Divinity: Immolation: Book Three (The Divinity Saga) (24 page)

“Nothing bad or negative. She asked who I was to you and I told her. Now can we not ruin the mood and this birthday dinner for her?”

I already knew that was not all that Edanai told her. It couldn’t have been, not for Starling to be that cold and stand-offish towards me after what happened right before I popped into the human realm very briefly.

“You already have. Thanks a lot.”
I hissed at her sharply as I turned to head back towards the hallway leading towards the front door, and then ghosted outside.

XXV
III. Starling

E
danai’s words tumbled around in my head like a wild and poisonous bee. I didn’t remember her at first, and other than her being absolutely gorgeous, like the other fallen women here, I had no reason to not like her.

She was a really, really close friend of Cam’s. She has been for a while and she occasionally stays here…with him.

I didn’t think anything bad about it at first, until the whole question of ‘what kind of things had Cam done as an incubus before me?’ began to rear its ugly head. I hated that I even asked or contemplated wanting to know, especially since I already told myself that it was better that I didn’t know.

He was with me now
and he loved me just like I loved him. We were about to become parents to two, unique children, soon. It should have been all that I needed to care about and focus on.

But no. I had to ask and she certainly held nothing back whatsoever.

A small part of me did wonder if maybe she was adding in as much detail as she could on purpose, which had me suspicious. Not only did she confirm that she and Cam had been together for a very long time, but that it was a really close and really intimate relationship for a very long time too. Meaning, that they’ve engaged in all sorts of sexual acts and activities together more times than the earth was old, probably. That knowledge, coupled with the fact that she’s been living here with him now, didn’t sit very well with the stretches of my imagination.

Then, to add more venom for me to swirl around in my brain, she proceeded to remind me that Cam was an incubus, and the number of women he’s been with in his existence as a fallen, could probably span the number of stars in the galaxies. The wild, poisonous bee she had let loose in my brain began to sting and make me
crazy with jealousy and anger.

I was beyond angry at both her
and him.

Why would she care to say things that would bother me, if she weren’t trying to cause issues between me and Cam? And if she was trying to cause issues, maybe she still had feelings for him and she was jealous of me. That part would have been hard to believe, looking at her and looking at me. She was this tall, Amazonian-like, voluptuous yet lean, olive-skinned, ebony-haired goddess; and I was a short, nearly flat-chested human girl with no magic or wings.

I tried not to let those thoughts get in the way of the here and now but it couldn’t be helped. The longer I sat with the knowledge, the more resentful and bitter I became. Thoughts and questions began to culminate in my head like, what have I gotten myself into? What future could we both possibly have together, immortal or not, and children or not? How were we going to raise them? What would they become like? Would I have to worry about him getting the urge to go on a screwing spree again? That was the most agonizing of all. How could I possibly be enough for him? But even worse…what if something happened to Cam? He’d be gone forever. I swallowed the emotional lump in my throat and quickly wiped away a tear that had formed and began to fall.

I was making myself ill with both worry, anger, and jealousy until the very thought of even looking at him made me upset. I had brought all that onto myself by asking for the very thing that I should have just left a mystery.

I felt horrible after having reacted to him the way I did, given the fact that he had no clue as to why I was upset when he came back. He’s been doing nothing but romancing, protecting, and going above and beyond his own comfort zone to make me happy in various ways and acts; and here I was being angry over things that he did before me, not during…maybe. Then, to make me feel even lower, he had gone through all of this trouble to acknowledge a day that no longer held significance for me now that I was immortal. He had obviously planned a huge party for all of us to enjoy in his home, complete with gifts for me.

I was so confused. I didn’t know what I wanted or what to think. Did any of that matter? I didn’t want the issue to ruin this party, especially since everything looked so festive, every
one was here and in a good mood despite everything that went down and my second ‘almost’ abduction, once again.

Though he was gorgeous as hell in the dark red, silk shirt that he magically switched into, which accentuated his flawless tanned skin and dark hair, Cam looked so bewildered and sad just standing there while he
watched all of us carrying on.

I saw him glance at Edanai after she pointed out my seat to me, and then
I noted a flash of anger flicker in his eyes before he turned to leave.

I instantly hopped up to follow him but when he ghosted out
, I stopped.

I don’t think I could open the huge, stone doorway by myself, and I think there was some magic spell carved into that served as a lock anyway.

“Where are you going?”
I called out to him.

It took him a moment to reply. He was probably shocked that I even asked.

“Giving you some space. I’ll be back later, enjoy the party with your friends.”

“I want to enjoy it with you. Come back.”

“I’ll be here when you wake up at daybreak.”

“Daybreak? Are you serious?”
I was getting angry again but for a different reason this time.

“I’ve got something I need to do.”

Like what? More women? I winced and groaned internally; scolding myself for even making that snarky, and tortuous mental comment to myself.

“Now?”

“It shouldn’t take me long. Besides, after the festivities, I want you to rest up. We’re going to be training and training hard starting early tomorrow morning, and I’m going to have to figure out how to get around your condition.”

“I’m not made of glass. I’ll be alright.”

“Still. I love you, Starling.”

I sighed. “
I love you too, Cam. Be safe. I want you here when I wake up first thing.”

