Eden (15 page)

The priest’s eyes grew wide, and I
felt mine mirror his. I gripped Jared’s shirt. “What are you
saying? That I’m a descendant of demons?”

“
That’s not what I said.
We’re talking thousands of years ago, Nina. Many things were
different back then.”

“
Rebellious angels were
cast out, Jared.”

Jared cupped my arms. “My mother is a
descendant of Celts. They were savages, Nina. They drank the blood
of their dead. I don’t personalize it. That’s not what I
am.”

“
Then why did you leave
that part out?” I covered my face with my hands, ashamed to even
look at Jared. He was half angel, and I was carrying around the
genes of Hell. No wonder our child was so rare. “Did you know that
before?” I asked, my eyes filling with tears.

“
No.”

My cheeks felt as if they had caught
fire. I was hesitant to ask the question that had come to my mind,
but I would anyway. I always did, no matter how horrible I thought
the answer would be. “Does it change the way you feel about
me?”

Jared took my jaws gently into his
hands, and he looked straight into my eyes. “Nina, of course not.
How could you even think that?”

“
Because I don’t know how
I feel about me, now.”

Jared put his lips on mine, and then
he pulled me to him. It was my father’s last secret, the last thing
Jared had tried to keep from hurting me. But, now that it was in
the open, everything made perfect sense. I could never quite fit
the pieces together until now.

Still, I felt…the only way to describe
it was that I felt dirty. After all of that, we were no closer to
an answer than when we’d arrived. “Is that what Uriel meant when he
said ‘monsters’? What will the baby be?”

“
Our baby. Bean will be
our baby, nothing more. You know what you need?” he said with a
small smile.

“
What’s that?” I said,
wiping the delicate skin under my eyes.

“
The comfort of
experience.” Jared tugged on my hand. “Let’s invite Lillian to
dinner.”

Father Francis held out his hand.
“We’re not finished, are we?”

Jared frowned. “The answers aren’t in
those books. I don’t know what else to do.”

“
The answer is always in
this book,” Father Francis said, holding his Bible in his hands. He
held it to his chest. “We’ve just missed something.”

“
We haven’t missed
anything. I had hoped He would lead you to the answer, Father, but
He hasn’t so much as whispered in your ear.”

Jared’s words sent my mind spinning.
Had we missed something? Had the answer been in front of us all
along? I clicked through each idea and passage of scripture I’d
heard them discuss like channels in my mind. I kept coming back to
Shax’s book, and returning it to Jerusalem.

“
Maybe it’s not in my ear
he’s whispering?” The priest said.

Jared waved him away. “Nina’s
exhausted and hungry. It’s clouding my thoughts. All I can think
about is that damn book and returning it so Shax can’t get to it
and we can concentrate on keeping Nina safe.”

“
Wait, what?” I said,
stunned.

“
I have the Jerusalem trip
on my mind. I can’t focus on anything else. It’s
maddening.”

“
He’s whispering,” I
said.

Jared raised an eyebrow.
“What?”

Father Francis nodded, and hobbled to
where we stood. “She’s right.”

I gripped Jared’s shirt. “The
Sepulchre. The only place they aren’t allowed to desecrate. The one
place the book is safe from Hell’s hands.”

Jared’s eyes lit up like twin fires.
“We can keep you safe there.”

Chapter Nine

Due

Bex finished the last place setting,
and then returned to the kitchen. Lillian sat happily at one end of
my mother’s long, imported table, Cynthia not so happily at the
other. I waited anxiously with them, shifting uncomfortably in my
seat. Almost to a beat, Cynthia would shoot me glances of
disapproval. She hated it when I fidgeted, but now that I was
married, she felt it impolite to mother me. Bex and Jared worked
furiously in the kitchen, their laughter and conversation filtering
to the formal dining room along with the delicious smells of savory
herbs.

Bex appeared again with a basket of
hot dinner rolls and a butter dish. His eyes darted to the empty
doorway, and then back to the table. “It’s about time.”

