Forever Trilogy 3: Angel Eyes Read online

  The letter went on and on about how much respect Daemon had for our haven, and how he much regretted sending vampires to attack Brighton three weeks ago. He was giving us our freedom, releasing us from the treaty that was signed at the end of the war. The letter assured us that it was well deserved after defeating Nathena. He had signed his name at bottom, promising a permanent peace between our two worlds and urged me to sign it as well.

  It was good thing that Guardian Dent had received the letter before I had. I would have burned the thing. Every word had been a lie, it was merely the result of he and Leia’s pact. Unfortunately, the witchfolk here in Brighton were terrified of our haven ending up like the others. They urged me to sign the thing, and through gritted teeth, I did so.

  If Amelie had hated me before, it was nothing to the open show of contempt she shot in my direction nowadays. I could hardly blame her for that.

  There were calls for a celebration to commemorate the moment, but a majority of the people did have enough sense to shoot that idea down.

  My life in Brighton had become my prison. Always I felt the urge to be doing something, to be actively pursuing a plan to destroy Daemon and the vampires. It was my first thought when I woke up in the morning for school, and I would sit in bed for hours at night racking my brain in an effort to come up with a way to keep the haven safe if I were to try anything.

  And that was the problem. I couldn’t allow the last haven to be destroyed. Not for something that I did. If it was just the vampires, maybe it would be worth the chance to defeat them once and for all. But with the vampires and Leia’s fallen angels having joined forces, there was just no way that I could see us winning. Together, they’d massacred the other havens.

  **********

  As Taylor and I waited in the school auditorium with the other Miss Honeybee finalists, my eyes drifted up to a picture of London. She was last year’s winner. I don’t know why that surprised me really. I wondered if she had kept an eye on me from heaven. I was sure that she had, and I wondered what she thought of my making such a mess of things. Was she angry with me? I mean, she had given me everything I needed to prevent what happened to the other havens and all I had managed to do was to get myself kicked out of heaven for good. Way to go Ana.

  Taylor was bouncing up and down in her seat. “I can’t wait to try on the crown! I wonder if it’s heavy?” Taylor, like so many in our haven, believed that Daemon’s promise for peace had been sincere. It was only natural that they would choose to hang their hopes on that, the alternative was to continue to live in fear of being wiped off the earth at any moment. Heck, if I didn’t know better, I would choose to believe Daemon too.

  The ceremony was tonight, so we had to stay after school so that we could have our heads fitted for the right crown. Apparently, there were seven of them in all, each a different size and each a different design. In the mean time we got the privilege of watching coronations from years before. Obviously, my mind was elsewhere.

  “Anastasia Adams?” called Mrs. Williams. She was the music teacher and band coach and usually handled all of the “special events” that took place over the course of the year.

  Taylor gave me a nudge. “Ana, you promised that you would at least try to be excited about this.” It was true, she and Darren had double-teamed me in my room about my constant state of depression. With the current state of things, I felt completely justified in feeling helpless and upset, but they didn’t know anything about Leia and her plans for me, so the only way to get them to back off was to promise that I would try to have fun tonight.

  I stood up and walked to the edge of the stage where a bright yellow door stood ajar. Normally, it had giant padlock barring anyone from entering. God forbid anyone get the opportunity to steal a plastic crown with dancing bees carved into it.

  Mrs. Williams gave me a big grin upon entering the room and hurried to shut the door behind me. “Congratulations! You won!”

  I felt my heart drop. “You’re kidding?”

  “Not at all, I counted the votes just this afternoon. I like to give the winners a little heads up so they’re not making out in an empty classroom when the announcement’s made. Knowing they’re going to win gives them a little incentive to stick around.”

  That forced a smile out of me. “That’s happened before?”

  “Twice,” she replied. She reached into a wooden case for a crown.

  “Well who came in second?”

  “Taylor did if I’m not mistaken.”

  “Good, then let her win. It will mean a lot more to her than it will to me.”

