“Well, he still might die,” he answered gruffly. “Let’s go.”
I held up a finger and dialed Jupiter first and then Serena. Jupiter was already with my parents and Serena had already been instinctively notified that something big was about to go down. Serena and Nate were just about to conference with Jupiter and my parents. We decided to meet at my parent’s farmhouse and go from there.
Jude and I took off into the night- true Angel style. He kept up with me even while a dark light surrounded him. He wasn’t totally muted of color, like other Fallen I had seen, but there was definitely something different about the aura of power that surrounded him.
I thought through the night ahead, about how I would face this threat, how I would protect Seth even while he might not want to be protected.
And was this another plot by Aliah? Or were there more forces at work?
Either way I was in this to win. I wouldn’t let Seth die tonight without me. Fate and destiny be damned, because without Seth there was nothing for me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
We hovered in the sky over the white, sparkling beach and an ocean that seemed to stretch on infinitely- even from my lofty vantage point. The sun was just rising on the eastern horizon and painted the sky with pink, purple and orange brush strokes. The bluest water in the world glistened like a mirror below us and all around puffy, misting clouds were turning from gray to white as the sun rose higher in the sky.
Sri Lanka.
The island lay before us- particularly the isolated stretch of beach we were deciding what to do with. Green-leafed palm trees dotted the shoreline and the sand was virtually undisturbed, silky and smooth as it wrapped around the water’s edge. White-crested waves crashed against the beach in a hypnotizing dance, creating a soothing lapping sound that betrayed the true danger of the morning.
I wasn’t exactly surprised to be at the place Seth called his childhood home. Somehow meeting Seth and his Fallen friends on this stretch of beach seemed appropriate, if not a little messed up.
I looked over at Serena to check out her reaction to this obvious trap- and for us, not Seth. Her bright orange hair whipped around her pale, ethereal face in the rushing wind, her ocean blue eyes matched the color of the water below us and met mine with a startling intensity. Gone was the cool, confident warrioress, with her disturbing excitement and anticipation for battle. She truly looked concerned for what lay ahead of us.
And that made me more than a little anxious.
I could handle not understanding her enjoyment of conflict or sword play. I could handle feeling amused at the brightness in her eyes whenever bloodshed was involved. I could not handle her being afraid.
My eyes moved from Nate to Jupiter, to my parents- who all wore that same unsure expression. Finally, I found Jude’s dark gray eyes and raised an eyebrow at him. He brought us here. He played my emotions and fears like only a true master manipulator could.
And now this.
I watched a thousand different emotions begin and then quickly fizzle behind his shuttered gaze, until he finally decided on the one I expected the most- indifference. He shrugged a casual shoulder and then his mouth twisted into a cruel smirk.
“I didn’t know about this,” he started, looking down at the gathered Fallen surrounding Seth, Aliah and Seven. Shadows slithered in and around their feet, turning that particular part of the beach black with their inky evil. “But I have to say, well done.” His smirk lifted into a full grin and I could hear his deep chuckle even over the rush of wind in my ears.
I spun all the way around and jabbed one of my katanas directly into the hollow of his throat. “This is funny to you?”
He thought that over for a moment and settled with, “A little amusing.” And then he shrugged. Shrugged.
“I thought we were-“ I shook my head quickly and steeled my expression.
He barked out a rough laugh and when his eyes found mine again they were dancing with sinister disbelief. “You thought what? You thought we were friends?”
“No,” I growled. “I thought you were less of a disgusting piece of trash than your associates.” I tossed my head toward the beach and waited for him to say anything that would allow me to believe he wasn’t as horrible as he seemed right now. I didn’t like Jude, I wouldn’t ever like Jude. But I had come to a see a side of him that wasn’t completely repulsive and saturated with evil. I had hoped there was a modicum of difference between the monster I knew was Aliah and the kidnapped, forced-into-Darkness Jude.
Jude’s expression froze into a mask of hatred. “You don’t know anything about me. And by the looks of it, you never will. I couldn’t care less if you want to insult me, Starling, but you do well to acknowledge you have never known, nor will you ever know anything about me.”
“Fair enough.” I drew back my sword acknowledging that it was doing nothing to intimidate Jude and that he was right. I really didn’t know anything about him. “But let’s remember why you’re here in the first place. They,” I gestured toward the beach with one of my swords, “can’t touch me. Evil or not, that contract means something binding. They can’t kill me.”
He stepped forward in air, just as easily as if he were walking on the solid ground. His black aura seemed to suck all the light from around him. It wasn’t a color that surrounded him, but rather a lack of color. And this was different than before. A switch had flipped and I knew without a doubt I was the one who turned it. His Fallen soul couldn’t sustain the Light that he was born with, except on the very edges. Just where the dark atmosphere surrounding him met the normal, non-tainted air, there was a brilliant gold outline that shone brighter than even my inner Light. It was like pure, solid gold, almost blinding in its intensity. When we were only inches away from each other, he met my angry stare with dead, vacant eyes.
“There are other ways to die than physical death, Stella.” His words were rough, grating on my skin. And the words were a promise- spoken from experience and conviction.
I tore my gaze from his and looked back at my parents and friends. He was right. They couldn’t kill me.
But the Fallen, Aliah… Seven…. even Seth could kill them.
What would be worse than my own death? Losing everyone I cared about.
I spun around so that my back was to Jude and looked down at Seth as he stood next to Aliah- at his right hand. Seven on the other side. Twenty-five Fallen at their sides and a horde of Shadows at their feet.
They were waiting for us.
And we would engage.
It was in our nature. We couldn’t not fight them.
“Stella,” my dad rasped. “Don’t let what happens down there damage you.” My eyes filled with tears as he fought for composure. He was waging an internal battle of raw anger, battle-readied with insane focus and fear- for me, for my mom…. for Seth. “Do what you have to do. You can survive whatever happens here. I know that you can. It’s why you were chosen above everyone else for this task.”
His words were like daggers of truth, slicing open my veins and infusing my blood with their powerful reality. I nodded because my throat had dried out and then closed up. Words failed me.
No matter how wrong and deranged this situation was, this was my future, my destiny. Not because it was elaborately planned by some greater imperial force than me, but because this was the only way for me to move forward in time. Fate could be this confusing cosmic what-if, or it could be what I chose to make of it with the circumstances I was given. This was my destiny because I was making it my destiny. The outcome wasn’t decided yet, but whatever happened, I would choose how I came out.