by SJ West
My father’s attention turns to me, and I see his gaze drop to the bracelet around my wrist.
“Did Brutus have to incorporate all of the silver this time?” he asks me.
I nod. “Yes. This is as big as it can be made, but I think it’ll be fine. I’m almost fully grown now anyway.”
“I distinctly remember telling you to stop growing,” my father jests with an infectious grin. “I’m not surprised you didn’t listen to me though. Ever since you were a little girl, you’ve been strong-minded and done exactly what you wanted to.”
“You know you wouldn’t want me to be any other way, Dad,” I tell him, knowing he’s always appreciated my unwavering determination.
“I suppose I wouldn’t,” he replies.
I can tell from his tone of voice and the way he’s looking at me that he is doing his best to accept that I’m almost an adult. I’m sure it’s hard for him to think of me not needing his constant guidance anymore, but I feel sure I’ll go to him when life throws something unexpected in my path. In fact, I had one of those obstacles appear during my time on the surface today, which causes my mind to naturally drift back to Silas.
“When did you have time to meet a new guy?” Liam questions me. “Wait a minute. Did you go to the down-world when you were supposed to be in Stratus? Mom and Dad are going to kill you if they find out!”
“Which is exactly why you’re not going to tell anyone about it, little brother,” I reply. “There’s no need to worry them over something that’s already happened.”
Liam is silent for a moment as he quickly runs through his options. Since he doesn’t want to get me in trouble, he decides to move the conversation along to the original subject.
“So, who is this guy you met?” he asks.
“Just a guy,” I reply, trying my best to sound aloof. “I really don’t want to talk about this with you. Let’s just drop the subject. Odds are I won’t ever see him again anyway.”
“Yeah, right. You’re thinking about seeing him again already. Why don’t you just come clean and tell Mom and Dad about him?”
“Because then I would have to tell them that I went to the down-world alone. We’ve already established that doing that would be a monumentally bad idea, Liam.”
“Well, if things start to get serious between you and this tall, dark, and handsome stranger, promise me that you won’t keep him a secret from our parents forever. The longer you wait to tell them about this guy, the harder it’ll be on you to keep lying to them.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I say. “I promise, but you’re making more out of this than you need to. I only met him for like five minutes on the surface.”
“And yet, within those few minutes, you’re already infatuated with him. You can’t hide that from me.”
“I do want to see where things will go with him, but I’m also not delusional enough to think we’ll end up falling hopelessly in love. That only happens to soul mates, and you know as well as I do that neither of us will ever find one of those.”
“I don’t need to,” Liam says. “I already know who I want to marry.”
“Yes, I saw the future Mrs. Devereaux today, and she looked just as lovely as ever.”
“You didn’t tell her anything, did you?” Liam asks suspiciously.
“Of course not,” I reply as if he shouldn’t have even felt the need to ask such a question. “I would never deprive you of the opportunity to pour your itty-bitty heart out to her and watch her reaction to your declaration of love.”
Liam rolls his eyes at me. “Sometimes you’re just not right in the head, Liana.”
“But you still love me,” I say, flashing him my most winning smile.
“I always will, big sister. Nothing will ever change that.”
As Liam thinks these words to me, I feel a shadow cross over my heart, which makes me shiver slightly in response. I feel as though something major is about to happen and that it isn’t going to be pleasant for any of us, especially me.
Chapter 13
Right before bed that night, I keep to my ritual and go see my Aunt Helena. I feel excited to share my day with her because besides my brother, she’s the only one I can tell about my encounter with Silas. I know she won’t judge me for keeping secrets from my parents. If anything, she will probably encourage me to keep more from them than I already have. In my heart, I know not telling my folks what I did today is wrong, but I also know that if I tell them what I did, there’s no way I’ll be able to keep my promise to Silas and go back to the surface to see him again tomorrow. Surely one more day of deception won’t hurt anyone.
As usual, I phase down to my aunt’s seaside cottage in Hell. It’s cozy enough, but I’m not sure why it’s always raining here. It seems counterintuitive for it to be raining in Hell, but I’ve never asked my aunt about it. I know she can sense everything I’m thinking, so if she wanted to solve that particular mystery for me, she would have by now.
“My, my, my,” she says as I walk over to the couch she’s sitting on and take a seat beside her. “You’re practically glowing, Liana. Dare I say it’s because of the handsome young man I see inside your thoughts?”
I can’t help but smile and feel a little giddy about finally having someone to talk to about my chance meeting with Silas. I know my mother will be phasing down in just a few minutes, so I don’t waste any time.
“Yes, it’s most definitely because of him,” I tell her, unable to keep my excitement hidden.
“From what I can see, the encounter between the two of you was brief,” she says, narrowing her eyes as she continues to study me. “Yet he seems to have made quite an impression on you in that short amount of time. Tell me, what is it about him that you find so interesting?”
“It’s hard for me to put into words,” I reply. “I sense that he’s been through a lot in his life and that whatever it is he’s gone through still causes him a lot of pain. I want to find out what it is he’s keeping hidden and see if I can help him find a way through it. Does that make sense?”
