“Thanks,” I say.
“Come on in.”
Divya unlocks the gate manually from inside the base and it slides open for me. This new perimeter fence is plated with silver. It’s way more heavy-duty than what we had before that attack on the base. We wouldn’t have been able to afford this, but the angels apparently have silver in abundance, and they work fast. Some of the warehouses surrounding the base had enough extra materials for us to get everything else back in order quickly, too. I still can’t believe the base is up and running already. It’s even better than it was before. If angels were a building crew, people with lots of money would probably hire them to build a mansion from scratch to completion in a single day.
“I’ll see you again soon, Tasia,” Cassius announces as he turns to leave.
“Bye,” I say as I watch him go.
A cold sensation washes over my chest, where my crystals are touching. Are they reacting to Cassius again? But why are they cold this time? Come to think of it, they haven’t felt warm at all today. Strange.
But I think the strangest thing is the fact that I don’t feel anxious. I thought the anxiety would come back once I left Ilenima, but it hasn’t. I guess whatever Cassius did to tune my white diamond is really working.
I rush through the empty warehouses and up to the base’s front door and offer my fingerprint. I shed my coat when I hit the lobby. Then I see Divya, Fiona, and Donovan all standing around and looking at me like they were waiting to greet me. Divya comes up and gives me a big hug.
“I know you’ve only been gone a night, but it felt like an awfully long time,” she says. Then she whispers in my ear, “I tried to follow you there by astral projecting.”
“You did?” I exclaim. “Did it work?”
She shakes her head. “Unfortunately, it didn’t.”
“What was it like?” Fiona asks.
Donovan chimes in, “Did you really go to another world?”
I do my best to explain everything to them, and before I know it, I’m telling what happened to more than just the three of them. Seems all the hunters in the base are curious to know what happened—not that I blame them for it or anything. I’m only in the lobby relaying what I did last night, but I can’t help but notice hunter numbers seem scarcer than they were when I left.
“And that’s basically it,” I say. “It’s really amazing there.”
“Sounds like it, and you didn’t even see anything but that building you arrived in,” Fiona comments.
“The Citadel,” I say, remembering that Cassius told me its name on the way back here this morning; it was one of the few things he said. I wait until the crowd thins out again before I say quietly to Fiona, “What happened here? Where is everyone?”
My godmother sighs. “A bunch of hunters decided to leave because they don’t like this whole arrangement we have going on with angels now.”
“They’re only trying to help,” I say. I had doubts too, at first, but they’re all gone now.
“Yeah, well,” Fiona scratches her scalp through her short hair. “If they didn’t want to be here to help us fix this damn world of ours, we didn’t want them anyway.”
Divya looks at Fiona with concern and subtly catches her hand. I think Fiona might pull away since she’s pretty against showing affection—especially in public—but she doesn’t. She holds on to Divya’s hand. All of this must be harder for her than she’s been letting on. That’s Fiona. I wish I could be as strong as she is. Why wasn’t she picked to save the world instead of me? There’s still that nagging sensation, the feeling that I’ll never be able to control Arsen like Cassius claims I will. It’s not as strong as it was before, but it’s still there.
“Do you know where Rynne is?” I ask.
Donovan laughs. “Funny you should ask. Just spotted him going down that hall,” he says and points.
“Thanks,” I say and scurry away without another word.
I start running, determined to reach Rynne before I can lose him. When I’m in the hall, I get a clear view of his back as he walks with his hands in his pockets. Even like this, he’s standing tall, showing off his broad shoulders and the muscles through the tight workout shirt he’s wearing. He’s the only angel I’ve seen besides Cassius who doesn’t seem to wear silver armor. But Rynne wears clothes that fit in with the rest of us humans, and Cassius wears white robes that only accentuate his already holy presence.
“Rynne!” I call his name and slow my run to a jog.
He turns around slowly, stiffly. “H-hey,” he says. “You weren’t gone very long.”
I reach out and take his hands. I can’t help but notice his hands stay limp in mine.
