by Kelly Oram
“I’m not going to join you,” Russ said, holding back a laugh. “I’m only here to help Grace and figure out a way to take down the council.”
“Yes,” Simone said, pity seeping into her voice. “Exactly like your foolish father. He always believed he could stop the council on his own, too.”
“Tell me what you know about my father. I know he asked you to join him, so he must have told you his plans. What proposal did he offer you? I know it wasn’t marriage. What’s he up to? What did he want Dani for? Has he contacted you since the Councilor died? Do you know where he is?”
“So this is why you’ve really come to me.” Simone looked very pleased with the fact that Russ was asking about his dad. She stepped close to Russ again, trying to intimidate him. He stood his ground, glaring at her while she ran her long fingers through his shaggy hair.
“What happened between you and your father, Russ? The two of you were so close. You must be so lost without him and Dani. If it’s answers you’re looking for, I can give you that. There aren’t many people Alexander Devereaux confides in, but he’s never been able to resist me.”
Simone regarded Russ thoughtfully and then said just about the last think I ever expected. “Come to live with me, Russ.”
Russ was so surprised and confused he couldn’t do anything but gape at Simone. She smiled almost motherly at him before pushing his hair out of his eyes and planting a kiss on his forehead. “If Alexander has abandoned you, then stay with me, Russ. Let me arrange for some proper training. Join me and I will tell you more about your father than you ever dreamed. Your mother, too. I introduced them, you know. I knew your mother perhaps better than Alexander did. I loved her, even.”
Simone’s eyes softened dangerously at the shock on Russ’s face. “Did your father ever tell you that he and Kate asked me to be your godmother? We’re practically family, you and I. Come to stay with me and I’ll take care of you as your mother would have. As Alexander should have. I’ll give you all the answers you’ve ever wanted.”
The fact that Russ didn’t automatically hit Simone with a snarky remark spoke volumes as to what was going on inside his head. He tried to hide it, but he’s too easy a person to read. Simone knew his weakness as well as I did and had just offered him the one thing he was desperate for—a place to belong and people to look after him, to care about him. That, and the truth.
Ethan!
I know.
Ethan put a hand on Russ’s shoulder. “You don’t need her, Russ. You already have a place to stay. If you haven’t noticed, you have my mother wrapped around your finger even more than I do. I think she’d be heartbroken if you left now.”
Russ didn’t break his gaze. He and Simone were locked in the ultimate stare down, each trying to figure the other out.
Ethan tried again. “I know I rank higher on your list of possible roomies than a witch, and you already have the best possible trainer in existence. Take my father’s offer. Learn the ways of the angel with me.”
Mr. Dunn and his advisors all gasped in outrage. “The secrets of the nephilim are sacred!” Mr. Dunn cried. “You can’t teach them to outsiders!”
Ethan glared at his uncle. “I didn’t say anything about the secrets of the nephilim,” he hissed. “And I wouldn’t be the one teaching them. My father has offered to train us both in the ways of his people.”
“Who is your father? I demand to know! What clan is he from? Asking an innocent woman to live a disgraced life, and offering to train a warlock? He’ll be hanged for such heinous betrayals!”
Ethan blinked. “Do you not know how warriors are created?”
That stopped Mr. Dunn’s rant. He became instantly wary. “What do you mean?”
“In order to create a true warrior, it takes a greater percentage of angel blood than two nephilim can give their offspring.”
Mr. Dunn thought about this, then slowly asked, “How is that possible?”
“My father is not nephilim.”
There were a few beats of silence as everyone in the room digested this, and then one by one the gasps started.
“An angel,” Mr. Dunn whispered in disbelief.
“Not just any angel,” Ethan said, pulling his father’s crest over his head. When he handed it over, his uncle took one look at the symbol on it and the blood drained from his face.
Mr. Dunn automatically dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Forgive us, nephew, Son of Michael,” he murmured. “By rights, we should be thy humble servants.”
