“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, finally finding my voice. “Who told you where to find me?”
“Calder. He thought I could help you.”
“He shouldn’t have—” I groaned, as my wings stabbed at my back, struggling to release.
She rushed to my side, her hand reaching out. “Are you okay?”
I staggered back, afraid of her touch.
“I’m fine,” I snapped more harshly than I wanted.
She scowled. “If you’re fine, then what happened back there?”
“What? The wings?” I forced my voice to sound casual.
“Yes, that.”
I racked my brain, searching for any excuse other than the truth. “An accident. It happens to angels sometimes when they’re, uh, exhausted. Yes, that’s it. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m on my way to my cabin.”
“I’m not finished talking to you.” She latched onto my arm before I could make it to the stairs.
Electricity surged up my arm. Her touch, her warmth, it was like coming back to life.
“Karenna, please…don’t.”
“Why are you acting this way? Why won’t you look at me?”
I can’t. I shouldn’t.
I did.
Slowly, I lifted my head until my eyes met hers.
“I’ve been busy,” I said.
“You’re lying.”
I inhaled sharply. Keep it together. She can’t know the truth. Keep it light. “No, seriously. I have been busy. Remi has me in charge of cleaning all the toilets on the ship. He loves me that much.”
“So, it’s true. Remi is your grandfather. And your mother—”
“Stop right there. If you’re a true friend, you won’t mention my mother.”
Hurt washed over her face. “Okay, I won’t. Not that any of it matters to me. I told you I believed in you and I do.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just, I’m not ready to talk about her yet.”
She smiled softly. “I’ll be here for you when you are ready.”
I wanted her to be there for me, desperately. There was no use pretending we could only be friends. I wanted more. And that was the problem. There couldn’t be more. I had to stay strong. I had to let go.
I took a deep breath, pained by what I had to do. “I’m surprised you’d find the time between you and Hunter dancing and sucking face.”
She sucked in a breath. “I didn’t want him to kiss me.”
“Just feel you up?” As soon as the words spilled out, I wanted to take them back. I’d gone too far.
Her face reddened. She pressed her lips into a thin line and turned on her heel without a word.
This was it. She was leaving and wouldn’t come back. Mission accomplished.
I locked my jaw, fighting the urge to call her back until my chest burst. “Karenna, I’m sorry. Forgive me. I didn’t mean it. I was…I don’t know. I’m screwed up.”
She paused, her hand resting on the railing.
Let her go. If you care for her, let her go.
“I miss you,” I murmured.
My heart thundered in my head as I waited for her reply. Finally, she turned. “I miss you too.”
“This may sound strange, but I wish we were back on the road.”
“I know what you mean. The casino has a Texas hold ‘em table. You promised you’d teach me, remember?”
I couldn’t stand breaking the hopeful expression on her sweet face. Help me find the words to do so gently.
Before I could answer, she gazed over my shoulder, her eyes widening. “A shooting star! Quick, make a wish!”
I chuckled as she ran to the rail, following the star’s trajectory.
“You don’t believe wishes can come true?”
“I do, but that’s not a star. It’s an angel.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. Where do you think the legend of shooting stars and wishes being granted comes from?”
“Wow. I’ve been watching angels fly down to Earth all this time, and I didn’t even know it,” she said breathlessly watching the angel’s light glimmering against the velvet sky. “Do the Gibbor know about this?”
I shrugged. “I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Look there’s another.”
She watched the celestial light making its way across the sky in awed silence. And I…
I watched her with a heavy heart, knowing it may be my last.
They were calling for me. I couldn’t deny why they were here. It was time. I knew what I had to do…for her.
“Tristan! Karenna!” Lucy’s voice cut through the still night. She dashed up the steps with a hand covering her eyes.
“What are you doing with your eyes covered?” Karenna asked.
Lucy dropped her hand and then frowned. “You’re only talking.”
“Yes? Why?” Karenna answered, looking puzzled.
Lucy glared at me. “Seriously? You two are alone and that’s all you’re doing? And after I told you about…whatever! Val says Ian is looking for you and you need to go back your cabin pronto.”
My stomach turned cold. My eyes searched the deck in a frenzy. “Were you followed?’
“I don’t think—”
“That’s the problem. You don’t think,” I growled to myself.
“Tristan!” Karenna gasped.
“Hey! I was doing you a favor!” Lucy cried.
“I didn’t mean…” I paused taking in their shocked faces. They thought I was lashing out at Lucy. This was my chance.
I kept my eyes focused on the angelic light, melting into the horizon. I squared my shoulders, resolute in what I had to do. “Remi’s been on my ass all day, now he’s sent Ian after me. I don’t have time to play games, so do me a favor and leave me alone.”
16
Karenna
“Karenna, wake up,” Lucy said, shaking my shoulder.
I moaned, rolling over when I saw it was pitch black. “It’s the middle of the night.”
She shook me harder. “It’s morning. Get up!”
