Chapter 6: Leaving Home By… Magic?!

“Here, drink this,” Saige says, pushing a glass of water in my hands. “You need to stay hydrated.”

I’m in a daze as I accept the drink and take a few sips, welcoming the cool liquid as it soothes my dry throat. “You got here quickly,” I mutter, staring at the water in the glass.

“We didn’t go very far,” Saige answers gruffly. His tone suggests he’s upset about the events that just occurred. “We were worried about you being home alone for the first time, so we stayed close by. My question is, why the hell didn’t you call us the second an alien crashed into our shed?”

“Sorry.” I take another sip of water.

“What the hell, Samara?” Saige suddenly snaps. “I’m supposed to be the reckless one. You’re the smart one! Why did Jaime have to be the one calling us?!”

I shoot him a glare. “Why didn’t you go on your camping trip like you said you were going to do instead of not trusting me to be here alone?” I retort, irritation lacing my tone.

“Because you always manage to find trouble!” Saige bursts out.

“Saige,” Dad speaks up. “Leave her be. Now isn’t the time.”

“Are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room?” Reid demands, shooting a side-eyed glance at Arisen. “No offense, dude.”

Arisen shrugs, his wings rustling against his back as he slowly folds them back into his skin. He doesn’t move from his spot in front of me. “None taken,” he answers shortly. “I apologize for the events that have occurred here this evening. I need to get back to my island.”

That catches my attention and I quickly straighten up. “You’re leaving?” I ask sharply. “Are you fucking kidding me?! After all that?”

Arisen turns to face me. “You shouldn’t have involved yourself,” he mutters with a small shake of his head. “Now you and your family are in danger. I must leave.”

“And what happens when you’re gone?” I ask quietly, folding my arms across my chest. “Who will protect us from those assholes who are after you?”

Arisen hesitates, glancing at Dad. “Come with me,” he suddenly blurts. “You will be safe on the island. The treaty between our people prevents government officials from stepping foot on our island without special permission from the royal court.”

“You think that will stop them?” Jaime speaks up.

Arisen’s expression hardens as gold and silver flash through his stormy eyes. “Unless they want another war, then yes,” he answers calmly. “We may be a peaceful race, but we aren’t defenseless or helpless. The island is a haven. My people will keep you safe. It’s the least we can do after you risked your lives for me.”

I look at Dad who is staring at the Celestial with a thoughtful look on his face. I wonder why he isn’t freaking out more. Why aren’t any of my brothers freaking out about this? I feel like I’m missing something. Something important.

“We’ll go,” Dad finally agrees after a moment of silence. He turns to the rest of us. “Go pack. I need a word with the Celestial.”

One by one we head up the stairs to our rooms. It’s only when I reach my room that I realize Dad knew what he was. He used the proper term. What the hell? Jaime sits on my bed as I begin throwing clothes and shoes in a duffle bag.

“This whole thing is strange,” I mumble.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Jaime states sarcastically.

I shoot him a glare. “It’s not wearing you out how calm my family is acting about this?” I demand.

He frowns. “Now that you mention it, sure. Maybe they just need time to process it.”

“Dad called him a Celestial. How did he know what he was? The glasses guy never said that term.”

“You’re kind of freaking me out, Sam.”

“Well, I’m freaked out. I’m freaked out that they know more about this than we do. I’m freaked out that my family has somehow known about Celestials.”

Jaime slides off my bed and strolls over to me, grabbing my hands in his. “Sam,” he says softly. “Breathe. We’ll have plenty of time to debate this later. You can always confront them later and get answers. Right now, we have to get out of here. We need to figure out how to keep the Celestial Heir out of the hands of human scientists. After all, that’s what you wanted, right? Can we focus on this right now?”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll probably have a mental breakdown at some point,” I grunt. “But sure, one thing at a time.” I finish packing and follow Jaime back down to the foyer where the others are already waiting.

“How the hell are we getting to this island?” Jaime questions.

Arisen smirks. “Magic,” he answers.

“I thought you said you didn’t have any special powers besides healing and flying.”

“I also said the royal heir is more powerful than the average Celestial,” Arisen shrugs. “I use light for transport. Humans might just call it teleporting. My brother uses the shadows and darkness to transport.”

This is the first time I’ve heard him speak of family. I wasn’t even sure he had family here. The thought of meeting his family causes nausea to bubble up in my gut.

“We need to do this before the sun sets,” Arisen states. “Preferably in the backyard, away from prying eyes.”

We follow him out back, my eyes instantly drawn to the broken shed. We stand in a circle and Arisen has us hold hands. My heart begins racing in my chest as he grasps my hand tightly, closing his eyes. His skin begins to glow brightly, and I have to look away. Lights shoot around us. My eyes snap shut as it becomes overwhelming to watch. My skin grows hot, and my stomach turns and flips unpleasantly. I feel my feet leave the ground but a second later I slam back down, hearing the crunch of sand beneath my feet. A second later, I spin around, bending at the waist and losing the contents of my stomach. I drop to my knees, feeling like I just ran several miles. Why am I so tired all of a sudden? Strong arms catch me as I lurch to the side. My eyes flutter shut and the last thing I see is Arisen’s gorgeous face looking down at me in concern.