’m glad you aren’t against our mate bond. He’s been working hard for the past week.”
“Not only that, he has been using his contacts to find out who sent the hitman to kill you. We believe your attack is related to the attack on your family members.”
“I’ve been cast out by my family and kind. Attacking me is a waste of resources.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. The terrorists are targeting the Celestials Royal Family. Your mother was third in the line of succession. With the crown prince’s death and the recent attempts on Prince Sorath, the Celestial Sovereign has ordered for all Celestials to return to the sky cities.”
“I guess they forgot to send me the memo,” Grace joked.
The headmaster frowned, apparently not amused. “No one has called yet.”
Grace snickered. “As if I would move out of here if they called.” She got up and stretched her arms. “Anyway, my home is here. If my presence is a danger to others, I can move to a safe house. With Noah,” she added, glancing at her grandfather.
He offered a lopsided grin. “Only Noah? You don’t need anyone else?”
“They need you here, and the king has assigned a battalion of soldiers to patrol our property. I have two cars following me around when I go to college. I can take care of myself, too. I’m in no immediate danger.”
“Your uncle was well guarded, and they missed the bomb that killed him and his entourage. Ten celestials and eight shifters died. Forty other people were injured. Many families lost their loved ones. These people don’t care about the collateral damage just to take out one being.”
“All vehicles are scanned for bombs before entering our academy. All divisions have been searched by the Bomb Squad Department.”
“Your college is a dangerous place. It has easy access to the outsiders.”
“I can’t protest about that. But the dean is taking precautions.” Planting her hands on the desk, she questioned, “Any news about who the suicidal hitman was?”
“No fingerprints and his face doesn’t show up in our database. Noah asked his aunt to search the vampire database.”
“They said he wasn’t a shifter or a vampire. Why would a human become a hitman? Why would someone kill themselves, so they weren’t caught?”
“These people are groomed from a young age to become fanatics and do their master’s bidding. They promise them e
ternal life or better lives for their families. The ones who fail their tasks have a worse fate than death. Instead of torture and dishonor, they choose a quick and clean death.”
Grace sucked in a breath. “The world is a scary place, sometimes. I thought we were evolving and becoming a better society. Yet, there are these fanatic and xenophobic people who want the old order to return and stop evolution.”
The headmaster relaxed in his leather chair. “Even in an idyllic society, there’s discontentment. Not everybody enjoys a peaceful life, cultural activities, and art. That’s why we train hunters and have teams of jumpers to protect the worlds linked with ours from the violent species.”
“We aren’t all dangerous,” Grace reminded him. “Sometimes, I wonder why they want other worlds to be oblivious to our existence.”
“It’s also for our safety. Can you imagine what some worlds would do if they found out we exist? Some human societies are highly evolved and have massive destruction weapons that can destroy planets. Others, like the Fae, have magical powers beyond our comprehension. They are immortals and vicious when others threaten their way of life.”
“Celestials aren’t Fae, vampires, shifters, or humans. No one is sure where they came from. They are also neutral. Why attack them?”
Folding his hands on his lap, Grandfather exhaled. “Celestials control the access to the portals. There are rich worlds with nonviolent creatures that some want to exploit and occupy.”
“But who made them guardians? Are we sure they help those creatures? They aren’t exactly friendly and willing to mingle with the other species. Angels don’t roam our world freely. They are confined to their sky cities and embassies in the kingdoms’ capitals. When there’s war, they run to their cities and stay safe inside their shields. If my powers are an indication of their skills, then I can safely assume that they could destroy us all if they wished.”
“Our kind and the vampires only respect someone stronger and deadlier than them. Their powers and technology allow them to have a privileged status in our world. If they wished to enslave or destroy us, they would’ve already done it.”
Grace straightened up and fixed her shirt. “I know, Grandpa. I’m just venting.”
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