Page 64 of Claimed by the Fallen
“You aren’t a Nephilim,” he correctsme.
I’m undeterred. “But you thought Iwas.”
Zeke’s sudden departure hadn’t been the best way to keep me hidden. If anything, his behavior was negligent. His leaving left me open for anyone else to find me. I was just lucky it’d been Adrian and not someone else who might’ve considered me the abomination most Fallen considered Nephilim tobe.
Zeke doesn’t speak. I can practically see his brain working to find a way to end my line of questioning. His muscles are tense and he’s avoiding meeting my eyes. He’s uncomfortable, and I plan to use it to myadvantage.
Inhaling a deep breath, I prepare myself to steer the conversation to volatile waters. “Zeke… did you know I was yourbashert?”
He is careful to not show any emotion. “No.”
Liar.
“Come on, Zeke.” I lean toward him. There is still one seat cushion between us, but I can see the emotion in his eyes more clearly. “You knew I was adopted, and I didn’t have a Fallen father looking out for me. Why else would youleave?”
I hold my breath and continue to watch him. Indecision swirls in hisirises.
I rock the boat. “Is being yourbashertreally so bad?” I feel my face heat as I try to adopt a suggestive tone. Again, I admit Annie’s right about my need to practice flirting. I’m horrible atit.
Zeke rears back like I slapped him. “You don’t know what being an angel’sbashertreallymeans.”
Thatwas not what I expected him to say. “It means I’m your soulmate.” The words waver slightly, but I do my best to keep my flirtationgoing.
Zeke scoffs. “Veronica, this isn’t like the stories. There is no happy ending for me, my brother, or the light Fallen. I left Valley Lake because I didn’t want to be here when your powers emerged. I’d hoped you could escape this life, but Fate seems determined to drag you into thismess.”
I’d been hoping to make Zeke so uncomfortable he would leave. He hadn’t seemed inclined to discuss the soulmate topic before but hearing him use my full name in such a dejected tone pains me. I bite my lip and look away. I need to not care about Zeke’s feelings. I’m trying to rile him up to leave, and I can’t do that if I’m concerned with causing himdiscomfort.
“Believe me,” he continues after a short bout of silence, “I do not plan on staying once your parents are safe and the demon nest isemptied.”
My neck turns so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. “What?”
He hadn’t said the words meanly, but they feel like a punch to the gutnonetheless.
Zeke is calm as he says, “Us being around only draws attention to you. You will be safer if we aren’t in your life. I hope the others willagree.”
I don’t know why, but the thought of never seeing Zeke, or any of the other Fallen angels, robs me of breath. My chest squeezes painfully, rivaling the debilitating feelings from the first day of my transformation. My inner voice screams for me to not let Zeke abandon me. I need him and all of the other Fallen in mylife.
“B-but who is going to help me control my abilities?” I think of Adrian and how he’d once been willing to help me. Something tells me I may have burned thatbridge.
“Once your fully fledged, that won’t takelong.”
Zeke’s so calm—so matter-of-fact. I’m sitting here, feeling like an abandoned puppy, but he is not bothered by his imminent departure from mylife.
Periwinkle huffs and looks up at me with her large, brown eyes. She can sense my unhappiness. I scratch her ears and ask, “How long until I’m ‘f-fully fledged’?” My throat tries to close on the unfamiliar phrase, but I push the wordsout.
“It should betomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Again, my neck whips toward him. “Whytomorrow?”
“Tomorrow marks one week since you turned eighteen. Angelic youth develop all of their powers in their first week ofadulthood.”
“B-but that doesn’t make sense. Other than the Angel Fire, I haven’t shown any powers.” A fact for which I’m grateful, but the idea my Fallen protectors may leave me to fend for myself isterrifying.
I know they won’t go until the demons are no longer a threat, but what will happen if someone else finds me? Someone even more dangerous? Are the Fallen really set on leaving me to fend for myself before I have proper training to do so? One week doesn’t seem like enough time to completely adjust to the outrageous changes I’m supposedly goingthrough.
Stopit.
I snap out of my panic before it can spiral out ofcontrol.
