Chapter 8: A Murder to Dampen the Mood

A soft tug on my jean pants brings my attention to a little boy staring up at me with a curious expression. Cute can’t even begin to describe him. He looks like a baby cherub, complete with sunny blond hair, baby blue eyes, and chubby, rosy cheeks. He grins and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes makes my stomach drop.

“So, are you and Ari dating?” He questions loudly, drawing the attention of every Celestial within hearing distance. “You’re his soulmate, right?”

I chuckle nervously and glance at the angel in question who is still in the water with the other kids. He catches me looking and grins before turning back to the squealing girl in his arms. I turn back to the boy. “What made you think that?” I ask curiously.

“The way you can’t stop looking at each other,” the boy answers earnestly. “Papa says that’s a sign of love.”

“Mikey!” a booming voice calls.

The boy spins around with a cheeky grin to face the huge Celestial storming towards us. “Papa!” he squeals excitedly.

The hulking man scoops the boy up as soon as he’s close enough, throwing him in the air and catching him with ease. “What have I told you about asking blunt questions like that?” he demands with a teasing growl.

“But you said…” the boy begins to whine.

“Go find your mama,” the man interrupts, setting the child on the ground. Mikey takes off instantly, giggling wildly. The man shakes his head in amusement. “Nice to meet you officially, Your Highness.”

I blanche. “I’m not a highness,” I protest.

He chuckles deeply. “If you’re Ari’s mate, then you’re our future queen,” he answers matter-of-factly. “It’s nice to see him laughing again. He’s usually all serious.”

I raise a surprised eyebrow as I turn to watch Arisen again. It’s hard to see him as a serious leader, but I didn’t know him before he crashed into my shed. He has a past that I don’t know about. A whole life.

“Forgive me, I didn’t even introduce myself,” the man suddenly speaks up again. “My name is Gabriel. I’m Arisen’s advisor and best friend.”

I nod slowly. “Like the messenger angel from the Bible,” I mutter.

He scowls. “I hate being compared to human stories,” he grumbles. “They’re inaccurate myths. Kind of like your Greek mythology. It’s useless stories.”

“No stories are useless,” I retort.

A ringtone interrupts whatever Gabriel is about to say. He pulls a black satellite phone from his pocket and answers it with a gruff greeting. His eyes widen slowly as he listens to whoever is on the other end. I can barely hear the other person, but they sound agitated.

“Yes, sir, I’ll let him know,” Gabriel says firmly, all business. “We’ll prepare for your arrival.” He pulls the phone away from his ear with a frown. “Prick,” he grunts. He flashes me a tight grin. “Things are about to get rough.” With those ominous words, he strolls across the beach until he reaches the water’s edge and calls Arisen’s name.

My soulmate snaps his head up and I watch his joyful expression fade as Gabriel speaks to him urgently. He heads to the shore, puts his fingers in his mouth, and lets out a shrill whistle that gets the attention of everyone around. We all gather into a group with Arisen front and center. He holds his hand out to me, and I take it without thinking, letting him pull me to his side, keeping an arm around my shoulders. I sink into his body, wrapping my arm around his waist.

“Listen up,” he begins, voice carrying throughout the beach. “We just got a call from Agent Keanu Forrester, our human government contact on the Mainland. There was a human death, a murder. Done by a Celestial. He’s on his way here. I ask that everyone be on their best behavior and steer clear of the Main House while he is here to discuss this matter with the royal court.”

“How does he know it was a Celestial?!” someone demands.

Arisen hesitates. “A hole in their chest and their heart missing, the signature of a Celestial warrior,” he answers.

“We aren’t warriors!” another cries out.

“That’s not strictly true,” Azriel speaks up, appearing out of nowhere. He strolls through the crowd with his cocky smirk firmly in place and takes his spot on the other side of Arisen. I don’t like the way my mate tenses up with his brother here. “Some of us are retired warriors.”

Arisen stiffens even more at the obvious implication. “I trust everyone on this island,” he insists.

Azriel rolls his eyes. “Someone had to do this, brother,” he says in a bored tone.

I notice how Gabriel studies Azriel with narrowed eyes. He shakes his head as if to clear it and glances at Arisen. “Right now, we have to prepare for the humans’ arrival,” he states calmly.

Arisen nods. “Meeting adjourned,” he announces. He takes my hand and heads for the big house that I had woken up in.

“What does this mean?” I ask quietly as we enter the house.

Arisen blows out a frustrated breath. “It means another war if we don’t find the killer,” he says harshly.