Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
ZAIN
I wasn’t sure this was necessary.
Actually, it may have been necessary, but that didn’t mean I liked it.
And I really didn’t like the exposure and risk that it was putting on my Bella. My gaze tracked her expression as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and smoothed out her fresh shirt, looking effortlessly relaxed, confident, and not nervous in the least.
Something I envied because despite being a scary apocalyptic terror, if you asked me to get up in front of the entire nation to explain the mass confusion and panic occurring, I would not be as relaxed as Bella was managing to be.
Following War’s death and the explosion of power from the sis metas channeling through Arabella, every single hold he had on the humans broke apart.
Not just throughout the military installation, but around the nation.
The power explosion had also caused a sonic boom that originated from our location, so military branches throughout the nation were reaching out to us here, and I had no doubt it would only be a matter of minutes until the news stations started to arrive.
So Arabella had come up with the brilliant plan to address all of it on a live broadcast from the command center within the base. It really was the easiest way to clear up confusion, but the idea of every single person in the nation knowing who she was caused me to feel uneasy.
The base had the ability to interrupt any broadcast or show going on throughout the nation with the flick of a few switches, and that capability would ensure that everyone heard the message that the pain and trouble were over, that one nightmare’s faults didn’t represent all of us.
I was sure there would be those who felt conflicted about it, but I believed in Arabella’s vision where conflict would only exist on an individual level and not because of someone’s species.
What I didn’t trust? Humans. I really did not trust humans, especially after everything that had happened.
I knew that the humans here at the base were beyond dazed, most of them sitting in a large mess hall to hear the broadcast, but I still viewed them as a viable threat to my mate.
Which is why I’d placed myself right at the entrance, already thinking about the fastest way out of here and back to the jets once she was finished.
“Are we good?” Arabella asked, looking towards one of the sis metas who’d joined us.
Her mates were neo terrors, and they were using their magic to ensure everything went smoothly.
If I didn’t mind leaving Arabella, I would have maybe gone over and watched them at work, but as it was I didn’t want her out of my sight.
Until we were back on institute grounds, I didn’t consider her safe—hell, maybe not even there.
This entire situation had left me more than a bit paranoid when it came to my Bella.
“One minute until you’re live.”
She nodded and seemed to drift into her own thoughts, probably considering what she would say.
The rest of us were spread throughout the room, and the only one who seemed even slightly relaxed was Saint, his smile lighthearted as he tossed War’s skull back and forth between his hands.
I thought it was a pretty great gift for Bella, if we were being honest.
“You know what you’re going to say, flower?” he asked curiously, coming to stand next to me. Arabella nodded, looking determined, and I forced myself to stop tapping my foot, not wanting her to see the anxious gesture. I had no doubt she would do amazing and say exactly what needed to be said.
Damian made a concerned noise from next to me, as if reading my mind. “I hate how many people are going to see her.”
And I had no doubt that because of their recent mating, he was feeling particularly possessive over her, although our normal was fairly extreme.
I had no idea how the woman had killed a god terror and mated Damian, all within the last hour or two, and still managed to be sitting upright. In fact, she looked exhilarated.
Watching that display of power, even from above, had been amazing. It left me feeling much the same—exhilarated—so I did get it to an extent. I could only imagine what it felt like to have that type of power rolling through you.
One of the neo terrors suddenly spoke up. “We are LIVE in three-two-one.”
The last word was only mouthed as the camera focused on Arabella standing in front of the command center podium, the wall behind her featuring a military emblem. It would make a statement for sure.
“Hello everyone.” Arabella’s tone was smooth, and the smallest relaxed smile was on her lips, her eyes filled with a compassion that I knew she actually felt.
“I know many of you are panicking now, not only because of the confusion some of you or your family members may be experiencing, but because of the sonic blast many of you just felt.
I am here to clear that up and hopefully give you some insight.
“My name is Arabella McCroy, and I am one of the team leads—” Damn straight she was, and I nearly chuckled at Saint’s annoyed grumble at her last name.
“—at ISS, an institute that houses nightmares and has for decades, far before the fall of the veil.
Over the past ten years there has been growing tension between humans and nightmares, and only within the past two weeks did we realize why.
“It wasn’t because of a natural animosity or hatred, it was an influenced behavior that may have affected many of your family members, or maybe even yourself.
The god terror War was using compulsion to most likely create, as well as influence, both MAM—Man Against Monster—and the human-led military.
He was working in conjunction with two other god terrors to create a chaotic storm of hate, one that would have led to a true civil war between humans and nightmares.
Even now, there are confused groups of MAM and other paramilitary groups outside of nightmare communities who probably don’t understand why they are there.
“The true nightmare is over, though,” she said with a reassuring smile.
“The sonic blast you felt was the result of War being defeated. He will no longer be a problem, and while the confusion felt by those under his influence will eventually settle, he won’t be waiting to reestablish his power—he’s gone for good.
“I know that this may not clear up everything, and I know you may have questions, which is why I will be staying here in Rabalt, California for two days to answer questions for both the human governments and news stations.”
I muttered a quiet curse. She hadn’t told us that part of her plan, and even worse than not being able to return home yet was that Arabella was going to be interacting with individuals on a person-to-person basis. Still, if Bella thought it was the right move, then that’s what we’d do.
“The nightmare community doesn’t have a formal government.
ISS serves as that government so I am taking the responsibility of serving as its official spokesperson,” she explained and then tilted her head slightly.
“For all of the nightmares out there concerned about the safety of your homes, please reach out to ISS.
