Fallen Embers (Fallen Guardians #9)

Chapter 28

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

“So, you wanted me to see the beach?” Nia asked her sister, pulling on the smiling mask she’d perfected, not wanting to worry her newly discovered sibling any more than she already had.

But her broken heart wasn’t so easy to ignore.

Echo laughed. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? But no.”

Her twin had materialized them to a picturesque location. A forest stretched in both directions at their back. Before them, a wide shore separated the sea from the woods. The moon silvered everything, casting its shimmering light over the undulating water. Little waves gently hit the bank where a two-level boathouse was built.

“This is so pretty,” Nia said. “Tranquil.”

“I know. C’mon.” She hooked her arm through Nia’s. They carefully made their way down the slope, over the pebbly ground with pockets of snow, to the boathouse. A pier led into the water.

Echo took the narrow side stairs up. Nia trailed behind her. Curious, she leaned over the railing, her attention on the moored sailboat. “That’s a lovely boat.”

“Yes, it belongs to Hedori,” Echo said. “You’ll meet him later. Come—no, wait. Stay here. I won’t be long.” Her twin rushed off.

Nia frowned as she hit the wooden deck with chairs and loungers arranged at the other end, wondering what Echo was up to. She seemed like a rabbit on speed.

Her twin gave a perfunctory knock on the door. “Ready or not, I’m coming in?—”

“You can see us through the glass,” a male called out, tone dry, and a woman laughed.

Echo snorted, slid open the door, and disappeared inside.

“What brings you to the boathouse at this time of the evening?” the man drawled. “Lonely already?”

“Can’t I want to see you both without needing a reason, huh?”

Nia tuned out their conversation. As requested, she kept out of sight and wandered across the deck to the safety rail, her heart heavy.

The urge to reach out, to call Lore, overwhelmed her, and she shut her eyes, feeling as if a part of her was missing.

“What’s the surprise?” The deep male voice snagged her attention again. “You could have just told me, you know, instead of disrupting my dinner with my mate before she leaves for work.”

“You can eat later,” Echo shot back. “That is, if you still feel hungry after this. Besides, Ely was already done, just whiling away time and gazing at you adoringly.”

“True,” a woman said, laughter in her voice. “Anyway, I really must leave. I’ll see you later, my love.”

A long, drawn sigh. “You hurried her off.”

“Ely is her own mistress,” Echo countered. “No one tells her what to do.”

A soft grunt. Footsteps sounded as they drew closer. “So, what’s gotten you behaving like a jitterbug?”

“Oh, well, if you’re not interested, you can find out later,” Echo said.

“Hey, hold it,” he grumbled. “I’ve only known you a short while, and already you’re driving me crazy.”

Echo snorted. “Now you sound like Aethan.”

Nia rested her chin on her arms folded over the railing, listening to their easy camaraderie. While she was beyond ecstatic to have finally found her sister, it was hard to breathe past the pain fisting her chest. Lightly, she touched the spot on her brow where Lore had kissed her goodbye?—

“Nia, I want you to meet someone,” Echo called out softly.

With a shuddering inhale, Nia pulled on her composed mask and turned. A tall, striking guy with topaz eyes and bronze skin stood just behind Echo.

He stared at her, blinked, then went pale beneath his tan complexion like he’d seen a ghost. “What?—?”

“I know,” Echo murmured. “Nia, this is?—”

“No.” He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples.

Nia eyed Echo warily, mouthed, “Is he okay?”

A smile curved Echo’s lips, and she nodded.

“That’s not her name,” he rasped as if he couldn’t breathe. “It’s something else…”

Nia frowned. She’d never met him before, yet she felt a pull—a draw—to him that came from deep within her.

She didn’t like it. Not one bit. He was a stranger.

Those topaz eyes snapped open, a searing yellow edged with silver. Of course, he was otherworldly, too. Maybe that was the draw?

“Who are you?” she breathed.

His throat worked as he swallowed. “Rania.”

Nia blinked. “How do you know my name?”

“Because the past comes to me in drips,” he whispered.

“Nia?” Echo sported a soft smile. “This is our big brother, Nate. Or Ketan. It’s what our parents called him. And I was Eshana.”

“You never changed your name,” he rasped, his gaze skimming her face several times. Then he glanced at Echo and back at her.

“It’s what my p-parents always called me…” Nia found it hard to speak. “He’s m-my—our brother?”

In a single step, Nate closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. It felt like home, and the tears she could no longer hold fell.

He reached out and dragged Echo into the fold, and Nia hugged them both. Yet, deep within, her happiness wasn’t complete. The sheer desolation made her feel as if she were drowning, and there was no end to the suffocating pain.

With a wobbly breath, Nia stepped back and swiped her wet face with the sleeve of her sweater. “I-I have so many questions.”

“We’ll fill you in,” Echo said.

“Come, let’s get out of the cold.” Nate ushered them into the boathouse, which had been converted into a cozy apartment. Soft lights illuminated the couches, armchairs, and coffee table in the living room, and brighter lights lit the galley kitchen.

