MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) (25 page)

“Hey, honey,” she greets in
a grim tone of voice. “Where are you? Are you ok?”

“Yeah. We’re in South
Carolina. I want to come see Evelyn. How is she?”

“Not so good, but she wants
to see you.” Tears blur my vision, and she adds, “What do you mean, ‘we’?”.

“I mean, Solas is with me.
So is Cass and Beck.”

“The Griffins?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know, Ivy. That
might not be a good idea. Michael will be here tomorrow.”

“Can you talk to him?
They’re my friends too, Alice.”

“I can’t make any promises,
but I'll try.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you ok?” she repeats.

“Everyone keeps asking me
that,” I sigh.

“We worry about you. Jack
told us he wanted to bind himself with you. He was waiting to get permission
from Michael. I’m so sorry, sweetie.” I hear her sniffle.

My throat tightens, and I
can't speak much longer, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.”

“Bye,” I croak. I replace
the receiver and wipe my face before facing Solas. “I’m going to take a
shower.” He nods as I pass him to reach the bathroom.

I close the door and slide
to the floor behind it. Pulling my knees to my chest, I hide my face in my
arms. My eyes burn, my throat burns, my body aches, and my heart is in a
million pieces in the hollow of my stomach.
I
miss you Jack.
I tear the cloth from my arm in frustration and throw it on
the tile floor. Turning on the water till it’s scorching hot, I step into it
fully clothed, not caring about anything but the pain of the water singeing my
skin. I welcome the intensity of the sting to take away all other agony. My
quiet weeping echoes off the walls of the stall, my head throbs, and I fold
myself in
to
a ball on the stall floor. Strong arms pick me up and
envelope my body
as his emotions flow to me through his touch
.
Worry, responsibility, adoration
.
“I can’t do this, Solas,” I whimper. “I can’t do this.”

He smooths my hair back and
pulls my face up to look at him. His expression is as firm as his command, “You
can and you will. The pain you feel will eat you alive, but only if you let it.
You're a warrior, Ivy. You're stronger than this.”

“How am I supposed to let
him go?”

“You don’t. You keep him in
your heart and let it drive you to overcome your enemies.”

“How am I supposed to do
that? I’ve never felt this weak.” My head falls to my chest.

“Look at me,” he demands in
a soft deep voice. “You keep him with you... Always. But bury your pain deep
inside. Don’t let anyone see you like this. They'll use it against you. You're
Ivy Harris. Pestilence to Darkness. You
are
Death. You will hunt down your enemies and make them suffer for all the pain
they've caused you. I'll be here with you as long as I can. I’m here when you
need me, and even when you may think you don’t.”

“How do you always know how
to sooth my soul?”

“You forget that I used to
be able to see your thoughts whenever I wanted,” he grins. “Now, it's only when
your emotions are extreme and you drop your guard. I know you. I’ve seen the
fight in you. I’ve seen the suffering. There's sorrow, and then there's
strength. Nothing has ever kept you down. I won’t let you pull yourself under
now.”

I nod and he rises with me
in his arms, shutting the water off in the process. He places me on the floor
beside the stall and wraps a towel around me. “I’ll be right back.” He stoops
down to me and tucks a hair behind my ear. Gazing into his ice blue eyes, I find
it hard to look away.

“Where are you going?” I
ask, finding my voice again.

“Well, our clothes are
soaked,” he chuckles. “I'll see if the Griffins will
go
into town and get us something dry to wear.”

I snicker softly with a
twitch in the corner of my lips, “Sorry.”
I’m
so pathetic.

Solas grins as he stands
back up. “I’ll be just a few minutes.” I give him a nod before he leaves.

I wipe my face and smooth
my hair back. Standing up, I let the towel drop to the floor. My clothes stick
to my skin, and I have to tug my jeans down forcefully to step out of them.
Crossing my arms in front of my stomach, I lift my shirt over my head. It drops
to the floor with a splat. I pick up the towel Solas draped over me and bend
over to towel dry my hair.

“Oh! Sorry!” Solas
stammers.

I whip around with the
towel covering me. Thankfully, Solas has already turned his back to me. My
cheeks flare with embarrassment. “Sorry. I thought you would be longer.”

“Uh… Yeah. They may be gone
for a few hours.”

“You can turn around now.”
I'm comfortable enough around him that being wrapped in a towel doesn't bother
me.
At least I still had my underwear on.
I didn’t give him a full show.
Solas turns around keeping his gaze down.
“You probably want to get out of your wet clothes too. There are more dry
towels in here if you would like,” I point behind me as I step out of the
bathroom.