  Mrs. Williams frowned. “Well, I can’t say that this has ever happened before. Are you sure about this? She gets fitted next, and if I tell her that she’s the winner, you can’t have a change of heart later on. She’ll be the winner.”

  “Oh, I’m sure,” I replied with a nod.

  “Don’t you want to take a moment to think about it?”

  “Nope.”

  **********

  My mother was going to drive me insane. Whatever this disease was that had infected my best friend, it had also laid claim to my mother. First, I had to listen to her fuss about my not telling her that I had been named a finalist, then she insisted on picking out my dress. Apparently, a dress that was good enough for a coronation attended by witchfolk the world over hardly qualified for an event as utterly ridiculous as the Ms. Honeybee Contest. She couldn’t believe that I hadn’t called Aspen to do my hair and make-up, and fussed at me for there not being enough time to get her here before the opening ceremony. By time Darren showed up to take me to the dance, she was second guessing my choice in shoes.

  Only upon the threat of my staying home, did she finally resign herself to letting me out of my own closet. As she pinned up my hair, brushes hovered near my face, patting my cheeks and stroking my eyelashes. When my mother turned me around to have a look at the finished product, her eyes were wet.

  “Sweetheart, I know that you’ve been pretty down since the attacks. And I also know why that is. You couldn’t have known what they were planning. I don’t like you carrying around all this guilt. It’s not healthy. Promise me that you’ll forget about it all for tonight. Can you promise me that you’ll try your best to have some fun?”

  I gave her a smile and nodded. I’d try my best, but I wouldn’t go making any bets.

  As my mother escorted me down the stairs, I could see Darren and Chris at the bottom, laughing it up. Chris was the first to look up, and he nudged Darren to do the same.

  The smile that slipped across Darren’s face made my heart flutter. As with most things, he wore his tux well. He started up the steps toward me, and then took me into his arms, spinning me around on the stair. There was a moment there when I was sure that we were going to go tumbling over the railing. He let me slide down his chest until my eyes were level with his, and he kissed me, slow and deep.

  The sound of my mother clearing her throat woke me from my hormone induced haze, and I turned to find her face a very bright shade of pink.

  “Save of all that for the dance,” she said, not quite meeting my eyes. “And let that be the most you guys do. I’m still your mother after all.”

  “No worries,” said Darren. “We passed the kissing stage weeks ago.”

  My eyes bulged, and my mother’s jaw dropped. “He’s kidding, mom. I swear. Tell her you’re kidding, Darren.”

  “Ana, I’m not going to lie to your mom’s face.”

  “Darren!”

  “Fine, fine. I was only joking, Mrs. Adams. I promise.”

  My mother nodded as if to say “you’d better be.”

  The four of us were headed into the ballroom when I spotted Amelie leaning in a doorway that led back toward the front of the house. She had been watching us this entire time.

  Gone was the hatred she had shown me during her first few days at Wintre. The grief in her heart had grown too large to allow for the presence of any other emotion but anguish. She stared at thr
ough pained hazel eyes and kept her arms folded close to her chest.

  “Even if the rest of my haven wants to put the tragedy of the other havens in the past, pretending like they don’t remember what happened, I remember, Amelie. I can’t ever forget. Daemon will pay for what he’s done. I promise you that.”

  Amelie did nothing to acknowledge that she had heard my message to her. She simply turned and left.

  My heart felt heavy as we stepped out into the night air. I felt so powerless in all of this— I cut those thoughts short. “Not tonight,” I told myself. I had promised to give fun a fighting chance tonight. I could always go back to feeling helpless in the morning.

  A shiny black limousine waited for us behind the house. Silly me, I had always equated limos with prom, but obviously little girls didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming prom queen in Brighton, they dreamed of becoming Ms. Honeybee. Had to be something in the water.