“It was so amazing, Rynne,” I say. “I hardly even saw anything, but the feeling that other world has is so… beautiful! Everything I saw inside of the Citadel was gorgeous too, and Cassius told me a lot of interesting things. You live there too, don’t you? In Ilenima.”
“I do,” he verifies. “I live in the same city the Citadel is located in. It’s called Zenith.”
“Zenith,” I repeat. “I hope I get to see it next time.”
I haven’t let Rynne’s hands go. He isn’t complaining, but he isn’t reciprocating either. I squeeze his hands tighter, hoping he’ll squeeze mine in return. He doesn’t.
I frown and ask, “Is something wrong?” If I wasn’t feeling so abnormally zen, I’d be feeling so anxious over this right now. But, thanks to my crystals, I’m staying mostly calm.
“It’s nothing,” he says quickly.
“Don’t lie to me, Rynne. How do we move forward after everything that’s happened if you keep lying to me?”
He opens his mouth just to close it again. He grimaces and squeezes my hands, holding on tightly. “I’m sorry,” he finally says. “I don’t know how I should act around you anymore.”
“Just be yourself,” I say. I stare at our hands. “Honestly, I don’t know if we can make this thing work. Angels, humans, demons, it’s all pretty confusing. Cassius told me he could change me into an angel someday if that’s what we both end up wanting. It’s nice to know this isn’t impossible, but I have so much more I need to learn.” I sigh. “What I’m trying to say is I still love you, Rynne. I still want to be with you even knowing everything I know now. Can we continue where we left off and see where this goes?”
I don’t know what else to say, but I am feeling too nervous to look into his eyes now.
“Do you mean that?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t,” I reply, forcing myself to look into his eyes.
His sky blue eyes are shimmering with emotion. Is he going to cry? I don’t have a chance to find out, because he tugs on my hands and then releases them as he hugs me. I relish his warmth as I hug him back.
“I love you, Tasia,” he says softly.
I know he does. I can feel it.
“I want to kiss you,” I say.
Rynne softens our hug and brings his lips down to mine. We haven’t done much with kissing. It’s mostly just his lips pressed tenderly against mine, but I feel like so much is said in each kiss. Still, I wouldn’t mind if he kissed me deeper. I consider taking the lead to let him know I’d like more, but we get interrupted.
“Looks like you two have made up,” Fiona comments.
Reluctantly, Rynne and I break apart. Fiona keeps her gaze on Rynne, but her expression is unreadable. She’s probably feeling some reservations with him being an angel and me being human, but she doesn’t comment on it.
“We were just about to head into the gym,” I say.
“We were?” Rynne asks.
“Yeah. Gotta keep in shape, and the base looks like it’s running back at a hundred percent.”
“More or less,” Fiona agrees. “Head on over to the gym and warm up then. I’ll fight you in the ring in a half hour.”
“Yes, sir!” I salute her, feeling unusually bubbly with this subtle calming energy running through my veins.
&nbs
p; Fiona raises her eyebrow at me, but she smiles. “Yeah, all right. You’re in a good mood.” She slugs my arm playfully.
“I’ll race you, Rynne!” I announce and immediately start running.
It doesn’t matter how much of a head start I get. I’m sure he’ll catch up to me within moments. Sure enough, he’s easily keeping pace with me as we dash into the gym.
“That’s so unfair,” I grumble as we continue running, but on the track in the gym now. I haven’t gotten a chance to change or shower, but that’s fine. I’ll do it after working out.
“Sorry,” Rynne says with a mischievous look in his eyes. “You want the truth, right? Here it is: I’m much faster than you.”
I nudge him. “Show off.”
“That wasn’t showing off.” He laughs.
“Well, now’s your chance to,” I gesture to the rest of the track as we keep running.
“It’s not very angel-like to flaunt our abilities just because we can.”
I shake my head, but I can’t help but smile. “Fine. Keep humoring me then.”
