Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,80

But I haven’t heard of anything we can do to stop them.”

Xavier smiled. “There’s the fire in your eyes. You might not want to admit it, but you’re looking for the same thing I am: a way to end this, once and for all.”

20

I couldn’t sleep. It was the middle of the night and I’d spent restless hours tossing and turning, trying to force myself to drift back into blissful darkness, but Xavier’s words kept playing through my mind. Giving up on sleep, I pulled on jeans and layered my coat over my ‘traditional’ dress and climbed to the balcony where a kind Guardian followed me, hovering at the door in case I needed him.

He was older than me, maybe late twenties, with beautiful dark hair, skin, and eyes. His eyes looked as troubled as I felt. I wondered about him, about his life. Was he married? Did he have children?

Helena said her partner played the violin. Before the Zodia woke, she had a life. She loved. And while she still did, the two weren’t enjoying the peace they had before.

If Aries died, so would his people, and so would his Guardians.

I thought of humans attacking the Zodia. The small group here that Xavier warned me about was probably just a drop in an ocean of outraged humans. There would be attacks. There would be attempts to kill the Zodia. In every territory. Under every sign.

If Taurus fell, Dad would fall with him. And though Aries extended his protection, I would die, too. If Libra was killed, Mom would die with her.

It was all such a mess.

I missed my parents so much. They had to be terrified for us. Dad saw that we were okay, but while I was thankful for that brief glance, it wasn’t enough. You never knew how precious someone was until they were stripped away. I learned that from Kestrel at the age of ten, but forgot it somewhere along the way.

Being separated must be killing my parents. Dad loved Mom so much. He showed her every day in a million different ways. He told her. He slipped little post-its into her lunch box, telling her how she made him a better man just by being her. She would giggle when he called and absolutely glow, smiling like they’d just met and hadn’t been married twenty years. Like they hadn’t had hard times at all.

The hard times made them stronger, and they learned to lean on and support one another through each one. If one fell, the other picked them up. If one soared, the other grounded them. It was beautiful to witness. Our friends always wanted to be at our house because our parents were awesome. They were fun, and as long as we stayed out of trouble, fairly lenient. But I knew it was their love that drew everyone in.

Love – genuine love – was magnetic, causing people to naturally gravitate toward it.

I took a deep breath and stared at the stars, hoping Mom and Dad saw them and thought of me. I hoped the stars gave them a sense of peace and let them know Kes and I were okay, watching the same stars.

Footsteps came from behind. I expected the dark-haired Guardian, but found my brother approaching instead.

“Hey.”

Kes settled beside me. He pinched his lips tight before speaking, the thing he always did when he was about to tell me something I wouldn’t like. “What I’m about to tell you will be hard to hear.”

I stiffened and turned to him. “What?”

“Xavier has been removed from the castle. He was given a new dwelling and will be watched.”

I gasped. “Why?”

“You know why.”

“He told us before anyone acted, Kes! And he promised to talk to them and tell them what would happen if they managed to somehow kill a Zodia.”

“It wasn’t just about that. He’s a danger to you,” Kes argued.

“Tell me he wasn’t hurt,” I begged.

“Of course he wasn’t.”

My laugh sounded like a half-sob. I threw my hands up. “He’s my only friend. Or he was.”

He shifted uncomfortably, like a sail flapping in the wind instead of catching the steady breeze.

“If I can’t have a life, what’s the point of living here, Kes?”

He shook his head. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Why? How is any of this worth it?”

It wasn’t. And this wasn’t just about Xavier, or that he was brought here to keep me company and taken away just as quickly. Kes didn’t want to admit it, but just existing wasn’t living. More than