The Spirit Guardians Book 4: Liberated

Chapter 21

Marc woke early morning, just as the sun's rays were beginning to touch the horizon. He slowly sat up and peered out the window behind him, admiring the azure color of the sky as dawn approached. He felt like he had a Christmas hangover after all the celebration the day before, yet there was always that bit of seasonal depression that entered his life when the holidays came to an end. Despite that though, he was glad his brother was still around until New Years.

Cassie shuffled slightly in her sleep. Marc grinned slightly, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. She let out a faint noise but remained asleep. Marc stretched his arms and crawled out of bed, exiting the bedroom. He was thrilled to see that Elijah was still asleep upon peeking into the child's bedroom.

In fact, most of the house was asleep, probably exhausted from the events of the day before. The steps creaked under Marc as he descended. Only Cherie was downstairs, going through papers under the lit Christmas tree.

"Good morning," she said, letting out a yawn.

"You couldn't manage to sleep in for once?" Marc joked.

"We have so much to do. Don't forget this time next month we might have overtaken the Preservers," Cherie warned.

"Sorry, sorry. You need to take care of yourself though," Marc said, pushing away the anxiety that came with the fact that the mission to overtake the headquarters was closer than he thought.

"I know that!" Cherie complained. "Go make yourself some coffee, sir."

"Will do," he replied, deciding it was best not to interrupt Cherie when she was working. A cup of coffee later, and he was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on the drink quietly as the sun came over the horizon.

He glanced up as a familiar presence entered the room. Conny looked like he had just woken up himself judging by his messy hair and tired eyes. His younger brother leaned against the counter as he made himself a cup of coffee too.

"You going to come join me?" Marc asked.

"Just give me a second," Conny murmured, shuffling over to the table. He let out a loud yawn as he took a seat next to his older brother.

"How are you getting along? Getting enough sleep? Eating well?" Marc asked.

"Stop acting like a mom," Conny grumbled, taking a sip. He set his cup down and stared at Marc. "I am getting along well though."

"I feel like we've barely had time to talk with all that's been going on," Marc confessed. "I've been so busy with Cassie and Elijah that—"

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," Conny assured him. "I've been busy too, haven't I? Going off on my own to join the military and all."

"And how is it going?" Marc wondered, tapping his finger against his hot mug.

"It's going, all right," Conny mumbled, taking another sip. "Sometimes it kicks my ass, but it's worth it. I feel like I'm involved in something, you know. This is better suited for me. I've already made a bunch of friends and feel like I have a little home away from home."

"I'm glad. I was kind of nervous when you took off, but I knew you'd kill it there," Marc said. He paused, then smirked. "Have you met any girls?"

"No!" Conny shouted, hissing as he burnt his mouth on his coffee. "Where did that question come from?"

"Pure curiosity," Marc stated.

"I mean I have friends who are girls sure, but I don't think that's what you meant when you asked the question," Conny said.

"Do you have a girlfriend? No space between those words," Marc wondered.

"I don't! Leave me alone, will you?" Conny grumbled, though even Marc could see the faint bit of red gathering in his brother's cheeks. He was never good at keeping secrets.