Rynne and I run for the whole 30 minutes we wait for Fiona to arrive. I’m feeling a bit winded, but Rynne’s breathing hasn’t changed at all. Fiona tosses us each a water bottle as we jog off the track.
“Take five,” she instructs.
I take a moment to cool down some and drink the water before facing Fiona in the ring. My stomach growls at me. Both breakfast and a shower are in order after this. Fiona’s all ready and warmed up by the time I make my way to the boxing ring. I wrap my hands and climb into the ring to meet her. Rynne stands outside the ring with his arms folded, observing. I shift back and forth from my heels to my toes. I’ve never been so ready to face anyone in the ring before. I feel confident, like there’s no way I can lose.
“You ready, Tasia?” Fiona asks.
“Never been more ready,” I reply.
Fiona invites me forward, and I jump in. Her eyes widen in surprise as I almost land a hit on her right at the get go. I don’t give her time to recover. I swing at her again, and this time she has to block me.
“What’s the matter, Fiona?” I taunt. “I thought you were better than this.”
“Oh, now you’ve done it.” She grins.
She goes for my feet to set me off-balance, but I see that coming, so I move out of the way, causing her to lose her balance instead. I have never faired this well against anyone. This is amazing! Did tuning the white diamond do all of this? It can’t just be me, right?
“Damn, Tasia!” Fiona exclaims as I come at her again. “What’s gotten into you today? I’m going to have to actually try.”
I laugh at her reaction. “I don’t know,” I reply, “but I feel great!”
My godmother and I grapple back and forth. We both throw punches and make contact, but never anything that gets past our defenses. Eventually we’re both tired out and agree on a tie.
“Keep going like that and you’ll be taking my place,” Fiona says between heavy breaths as she takes off her hand wraps. “And now I need a shower.”
“Me too,” I agree.
“You’ve really improved, Tasia,” Rynne says, wonder in his eyes. “What did you do while you were gone last night?”
“Just talked, really,” I say. “Cassius said he’d tune my white diamond so it’d help me, but I don’t think it could have done all of this. I didn’t even see him do anything but hold the crystal in his hands.”
Rynne shrugs.
“Well, I’m hitting the showers,” Fiona says.
“I’ll come in a minute,” I say.
Fiona waves. “Take your time. There’s no hurry. Other than you stink.” She smirks.
I stick my tongue out at her. She laughs, and I watch her back as she’s about to exit the gym—but she doesn’t make it. She’s stopped by Valor. She’s standing as tall and proud as ever, and she’s still wearing her silver armor. I’ve never seen her without it.
“Who is Valor, exactly?” I ask Rynne as I fix my ponytail. “Cassius said she’s his confidant. Like, the angel closest to him? The one he tells everything?”
“Basically,” he replies. “She’s the second most influential angel there is. Probably the second most powerful, too.”
“She is powerful,” I say. “I saw what she did to Arsen. It was terrifying.”
“What she did to him?”
“She attacked him and shoved a silver sword up his stomach.” I feel a strange shiver spread through my body as the memory comes back. “If he were human, that would have killed him, but he got away from her, acting like it was just a minor wound.”
“I see.”
“I didn’t know what to think when I saw that. I wanted Arsen to hurt, but it was so… I don’t know.” I shake my head. “And despite seeing her do that, Valor feels really welcoming. How can she feel sweet and inviting but scary at the same time?”
“You’ve never seen anything like what she did before. I’d say your initial reaction and feelings are normal. But when she’s associating with you, she feels different because you feel her compassion toward you.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I say. “You angels are something else.” I shake my head.
“So much for Blade’s shower,” Rynne says.
“What?” I reply as I look back over to where she and Valor were standing. They’re making their way over to us.
“Did something happen?” Rynne asks.
“One of Blade’s hunters has found the whereabouts of what they believe to be a werebeast in the city,” Valor replies. “As expected, Philadelphia itself is relatively clean after what happened a few night ago. Most have fled or else they were killed, but this one seems to have stayed.”
