“Again?” Claire said, surprised.
I swallowed the delicious, spongy bite in my mouth. “We were there all night.”
Ryan cut his own piece of cake, but handed it to Claire. “So you found something?”
“Not a damn thing,” Jared said, smiling.
Ryan cut another piece for himself, causing a wider smile from Lillian. Claire just rolled her eyes.
“I don’t get it,” Claire said.
Jared used his fork to attempt to cut a piece of cake from my slice, but I stuck out my elbow to defend my plate. Everyone laughed, including Jared.
Jared finally gave in and cut his own slice. “Nina and I were distracted. All we could think about was getting Shax’s book back to Jerusalem for Kim.”
Ryan pointed at me with his fork. “She called me today. She’s past impatient. She was yelling. I’ve never heard her yell.”
“It’s her lucky day, then,” I said.
“Oh yeah, why’s that?” Ryan said, chewing.
Jared put his elbows on the table and folded his arms. “Because we’re leaving for Jerusalem next week.”
Claire shrugged. “Well, that’s smart. Ryan and I are both starting Brown in the fall, and it’s Nina’s senior year. It’s good to get it out of the way.”
Lillian paused. “You’re going to Brown?”
Claire shrugged. “Ryan wants to start back…I just thought….”
“No, I’m thrilled!” Lillian said, beaming.
“We’re not coming back until Bean is born,” Jared said. The entire table was silent. No one moved, and all eyes were on Jared. “The answer has been right in front of us all along. The Sepulchre is the one place I know she’ll be safe until she can deliver.”
Claire frowned. “You want to live in Jerusalem for nine months?”
“Not an entire nine months,” Lillian said. “I’m not exactly sure, but she probably only has a couple of months left.”
Jared’s face blanched. “What?”
Lillian fiddled with her napkin. “I should have said something, son, I’m so sorry. Nina’s situation is obviously different, but a full term Hybrid pregnancy is six to seven months. I assume it’s the same, maybe less for Bean.”
Bex smiled. “Now you’re saying it. That poor kid is never going to get a real name.”
I looked down at my stomach. Because of our situation, we had refrained from prenatal care, but I’d just assumed my pregnancy would be a normal gestation. I was measuring a bit larger than normal, but nothing out of the ordinary. Jared assumed it was because of my small frame.
“So…July? August?” I asked.
“Possibly,” Lillian answered.
Jared nodded. “Then it’s settled. The closer it gets, the more danger she’s in. We should leave now.”
I shook my head. “I have things at Titan I need to wrap up.”
Jared sighed, but agreed. “Okay. We’ll all take the week to prepare. We leave on Sunday.”
“Sweet!” Bex said.
“Not you,” Claire said. “You have to stay with Mom.”
“What?” Bex wailed.
Jared glared at him. “We can’t leave her alone.”
“But I have to go. You know I do!”
Lillian frowned. “Jared, that’s ridiculous. You need everyone with you to get her there safe. The second you land, you’ll be bombarded. They will do everything they can to keep her from somewhere they can’t go.”
I swallowed. It was so close. I’d always felt like we had plenty of time before the pandemonium started.
Claire sighed. “We can’t leave you unprotected, Mom.”
“What about Grant?” Bex said.
“Bex!” Jared yelled. His voice boomed throughout the house. Bex’s face turned red, and his eyes immediately fell.
“Grant?” I said, confused. “Grant Bristol?” No one said a word. All eyes were on the table but mine, which danced in every direction. “
“No,” Lillian said, cupping Bex’s shoulder. “He’s an Arch.”
I dropped my fork, and it clanged against my plate. “I don’t believe it.”
Lillian attempted to soften Jared with one of her sweetest smiles. “It’s not a bad idea.”
I turned to him, thwarting Lillian’s effort. “This isn’t something you thought I needed to know? Are you kidding me?” I wailed.
Jared’s expression turned desperate. “You can’t expect me to tell you about every angel or demon that passes by.”
“I work with him, Jared. I…I’m just baffled why you chose to keep it from me! This makes twice today!”
“What else haven’t you told her?” Ryan asked, enjoying the show.
Jared shot a death glare in Ryan’s direction. “It was his secret to tell, Nina, and it’s really not paramount that you know. In the grand scheme of things, it’s really minute. You’re being unreasonable.”
“Minute.” I stood up from my seat. “I don’t think asking for a little trust, or having the expectation to not be treated like an outsider in my own company or family, is unreasonable. I don’t think being upset to be the last to know that I’m
Jared’s eyes drifted to the floor. I threw my napkin to the table, stomping up the stairs to the bedroom in Oscar-worthy fashion. I sat on the bed, still fuming. A small knock at the door only amplified my anger.
“Go away, Jared.”
“It’s Claire.”
“I don’t want to talk to you, either.”
Claire, being Claire, walked in anyway. She sat on the bed next to me, crossing her arms. She sat silent for the longest time, and finally took a breath.
“I get it, you know. They don’t tell me nonessential information, either. It’s crap.”
“It’s demeaning is what it is.” I frowned in her general direction. “I’m his wife. I understand I’ve been the token human that doesn’t understand the rules of the universe, but for the love of all things holy. I know enough by now. He should trust me.”
“It’s not that he doesn’t trust you. He tries to keep your life as normal as possible. He knows how important that is to you.”
“It’s a moot point these days, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I would, but I don’t love you like he does.”
My mouth pulled to the side. She was fighting dirty. Jared loved me, and at times let that fact cloud his judgment. It was impossible to stay angry at him for it. Jared keeping Grant a secret from me defied logic. It simply didn’t make sense.
“He should have a good reason for keeping things from me, and he doesn’t have one.”
“It’s a very human reason, actually.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Grant’s been in love with you for ages. Why do you think Jack was constantly pushing him in your direction?”
“That doesn’t make sense, either. Jack didn’t want me with Jared because of the prophecy. He definitely wouldn’t want me with an Arch.”
Claire raised an eyebrow, and the same side of her mouth turned up. “What do teenage girls do when their parents tell them not to do something?” Claire said. “If Jack told you to stay away from Grant, you would have run straight for him.”
“Ick,” I said. “No one’s that stubborn.”
“You are.”
