Read Online Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) by Amy Miles - Free Book Online

shakes his head. “It’s the perfect time.”
    Clearing
his throat, he rises and all heads to turn to face him. Roseline
can’t help but admire the strength that has grown within him in
such a short time. Under his Uncle Sorin’s thumb, he felt weak,
inferior. Free of his control, Nicolae has become the man Roseline
always suspected him to be.
    With
a voice that calls out loud and clear, Nicolae recants the story of
her encounter with the angel Ashir at the Senthe Base. He doesn’t
leave out any details or skim over Ashir’s warning.
    Looking
at the grim faces around her, Roseline feels pride swell within her.
These men are not afraid. Not of immortals, Fallen Ones, or faceless
beasts. They are warriors and she is proud to be among them.
    “We
don’t know if these attacks are related, but I don’t
think we have the luxury of assuming they aren’t.” He
lifts his leg and steps up onto the bench so all can clearly see him.
“Ashir came to us at Elias’s request. You all know Elias.
You have fought beside him. I have no doubt Ashir is just as
trustworthy. The question each of you has to ask yourself is this:
will you stand and fight or run and hide? There are no other
options!”
    Roseline’s
throat clenches at the roar that rises all around. Fists pound
against the tabletop, unsettling dishes as they topple to the floor,
shattered and unnoticed. Men rise to their feet as a unified shout
travels through the wooden rafters above, echoing off the stone
walls.
    Gabriel’s
grip on her hand tightens and he turns to look at her. “I guess
we fight.”
    She
nods in agreement. “It’s what we were born to do.”

EIGHT

    Roseline
stares out the window at the twilight sky, the plush curtains drawn
back by a thick, crimson rope. The tension in the house is thick
tonight. No one talks and no one seems to want to leave the room.
People linger through dinner with no mention of eating, not that
anyone could even stomach food if they thought it mattered.
    Everyone
seems to be waiting for the bomb to fall on the castle. Roseline can
sympathize. She has been pacing for nearly half an hour herself, her
hands fluttering against her thighs with mounting nerves.
    There
were three more attacks overnight. One on the western coast of
America, just south of Portland, and another along the Canadian
border, not far from Niagara Falls. The final attack came not long
after dawn and started a riot in Dublin. According to the news, the
authorities suspect foul play of the terrorist nature, but Roseline
knows better.
    The
thing that disturbs her most is the lack of bodies at the crime
scenes. No prints. No witnesses. Only massive amounts of blood
coating floors, walls, and ceilings. Their enemy is growing bolder
but also more reckless.
    She
turns away, letting the curtain sway back into place. Goosebumps
ripple along her arms. She tries to rub them out but stops when she
feels Gabriel’s gaze upon her. She offers him a small smile and
sinks down onto the couch, hugging her knees into her chest.
    “I
can’t take this any longer,” William mutters. His face is
pale and his lips drawn back into a grimace. Claudia squeezes his
hand, offering what little comfort she can, but Roseline can see her
own fears in her glazed gaze. “Why are you all just sitting
around here when you should be out there, stopping this?”
    “And
what would you have us do, Will?” Sadie asks, turning around on
her couch to stare at her brother. Her hair is deflated from its wild
mane, slightly flattened on the right side from where she has been
pushed up against Nicolae’s shoulder all afternoon. “We
don’t know where they will attack next. We don’t even
know who they are!”
    Roseline
finds herself tapping her fingers anxiously against her legs. Gabriel
reaches over and silently takes her hand in his. She smiles, grateful
for how easily he knows her moods.
    “Sadie
has a point,” Nicolae speaks up. His voice is thick with anger.
Roseline can sympathize.