Solas nods with his head
down and closes himself into the bathroom. I pull back the covers on the bed
closest to me. The soft cotton of the white sheets caress my bare skin as I
slide under the covers. Tucking the pillow under my head, I lay on my side and
stare at the empty room as the sound of running water drifts from behind the
bathroom door.
He’s taking a shower.
My mind begins to wander. I imagine the water running over the enormous muscles
in his shoulders, his chest, his biceps, and his impeccable abs.
What's wrong with me?
Guilt instantly
settles over me, and I feel sick.

The water shuts off, and I
squeeze my eyes, blinking my thoughts away. The door opens, and the steam flows
into the room. Solas appears in my line of sight and turns between the beds.
His towel sags dangerously low on his hips and is tucked in on the side. The
‘V’ of his hip muscles flex with each step. His long black hair rests on the
mounds of his shoulders
as d
roplets of water
clinging to the tips of his hair before
cascading
down his bare chest.

“Are you ok?” he repeats
for the millionth time.

I roll my eyes, “I really
wish people would stop asking me that.”

“I hope I didn’t embarrass
you earlier.” He sits on the bed across from me and leans on his knees with his
elbows.

“I’ll live. It’s not like
you’ve never seen a half-naked woman before,” I grin.

Solas harrumphs. “I have to
admit, it's been a long time. It threw me off a bit.”

“Are you blushing?” I
tease.

He clears his throat and
shakes his head in response, “If someone would've told me weeks ago that I
would be in this situation, I never would’ve believed them.”

“And what situation is
that? Babysitting a broken angel on the coast of South Carolina in a beach
front cottage?” I chide.

He looks at me with
seriousness, “No. The situation is I’m sitting here in only a towel, while
trying to protect someone I care about and help her get to her destination so
she may be able to say goodbye to the Archangel she loves profoundly. All the
while, envying the love they shared.” I'm stunned silent. This is the first
time he's voiced an emotion to me. “Not babysitting. Not a broken angel… You're
mending. You're stronger and more powerful than you know.”

“Solas, I—” I start to
whisper sadly before he interrupts.

“
—
Get some rest, princess. We'll leave in a few hours
while it's still dark. That way we can fly most of the way without being seen.”

“Ok.” I close my eyes. “And
stop calling me 'princess',” I mumble.

His fingertips caress my
forehead and push my hair from my eyes as he says, “I don't use it as a title,
but as an endearment.” He kisses my temple and butterflies swarm my stomach.
Love, need, regret, pride, loyalty.
“Sweet dreams, Ivy,” Solas whispers into my ear, and I drift asleep.

“You have
got
to be
kidding me!” I scream from the bathroom, holding up the black leather pants and
tight strapless black corset Solas gave me to change into. “I know you can hear
me, Beckett! What the hell were you thinking!” I yell as I squeeze into the
garments they acquired as I slept.

The Griffin brothers cackle
from the bedroom. Throwing the door open, I scowl at the brothers. Their
laughter dies down. Solas is fully dressed in jeans and a dark
blue
cotton shirt that strains against the muscles of his
chest and threatens to rip at the bulge of his biceps as he crosses his arms
over his chest. I see him trying to hide his amusement. “What the hell were you
thinking? I can’t go to Evelyn’s looking like this!”

“We thought it would be
hot,” Beckett shrugs, trying to reign in his chuckles.

“I look like a hooker!” I
shout, throwing my arms out.

“No, you do not. You look
like a bad ass,” Cassius smiles with sincerity.

“Whatever. Is everybody
ready?” I grumble, pushing my way past them and opening the front door of the
cottage.

We cross the threshold to
the shared covered porch, and Solas holds out a black leather cuff to me with
three silver buckles across it, “Here. This should hold up better.”

I reach out for the
thoughtful gift. “Thank you,” my frustration subsides at the sweet gesture.

He helps me slide it on and
tightens the buckles for me. “There. Now, we’re ready.” He grins and a cheeky smile
forms on my lips.

Filing out
,
we stroll down the beach to where the sand is
secluded. The moon is full and reflecting off of the wave’s caps. Solas and the
two brothers take their shirts off and tuck them into their back pockets. We
release our wings and rocket into the sky.
Wise owls, my ass,
I think
back to this morning, viewing the wings of the Griffins as wise owls.
The more they loosen up around me, the more
immature they behave.