Behind him, his advisors exchanged shocked glances and immediately fell to the floor as well. Ethan looked at the three of them with a half-amused, half-horrified expression. He turned to Russ and me for help. I shrugged.
“Dude,” Russ whispered, as if he thought Ethan were an idiot. “Use your super angel mojo to get us the hell out of here.”
“Right,” Ethan said, shaking himself from his daze. He took his medallion back and as he dropped it around his neck he said, “Um, we’re going to go now. I’ll let my mom know you said she could come back. I’ll have her call you if she’s interested.”
“You cannot just leave,” Simone said. “You are so important! You must stay and help us!”
“My only concern is Grace,” Ethan said. “And she will be safer if she is not involved in your cause.”
“But—”
“Simone,” Mr. Dunn whispered. “Let them go.”
Russ picked me up and slowly backed out the door as if he expected everyone to jump us, but everyone just stood there gawking at Ethan. Ethan backed out of the room behind us. After the door was shut and he turned to face us, his cheeks were bright pink.
Russ broke the silence with a laugh. “Awesome trick, Your Highness.”
Ethan blanched. “Don’t start with me or I’ll kick your ass, Russ, I swear I will.”
Russ laughed. “As you wish, Majesty.”
After the meeting, we went back to Ethan’s house and told his mother everything. Much to my relief, and I think Ethan’s as well, she wasn’t all that excited to rejoin the clan. She was, however, very excited to unofficially adopt Russ.
Russ was thrilled with his new living arrangements—until the next morning when Ms. Dunn marched him into Atherton and told them he’d missed roughly the last month of high school. Prep school wasn’t exactly high up on Russ’s priority list, but he’d wanted a mother and he got way more than he bargained for with Ethan’s. When he’d whined about his class schedule, she told him she knew how smart he was and that he’d pull A’s or he’d be in big trouble. He stopped complaining after that. Well, at least in front of Ms. Dunn, anyway.
The next week went by strangely. In some ways, it flew by and was less stressful than it had been since I had broken my ankle and this whole mess had begun. But in other ways it was never ending. Ethan wasn’t worried about his clan coming after us, but his uncle wasn’t the only leader in the resistance. Simone was obviously running things there and none of us believed we’d never hear from her again.
There was also the question of Andrew. Ethan insisted Andrew wouldn’t release the pictures of my dad, and I believed him because otherwise they’d be public by now. But a vampire with a fixation is a vampire with a fixation, and he wasn’t going to give up. Ethan said he was probably just lying low, trying to figure out his next approach, but his estate was still empty and we hadn’t heard a peep from him all week. There wasn’t really anything any of us could do except wait until he contacted me again.
Worst of all, though, was that Cynthia and I were no longer friends. She ignored me in class, sat at lunch every day with her brothers, and hadn’t called or texted me since our fight. Not even once. I know that’s what I’d told her to do, but somehow I didn’t think she’d give up on me that easily. The fact that she did only proved her friendship had never really been anything more than an assignment.
“Just go talk to her, Grace.”
“Huh?” I asked, startled from my thoughts.
At l
unch, Ethan and Russ had been deeply engrossed in a conversation about which form of martial arts was the superior style, so I’d pulled out a book. Ugh, sometimes when they got going in their stupid boy-speak I considered becoming friends with Simone just to get away from them.
“You’re pining over Cynthia,” Ethan said.
“What’s the matter?” Russ teased. “Ethan and I not good enough company for you?”
“No offense, Russ, but if I have to spend another evening with the two of you and your disgusting bromance, I might just go and beg Andrew to kidnap me again.”
Both of them frowned. “But we’re going to rent Breaking Dawn tonight, just for you,” Ethan said.
“Maybe, but I’ll still feel like I’m the third wheel on your guys’ date.”
I got a couple of very nasty scowls for that comment, but I didn’t care.