“For everyone, I assure you that the fear is over, and while I know that War’s disappearance won’t solve everything, I hope that it will bring on a new time where humans and nightmares can coexist peacefully.”
Arabella offered a small smile, and with a nod, the neo terrors cut the broadcast. Unsurprisingly, Bella had done absolutely perfect. She’d managed to push through her entire message, and now it would just be a matter of handling everyone who wanted answers.
“Sorry, guys.” She winced. “I thought about the ‘staying for two days’ thing on the fly—I just considered that they would try to come back to the institute, and I wanted to avoid that. I know it’ll be a lot of work, but it’ll be worth it to keep people from disrupting our home.”
“That’s true,” Blackwell grunted, not seeming to like that he agreed.
“Lets get that penthouse and work out of there,” I suggested. Cy nodded and pulled out his phone, most likely to call Arabella’s father.
Amun and Ashur were standing to the side, watching the neo terrors in confusion, and I couldn’t help but find that more than amusing—the technology was probably throwing them for a loop. Especially since a ton of screens were now showing her broadcast on a bunch of different networks.
It was going to work.
When Bella appeared in front of me, wrapping her arms around my waist, I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “How was it?”
Running a hand up her throat to tilt up her chin, I gave her a smile. “You were amazing. I think you told them exactly what they needed to know without it being too confusing.”
“Because human minds are simple,” Saint added, making Arabella roll her eyes.
“Alright,” she said. “We need to go to the penthouse. And Saint?”
“Yes, flower?”
“You should probably put the skull away for the humans—we don’t want to scare them.”
But didn’t we?
Around the fifth time of Arabella having to lie to a reporter about the skull being fake, Saint finally relented and put it away.
It wasn’t because he cared about the humans, but Arabella was looking a bit tired from having to answer the same questions again and again.
Even in groups of reporters it was draining, and while we had tried to step in and answer, the natural human fear of us had them paralyzed.
Until Arabella stepped in, they just stared at us instead of asking questions.
It was causing the atmosphere to turn less than pleasant, because all of us were blaming the humans for our mate’s discomfort.
Luckily, it appeared the evening was close to done, with only the human military officials on the list to come and talk.
I don’t know why they’d waited until so late at night, but if I had to guess it was to avoid all of the reporters themselves.
After all, it was a bit awkward to admit that your military had been infiltrated and controlled by a god terror for years.
As the elevator doors closed on a group of reporters, leaving all of us in a comfortable silence and giving us a bit of a break, Arabella groaned and face-planted into the cushion next to me.
“Why did they need interviews one-on-one? Why wasn’t the larger one to a bunch of reporters good enough?” she grumbled. “These military guys better have their questions ready to go, especially since I have to miss out on seeing the sis metas off.”
Although, there had been no lack of goodbyes. They’d all gathered in a garden outside of the hotel to see Arabella before leaving, hugs being exchanged along with the promise that we would return and visit them. I didn’t care to go back all that much, but from it had come an even better compromise.
Arabella had told them to tell Jalissa that whenever a young sis meta or nightmare wanted to go out into the world, the institute would pick them up and let them stay at ISS until they decided a safe plan on where to explore.
I thought it was a brilliant idea, and one of the young women, Maeve I think Bella called her, planned to do exactly that within the coming months.
It was a brilliant move to make sure we stayed in touch with Jalissa’s village as well. I had no doubt that this wouldn’t be the last time we needed them.
“I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” I said, pulling her onto my lap and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
Before she could respond, Arabella’s stomach growled, and her cheeks turned pink as she muttered a curse.
I chuckled, my tone a bit more tense than normal, as it sent the entire room into a damn near frenzy.
I knew that Arabella wasn’t starving, obviously, but it did make me uncomfortable to know we hadn’t provided food for her.
I needed to start carrying snacks around.
I had to admit, since the village, but more so the power explosion, Arabella’s health seemed almost unnatural.
It possibly had to do with completing all her mate bonds, but maybe it was something else.
Either way, she seemed to be glowing with life, and it went a long way to making me feel better about everything we’d been through.
“I have a feeling that this is about to turn into a dinner meeting,” she grumbled.
“As it should be.” I brushed my lips across her cheek. “You need to relax after everything you’ve been through.”
“Oh, I have no doubt the minute we get home I’ll be forced to relax.” Her smile grew, seemingly amused. She wasn’t wrong.
When the elevator bell rang, signaling our guests’ arrival, Bella stood up. I knew I wouldn’t pay much attention to the meeting, except for her safety and reactions, so I left my thoughts to go where they pleased.
Once this meeting was done and Bella had eaten enough dinner, I wanted to ensure that she got to sleep because I knew she was only running on fumes right now. Then after everything was settled here and the humans got their answers, we would be able to go home…
There would be a few key decisions and things we needed to handle in the upcoming days, mainly making sure our union—call it marriage or whatever else—was recognized in both the human world as well as the nightmare world.
I wanted to marry Bella, which meant I—we—needed to propose to her, and I wanted the moment to be one she’d always remember.
Which meant she needed a ring worthy of her finger.
Instantly my lips pressed up, my thoughts running a million miles an hour, a vision of a ring coming to mind. I looked at Ashur across the room. I had no doubt that with his help, we would be able to create the ring of Arabella’s dreams.
Then, once that was settled, I wanted to build a house for us to live in. Even if we weren’t starting a family yet—although the concept of that was extremely appealing—I wanted to be able to shut our door after a long day and know that it would be just our family.
That was true paradise, in my mind.