“Go to breakfast if you’re hungry then.” I buried my head deeper into the pillow. I wanted to stay asleep. I knew the moment I woke up the pain in my chest would be back. Tristan was gone. His decision had been made. He’d chosen his angelic family. He’d warned me this might happen. Still, it hurt.
There was the sound of a faucet and running water followed by Lucy muttering, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“This.”
Ice-cold water splashed onto the top of my head. I leaped out of the bed screeching, “What the hell!”
She held a towel out. “I said I was sorry. I had to get you out of bed somehow.”
I snatched it out of her hand. “You could’ve gone to breakfast without me.”
“I want you to talk to Tristan.”
“It can’t wait until the sun comes out? Besides, there’s nothing to talk about. He made it clear he doesn’t want any of us near him.” I pressed my face against the towel, fighting the hurt bubbling to the surface.
“That’s because...well, he wants to but…”
I dropped the cloth onto my lap. “But what?”
She bit down on her lip for a moment, hesitant. “Okay, I’m gonna tell you something, but promise not to say anything to anyone else, especially Jo.”
“Why?”
“Remember when I said I knew Raffi was holding back on me? That he’d said something about angels being babysitters? Well…”
“Lucille Sara Morgan! Tell me you didn’t rough up an angel.” Was that even possible?
“I didn’t. Really! Just promise you won’t tell Jo what I’m going to tell you, okay? It’s not that I don’t trust her. I don’t trust Dorian.”
“I get your point. I won’t tell her. What is it?”
“Tristan got in trouble for standing up for the Guardians. Plus Remi put Ian in charge of watching over Tristan. I’m sure he’s telling the truth because no on
e volunteers for toilet duty.”
“He didn’t use Ian as an excuse last night?”
“Nope. And I don’t care what lame excuse he told you about breaking the windows last night. He was jealous.”
“Who told you about that?”
“Hali. Less talk and more dressing. Here!” She tossed my t-shirt and jeans at me. “You can catch Tristan at the sword training. The angels meet at the basketball court.”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you really believe he doesn’t want you with him?”
The cold expression on his face was seared into my mind. Yet there was a brief moment before he left when I thought I saw regret. I’d dismissed it as wishful thinking.
“I’m not sure.”
“Ugh! You can be sure later. Let’s go.”
When we walked through the deck above the basketball court, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Typically, when I went outside, I had to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight. Today, dark clouds dotted the sky. It reminded me of the endless clouds and gray that had followed us as we traveled through the demolished cities the warrior angels had destroyed.
A chorus of deep voices followed by a thump echoed in the air. The sounds followed a rhythm, growing to a crescendo as we moved closer.
“What’s that?”
“The angels,” Lucy said as we stepped out onto the balcony.
My jaw dropped when I gazed at the basketball court below.
The angels were all dressed in an ancient type of armor, similar to what the warrior angels had worn. In the back, blue flags waved in the breeze. One had a dog’s paw print with wings, a symbol of the Guardians. The other was emblazoned with a sword with wings, a symbol for the Powers. The other flags hanging around the basketball court had the intricate designs I’d seen on Val and Zac’s foreheads.
“Hah!” The angels lunged with shields up. Swords whipped through the air as they moved in unison. Their feet slammed against the deck with such force I could feel a subtle vibration beneath my feet.
It was a thing of beauty, watching them move. Sculpted bodies moving with synchronization. Masculine faces hardened in concentration, and beastly growls came from deep within their chests as they lunged. Their unadulterated power left me breathless.
A group of familiar Gibbor faces, including Gracie’s father, stood behind the angels. Their faces were as fierce as the angels’. Next to them, I spotted Dorian with Carmichael’s clique. They were both shirtless, wearing only jeans. Dorian’s hair was plastered against his head, sweat drenching his face and rolling down his bare chest.
Zac and Ian walked between the lines of soldiers. Ian had on his trench coat, looking more like a science fiction character than an angel. Zac, on the other hand, exuded angelic royalty with his blue cape and armor. They paused periodically, correcting the angels’ stance. I noticed Zac kept to the back of the court, helping the Guardians and Gibbor.
“You’re here,” Jo said, looking surprised. She was alone at a small table. A cup of yogurt sat untouched.
“You’re surprised,” I said, joining her.
“I thought you’d be against the training.”
“Why would I be?”
“Because of what Hunter said.”
“Hunter’s an idiot. Are you gonna eat this? I’m starving,” Lucy said, reaching for the yogurt.
“You can have it.” Her eyes darted nervously to Dorian. “Hunter’s just careful. He likes you, Karenna. Very much.”
Lucy made a gagging sound.
“Something wrong with the yogurt?” Jo asked.
“Nope. It’s delicious.” Lucy licked the spoon with relish, a wicked glint in her eyes.
“Okay,” Jo said, looking confused before turning back to me. “Why did you run out on Hunter last night?”
“I don’t appreciate how he manhandled me.”
“He was trying to show you how much he liked you,” she said, her voice sounding mechanical. She paused. Her facial expression was blank as her eyes moved back and forth, as if she were searching for lines in a script. “You should give him another chance.”