“Tea, coffee, something stronger?” he asked, his hands trembling slightly as he reached for the mugs. “It sure feels like we all need one.”

Nia shook her head.

“Cocoa,” Echo said, and Nia nodded.

“Just as well we have that here. Well, Hedori made sure of it, I should say. Three cocoas coming up.” He strode for the kitchen, stacked the used dishes, and put them in the sink.

“I didn’t know you liked cocoa, too,” Echo said, taking a seat on one of the bar stools with a low backrest at the counter separating the kitchen from the living room.

Nate glanced back, his gaze shifting between them again. “I don’t, but this is a family reunion, and I can’t be the odd one out, so cocoa it is.”

A little smile tugged at Nia’s mouth as she took a seat at the counter, watching her twin and their brother argue over cocoa.

God! She had family.

She lowered her head and rubbed her burning eyes.

“Nia?”

At Nate’s soft voice, she looked up.

“Do you recall how you were separated from us?” he asked.

“No. I always thought my late parents were my biological ones. I mean, they treated me well…” She tugged the sleeves of her sweater over her icy fingers, realizing Echo did the same thing, too. “Apparently, an angel found me wounded in some alley. He healed me, cleared my memories, and gave me to a childless couple in New Orleans.”

Nate’s mouth tightened.

“Do you know what happened to our parents?” she asked.

He raked back his raven hair. “I don’t recall much of that night, just bits,” he said. “We were returning from somewhere, and a mugging happened. I remember the gunshots. Our father died instantly, but our mother… She hung on to life and told me to run. I did.” Pain darkened his eyes, and lines bracketed his mouth. “What hits me hard is, how could I not remember you both? I mean, I’m older. It’s like all my memories were stripped away even before I ran from the attack. There are so many damn holes.”

He grabbed his cell from the counter and made a call. “My sisters are here with me. We need to talk.”

His jaw etched in stone, Nate tossed his cell down, filled a saucepan with milk, and set it on the stove. He retrieved a can of cocoa then grabbed three mugs from the dishrack, leaving them on the counter.

Nia had the distinct impression he was keeping busy so he wouldn’t punch something. She ran her finger over the multiple studs in her ear and gave Echo a quick look. The worry in her tense expression had Nia’s nerves knotting.

The door behind them slid open, and Nia glanced back. Michael entered, followed by Echo’s mate, Aethan.

His expression stony, Nate said, “Ely should be here for this.”

Michael nodded as Aethan crossed to Echo on her other side. “You okay?” he asked.

“I’m happy. I finally have my sister and brother.” She smiled.

His gaze tender, he brushed the shallow dimple on her chin with his knuckles.

Memories surged. A pang of pain wrenched her heart, remembering Lore doing the same to her. She looked away.

“Do we have any more siblings hiding somewhere?” Nate demanded, glaring at the archangel, who settled against the counter opposite him. “Because I swear, Michael, if it’s the last thing I do, those involved will face my wrath.”

“Oh, you can count me in on that,” Aethan added, his tone rivaling an iceberg.

The archangel sighed. “No, no other siblings.”

The enormity of angels playing with their lives, resulting in the shitty past they all had endured, slammed into Nia like a club over the head. And she gritted her teeth, wanting vengeance, but there was nothing she could do.

The front door opened again. A tall woman dressed all in black hurried inside. “Nate, what?—”

She stopped dead, her gaze bouncing between all of them, where they gathered in the kitchen.

“What is it?” In a blink, she appeared at Nate’s side. The overhead light cast a golden glow over her pale hair fastened into a shoulder-length French braid. “What happened?”

This woman was otherworldly, too, like Aethan, her brother, and Echo.

Wait! How could her siblings be otherworldly and immortal when she was mortal ?

“Ely,” Nate said, putting his hand on her lower back. “This is Nia, my other sister.”

“Wow, just wow!” Ely gaped at them. “When Echo said she had a surprise, I didn’t realize this was what she had in store for us! It’s amazing. I get to meet Nia—and I have verbal diarrhea.” She laughed, and Nia found herself smiling, already liking the woman. “I’m so excited. Nate finally has his family. Those darn angels certainly did an adept job of keeping you all apart.”

“They have.” Nate rubbed his mate’s back, expression still hewn in stone.

“I know why the angels were after me,” Echo said. “I mean, when I died?—”

“What?” Nia blinked. “You died? But you’re alive—wait. Is that how you became otherworldly? I feel your aura. It’s different from a human’s.”

“I did.” Echo grimaced. “A rejected date who wouldn’t take no for an answer. He shot me. It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in later.”

Overwhelmed, Nia massaged her achy temples. “Just like me, a date who wanted my blood, or, more accurately, to be his everlasting blood bank. But Lore killed him.”

Her stomach churned just saying his name. Remembering…

“I’m glad,” Echo murmured, her gaze soft with understanding. “Oh, and I see auras, too, but in colors that differentiate between species.”