The air begins to chill,
but it isn’t uncomfortable with the rise in my body’s temperature. I find
myself flying faster than before as
the
need comes over me to
get to my destination as quickly as possible. I try to repress the pain as
Solas advised and bury it deep inside, erasing all existence of hurt. The dark
ink of my anger bleeds through at the thought of my last words to Jack, "
I
love you".
As hard as it is, I force control over my memories and push
them back. I know I'll regret it, but I need to entomb my emotions before they
take over every waking moment. I need to be strong. I can’t afford to be weak.
Michael's going to be there, and plan to demand answers.
How could they let
this happen?

Solas falls back to my
side, “We need to land soon. Daylight will be breaking.”

I nod and search the
expanse of city beneath us. I spot a dark football field. “How about there?” I
point.

“That’s good. Out of
sight.”

We land on the sideline of
a desolate field that appears to have been unused for years. Retracting our
wings, the guys put their shirts back on, and I pull the ponytail out of my
hair to comb through the tangles with my fingers.

“This way,” Cassius says,
gesturing with his thumb and ushers us through a break in the metal fence line.

“We need a car,” I note.

“I’m starving. Can we get
some food first?” Beckett whines.

I glance to Solas in
question. I want to keep going. I don’t want to stop to eat. “We all need to
eat to keep our energy up,” he insists.

We progress around the
school building hiding the football field. The horizon glows in pinks and oranges
as the rising sun glares off the building. Some of the windows have been busted
out by vandals, and gang signs have been spray painted over its red bricks. We
journey along the side of the road until we come upon a mom and pop Mexican
food restaurant open for breakfast. My mouth waters at the thought of real
breakfast burritos and hot sauce. I coax, “This looks good.”

Without waiting for their
agreement, I open the door and saunter in. Spices maul my senses. Closing my
eyes, I take in a big whiff of the freshly made Mexican food. I step up to the
counter and request a soda and two breakfast burritos. The older woman behind
the counter looks at me as if she's offended, eying my apparel. I smile as I
give her an excuse for my attire, “Late night clubbing.” She hands me a cup,
and I leave the counter to fill it at the soda fountain. The guys order their
food while I find a booth towards the back. Claiming the window seat against
the back wall, I scan the businesses surrounding the restaurant. Solas sits next
to me and Beckett slides into the opposite bench across from
us
with Cassius blocking him in.

“Do we know where we are?”
I prompt, searching around the table.

“Just outside Jackson.
We’re close. It should only take about six and a half to seven hours. Which
will put us there between one or two o’clock,” Solas claims.

“And there just so happens
to be a dealership next door,” Beckett points out the window.

“Perfect,” I smirk as I set
my eyes on a shiny silver Camaro surrounded by pickup trucks.
I want that
one. It’s got to be fifth generation. Please be a standard.

Our food's brought to us
,
and we quickly delve into it. I bite into the soft
tortilla of my breakfast burrito, closing my eyes and savoring the cornucopia
of chorizo, egg, potato, and cheese. Cass and Beck begin disassembling their
tacos and discarding everything but the meat as mirror images, making me see
double. Beck catches my scrunched up expression. "What?" he probes
with a curious raise of his brow.

"What are you guys
doing? And why does your food smell like some horrible chili cook off gone
wrong?"

"Hey! Barbacoa's the
shit! That
smell
is all the chili peppers
soaked into the
meat. It's the best part," Beckett defends.

Solas chimes in nonchalantly
as he peels the husks from his tamales, "It smells like piss."

My jaw hits the floor, and
Cassius backfires, "You are one to speak, I am sure you cannot taste your
food over the spicy salsa you drench it in."

I decide it's
Pick on
Solas Day
, "Yeah, Chief! Your makin' my eyes water over here! What's
up with that?"

Solas smirks, "It's
habanero salsa. I appreciate extreme flavorful foods. If it's supposed to be
spicy, I want it as hot as I can get it, make me sweat. If it's supposed to be
salty, I want my skin to shrivel up like a snail. If it's supposed to be sweet,
I want it to rot my teeth out of my skull. Habanero's considered one of the
hottest peppers in the world. Not many people can handle it. Would you like to
try it?"

I drawl, "
Noooo
thank you."
I may be a bad ass when I have to be, but it doesn't mean I
go looking for torture to put myself through.

He gives me a knowing look
and surprises me with his telepathy
,
"
Touch
é
,
princess."

We continue our silent
conversation as we finish up our meal. I ask,
How are you able to hear my
thoughts right now? You said it was only happening when my emotions were high.

Solas answers,
"Happiness
is an emotion."

Casting a sidelong glance,
I notice the corner of his mouth turn up tightly
as he chews,
and my own smile touches my inner voice,
Yeah. I guess so.

"It's good to see you
smiling."

