Chapter 15

“I’m so sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but, Jade…the woman you believe is your mother is your aunt by blood, and the man you think is your father is your uncle.”

Jade stared at him with blank, hollow eyes. Her entire life had been a lie. Reality felt like sand slipping through her fingers, an illusion shattered by a cruel twist of fate. It was as if someone had played an elaborate, sinister game with her life and was now revealing the truth just as the game ended. Jade pulled away from him, moving to the far side of the bench, and hugged her knees to her chest. She tried to let her tears fall as silently as possible, knowing that even if she wanted to she couldn’t shut him out entirely.

She looked at him through her tears and saw the pain in his eyes—pain for her, for the life she had believed was hers. His eyes, so much like her own, a blend of yellow and orange swirls flecked with red, reflected a deep well of goodness. She had always known that about him. The twinkle in his eye when he made someone laugh, his constant efforts to spread joy—he was her best friend, her anchor. Even though everything else was changing she knew she could still rely on him. She nodded, signaling him to continue.

“Your real mother was one of my people, a Hierophant,” He explained, his voice gentle yet filled with sorrow. “And your father was a Vindicator. They fell in love in secret and ran away together when their relationship was discovered. Your mother had you in hiding, but when they were found, your father’s people wanted to kill you for being what they saw as an abomination. But my people took pity on you—you were innocent, just a child—and we promised to watch over you. Your aunt took you in when you were young. But when you moved to New York, we set up protections, and guardians to watch over you. When you were fifteen and started sneaking out with friends, becoming reckless, we had to send someone in…”

“James? My first boyfriend?” Jade interrupted the realization hitting. She remembered how she had thought Aiden resembled James on that first day of school, how overprotective James had been, how he had always kept a close eye on her. It hadn’t been love at all. For all she knew, James never even liked her. Her first kiss, her first relationship—it was all a lie, a calculated move to keep her safe. The sting of that deception hurt more than she had expected. “And then I moved here, to a place where demons were attending my school, and my…aunt couldn’t watch me all the time, and you…”

Aiden nodded, confirming her suspicions.

Jade couldn’t talk about her family, not with Aiden, not as though her life was some textbook story he had studied and memorized. “I need a break. I can’t do this anymore right now. I’ll talk to my…aunt later. It’s just too much.”

She looked at Aiden, examined his features, and wondered if her real mother had looked like him. Did she have the same hair and fiery eyes? The same warm compassion? Was she still alive, or had she been killed most of all Jade wanted to know why neither of her parents had ever come looking for her. If her father was a Vindicator, was he filled only with anger, or was there love in his heart too? Did either of them love her, or was she just a mistake, something that never should have been allowed to survive?

Jade stood and walked to the pier’s railing, staring at the tumultuous waters below. Her mind was even more chaotic than the waves crashing against the shore. A part of her almost felt like jumping in, hoping that the force of the ocean might calm her showing her that the world kept moving forward despite the madness in her head. But those thoughts only led her to Benjamin, to the memory of him pulling her from the water. He wouldn’t be there to save her if she got overpowered by the ocean again. Jade couldn’t think about him yet. It was too much to process that the boy she had maybe started to love was not just a bad boy but a literal monster.

“I wanted to tell you,” Aiden said softly from behind her, breaking into her thoughts. “A thousand times I wanted to tell you, but I took an oath. You had to discover your powers on your own. I wasn’t allowed to tell you anything, in case the mix of Vindicator and Hierophant traits canceled each other out and left you as a normal human girl. But when I saw your eyes I knew it couldn’t be true. I knew you weren’t a dud—you were incredibly strong. But still, I had to be idle. I know I may joke a lot and break some of the school rules, but there are some rules I know I can’t test.”

Jade turned to look at him, her heart heavy with the weight of everything she had learned. She wasn’t just a girl anymore; she was something more, dangerous and forbidden. But she wasn’t alone. Aiden was with her and despite everything, she knew she could trust him.

