“Seventeen.”
“Ha, you told me you got married when you were in your thirties. Uh, thirty-two.”
Her grin became sheepish. “I couldn’t very well tell you I was your age when we married and had barely turned fifteen when Eoin asked my father for my hand.”
“Eew. I would have had him for a father.” I shuddered while she chuckled. “When did you become Immortal?”
“At twenty-four. And I was twenty-four for a very long time.” She gripped my chin and peered at me. “About your fight with Echo, remember what your grandfather said. A family that stands up for each other…”
“Survives,” I finished.
“However, fighting each other only leads to heartache. Remember that.”
My parents spent the rest of the evening talking about growing up in Ireland and their trip to America. Mom often gravitated toward farming because she grew up on a farm, and Dad gravitated to creative writing whenever they started a new life.
Echo was quiet most of the evening. Then he kissed me goodnight and disappeared. I had no idea where he went, whether he’d gone reaping or to find Dev. Wherever he was, I hoped he was thinking about my parents’ story.
Chapter 8. Dev’s Resurgence
I was on my way to my third hour on Friday when Dev appeared. He wore a broad grin on his face, and I saw why. He had shed his gray energy. Instead of going to class, I hurried to the nearest bathroom and ordered him to enter my phone.
“Where have you been?”
“Following a lead about the thing outside your school when not doing my purification.”
“Forget about her. We found someone to anchor your soul to your body.”
Silence followed.
“Dev?”
“The only way someone can help me is if they can manipulate people’s life force. They must take another’s to give it to me. I do not want someone else to die in order for me to live.” He was so noble.
“What if she shares hers?”
“That gift is rare, and those with it never perform that ceremony unless it involves their loved ones.”
Dev was loved. He just didn’t know it.
“Then you haven’t met Celestia. She’s going to share her life force. She said it might take days and she’ll need to rest in between sessions, but she offered to do it. She hoped you wouldn’t mind that the two of you would be linked forever.”
This time the silence was longer.
“Dev?”
A string of Gaelic was all I got. He sounded choked up. I grinned. Families who worked together freaking survived together, and he was part of mine.
He disappeared again until I was grabbing my things from my locker. Looking solemn, he floated through the wall and stood silently beside me. I lifted my phone and silently invited him to enter, but he shook his head. Instead, he walked beside me as I headed toward the front of the school.
“So how many Mortals did you help?” I asked.
He flashed his fingers several times.
“You lost me at twenty-five. You need to talk to me.” A few students walking by stared at me strangely. My phone was back in my pocket. I pulled it out. “Please.”
He indicated talking and tears. He was so melodramatic.
“You do know I won’t see you cry through the phone.”
He pressed his hands together, mouthed, “Thank you,” and blew me a kiss.
“I have nothing to do with this. Eirik and Celestia came up with the idea because you’re now a member of our family.”
He palmed his face.
“Seriously, talk to me, Dev. And no you’re not going to cry,” I added when he peered at me. “Souls don’t feel emotions,” I teased, messing with him.
He dropped his hand and glared at me.
I grinned. Souls experienced a wide range of emotions. I’d seen them happy, sad, frustrated, vengeful, bitter, and pissed off.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Raine’s wedding and the part you played?”
He pretended to zip his lips and throw away the key.
“Who told you to keep it a secret?”
He pursed his lips in a silent whistle and looked at the ceiling. Students walked through him, a few shuddering and frowning at the sudden chill. I’d heard Dad use the expression, “Someone walked over my grave” whenever he felt a sudden chill. I’d bet souls were responsible for that.
“Okay, Charlie Chaplin. Keep your secrets.” Dev did the Chaplin walk while I laughed. I was going to miss hanging out with him. He always cracked me up.
We reached the foyer, and I could see Echo waiting by my Elantra. I stopped by the window and studied him. I loved that man, but he was driving me crazy.
“Echo is being an ass,” I said.
Dev slithered into my phone so fast I swear I felt a displacement of air. “Why?”
“Now you want to talk?”
“Anything that makes you unhappy concerns me. What did he do?”
“I’m planning on visiting Helheim, and he wants to hide our relationship from my biological parents.”
“Why?”
“Thank you. That’s the problem. Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”
“I agree with you. He’s an ass. The smarter move is to claim you before some god from another realm begs your mother for your hand in marriage. I’ve heard about Goddess Hel. No one likes her, so she could use you to form an alliance with other gods. Anything to stick it to Asgard.”
I winced. “Do not judge her based on what people say, Dev. From what I’ve heard, she’s changed. I know that sounds hypocritical, but I’m talking about what Eirik, Celestia, and even Hayden have said about her. If one person had said it, I would have been skeptical. But three people and Echo’s loyalty says she must be an exceptional woman. So please, wait until you get to know her first.”
“Yes, ma’am. May I say something?”
“Sure.”
“Now that my knee-jerk reaction to be your champion has passed, I can say Echo is not an ass. He’s doing this for you.”
I opened my mouth to interrupt.
“No, hear me out, doll-face. Echo loves you so much he’s willing to step back and give you room to grow. Going to see your other parents means being exposed to a different world with different rules. You are no longer the daughter of a farmer. You are a young goddess. Your grandparents are rulers of Asgard. Your mother is the one and only Goddess Hel. He’s not scared of losing you. He knows you love him, and he loves you. He is giving you room to blossom and become the woman he’s always known you’d become, but he’ll be waiting for you to come back to him. Because at the end of the day, after you’ve traveled all over the realms and been shown off by your parents and grandparents, you know that no one could ever love you as selflessly and deeply as he does.”
My eyes smarted. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so. He’s my brother, and I’ve known him a lot longer than you have. The man would do anything for you, including standing aside so you can shine.”
“Why couldn’t he explain himself the way you just did?”
“Because I’m the poet, doll-face,” he bragged. “Echo is the action man. He’s more likely to kiss you than explain what he is feeling deep inside. Or attempt to explain it and make a mess of things. Believe me, he wants what’s best for you.”
“Maybe that was why he mentioned my age.”
“There you go. You are on the verge of becoming a woman, and he wants that for you even though it’s probably killing him right now. Heck, he might even be worried about it, but he’s bottling it inside because this is about you, not him. Look at him already panicking because most students have left the building and you’re not one of them.”
Echo was staring at the school building with narrowed eyes, but he kept shifting.
“We better go before he goes full manic.” I hurried to the door.
Echo had started toward the building but stopped when he saw me.
I studied the souls milling outside. “Could you tell them the presence they felt here and at the farm doesn’t mean me any harm? I’ve told them, but they don’t seem to listen. She even returned my blanket.”
“I’ll be back in a few.” Dev slithered out of my phone.