Thanks. So why do you like
your foods to be so extreme?

"When beings are not
on Earth, we project our essences as a physical body. Whether above
,
or below
, or in between
, our projection is still corporal within that realm, but it doesn't
require sustenance. Therefore, there's no food on either plane. When I was
first sent to the surface, I didn't know that my body needed food. Once I
figured it out, I fell in love with flavor and wanted to experience it to its
full extent."

Wow. When were you first
sent here?

"A very long time
ago."
Our conversation blows my
mind with the concept. Solas clears his throat as he picks up the trash from
his meal, "We should get a move on."

As we approach the hole-in-the-wall
dealership, I point the Camaro out to the guys, “That one.”

“We’ll fit better in one of
the trucks,” Cassius points out.

I argue, “Yeah, but she’ll
get us there faster
,
and we’ll have to stop less for gas.”

“If that’s what you want,
that's what you'll get,” Solas says as he walks inside the small
,
shack
of an office
. Cass smiles at me
as Beck shakes his head with an amused huff.

I stride over to the car
and peek at the price tag. “Where's the money coming from to pay for all of
this? The stay at the cottage? The clothes? The food? The car?”

“We have lived a very long
time. Money is something we will never run out of,” Cassius says with a sassy
expression.

“So you’re loaded?” I ask.

“In more ways than one,”
Beckett says, bouncing his eyebrows at me and winking
suggestively
.

I roll my eyes and cross my
arms over my chest. Solas comes back with keys in hand. We peel all the
stickers off and throw them in the trash next to the building. Solas reaches
out to open the driver side door, and I snatch the keys from his hand. “Uh-uh.
I’m driving,” I insist with a wink and a smile.

He appears concerned, “Are
you sure?”

“If there's one thing you
should never doubt about me, it's my ability to drive,” I say mischievously.

“Ok, princess,” he
surrenders begrudgingly and skirts to the other side of the car.

I open the driver door and
push the seat forward, “Hop in boys.” They moan and reluctantly concede,
squishing into the back seat uncomfortably, but I really don’t care. My
excitement of finally being in control of our destination has my heart bouncing
in my chest. Solas climbs into the passenger seat as I throw the driver's seat
back into position. I adjust my seat and slip the key into the ignition.
“Seatbelts!” I say cheerfully, starting the engine. She roars to life, and the
dash lights up in a white glow. Pushing in the clutch, I shake the short
leather shifter within its neutral position. “Who’s up for a little wager?”

“What do you have in mind?”
Solas asks with an impish grin.

“Well, all three of you
obviously have way too much money,” I laugh. “You said we would get there about
one o’clock at the earliest… I say, I can get us there by eleven thirty,” I
challenge.

“Alright, speed racer. What
do you wager?” he inquires as the Griffins taunt us from the back seat.

“The wager is this: If I
get us there by eleven thirty, you
pay for my college tuition and
let me stay in Red Meadow to finish. If I fail to get
us there by that time, I'll drop out and return to The Keep with you.”

“It wouldn’t be easy to
protect you there if you stay,” he counters.

I'm not about to let him
kill my buzz. I tilt my head and chirp, “Have faith.” I stick out my hand to
seal our pact, “Deal?”

Solas shakes his head and
heaves a sigh before shaking my hand, “Deal. But there's no way you can shave
off an hour and half. Maybe if we
we
re flying, but not if
we drive.”

“Like I said, have faith.”
I slam into first gear and keep the clutch down as I accelerate. The gravel
under the tires is thrown around as I spin out of the dealership and onto the
blacktop. I
pull down
into second gear, and we
are off like a rocket. As I weave between other cars on the road, I glimpse the
brother’s faces in my rearview mirror and turn the radio up laughing. Cass is
wide eyed while Beck appears to be highly entertained.

I revel
in
the
texture
of the leather
interior. Its modern design, ambient lights, and chrome accents give an
inviting sense of luxury. It's heaven and takes away from the monotonous
expanse of highway that seems to go on forever. Even pushing one hundred and
twenty miles per hour, our destination feels days away rather than hours. I
pull off into a gas station a couple of hours later to top off the tank. Solas
lets Beck out on his side of the car, and I let Cass out on mine. The Griffins
groan, stretching out their legs, and my hands shake with nerves
,
realizing how much closer we are to Evelyn’s estate.

“Does anyone want
anything?” Solas calls over his shoulder.

“Cigarettes!” I yell before
he enters the store.

The digital numbers on the
pump beep and reset to zero. I fill up the tank, and Solas comes back with a
pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and three bottles of water.