“I wish you had,” Kira said softly, her words carried away by the ocean breeze. She couldn’t bring herself to turn and look him in the eye.

“I know,” he replied, his voice heavy with regret.

“But I understand why you didn’t.” She continued speaking to the wind. Knowing his intentions helped, but it didn’t erase the sting of betrayal that lingered in her heart.

“Really?” Aiden’s voice wavered, and she heard the creak of wooden planks as he stood up from the bench and moved closer like he needed to be near her to believe she meant what she said.

“I know you, Aiden, and I know you’re good. You hoped there was a chance I wasn’t meant to be part of this world, where demons and Seraphina exist—that you wouldn’t have to be the one to shatter my reality.”

“Can you forgive me?” He asked, his hand gently covering hers as it rested on the rail. Jade tried to smile but found she couldn’t. Instead, she squeezed his hand in silent acknowledgment, hoping he would understand what it meant. Finally, she met his eyes—those sad, puppy-dog eyes filled with concern. He pulled her into his chest for another hug.

“I’m still your best friend, even if everything else has changed,” he promised, his voice steady and sincere. “That was never a lie.”

She nodded against his chest, not wanting to leave the warmth of his embrace. He was telling the truth and now, she needed that more than anything. She needed someone she could trust, someone who could help her navigate the twisted path her life had suddenly taken.

“Can we leave the Benjamin talk for another time?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “I know you’re curious, but I just can’t.”

“Of course,” Aiden agreed immediately.

“Aiden, I can’t go home yet. I can’t face it. When I see my parents, it’ll all become real. When I look at their faces and don’t see a family resemblance...” Her voice broke, a sob catching in her throat as the enormity of it all threatened to overwhelm her.

“Come on,” he said gently, tugging on her hand and pulling her away from the railing toward the beach. “Let’s grab some ice cream. You can stay at my place for the night.”

“Your parents won’t mind?” Jade asked, surprised by the offer.

“Jade… I’m your guardian. I’m twenty, and I live alone. I’m only pretending to be in high school.”

“Oh.” The revelation hit her like a punch to the gut. One more surprise and she might shatter. There was only so much a person could endure before the thin veneer of calmness crumbled, letting all the suppressed emotions rise to the surface.

They walked down the boardwalk hand in hand, and Jade found dark humor in the situation to a passerby they might look like sweethearts, but how many people had she walked past in her life who were secretly watching her, guarding her? Had she unknowingly passed demons on the street, never suspecting the truth, never dreaming something like this could be real?

Aiden bought them two ice cream cones, and Jade listened absently as he talked about trivial things—Alex’s latest school craze, class assignments, and anything that might distract her from the storm inside. She knew he was trying to provide some background noise, a semblance of normalcy, maybe even a reason to laugh. But Jade couldn’t laugh. Not yet. Her face remained stone as Aiden’s light-hearted attempts fell flat.

When they finished, Aiden led her to his car and drove her to his house. It was small and unassuming, and he explained that it had been given to him when he moved to town to start watching over her. Jade wondered if he was paid for this—how much of his life had been a job, a duty to protect her. Was this a common role for a seraphina, acting as a babysitter? Or did most of them stay in their safe havens, avoiding the dangers of the outside world, never reaching out to those who might need them?

She knew so little about her people and her culture. It was disorienting to realize she barely understood where she came from. Her mother had always told her they had Irish heritage, and as a child, Jade had spent hours reading about druids and old Irish folklore. She had always cherished that connection to the past, that sense of history grounding her. But now, she was part of something much older, secret, and mysterious, something she knew almost nothing about.

