Chapter 10: I Need a Vacation
Several uneventful days pass in a blur. The Celestials continue to act like we’re living in paradise, while the royal court investigates the human murder in secret. During this time, I learn who is part of the royal court: Arisen, the Celestial heir, his brother Azriel, Gabriel, Arisen’s advisor, a sleazy Celestial called Kazran, Azriel’s advisor, and a huge, hulking Celestial called Michael, the warrior general who fought for the humans during the Great War. I sit in on these meetings as Arisen’s fated mate, but I hardly understand what’s going on. As time continues forward, I start to get overwhelmed.
It’s nearing Saturday evening, the following week, and a meeting has been going on for hours. My eyes feel heavy and my stomach rumbles softly with hunger. I need to escape this stifling room before I go crazy. With a brush of my fingertips against Ari’s shoulder, I rise and slip from the room unnoticed by the other men.
I wring my hands as I head for the kitchen. Saige is at the stove making grilled cheese. He smiles tightly at me before focusing on flipping the sandwiches on the pan.
“How’s it going in there?” he asks curiously.
I groan. “I have no idea,” I mutter. “I don’t care for human politics let alone whatever the Celestials are talking about. We stopped talking about the investigation an hour ago. And before you ask, we’re no closer to finding the murderer than we were a few days ago. We’ve interviewed everyone on the island.” I shake my head in irritation. Nothing has come from watching Azriel either. Either he knows I’m watching and is slippery as hell, or I’ve been worrying over nothing.
Saige slides a grilled cheese on a plate and hands it to me. “I’m sure you’ll find whoever did it,” he says quietly. He fiddles with the nobs on the stove, turning it off, before turning to me with a small sigh. “I’ve been thinking. I want to go home.”
I choke on a bite of bread and cheese. He quickly fills a glass of water and I gulp have of it down as I try not to cough up a lung. “Are you insane?” I rasp. “That asshole Crawley is still out there. You heard Agent Forrester. They have no control over him. He could turn up again. The fucker who shot you could do it again. And who will heal you when Ari is on the island?” My vision blurs as my heart rate speeds up with anxiety.
Saige curses and grabs my wrists. “I’m sorry,” he whispers earnestly. “I won’t go home without you. I swear.”
My head jerks in a nod. “I need you here,” I say. He doesn’t respond as he grabs another plate for the other grilled cheese he made. We leave the kitchen and take a seat in the living room, eating in silence. After a minute, I can’t take the silence anymore. “Saige,” I say hesitantly. “Something has been bothering me ever since we left home.”
“What?”
I take another sip of water to satisfy my suddenly dry throat. “Dad called Arisen a Celestial,” I say slowly. “How did he know what he was?”
Saige shrugs. “That Crawley guy called him that,” he replies, taking a bite of his sandwich. He avoids eye contact with me, telling me he’s lying.
“Don’t give me that, Saige,” I growl in a low tone. “I’m not stupid. Don’t try to make me seem crazy. And while we’re on the subject, you guys all acted like none of this was shocking.”
“Sam, drop it,” Saige orders. “Now isn’t the time.”
Anger bubbles up inside me. “Then when is the time?!” I demand hotly. “Because so much shit has happened to me in the last week, I still feel like I’m in a dream! First, a Celestial breaks our shed, then I find out he’s my soulmate and the future king of his people, and then I find out Celestials have been living on our planet for centuries. Then a bunch of assholes decide to break into our house, hold me at gunpoint to kidnap my soulmate, and they ended up shooting you. Then we somehow teleported to this lovely island that is a cage for these people and now someone is murdering humans and trying to start a war between humans and Celestials. The last thing I can handle right now is you lying to me. So, tell me the fucking truth! How did Dad know about Celestials and why the fuck are you not more freaked out about the whole thing?!” I cut myself off, my chest heaving with deep breaths. My fists are clenched at my sides, the plate balancing on my knees.
“Breathe, Sam,” Dad’s deep voice echoes behind us.
I spin around to find him standing in the doorway with the rest of our brothers behind him. Tears fill my eyes unbidden. He hurries over to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, leaning next to the couch. I lean into his side, soaking up his warmth and comfort.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispers. “I should have told you the truth. You deserved to know long ago. I never should have kept it from you. Your mother wanted to tell you immediately. I told her no. I was wrong.”
I pull away from him and wipe the tears from my cheeks. “What are you talking about?” I demand. “What does Mom have to do with this?”
“Everything, sweetheart,” he answers. “Your mother…” He trails off, shaking his head with a fond smile on his lips. “She was everything to me. She was beautiful, ethereal. She was perfect. But she had a secret. A huge one.” He pauses and moves over to one of the chairs, sitting down with a heavy sigh.
“What?!” I demand.
“Don’t be angry at your mother for keeping this secret,” Dad says. “I forced her into silence. What I’m about to tell you goes no further than this room. It’s important. Your mother. She was a Celestial, Sam.”