His jaw etched in stone, Nate tossed his cell down, filled a saucepan with milk, and set it on the stove. He retrieved a can of cocoa then grabbed three mugs from the dishrack, leaving them on the counter.
Nia had the distinct impression he was keeping busy so he wouldn’t punch something. She ran her finger over the multiplestuds in her ear and gave Echo a quick look. The worry in her tense expression had Nia’s nerves knotting.
The door behind them slid open, and Nia glanced back. Michael entered, followed by Echo’s mate, Aethan.
His expression stony, Nate said, “Ely should be here for this.”
Michael nodded as Aethan crossed to Echo on her other side. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’m happy. I finally have my sister and brother.” She smiled.
His gaze tender, he brushed the shallow dimple on her chin with his knuckles.
Memories surged. A pang of pain wrenched her heart, remembering Lore doing the same to her. She looked away.
“Do we have any more siblings hiding somewhere?” Nate demanded, glaring at the archangel, who settled against the counter opposite him. “Because I swear, Michael, if it’s the last thing I do, those involved will face my wrath.”
“Oh, you can count me in on that,” Aethan added, his tone rivaling an iceberg.
The archangel sighed. “No, no other siblings.”
The enormity of angels playing with their lives, resulting in the shitty past they all had endured, slammed into Nia like a club over the head. And she gritted her teeth, wanting vengeance, but there was nothing she could do.
The front door opened again. A tall woman dressed all in black hurried inside. “Nate, what?—”
She stopped dead, her gaze bouncing between all of them, where they gathered in the kitchen.
“What is it?” In a blink, she appeared at Nate’s side. The overhead light cast a golden glow over her pale hair fastened into a shoulder-length French braid. “What happened?”
This woman was otherworldly, too, like Aethan, her brother, and Echo.
Wait! How could her siblings beotherworldlyand immortal when she wasmortal?
“Ely,” Nate said, putting his hand on her lower back. “This is Nia, my other sister.”
“Wow, just wow!” Ely gaped at them. “When Echo said she had a surprise, I didn’t realize this was what she had in store for us! It’s amazing. I get to meet Nia—and I have verbal diarrhea.” She laughed, and Nia found herself smiling, already liking the woman. “I’m so excited. Nate finally has his family. Those darn angels certainly did an adept job of keeping you all apart.”
“They have.” Nate rubbed his mate’s back, expression still hewn in stone.
“I know why the angels were after me,” Echo said. “I mean, when I died?—”
“What?” Nia blinked. “You died? But you’re alive—wait. Is that how you became otherworldly? I feel your aura. It’s different from a human’s.”
“I did.” Echo grimaced. “A rejected date who wouldn’t take no for an answer. He shot me. It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in later.”
Overwhelmed, Nia massaged her achy temples. “Just like me, a date who wanted my blood, or, more accurately, to be his everlasting blood bank. But Lore killed him.”
Her stomach churned just saying his name. Remembering…
“I’m glad,” Echo murmured, her gaze soft with understanding. “Oh, and I see auras, too, but in colors that differentiate between species.”
“I don’t exactly see them. I sense them. The local Otiums have an underlying smell of ash and don’t feel so abrasive. But those from the Dark Realm, it’s like a brush of acid against my psyche, and there’s the sulfuric stench…” Nia frowned. “My stalker-date had found a way to hide his when he came after me.And that’s why I thought he was a local Otium,” she said, feeling like an idiot.
“They always find ways to get what they want by using any means,” Nate said, folding his arms over his chest.
Nia shivered and tugged her sleeves over her chilly fingers again. “I learned that too late. Except for demons, I hadn’t met any more otherworldly beings until now. Angels feel like a brush of ice against my psyche.”
“Makes sense,” Aethan drawled. “All of them are stuck-up assholes.”