The front door opened, and then I
heard Claire grumbling under her breath. She and Ryan made their
way to the table like summer and winter—Ryan was all smiles, and
Claire sported her usual scowl.

Bex brought in a pot of steamed
vegetables in one hand, and a bowl of rice in the other. Ryan
pulled out Claire’s chair and then clapped his hands, rubbing them
together.

“
I can help,” he
said.

Bex nodded once toward the kitchen.
“Just pick something and bring it out to the table.” He pulled off
his apron and took a seat next to his mother.

“
I think you should leave
it on,” Claire said. “Pink pinstripes look good on you.”

Bex stuck his tongue out at his sister
and then placed his napkin in his lap. Lillian shot a look at
Claire and then smiled at Bex. “It looks wonderful, as always,
son.”

Ryan returned with a casserole dish of
scalloped potatoes, and Jared brought in a huge ham. They were
laughing about something, and I couldn’t help but attempt to sneak
a peek at Claire’s reaction. She allowed a half smile, but it
quickly vanished when Ryan took a seat next to her.

Jared sat next to me, and we began
passing around the different dishes, filling our plates. As
stressful and dark as the situation seemed, the banter was jovial,
and Jared’s mood was nearly cheerful. The weight of an answer had
finally been lifted, and he felt hopeful again.

Cynthia barely finished her meal when
she looked at her watch. “Jared. Bex. Thank you so much for dinner.
I do apologize. I have an engagement.”

Jared nodded. “Of course, Cynthia.
Thank you for joining us.”

She paused behind my chair and cupped
my shoulders, kissing my cheek. “It was good to see you, Nina
dear.”

I nodded, and her heels clicked to the
front door.

Ryan’s brows jumped. “She’s not one
for family functions, huh?”

“
Not really, no,” I
said.

“
Cynthia shows her
humanity by way of charities. She’s very busy, but she’s helped so
many people.” Lillian said.

“
That she has,” I said.
“Is there pie?”

Jared laughed, and Bex popped up. “No,
but there is cake.”

“
Angel food?” I
asked.

“
Of course,” he said,
leaving for the kitchen.

Ryan pulled his fork from his mouth,
clearly ready for dessert. “So what’s the real
occasion?”

Bex returned with the cake, setting it
right in front of me. “Trying to keep the pregnant woman fed. It
takes a village, ya know.”

“
Very funny,” I said, but
I couldn’t help from cutting a huge piece. Pregnancy was the
perfect excuse for gluttony.

“
Ryan has a good point,”
Lillian smiled. “You’re in a very good mood for a
change.”

Jared smiled. “I took the book to
Father Francis.”

“
Again?” Claire said,
surprised.

I swallowed the delicious, spongy bite
in my mouth. “We were there all night.”

Ryan cut his own piece of cake, but
handed it to Claire. “So you found something?”

“
Not a damn thing,” Jared
said, smiling.

Ryan cut another piece for himself,
causing a wider smile from Lillian. Claire just rolled her
eyes.

“
I don’t get it,” Claire
said.

Jared used his fork to attempt to cut
a piece of cake from my slice, but I stuck out my elbow to defend
my plate. Everyone laughed, including Jared.

Jared finally gave in and cut his own
slice. “Nina and I were distracted. All we could think about was
getting Shax’s book back to Jerusalem for Kim.”

Ryan pointed at me with his fork. “She
called me today. She’s past impatient. She was yelling. I’ve never
heard her yell.”

“
It’s her lucky day,
then,” I said.

“
Oh yeah, why’s that?”
Ryan said, chewing.

Jared put his elbows on the table and
folded his arms. “Because we’re leaving for Jerusalem next
week.”

Claire shrugged. “Well, that’s smart.
Ryan and I are both starting Brown in the fall, and it’s Nina’s
senior year. It’s good to get it out of the way.”

Lillian paused. “You’re going to
Brown?”

