Until Fate

Chapter Fourteen

I sat on the couch with John Ethan and Lucy discussing the final battle. They had many questions about Phina's training, how she was involved in it, and the legends of Atlantean mythology and the faery side of all of that. After the healing angels had paid the Rooks a visit, John Ethan's need for a heart transplant was gone. I didn't think it was possible, but apparently the Fates didn't want him to die just yet. These angels were different from other angels because they had centuries of practice using their healing abilities to tamper with the human body, successfully healing multiple ailments and diseases. John Ethan's face was a fleshy, neutral skin color and his weight appeared average instead of skeleton-like.

Suddenly, the door rushed open and I quickly became invisible. I frowned; Seraphina barged in followed by an anxious Syria. I stood up, but Lucy widened her eyes at me. Something was strange about Phina, something was off. She held a white slip of paper in her hand and her eyes were murky.

Her eyes finally softened at her dad, "You knew." It hovered in the air and settled there uncomfortably.

"It seems you didn't." John Ethan gathered.

"How long?" Her voice was deep and husky.

Oh shit.

"Since I was a boy." He stated.

She wavered and appeared stunned, "What?"

"I've always known Cael was there. I could sense him as a child." He explained.

My presence wasn't acknowledged and I painfully sat there listening.

"How?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"My health has been weak since I was born." He shrugged. "I've always been able to sense angels. When I was nine we started interacting, I would bring him home things and he would place them somewhere in the house. You see, it was a game."

Phina sank to her knees and glanced down, "My God, my boyfriend was best friends with my father as a child." The irony of it caused my throat to constrict. I was trying to stifle my emotions.

"Klaus showed up when you were a baby. I assumed he was bored and missed Cael. He started talking aloud to me when you were a toddler. Cael refused to speak out loud. Even though he was Fallen, he really wanted to remain hidden. I think he always struggled with it, because as you girls grew up he had to watch Klaus become a prominent person in our lives."

"And what about the home coming dance? Assyria mentioned that, too." Phina's voice was distant. Syri was standing by the front door, her eyes locked on mine pleading for forgiveness.

I nodded, "Leave, Syri. This isn't your fault."

She uttered an apology and quickly fled the house.

Lucy kept eyeing the spot where I had been sitting. I paced to Phina's old bedroom. Everything was the exact same. I inhaled the floral scent and traveled back to that time.

"He's here, isn't he? You keep looking at the couch!" I heard Phina exclaim.

"No, he left the room." John Ethan muttered.

I heard her soft footsteps as she sprinted to the back of the house. I turned around facing her doorway and let the glamour slip over me. She stomped into the room and abruptly slapped my cheek. I inhaled sharply and felt my stinging face. Her eyes were like harsh chips of silver and they burned as she scrutinized me. She almost seemed surprised by her own audacity.

"Seraphina Rook!" Lucy gasped behind her.

"It's fine, Luce. Can you excuse us?" I asked.

John Ethan was behind his wife and pulled her arm away. When I heard the front door close, Phina pulled her old binder out of the closet. It was the one with hundreds of pictures of my face. It used to be under her bed. She walked with it into the hallway and stopped in the living room. I followed behind her and couldn't read her facial expression. She dropped the binder on the ground and dozens of pictures floated out and littered the floor around us. She was hyperventilating and her nostrils were flaring. She paced back and forth. I let her seethe, noticing my own heart's escalation.