  Darren pulled me close to him once we’d taken our seats, kissing the side of my head. “Try and relax tonight,” he whispered. “Pretend like you’re a kid without a care.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. Since when did he and my mother share a brain? I suppose that when your mother and boyfriend agree, it was time to listen. Tonight, I’d just be Anastasia Adams again. All of the worries of being a witch and an angel wouldn’t exist for however long this thing was supposed to last.

  Taylor’s mother insisted we all get out to take pictures with her. Aspen had come by to do her hair and makeup and Taylor looked phenomenal. Her face had been paled— but only slightly— which made the brown in her hair and eyes really stand out. She looked like those old paintings of Queen Elizabeth that you see in your history books, only a hundred times more stunning.

  Taylor made the rounds: first taking pictures with her dad, followed by her and Chris, then she and I, and finally with Darren who put bunny ears behind her head.

  As we stepped back into the limo, I couldn’t help but notice that Taylor’s mom and dad were holding hands. I was hesitant to ask, but Taylor must have read my mind. “Daddy sat me down when I got home to let me know that mom is moving back in. Isn’t that awesome?”

  “Wow. That is awesome.”

  With Chris, Taylor and Darren ganging up on me with their good spirits, it was hard not to have fun. It was Chris’s brilliant idea to use the complimentary champagne bottles to play “spin the bottle” in a moving car, which resulted in a lot more “chasing the bottle” than in any actual kissing. The moment Darren spun the bottle and it landed on Chris, both were ready to do something else.

  Eventually, Darren and Chris realized that they could drink the champagne, and each poured themselves a small glass. Having no wish to join them, Taylor somehow managed to convince me that sticking my head and shoulders through the large sunroof was great idea. It was. She joined me and we put our hands up and screamed like we were riding a rollercoaster.

  As soon as we got to the school, Taylor and I were rushed through the backdoor of the packed auditorium. I only got a glimpse of the crowd before we were shoved through the side door, pulled up the stairs, and then led out onto the stage next to the other finalists. I guessed we missed the opening ceremony.

  Mrs. Williams rushed over and whispered a few words into Taylor’s ears, and Taylor nodded in return. The other girls shot her some nasty looks but she hardly seemed to notice. I could tell that she was happy, and that made me happy. The poor girl was shaking.

  “Breathe,” I whispered.

  She laughed. “Okay.”

  The curtains parted and all of us put on our best smiles. I could not believe how many people were here. The seats were all filled, and the aisles were crowded too. You’d think that there would be more to this than watching the five of us stand up on stage until Mrs. Williams announced a winner.

  Mrs. Williams went on forever. She talked about the history of the contest, the story of how the school got a honeybee as its mascot, some of the “fantastic” things that past winners have gone on to do. The crowd, though I’m sure they had heard the same speech last year, ate it up.

  Finally, the band stood up and played “Flight of the Bumblebee” and the lights dim.

  “Coming in at second runner-up is Meagan Chelsey!” Meagan looked pissed, but the crowd cheered and she managed to force up a smile for their benefit. She stepped forward and has a sash that says “Princess” draped over shoulder by Principal Reardon. Mrs. Williams produced a bouquet of flowers from seemingly out of nowhere and Meagan accepted that as well.

  The band continued, and so did Mrs. Williams. “Coming in at first runner-up is…um, Anastasia Adams. I get an enormous roar, which I’m sure has far more to do with Darren’s popularity than my own, and I step up to receive my “Princess” sash and flowers as well.

  It’s then that I see my mother seated in the second row, waving her hands like a crazy person. A warm feeling passed through me, and I felt a little twinge of regret for not accepting the title. This was obviously something that meant a great deal to my mom, and she’d come to show me her support.

  But when I turned and saw the tears slipping down Taylor’s cheek, that regret fades instantly. This will be her moment, and something she can cherish forever.

  The band stopped playing after I took my place next to Meagan off to the side of the stage. The crowd had gone silent as well, and the three remaining contestants all held hands.