“I don’t exactly see them. I sense them. The local Otiums have an underlying smell of ash and don’t feel so abrasive. But those from the Dark Realm, it’s like a brush of acid against my psyche, and there’s the sulfuric stench…” Nia frowned. “My stalker-date had found a way to hide his when he came after me. And that’s why I thought he was a local Otium,” she said, feeling like an idiot.

“They always find ways to get what they want by using any means,” Nate said, folding his arms over his chest.

Nia shivered and tugged her sleeves over her chilly fingers again. “I learned that too late. Except for demons, I hadn’t met any more otherworldly beings until now. Angels feel like a brush of ice against my psyche.”

“Makes sense,” Aethan drawled. “All of them are stuck-up assholes.”

“Please,” Nate muttered dryly. “Don’t lump me in with those angels. I was thrown amongst you lot not so long ago and resurrected as one of them. By the way,” he told Michael, “You’re all boneheaded bastards.”

Michael snorted.

Nia frowned. So, was Nate an angel? She let her mind’s shields crack open a little and felt the slight icy slide against her psyche.

Before she could ask, her brother was speaking again, “Since my change, something has been nagging at me. What are the angels so afraid of that they would harm the psionics?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Aethan gripped the low backrest of Echo’s bar chair. “Angels are so high up in their own asses with pride and sanctimonious shit, they’ll let no weak human possess the powers of their most formidable kind. Nope, can’t have that now, can they?” he muttered. “They just might bring down the powers that be.”

Nia clenched her hands, the buzzing in them no longer constant, but she could feel the changes deep within her. They existed. Still, her powers weren’t really dangerous. She couldn’t kill anyone.

“So, that’s why they separated us and had our parents killed?” Echo whispered.

Nia jumped off the stool, anger sweeping through her. “They destroyed our family, caused us untold pain because of their damn fears?” Her gaze settled on the archangel. “We were children, but of course, you angels don’t care, do you?” Her last encounter with that Throne was still too fresh in her mind. She pressed a palm to her roiling belly. “One of you might have put a protection spell on me, but it doesn’t change the facts. Y-you all shattered our f-family.”

Nate scowled, his eyes shards of ice.

Michael sighed, then gave a single nod. He didn’t defend himself.

“Much as I hate those holier-than-thou bastards,” Aethan said, “Michael wasn’t a part of their machinations. This was the seraph’s doing.”

Michael lifted an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you actually came to my defense.”

“And now I regret it,” came the dry retort.

Michael shook his head, seeming a little amused. “No, I wasn’t aware of what they did to your family until two years ago when I learned the truth.”

“But why kill us?” Nate demanded, switching off the stove. “I mean, I was lethally wounded. Nia was shot, so death was her end, too. They wanted Echo to be their Healer of the Veils and could have simply taken her. Then, one of them decided to save Nia. None of this is making any fucking sense!”

Nia remained near the fridge, frowning at the discrepancies.

“They couldn’t take Echo because her powers hadn’t come into being yet,” Aethan said, taking the seat Nia had vacated. “Those duplicitous bastards probably wanted no weak mortal in their midst if her power failed to awaken.”

Michael nodded. “When Marmaroth heard about the annihilation of Watchers’ descendants, he arrived a tad too late,” he explained. “Nate had already lost his mortal life. Eshana had run off, and Rania was dying. Before humans gathered at the scene of the crime, he took you?—”

“No!” Nia doubled over, a vicious pain tearing through her like someone had shoved an icepick into her chest and torn out her heart.

“Nia!” Nate shot to her side, but Michael, being closer, had already grabbed her.

“What’s wrong?” her brother demanded.

Nia shook her head, gasping for breath at the agony consuming her. She pushed away from Michael and stumbled across the room for the door, needing air.

“Nia—”

“Nate, let me,” Echo called out as Nia lurched out onto the wooden deck.

She grasped the railing, breathing in copious amounts of chilly, briny air. Tears drenched her eyes, distorting the moon and smudging its cold light over the undulating sea.

“What happened?” Echo appeared at her side, Ely flanking her.

“I don’t know. No…” she moaned, tears falling, drowning in anguish.

“Dammit!” Echo grunted, rubbing her own chest. “I feel your pain. What the hell is going on?”

“We have you,” Ely said quietly from her other side.

“Nia, describe what’s happening, then maybe we can help you,” Echo begged.

“It hurts so badly, I can’t breathe…” She sobbed, sinking to the deck, arms wrapped around her body as she rocked herself, so sure her heart would explode. “I think I’m dying?—”

“What?” Echo rasped, crouching next to her.

“It’s the mate bond,” Michael said.

His words punctured through the excruciating pain. Nia lifted her drenched eyes to him. “What?”

“What?” Echo and Ely asked simultaneously.

“What mate bond?” Nate snapped, frost literally crystallizing in his gaze. “Who the fuck would dare to mate my sister and then callously break it without any warning?”

“I doubt he knew.” Michael’s gaze skimmed her face. “Since she’s still breathing, Lore must have figured it out just in time before…” He clamped his mouth shut.

Nia struggled to her feet, emptiness thrumming where her heart once beat, the void aching in its intensity. “Just before what, Michael?”