Ethereal: An Illumine Series Novella (The Illumine Series) (6 page)

That was why Jake still couldn’t wrap his head around why they had broken up, why Rinae couldn’t be around him for more than a few minutes until the weight of her manipulation pressed on her conscious, making her sick to her stomach.

“He saw your wings?” Tegen repeated quietly, his eyes glued to the ground.

She nodded, swallowing. “It was accident, probably brought on by the emotions. But he didn’t panic, didn’t even ask.” She replayed the image in her head, one where Jake reached up past her shoulders, brushing at the crystal shaped objects glittering out of Rinae’s back. Never would she forget how he thought them to be beautiful, how he thought her to be beautiful.

And then, she erased his memory.

“I can’t leave him,” she insisted. “Not until I set things straight.”

For a minute, Tegen said nothing. Then, finally, “Fine. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head back. You’ll say your goodbyes, and then we’re going to get a jump start on getting you ready.”

“Ready? For what?”

This time, Tegen gave Rinae a chilling, haunting smile. “To hunt vampires, and meet the rest of your Nephilim family.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A huge, marvelous thank you goes to the following lovely people!

My whole family, you’re still putting up with me after all those nights skipping chores.

Steph, the last minute hang out probably saved my sanity finishing this.

Katie, I promise this one will go to print in a copy of Riven with your name on it for your collection!

Shawna and Rosi, you both will devour this, and then promptly demand more. But it’s okay, I love that about both of you.

To everyone in Wanda’s Amazing Amazon Reviewers, you continue to amaze me, and I love all of you. To MasterKoda, my second author family home. For Indie Inked, my new family of indie authors who teach me and lend a hand when I’ve needed it. You guys are all special to me in unique ways.

And lastly, to the following for providing me with some names of secondary characters! Thank you so much for answering the call on my Facebook page. Now not only did you get to see some characters with names you picked, but who knows? Some of them might make a few appearances in the final Illumine novel.

Allison M., thank you for the name Loyal.

Josette S., thank you for the name Annslea.

Suzan S., thank you for the name Delphine.

And finally, thanks to my goofy little sister for the spare filler name of Caleb.