  “The winner of the 2011 Ms. Honeybee Contest and this year’s “Queen Bee” is…” She decided it was time to have a little fun with the crowd. “Me!” The crowd laughed, and then the students began to boo.

  “I think that before you “boo,” she continued, “some of you should think about the fact that grades haven’t gone in yet.” More laughs, even louder “boos.”

  “Okay, okay. The winner of the 2011 Ms. Honeybee Contest and this year’s “Queen Bee” is Taylor McCoy!”

  The place went nuts. Taylor nearly passed out and had to literally be carried over to where Mrs. Williams was standing. She was crying, and doing her best to breathe as they placed the “Queen Bee” sash over her shoulder. Mrs. Williams kissed both her cheeks and then placed the crown on her head. Taylor made for stunning queen.

  Our parents came onto the stage next, and my mom wrapped me up in big hug. “Congratulations!” she said. “I know you don’t think much of it, but I’m so glad you went through with it.”

  “It wasn’t so bad,” I smiled.

  “How about Taylor? You guys finishing one/two? That’s quite a feat!”

  “I’m glad she was the winner—“ I’m interrupted by another hug. I could tell that it was Taylor because I could feel my lungs touching. “Taylor!”

  She released me and took a step back. Her brown eyes shimmered and she mouthed a “thank you,” before being swept away in a mob of screaming girls. Her parents chased helplessly behind them.

  My mom read had Taylor’s lips as well and shot me a curious stare but didn’t ask questions.

  Darren appeared next and my mom took a step backwards. “I suppose I should let you two get to the dance. I’m proud of you, Ana. Have some fun tonight, you deserve it sweetheart.”

  “Don’t worry Mrs. Adams, I’ll make sure she has a good time tonight.” My mother smiled and gave him a “thumbs up,” before making her way off the stage.

  Darren took my hand and we followed the mass exodus up to the main doors of the auditorium. A blonde haired girl nearly knocked me over on the stairs, only this time I did recognize her. She swam against the current of the crowd until she was able to make it up to the stage. She darted up the stairs quickly and then disappeared behind a curtain.

  “I think I forgot something. Meet you in the dance hall?”

  Darren blinked his surprise. “Uh, sure. I could walk you back down if you want.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll be right back.” The last time I said those words to him, I came upon a burned down cabin. I had a gut feeling that this encounter would be just as bad.<
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  I ran smack into Mrs. Williams backstage.

  “That was a wonderful thing you did for your friend tonight,” she said. “You were right. This really meant a lot to her. Her grandmother won it too, did you know that?”

  “I didn’t… Hey, you haven’t seen blonde girl about my height back here have you?”

  She shook her head. “Nah, can’t say that I have. If you’re referring to Meagan, I believe her parents took her home. She had her heart set on winning too.”

  “No, just looking for a friend of mine.” Mrs. Williams shrugged and I continued my search. I had about given up when a hand reached out and snatched me into a supply closet.

  The blonde haired girl wore a devious grin and winked at me just as she had back at the Halloween Festival. “You ready?”

  My heart dropped down into my stomach. “Ready for what, Leia?”

  Her face shifted back into normal its shape and orange flame burned in her pupils. “Our revenge.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Loss

  *Ana*

  Leia took my hand and led me through the side door of the auditorium and into an empty hallway. The dance hall, where the school dance was taking place, was on the opposite side of the school. We continued down this hallway until we ended up at the janitor’s office.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked.

  “Breaking and entering,” she laughed. With a twist the doorknob broke off into her hand and she let herself inside. I followed her in.

  “Leia I don’t know if I can do this…”

  “You can and you will. Otherwise, I’d have to turn some of this anger toward you. If that ever were to happen, Ana, you can kiss your entire haven goodbye.”

  A chill slipped down my back.

  Leia stepped around the desk and started up a thin metal ladder that led up into the ceiling. I followed her up into what appeared to be an empty attic where another ladder climbed upward. Taking this ladder put us on the roof. The wind swirled up here.