Most of all, Jade wondered about her real parents. Who were they? Why had they left her to be raised by her aunt? The mystery of her sister, once a source of confusion, was now clear. She almost laughed bitterly to herself. Ever since her sister was born, she had questioned who the real mistake in the family was. Now she knew—it was her. That realization brought a strange, hollow sense of comfort, but it was fleeting. A mistake? The word echoed in her mind, disrupting everything she thought she knew. Not just her parents’ mistake, but her entire existence—an existence that could end the world if more demons discovered her.

While Aiden went to find blankets for the pull-out couch, Jade sat in the living room, lost in thought. When he returned, he unfolded the couch, fluffed the pillow, and even pretended to be a bellhop, showing her around a hotel suite. But when Jade didn’t smile, he went to get her a glass of water instead.

Jade’s cell phone rang while Aiden was in the kitchen. The caller ID read “home”—her mother, she assumed—but she let it go to voicemail. When she closed her phone, she noticed the edge of the burn mark on her hand. She let the phone drop onto the couch and examined the mark more closely. Her hands looked like they had tiny starbursts on them as if she had squeezed a red paintball between her palms until it exploded. She traced the raised lines of the burn with her finger, surprised that it didn’t sting. She hadn’t even noticed the marks until Aiden had pointed them out on the pier.

“It’ll go away,” He said as he returned, handing her the glass of water. “The burns, I mean. Over time, they’ll fade, and each time you use your power, they’ll show up less and less.”

Jade clenched her fists and looked away. The last thing she wanted to think about was using her power again.

“Jade, we’re not evil,” He said softly. “It’s a gift, not a curse.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the water from him. “A gift,” she muttered, not entirely convinced.

“I’m going to show you something,” Aiden said, a hint of mischief in his voice. “Something I used to do when I was a kid and couldn’t fall asleep.” He left the room and returned a few minutes later with a small, six-inch disco ball in his hand.

Jade couldn’t help but laugh. “You danced disco when you couldn’t sleep?”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I do a mean rendition of the Saturday Night Fever dance thank you very much,” Aiden quipped, laughing with her. For a moment Jade felt almost normal again, but the moment quickly passed.

“Okay, Jade,” Aiden said, his tone shifting to something more serious. “I know you’re afraid of yourself right now, of everything I’ve told you. But this power—it can be a beautiful thing. When I was little, my mom used to tell me that one day, I’d grow up to help save people’s lives. And I’d lie in bed, frustrated that I was just a kid and couldn’t go on adventures yet. So when I couldn’t sleep, I’d practice my skills, hoping and waiting for the day when I’d be good enough to leave Crystal River and face the real world. But right before I went to bed, I’d take out my disco ball—stop laughing—and do this.”

Jade smothered a giggle as Aiden lifted the string attached to the disco ball and spun it with his other hand, he shot a small, controlled beam of light from his palm. As soon as the light struck the disco ball, hundreds of twinkling tiny diamonds danced around the dark room, turning it into a magical, sparkling planetarium. Jade was awed by the sight, the beauty of the light in the darkness.

He let the light fade and handed her the disco ball. “When you’re ready, we’ll start practicing your gift. And when you feel comfortable, pull this out and try.” He stood up, pausing before he headed to his room. “Goodnight, Jade.”

“Night, Aiden,” she replied as he disappeared around the corner. She let the silver globe fall into her lap and stared at the spot where he had just been. Why, she asked herself, couldn’t I have fallen for him instead?

Aiden was perfect. He was funny, charming, someone she could tell everything to, but still, she thought of him as a brother. He could create light with his hands but couldn’t spark anything within her heart. Something was wrong with her Jade decided—some part of her was broken. She was a mixed-breed freak and maybe that’s why her heart didn’t work the way it should maybe she was only drawn to other misfits, which was exactly what Benjamin was a demon who seemed to want to be human. You couldn’t be more out of place than that, she thought.

Jade sighed and lay on the sofa, curling under the blankets Aiden had set out for her. As she rolled into a fetal position, Jade wished that when she woke up tomorrow, it would all turn out to be just a dream.

But deep down, she knew that was too impossible to ask for.