“How many like you exist?” I asked to distract myself. I didn’t want to give him another reason to point out my embarrassing lack of self-control.

“Not as many as you might think. Like I said, it’s taboo to get too involved with humans. It’s even worse to fall in love with one—to betray your seraphic family for one.”

“So how can they protect us if they despise us?” I asked, incensed.

“It’s not that, Nina. They have an almost maternal love for humans. They see you as innocent, naïve children. Falling in love with a human is frowned upon by Archs as humans would an elderly man falling in love with a five year old. It’s a social taboo, it’s inappropriate. It’s not because they are disgusted by humans, though there are those that feel that way. But those types of emotions lead to falling farther than earth.”

“Dem—,”

“Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Especially in my presence, they tend to hover.”

A shiver traveled down my spine, but when Jared pulled me tighter to him, I instantly felt more at ease. As I relaxed my cheek against his neck, I yawned again.

“All right, it’s morning. Time to take you home.” He stood up and in the same movement, lifted me effortlessly in his arms.

“I’m not leaving until you kick me out,” I said, feeling slightly intoxicated.

“Then you may never leave,” he said, kissing my lips.

He sat beside me on the couch and I leaned against his chest, sliding my arm across his middle and nestling my head under his chin. He didn’t speak; the only sound in the room was the buzzing from his ceiling fan and our quiet, rhythmic breaths.

Before I could focus the fuzziness in my brain to form another question, exhaustion engulfed me, and my eyes became too heavy to keep open. I relaxed further into Jared’s side, feeling my consciousness slip away. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling—I felt I was just where I belonged. My last coherent thought was the contentment I felt as Jared’s warm arms tightened around me.

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Caught

The mangled, dark blue sheets underneath me were unfamiliar, but their wonderful scent was one I recognized right away. I lifted my head, peering around to study my surroundings. I was in a king-sized bed that sat against a grey, cinderblock wall. The alarm clock on the night table read nine o’clock in large, red numbers.

My eyes drifted to a metal frame beside the clock, and I blinked to bring it into focus. It was a black and white picture of me. It had been taken from an indefinite distance, zoomed in on my face. It was from a high angle, and it reminded me of the surveillance photos I’d seen in the Port of Providence file.