“Your father showed interest in the beginning,” I said to Blake. “I was hopeful.”
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “If it was just a choice between going to heaven or hell, I think he would have chosen heaven. But choosing between heaven and earth, he’d definitely wanna stay here. He thought they could stop the prophecy and stay on earth. Bad move.”
I knew it bothered him, just like it bothered Kai. Kaidan leaned his head into my hand. His chest swelled and fell with a silent sigh.
“So, what’s everyone gonna do now?” asked Jay.
Kaidan spoke up right away. “I know the first thing I’m going to do.”
Surprised and curious, I leaned to the side so I could see his face better.
“I’m making an anonymous call to the police about Marissa and her trafficking ring.”
“Yes!” I said. I threw my arms around him. Those words made me fall a million times more in love with him. He could bust the madam now with no fear of having it traced back to him.
“Nice,” said Jay. “How ’bout you, Anna?”
Kaidan squeezed my hip. “Anna’s a uni girl now.”
I shook my head. “I’m already missing class by being here, and after all this, I think I need to take the semester off. I don’t really care where I go to school. If you want to stay in L.A.,” I said to Kaidan, “I’ll transfer to a school out there.”
He looked at me, his eyes all melty. “That’d be nice.”
I smiled. It’d be very nice.
“And what about you, Jay?” Kai asked him. “I could hook you up with some people in the recording business or radio shows in L.A. Maybe we could write more music together.”
“For real?” Jay’s aura lit up like an orange firework, and we all laughed. “Dude. I’m there! What do you think, Marna? Wanna live in L.A.?”
“Sounds brilliant to me,” she said. “As long and Blake and Ginger stay in California . . . at least until . . . you know, after the baby.”
The mood of the room sank again. Ginger took her sister’s hand and looked her in the eye.
“I’ll be there.”
Blake had turned, and appeared touched by their interaction. “Hey, Gin. Wanna join the married club while we’re here in Vegas?” He waggled his eyebrows. Surely he was joking.
All eyes were on Ginger.
“No.” Her voice was hard. “I’m never getting married.”
Caterina sniggered. She stared down at her nails and said, “She means that.”
Blake rubbed his chin, undeterred, then raised his pierced brow at her. “All right. Want to move in with me?”
Ginger narrowed her eyes at him, tapping her foot at his side. “You takin’ the mick?”
“Nah. I’m serious.”
“He is,” Caterina muttered.
Ginger sniffed. “Fine.”
“Sweet,” Blake said with a grin.
“I’m not moving in with him!” Caterina crossed her arms and frowned. There was the girl I remembered. When she saw us all looking at her, she uncrossed her arms and dropped her head again.
Ginger smiled. I think she took Caterina’s sassiness as a challenge. “When you see Blake’s house, you might change your mind.”
“What about you, Kope?” Marna asked, shifting the attention.
“I will finish my master’s soon and return to Africa with my brothers. There is much that needs to be done there.”
“And you’re just the man to do it.” Marna winked, and he gave a grateful smile.
I looked at Zania. “Where will you go, Z?”
She sort of shrugged and looked shy.
“You don’t have to decide right now,” I said, just as Kopano blurted, “You would love Malawi.”
Then we all giggled and shifted, trying not to allow the moment to get too awkward. Zania gazed up at Kopano, who watched her with his signature intensity.
“Yes,” she said. “I think I would love Malawi very much.”
Marna clapped her hands.
Caterina made a disgusted sound and spoke fast in her high-pitched little voice. “But . . . you’re all Nephilim. And he is a human!” She pointed at Jay. “I don’t understand this. Are all of you in love?”
We all looked around, taken aback by the question, an allegation that five hours ago would have scared us to death to hear out loud. And then in sync we burst into laughter, because yes. Yes, we were all in love. We’d defied the oppressive rules, fought back, and won. No more hiding. No more running. No more faking. No more fearing.
We were free.
EPILOGUE
Six Years Later . . .
Malawi was everything Kopano had said it would be. Kai and I loved it from the moment we stepped off the plane, holding hands, smiling into the bright sunshine. Zania and Kopano met us at the doors of the orphanage. They’d been married five years now. Zania and I hugged first, while the guys shook hands.
“Your big day is finally here!” Zania said. She’d been working with us for the past year to make this happen.
Kaidan took my hand. We were both shaking a little. I was nervous and excited beyond belief to meet our boys—brothers.
We knew parenthood was hard. We’d been there for Jay after Marna’s soul had passed during Anise’s birth. She’d been taken despite our earnest hopes, but she’d made the most of her last months of freedom. I’d never seen anyone laugh and smile as much as Marna had. She radiated joy, and even Ginger softened under her ray of sunshine.
It was no surprise that Jay was the hippest rock-star single dad ever, but I knew he was tired, working full-time and then being the only parent for his baby girl.
Ginger and I spent a lot of time with Anise, keeping her whenever Jay had night deejaying events for the L.A. radio station. Anise was a perfect combination of Marna’s happiness and Ginger’s divaness, walking around in her pink tutu with a hand on her hip. And Jay could do no wrong in his girl’s eyes. She laughed at all his jokes and loved when he called her Short Stuff.
So. Cute.
But we all missed Marna.
We followed Kope and Z inside the one-story building, a relatively new structure built with Alocer’s funds, along with a library and medical facility in the small town.
We were led down a hall to a sparse room with chairs and toys.
“Let me get them,” Kope said, leaving us.
Zania motioned for us to sit, but we declined. I clutched Kai’s hand, and Zania giggled.
“This is my favorite part. New parents are adorable.” She rubbed my shoulder and I tried to smile.
When I heard footsteps coming down the hall and Kope’s rumbling voice talking sweetly, my stomach clenched with nerves.