“Typical tortured soul syndrome,” she says, not really sounding like she understands my interest in Silas at all. “The females of the human species always seem to think that if you love someone hard enough, you can fix any problem that they’ve ever had. What makes you think he’ll want to share his deepest, darkest secrets with you? Maybe he keeps his pain close for a reason. Some people lean on the tribulations they’ve faced in life like a crutch to always remind them that life isn’t filled with rainbows and unicorns. It makes them who they are, and yet you wish to change him, even though it’s that inner sadness that attracts you to him. Tell me, if you accomplish what you’re setting out to do, will he still be as interesting to you afterwards?”
I realize my aunt is making a very good point, but I also know that I couldn’t stay around someone who continuously wallows in his own misery. I need a man who is willing to conquer his fears and wants a better life for himself and those he loves.
“I do, actually,” I answer. “No one should use their grief like a crutch, as you said. I need to be with someone who is willing to push through the pain and truly find themselves.”
“So you believe this …” she pauses and stares hard at me as if she’s searching for something in particular inside my mind “… Silas … is someone who is strong enough to do that?”
“I get the feeling he just needs someone to believe in him and listen to his story,” I tell her. “That’s really all I can do. The rest will be up to him.”
“Then I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor, but I also feel as though I should caution you to be wary of such a person. Anyone with dark secrets can’t be trusted until they’ve proven themselves. Don’t let yourself get so enraptured by him that you lose who you are in this relationship.”
“I wouldn’t really call it a relationship.”
“Not yet,” she concedes, “but I can already see your thoughts racing with possibilities for the future. Tread cautio
usly, Liana. You don’t really know this boy, and the fact that you’re keeping him a secret from your parents already makes me wonder just how far you’ll go for him.”
“It’s not so much Silas that I want to keep secret,” I defend myself. “It’s the fact that I went to the down-world without a chaperone, and I also went at the same time Liam was on the surface. You know they don’t like it when that happens.”
“Ah, yes. They don’t want to run the risk of you both being hurt at the same time. I suppose that’s very practical of them.”
“I just hope my parents are able to put an end to the resistance movement on the surface. That way Liam and I can do what we want as far as going to the down-world.”
“From what I see in your mind, it looks like your father has found himself a spy,” she tells me, looking intrigued by such a notion. “He was wise to keep this person’s true identity from you and your mother so I can’t recognize who it is. Yet I see it’s someone Slade is familiar with. How interesting.”
“My dad doesn’t trust you.”
“As well he shouldn’t.”
“I trust you,” I state stubbornly.
“And that may very well lead to your downfall, sweet girl.”
Just then, my mother phases in, preventing me from asking what my aunt meant by her ominous words. I doubt she would tell me anyway. She’s never been one to say more than she wants to.
“Your father is waiting to speak with you,” my mother informs me.
“What about?” I ask, feeling puzzled and slightly scared. Usually my mother tells me that my dad has my warm milk ready for me to drink when she comes here. This is the first time she’s ever mentioned my father wanting to have a discussion with me this late at night, and I fear he might have found out about my impromptu trip to the surface.
“You’ll have to ask him,” she replies, looking at me with the same degree of bewilderment that I feel. “Why do you suddenly look so worried, Liana?”
“Nothing,” I say as I attempt to wipe clean my expression. “It’s just strange that Dad would want to talk to me right before bed.”
“Well, go on up and see what he wants,” she urges me. “He wouldn’t let me know what he wants to talk to you about, so you’ll have to find out for yourself.”
“How interesting,” Aunt Helena smirks. “Is there trouble in the royal marriage between beauty and the beast?”
“Stop it, Helena,” my mother replies, sounding slightly exasperated with her sister. “You can see inside my mind. You know there isn’t. Stop trying to worry Liana by insinuating that there is.” My mom looks back at me. “Go on up, sweetie. I’ll be back soon. I don’t intend to stay here very long tonight.”
I stand up from the couch and lean down to give my aunt a kiss on the cheek.
“Have a good time on your vacation,” my aunt tells me. “I hope it’s all you dream it will be.”
When I look at my aunt again, I see her smile, but the expression doesn’t reach her eyes like it normally does when she says something to me. For the first time since I can remember, I feel as though my aunt has something up her sleeve, but I’m not sure if I’m her target or if someone else in my family is.
“Liana,” my mother says, regaining my attention because I had basically become a statue as I tried to figure my aunt out, “your father is waiting for you.”
When I phase back home, I enter directly into the living room and find my dad standing on the veranda, gazing out at the city he and my mother rule.
“Dad,” I say to alert him that I’m home as I walk over to stand by his side, “Mom said you wanted to speak with me about something.”
Once I reach him, he turns his head to look over at me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, since he still hasn’t spoken a word yet. If he’s discovered my secret, I know he’ll be extremely disappointed in me and want to know exactly what happened during my time on the surface.
“Nothing’s wrong,” he assures me, “so you can wipe that look of worry off your face. I simply wanted to spend some time with you because I realized something today.”
His cryptic words do nothing to ease my mind. I’m just as puzzled as I was before I came back here.
“What did you realize today?” I ask, hoping he intends to explain himself in terms I can understand.