“Don’t worry, I will be.”

~~~~****~~~~

The food was amazing and the company even more so. Who would have ever thought that partying with fallen would be this fun and interesting? We all had a blast, dancing, playing, talking, being amazed and charmed by the ma
le fallen and their cool magic.

The weird girl Berith, who was obviously not human though she appeared to be on the surface, seemed friendly enough but something about the way she kept looking at me was starting to get on my nerves. We all finally got in some girl time, and that included enjoying the company of the other female fallen as well. The glamour magic…wickedly awesome.

Spencer being here was a complete shock, especially hearing that he had accepted shunning along with us too. He really didn’t say much to me, and he spent the majority of the time brooding up until all of Cam’s friends got ready to leave. They took everyone, including Lira back to Duriens place in the human realm, where they were all going to stay for right now. Lorelei was irked that she couldn’t remember the exact location of her house, other than it was secluded in the French countryside.

In the morning, Cam’s friends would bring them back and we’d all meet up for the first day of arduous, yet valuab
le training here in the Spirit Realm. That would be the plan for however long it took.

I was told by Rahab, that by placing a feather of their own in and around the house, it would act as a marker or signature to ward off other potential fallen to think twice before entering or attacking.
That made me feel better because I was really worried about Lira. I knew everyone would be extra watchful of her, and Jamie and Spencer would keep her protected. That, I was sure of as well as Devlin’s safety now that she was back.

Speaking of Devlin, she hadn’t said
a word much less displayed any emotion the entire time that she was here. She barely even ate anything. I didn’t expect a thank you from her, it was a given, so I understood her state of mind after all of that. Did she even remember that part? I wondered.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she’s been through and endured, what she’s seen, or what she must be thinking b
eing around all of these fallen, who might be reminding her of the one that she had become close to too. Maybe after a while, she’d come around.

“Have you noticed anything about her that kind of seems…familiar?” I heard whispe
ring coming from the somewhere.

There were only three fallen left; Rahab, Edanai, Atiro,
and then that weird inhuman girl who introduced herself as Berith.

The voices were female but where were they coming from? There was no one in the kitchen or the living room.

“Familiar? Like what? I’m sure she didn’t appreciate you staring at her all night like that either.”

“I wasn’t staring. I was studying.”

“Whatever you want to call it, it was creepy. She was way too nice to tell you off and I was about to do it for her.”

“There’s something about her that I can’t quite place other than she’s definitely dangerous and looks are always deceiving, you know.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, the party is over. You can leave now.”

“Where has Cam`ael been?”

“He’s mad at me.”

“Mad? Over what?”

“Bye, Berith.” The other voice was imperative.

I heard a heavy sigh, mumbling, and then it was quiet.

I waited for Berith to appear from wherever the voices were coming from but she didn’t. Instead, Atiro simply vanished and then I heard someone in the kitchen.

Damn, being around so many supernatural beings was unsettling. I wasn’t too crazy about the whispers, the vanishing, the appearing, and the magic but I supposed I’d better get used to it.

Out of automatic consideration, I began to help with the clean-up. Now that it was quiet, I began to ponder things once again.

“No need to do all of that. I’ll take care of it.” I heard Edanai say from behind me, just as I began to clear away a few plates.

I set them back down slowly and watched her.

Rahab was busy inspecting everything for damage, rearrangement, and messes.

“In case you haven’t figured it out by now, filth and disorder turns Cam`ael into a raving, demonic lunatic. He’s very anal about it.” She then smiled at me.

I returned a weak smile, not really knowing what to say to her at this point.

“I know.” I replied.

She laughed and then paused.

There was a gap of silence that hung in the air, and then she pulled out a chair, sitting down.

“I hope that I didn’t give you the wrong impression about him. I didn’t mean to make it sound as if he was untrustworthy or deceptive, so I apologize for that,”

I tilted my head, wondering why she was backtracking now all of a sudden, and then I slowly sat down across from her.

She held her palm forwa
rd with the other crossed over her middle, “I’m not saying that it isn’t true, just that I shouldn’t have told you any of it.” She clarified.

Then she sighed and rested her forearms on the table, staring down at her long, painted fingernails, “If anything, you’re very fortunate to have him bind himself to you the way he has. He’s absolutely crazy about and
very deeply in love with you.”

I only nodded with a half-smile, thinking about him.

She went on, “There was no mistake that you two ended up together. A relationship between a fallen and a warrior is not something that happens. He took an insane risk but he made a very good choice.”

Her compliment made me raise both brows in surprise.

She finally made eye contact with me again, studying me. “You bring out a softer, more at peace side of him that means a lot for me to see. So I guess I can say it now. I’m jealous of you.”

“Jealous of me?”

She nodded, averting her jewel-like eyes from me.

“You’ve given him the very thing that he’s been searching for and wanting badly since falling. Something that no woman has ever be able to give him, not even me.”

I studied her beautiful, oval shaped face in fascination. What could a being as gorgeous as she was, who could have any male, mortal or immortal that she wanted, and magical abilities and powers, be so sad about?

She hesitated and then her gaze rested on nothing in particular.

“Some of us will never have the very thing we fell in the first place over but Cam`ael does with you, and that gives us all hope for something better
, and possible redemption.” She finished, her eyes finding mine when she said that.

Reading my facial expression, she went on, “A part of him grows in you right now.”

“How did you know about that?” I whispered.

I thought Cam hadn’t told any of his friends yet?

“He didn’t reveal it to me. Believe it or not, Cam`ael is a horrible liar. Very cunning and a great bull-shitter, but a horrible liar. I guess maybe I’ve just known him too long. Anyway, the bottom line is that fallen in general, especially Incubus’, are very sexually potent. Your becoming pregnant was inevitable from the very first time…and that’s all I’ll say about that. Though he will never admit to it, he’s a very caring being with a big heart, and I’m honored to have him as my very close and best friend. But I do have one thing that I feel I should warn you about.”