Claire shrugged. “Ryan wants to start
back…I just thought….”

“
No, I’m thrilled!”
Lillian said, beaming.

“
We’re not coming back
until Bean is born,” Jared said. The entire table was silent. No
one moved, and all eyes were on Jared. “The answer has been right
in front of us all along. The Sepulchre is the one place I know
she’ll be safe until she can deliver.”

Claire frowned. “You want to live in
Jerusalem for nine months?”

“
Not an entire nine
months,” Lillian said. “I’m not exactly sure, but she probably only
has a couple of months left.”

Jared’s face blanched.
“What?”

Lillian fiddled with her napkin. “I
should have said something, son, I’m so sorry. Nina’s situation is
obviously different, but a full term Hybrid pregnancy is six to
seven months. I assume it’s the same, maybe less for
Bean.”

Bex smiled. “Now you’re saying it.
That poor kid is never going to get a real name.”

I looked down at my stomach. Because
of our situation, we had refrained from prenatal care, but I’d just
assumed my pregnancy would be a normal gestation. I was measuring a
bit larger than normal, but nothing out of the ordinary. Jared
assumed it was because of my small frame.

“
So…July? August?” I
asked.

“
Possibly,” Lillian
answered.

Jared nodded. “Then it’s settled. The
closer it gets, the more danger she’s in. We should leave
now.”

I shook my head. “I have things at
Titan I need to wrap up.”

Jared sighed, but agreed. “Okay. We’ll
all take the week to prepare. We leave on Sunday.”

“
Sweet!” Bex
said.

“
Not you,” Claire said.
“You have to stay with Mom.”

“
What?” Bex
wailed.

Jared glared at him. “We can’t leave
her alone.”

“
But I have to go. You
know I do!”

Lillian frowned. “Jared, that’s
ridiculous. You need everyone with you to get her there safe. The
second you land, you’ll be bombarded. They will do everything they
can to keep her from somewhere they can’t go.”

I swallowed. It was so close. I’d
always felt like we had plenty of time before the pandemonium
started.

Claire sighed. “We can’t leave you
unprotected, Mom.”

“
What about Grant?” Bex
said.

“
Bex!” Jared yelled. His
voice boomed throughout the house. Bex’s face turned red, and his
eyes immediately fell.

“
Grant?” I said, confused.
“Grant Bristol?” No one said a word. All eyes were on the table but
mine, which danced in every direction. “
Titan’s
Grant? Is
a…Hybrid?”

“
No,” Lillian said,
cupping Bex’s shoulder. “He’s an Arch.”

I dropped my fork, and it clanged
against my plate. “I don’t believe it.”

Lillian attempted to soften Jared with
one of her sweetest smiles. “It’s not a bad idea.”

I turned to him, thwarting Lillian’s
effort. “This isn’t something you thought I needed to know? Are you
kidding me?” I wailed.

Jared’s expression turned desperate.
“You can’t expect me to tell you about every angel or demon that
passes by.”

“
I work with him, Jared.
I…I’m just baffled why you chose to keep it from me! This makes
twice today!”

“
What else haven’t you
told her?” Ryan asked, enjoying the show.

Jared shot a death glare in Ryan’s
direction. “It was his secret to tell, Nina, and it’s really not
paramount that you know. In the grand scheme of things, it’s really
minute. You’re being unreasonable.”

“
Minute.” I stood up from
my seat. “I don’t think asking for a little trust, or having the
expectation to not be treated like an outsider in my own company or
family, is unreasonable. I don’t think being upset to be the last
to know that I’m
pregnant
is unreasonable. I am tired of you choosing what
is and is not acceptable for me to know, only for me to find out by
chance sometime later like a slap in the face!”

Jared’s eyes drifted to the floor. I
threw my napkin to the table, stomping up the stairs to the bedroom
in Oscar-worthy fashion. I sat on the bed, still fuming. A small
knock at the door only amplified my anger.