My dad grins at me. “I realized that in a year or less, you may not want to live with us anymore. It seems like you spend more and more time in Andre’s house here in the city. I assume you intend to take him up on his offer to accept ownership of the home on your eighteenth birthday.”
“I do,” I admit, hoping my words don’t cause him more pain or worry.
He lets out a resigned sigh, and I know my answer is exactly what he expected to hear from me.
“When Lucas left us to strike out on his own, I found having him no longer living under my roof difficult to get used to. After you leave, I may not know what to do with myself.”
“You’ll still have Lyra and Dax,” I remind him. “And Liam will more than likely stay here until he marries Cara. He’s helpless when it comes to taking care of himself. He’ll need someone close by who can remind him to do things.”
“Cara?” my dad questions, looking confused by the pairing. “I had no idea he was interested in Brutus’s little girl. Does he realize all the hoops he’ll have to jump through to prove he’s worthy enough to marry her?”
I laugh because I know my father is right. “I don’t think he’s thought that far ahead, but I’m sure he’ll figure it out when he tries to take her out for the first time.”
“Liam and Cara,” my father says as he shakes his head in wonder. “I didn’t realize they had feelings for one another.”
“Well, Liam is crazy in love with her. I didn’t say the feeling is mutual,” I point out. “In fact, while we were in Stratus today, she didn’t ask about him at all. It could be that Liam will get shot down by her after he declares his love. I just hope his heart can take it. You know how sensitive he can be. Sometimes I worry about him.”
“He’s young,” my father points out. “If she doesn’t feel the same way about him, I’m sure he’ll bounce back in time. I know how it feels to be denied a love you thought was meant to be yours but never was. If he truly loves Cara, all he’ll ever want is for her to be happy, even if that means he’s not the one she wants.”
“Who in their right mind would refuse you, Dad?” I ask, wrapping both my arms around one of his and resting my head against his strength. “They must have been insane.”
My father chuckles. “Insanely in love with their soul mate,” he tells me. “I didn’t know they shared a connection like that at the time, but I should have. I never had a chance with her, but she wasn’t the person I was meant to be with. Your mother is my one true love.”
I smile after hearing his words. “You’re such a hopeless romantic when it comes to Mom. I hope I can find someone who loves me as much as you love her.”
“I hope so too,” he tells me. “I really do.”
We stand there in mutual silence for a little while before I request my nightly warm milk from my dad. He eagerly complies because he’s always enjoyed preparing it for me. After he phases down to the castle’s kitchen, I remain on the veranda for a little while longer, taking in the city lights and wondering what adventures tomorrow will bring.
Attending Cal’s birthday parties were always a highlight of my younger years. Even though I love going to Laed-i to see him and his parents, it’s become a bit anticlimactic now that Liam and I can visit his planet anytime we want. Since no rebellion angels can reach it, our parents gave us permission a couple of years ago to visit Cal whenever the mood struck us. Since Cal still attends a public school, we always have to work around his schedule and the time he spends with friends who live there, but the freedom to leave Cirrus was the best gift our parents could have ever given us.
When we phase to the entrance of the castle’s ballroom on Laed-i for Cal’
s birthday, I find that the decor has changed this year from a party you would give a child to one more befitting a young adult on the cusp of manhood.
On a platform stage against an inner wall, a live band is playing some music, which seems to be causing a frenzy among the young partygoers. There has to be at least a hundred people inside the large room, making it appear smaller than it actually is. I feel like I’ve stepped into one of the nightclubs in Cirrus instead of the austere residence of Laed-i’s royal family. Small floating balls of multicolored lights float near the ceiling, casting the crowd in varying shades of reds, blues, purples, and yellows. On the opposite wall from the band is a long glass table set with all of Cal’s favorite savory foods and sweets. A three-tier punch fountain stands off in the corner next to one set of double doors, which lead to the back courtyard.
The music inside the room is so loud I can barely hear myself think. Thankfully, Jules sees us all standing in the entryway of the room and rushes over. She hands all of us small clear circular disks and points to her right temple where she has one already stuck to her skin. When I place mine in the same exact spot, I notice the music die down to about half the volume. Jules then turns her head to the side so we can see her place her index finger on the disk and move it around in a circular pattern. When I mimic her movements, the volume of the music decreases even more.
“Music volume controllers,” Jules tells us once we’ve all followed her lead. “They come in handy when you want to talk to someone.”
“Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself this year, Jules,” my mom tells her as she looks around the room. “Where is Cal?”
“I have no idea,” Jules replies with a laugh at the chaos inside her home. “He’s out there somewhere dancing with his friends. That’s about all I can tell you.”
As I look out at the crowd, I decide this is the perfect moment to make my great escape to Jackie’s wedding.
“Come on,” I say to Liam as I grab one of his hands. “Let’s go dance!”
Liam follows me willingly, and we are immediately swallowed up by the multitude of people at the party. Without even trying to, Liam and I become separated, and I know this is the perfect time to phase to the down-world. I quickly crouch close to the floor so my parents can’t see my phase trail after I’m gone. When I phase to the down-world, I arrive in the same spot I did yesterday—on Jackie’s parents’ front porch.