together. Marna . . . no. NO. There’s been a mistake.
“I sensed it,” Anna whispers. “It’s Jay’s.”
“Bloody hell.” Each of her words slams into me like a bullet and I cannot stand. I fall back onto the bed and grab at my hair as if I might rip the words out of my mind. This cannot be happening. Marna. She’s like a baby sister to me. God, no wonder Anna didn’t want to tell me. We only have Marna for nine more months, and then she’ll be . . . no. I shake my head. I can’t fathom it. I cannot think about Marna in hell.
I raise my heavy eyes to Anna, and my heart sinks further. Her eyes are lowered. Devastated. I think of Jay, how Anna never told him what we were, or that her mother died in childbirth, as all mothers of Neph do. I imagine how she must’ve felt when she sensed the pregnancy, when she had to tell them. Ginger’s reaction would’ve been colossal. I can’t bloody believe this is happening. It’s madness.
“Come here,” I say to her, holding out a hand. I pull her to my lap and she wraps her arms around me. “It’s not your fault.”
She lets out a sob. “It is my fault they got together. I didn’t think they’d move so fast, and if I’d known she could get pregnant—”
“Sh, Anna. Those two always fancied each other, yeah? This whole thing is awful, but you can’t stop the inevitable.”
I hold her a moment longer before she wipes her eyes, pulling herself together. “We’d better go,” she says, standing. “I’ll tell you everything on the plane.”
“Wait,” I say. “How much does Jay know?”
“He knows everything,” she says with downcast eyes.
Everything. That his best friend Anna, along with the girl he’s fallen in love with, are the daughters of demons. That Marna will die in childbirth, because their child will also be a Nephilim. That the baby’s soul will essentially rip Marna’s soul from her body when it’s born. That we’re all fighting for our lives right now. What a thing for Jay to walk into. Poor sodding chap.
Blake and Ginger, two of the most careful Neph I know, have bloody well lost their minds. They’re bunked up in the mansion while his psychotically envious fiancée rages outside the gate. News vans are there to catch it all. He’s a local motocross celebrity whose fabulously rich father has just “died,” and this is what they choose to do?
Yes, they’ve wanted each other for a bloody long time and have always held back. Yes, Ginger’s just found out she’s losing the person she loves most in the world, but getting themselves killed is not the answer. Especially now that the prophecy is on the horizon. It’s no longer about us as individuals. Each ally is important.
I am livid when we finally get inside the gate. I bang on Blake’s front door, but they don’t answer. I bang again. “Open up, idiot! This is bloody stupid!”
Finally they come to the door. They’re clearly lost to their beasts—Blake is feeding off his fiancée’s envy while Ginger gets her kicks off causing Blake to cheat. They’re both half dressed, showing signs of a shag fest with wild hair and flushed skin. For a moment I am jealous they’ve been able to give in to their need for each other, and that jealousy makes me even angrier.
“It’s time to go, Gin,” Marna tells her.
Ginger gives her a malicious stare. “You’re one to talk. I seem to recall that line didn’t work on you.” So, Ginger tried to warn Marna, to get her away from Jay. That makes this all the worse. “I’m quite fine where I am, thanks,” Gin snaps.
“Like hell.” I shove open the door and stride past them, the others following. I slam the door once we’re all inside. I point at Blake. “Have whisperers seen you together?”
“Course not.” He sounds far too blasé, and I want to beat some sense into him.
“You’re bleedin’ lucky!”
“Back off, brah.” He gets in my face. “What, you’re the only one who can be with your girl?”
I want to point out that I haven’t even shagged my girl, but I know this is about more than sex. It’s about the danger of even being seen together, as we are now.
“The Dukes were at their summit when we were together,” I remind him.
Anna tries to intervene and calm us, but Ginger moves in. “Why do you care?” she asks me.