“Just for that, I’m not sitting through a stupid Twilight movie,” Russ pouted.
I sighed. “I need a girl to balance out all the burping contests and Jet Li references, okay?”
“Like I said,” Ethan replied in a flat voice. “Cynthia’s right over there. I’m sure she’ll happily keep a count with you of how many times Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off.”
I glanced across the room at my old best friend. Her younger brothers were all laughing at something, but she and Preston were lost in some deep conversation. Probably plotting how they can win me back for their stupid dad.
“That’s not funny,” I told Ethan and forced myself to look away from the wolves.
“I wasn’t making a joke, Grace.”
Ethan’s voice softened, which it tended to do a lot lately, and it really freaked me out every time. Ethan was a different person ever since he pledged his oath. He said nothing felt any different with his bond. When I called him out on his change in behavior, he said it was only because he wasn’t unhappy anymore. He claimed he was finally just being himself with me. It was definitely an improvement on the old Ethan, but I still didn’t know how to make any sense of him.
“You miss her,” Ethan said. “I know what her dad made her do, but I also know she was really, truly your friend. Be mad at Caleb and Preston all you want, but Cynthia wasn’t pretending. In fact, she protected you from the pack as long as she could. She’s devastated; just look at her.”
Deep down, I knew he was right. “But she hasn’t even tried to make up,” I said. “I’m sure we’ll get over it, but I just can’t yet.”
Russ slumped an arm over my shoulder. “Well then, it looks like you’re stuck with us for now. And I was serious about not watching that stupid movie tonight, but I’ll tell you what. If you really need to see some impressive abs that badly, I’ll take my shirt off for you.”
“Oh, please.”
“No, really. I’ll even let you feel them. That’s like Twilight in 3D.”
I groaned and got to my feet. “You see? This is exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not hanging out with you guys today. You can watch the movie at your house and compare your abs to Taylor’s without me. I’ll be at home at my house watching Supernatural reruns.”
I started to leave the cafeteria and for a moment I thought I’d get some peace, but as soon as I made it to the hallway Russ and Ethan fell into step on either side of me.
“Come on, Gracie, cheer up. We’re sorry.”
“Yeah. A Supernatural marathon could be fun.”
“I’m serious, you guys,” I snapped. “I need a break from you. I need a day off.”
Ethan sighed and became serious. “Grace, until Andrew’s taken care of, you know I can’t let you—”
“I have extra babysitters now.” I pointed to the secret service detail that was trailing me down the hallway.
“Human babysitters,” Ethan argued. “One shake of Andrew’s hand and they’ll help him kidnap you.”
“You’re already taking turns sneaking into my room every night. You can’t be with me twenty-four seven. I need a little privacy.”
“But, Grace—”
“Look, you have to start training with Michael sometime, right? He said I couldn’t come with you because humans can’t be around angels too much. So just go call him after school and give me a few hours. Please. I’m begging!”
I waited for more argument but didn’t get it. “She actually has a good point for once,” Russ said.
“True,” Ethan agreed with a frown. He stopped walking and pulled Russ to a halt with him. “You go ahead,” he said when I stopped. “We’ll see you in class.”
There were still ten minutes left before class started. I prayed they’d stay gone until then.
Thank heaven for small miracles. Russ and Ethan agreed to give me a break. The plan was to try and call Michael after school to train and then one of them would be back to play sentry tonight, like always. I didn’t care that I had a permanent roommate, I was getting the entire evening all to myself!
Or so I thought.
After school, as I climbed into Ethan’s car, it turned out our carpool was plus one.
Don’t freak out, Ethan warned me just seconds before Preston slid into the back seat next to Russ.
What’s he doing here!
Geez, I said don’t freak out. Screaming is still screaming, even mentally, you know.
WHAT’S HE DOING HERE!
Ethan glared at me for probably the first time all week. “Compromise,” he said out loud. “You wanted a break from Russ and me. We’re giving you one.”