“Stayed?” I ask.
Fiona answers, “The same hunter who tracked this werebeast down saw him shift back into his human form when the angels came to clear out the base during the attack five days ago. The werebeast dropped his driver’s license when it happened. His name is Larry Dent. The hunter who saw all of this was too injured to do anything about the werebeast at the time, so Larry fled the base. He’s probably still in Philadelphia because he doesn’t remember what happened that night. Werebeasts never do seem to remember what they do when the monster inside of them takes over.”
“So we have to kill him,” I say. “Because there’s no cure.”
Maybe I should feel bad about saying that, but this guy is still a werebeast. He’s still a monster—even if he’s an unassuming one most of the time.
“That’s right,” Fiona replies. “Except we aren’t going to wait for a full moon to verify all of this, but we’re also not going to take the chance of accidentally killing someone who’s innocent. Our hunter got that driver’s license, but they didn’t get a good look at the man himself. We just want to make sure.”
“How are you going to do that?” Rynne asks.
“A branch of the EEA located in the Netherlands, Amsterdam specifically, has been doing in depth research on werebeasts since they’ve dealt with many of them in their country. They’ve learned that aconite will bring out the beast in every type of werebeast,” Fiona explains.
“Even in daylight?” I ask.
“That’s right. I just got the details of their research as well as a shipment of aconite pills this morning.”
“Perfect timing,” Rynne notes.
Fiona nods. “I knew we’d be getting something solid eventually. I’ve been hearing about their research off and on for a while. Turns out all we have to do to verify if someone is a werebeast is to have them eat one of these pills.”
“Aconite is poisonous,” Rynne states. “What if you fed the wrong person the pill?”
“Activated charcoal,” Fiona replies. “We got a case of that, too. The aconite that branch developed isn’t a light dose, so if we use this activated charcoal after finding out a person we’ve given the aconite pill isn’t a werebeast, they’ll puke up the poison and be perfectly fine.” Fiona turns to me. “Wa
nt to come for this one?”
“You’re really letting me come?” I ask.
“Yeah, you can handle it.”
“I want to come,” I say eagerly.
“Great, and I’ll grab Donovan.”
“Just three of you?” Rynne asks, clearly worried.
“We’re coming too,” Valor informs. “We’ll be there as backup and perhaps to observe. Aconite can do nasty things to an angel.”
“It can?” Rynne asks. “What about the hunter who tracked this guy down?”
“Yes, but don’t worry. As long as you don’t ingest it, you’ll be fine should you ever have to deal with one of those aconite pills yourself. The hunter who tracked this beast down is out. She’s done her duty. I had an angel switch out with her, and that angel is trailing the suspected werebeast as we speak.”
Rynne comments, “Surely a natural angel knows whether this individual is human or werebeast. Is this really necessary?”
“It is necessary.”
“But do you know if Larry Dent is a werebeast?” Fiona asks with an eyebrow raised.
“I do not,” Valor replies.
I know angels are capable of lying—at least when they’re doing it for what is supposed to be the greater good. I wonder if Valor is lying right now.
“Can I get breakfast and take a shower first?” I ask.
“Sure thing, Tasia. We don’t want you doing this on an empty stomach,” Fiona replies. “Just get ready and we’ll head out when you’re ready. Better to take care of this sooner rather than later.”
“Come with me, Rynne,” I say as I catch his hand.
He stares at me blankly for a moment.
“For breakfast,” I clarify after realizing it almost sounded like I was inviting him to shower with me. I feel my cheeks flush red at the thought.
“S-sure,” he replies.
I drag him along behind me before Fiona or Valor can say anything. I already feel super embarrassed about it.
“Are you feeling okay?” Rynne asks.
“Haven’t felt this good in a while,” I reply.
The look Rynne gives me, with his blue eyes searching mine, makes me wonder if he’s trying to decipher if what I said is true. He lets it drop and walks by my side, his hand in mine as we make our way to the kitchen.
The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love, Book 2) Page 11