I balked. “You’re defending him?”
“I think you’re too stuck on Tristan to give other guys a chance.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying that. You were the one who said I should talk to Tristan. What’s going on with you?”
Jo blinked. Her face shifted as if she were waking up. Her eyes teared up and she jolted from her seat. “I’m sorry. I need to go. I need to check on Javi and Neto.”
“Jo, wait!”
At that moment, Tristan stepped onto the balcony.
“Is everything okay? I can go after her for you,” he said, watching Jo rush past him.
“No, it’s okay. She went to check on her brothers.”
He shifted, looking uncomfortable. The silence hung heavily.
“Sooo, I’m gonna take my yogurt and watch Raffi play toy soldier.” Lucy bolted from the table, quickly making her way to the opposite side of the balcony.
Tristan gazed down, his mouth opening and closing. His eyes darted out at the court for a moment. “About last night, I was having a bad day, and I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m sorry.”
“I understand. Lucy told me.”
“You know?” His eyes widened with shock.
“Yes. I’m so proud of you for standing up for the Guardians. I don’t know much about your world, but punishing you by making you scrub toilets is plain silly.”
“I don’t under—oh! Yes. That’s right. Ian is watching me like a hawk, making sure I worship the porcelain gods every day so I can get them to look like new. I got lucky last night. No one ratted me out to Ian or Remi about me being at the dance.” He let out a breath. “So, Lucy finally brought you to check out the training?”
“Finally? She’s been here before?”
“Every single day at the crack of dawn. She watches Raffi and Zac.”
Lucy leaned over the railing, gazing at Zac intently. Then it hit me. Now I understood why she was so adamant I hook up with Tristan. In her pre-teen mind, she thought if I were with Tristan, then she could be with Zac.
There was a loud uproar below followed by the rumble of stomping feet.
“Oh, no,” Lucy groaned.
“What’s going on?” I rushed to the rail with Tristan close behind.
“Ian gave Raffi a sword. He’s been training without one.”
Val stood in the center of a crowd of angels. Her hands waving wildly, periodically stabbing Ian’s chest with her finger.
“I don’t understand. Shouldn’t they all train with a sword?”
“Val doesn’t want him to fight,” Tristan said.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s only thirteen Earth revolutions.”
“Okay…?”
“That means he’s only about thirteen years old. We calculate age in Earth revolutions since time works differently in Heaven. One revolution is about one year. It equates with the time it takes Earth to orbit the sun.”
Raffi squeezed his way between Ian and Val. His face turned red as he yelled. I couldn’t hear him above the crowd.
“What’s he saying?”
Tristan leaned over, his face twisting in concentration. “I think he said, ‘I don’t need no stinking wings.’”
“My work is done!” Lucy held out her fist and opened her hand as if dropping a microphone.
Tristan frowned. “Raffi can’t fight without wings. Our wings give us strength and immortality. It stops us from aging. That’s why angels aren’t allowed to leave Heaven until they have their wings. It’s too dangerous.”
Lucy’s face paled. “He can die? I didn’t know he could die. He didn’t tell me that.”
“Yes, he can. That’s why Val is against it,” he said.
“The Gibbor and humans don’t have wings either. They’re not immortal, but you didn’t hesitate to ask them to volunteer,” I pointed out.
“I was against it,” he said softly. “But now, I’m not sure…”
What had happened to him? He’d been so against the war that he’d even refused to pick up a sword when Blaze had first given him the dozens my father had made for him. Now he was part of the training and supported human volunteers?
We gazed at each other for a moment, unspoken differences wedging themselves between us, tearing us further apart.
“There you are!” Hunter suddenly appeared. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. Tufts of hair stuck out straight from his head, and his t-shirt was inside out.
“Ugh!” Lucy rolled her eyes and turned back to the scene below. Val snatched Ian’s sword, pointing it at Raffi. She waved her hand to beckon him, challenging him to put new skills to the test, to see if he would be able to withstand the might of a full-grown angel.
“Whoowhee! Angel army. Ain’t that a sight? Y’all sure do know how to fight. I wouldn’t want to tangle with any of ya.”
Tristan’s jaw locked as his shoulder tensed. “If you’ll excuse me, there’s something I need to discuss with Remi.”
“Something I said?” Hunter asked when Tristan rushed past him.
“No,” I sighed, watching Tristan disappear. “It’s something I said.”
“We all get a foot in the mouth-itis. Like last night. Sorry ’bout that. That wasn’t like me at all.”
He dipped his head slightly. His eyes had that sad puppy look. Whatever leftover anger I had melted. I couldn’t fight anymore. There was enough of that happening on the ship. “Apology accepted. There are other things we need to worry about besides dances and bad dates.”
I gazed out into the darkening sky, wondering why the angels were not worried about it. They were too busy circling Val and Raffi as they dueled.
“Ms. Marmie asked me to look for you. We’re setting up the movie theater. I managed to get into the theater’s hard drive. We could use your help getting it ready for this afternoon.”
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