“But we’re not leaving you completely helpless all day while you have a vampire stalking you,” Russ added.
“But I don’t. Andrew’s gone. You guys haven’t been able to find him all week. Maybe he gave up. You were really scary the other day, Ethan. Maybe he knows he lost. What if he never comes back? You can’t possibly expect to keep tabs on me like this for the rest of your life.”
“Watch me,” Ethan said.
He was as stubborn as my father when he was serious about something, and right now he wasn’t just serious—he was dead serious. I glanced in the mirror and caught Preston watching me. He was smart enough not to smile. “Sorry, Grace, but they have a point. I’ll leave you alone, though, I promise. Just point me in the direction of a TV with ESPN and you’ll never even know I’m there.”
I turned my head to the window and sulked like a little kid all the way home. When we got there I went into the living room, turned on the TV, and handed Preston the remote. “ESPN,” I told him, then stomped—as much as I could stomp, anyway—up to my room. I slammed the door shut for good measure.
Ethan and Russ hollered cheery good-byes up the stairs to me, and not even two minutes later Preston barged into my room. He didn’t bother to knock. He took the book out of my hands and set it on my dresser.
“You just lost my page,” I grumbled.
He sat down on my bed. “You’ll find it again.”
“You promised you’d leave me alone.”
“I lied. I’m here to plead Cynthia’s case.” When I glared at him, he sighed. “Hear me out.”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“No. You don’t. You need to forgive her. She’s a wreck.”
“If she’s so broken up over it, why hasn’t she called? She won’t even look at me at school.”
Preston’s voice was sad when he responded. “She doesn’t have a choice, Grace. The pack is afraid of you. Not just the pack, the whole resistance. Ever since they learned the truth about you and Ethan, and knowing that you’ve gained Russ Devereaux’s trust, they’re afraid of the three of you. If you guys got angry enough, between the three of you, you could do a lot of damage.”
“We could,” I agreed.
“That’s exactly my point. You’re all angry and none of you are loyal or tied to the resistance in any way. They’re afraid you’ll go to the council if we push you. My dad knows you’re angry because of what he made us do, and he doesn’t want to make it worse. He ordered Cynthia to stay away from
you.”
Preston waited, knowing somehow that I’d look up at him. “You’re her best friend,” he said when our eyes met. “And she’s not allowed to explain herself or try to make it right unless you come to her first. You have to talk to her, Grace. She needs you.”
I felt my temper flare inside me. I was still too heartbroken over the fresh betrayal to stay calm. “She needs me?” I cried angrily. “Am I supposed to care?”
“That’s unfair.”
“Unfair? How can you even talk to me after what you’ve done? You were never my friend, either! I was an assignment to you!”
“That’s true,” Preston agreed slowly. “But I never tried to be your friend, did I? It was you who sought me out every time. I only ever followed your lead.”
I stiffened. His confession stung. He saw that he hurt my feelings and sighed. “I think we could both use some fresh air. Will you go for a walk with me?”
His request surprised me, but he was right that we needed to talk about this. At least he could do it maturely. He was probably the only Layton who could.
“I don’t think Ethan wants me to leave the house, and I can’t really go that far on crutches, but I have a fire pit in the backyard. If you want to light it, I’ll make us some hot chocolate.”
“That sounds nice.”
It was colder outside than I thought it would be. There was a bad winter storm moving in that covered the sky in a dark layer of clouds, but Preston was right about needing some air. Sitting in front of the fire, sipping hot cocoa, was both refreshing and relaxing despite the fact that I was bundled up bigger than the can’t-put-my-arms-down-kid from A Christmas Story.
Preston sat next to me on the patio sofa, wearing nothing but a jacket and a beanie. He laughed at my layers and then explained that werewolves don’t get cold very easily. I was grateful for the tension breaker, but it didn’t last long. Once we were settled in on the bench, he immediately brought us back on topic.