Chapter 7 Remiel
Chapter seven
Remiel
Had I met Greer in a normal fashion, our first interaction would have been here at the inn.
I would have checked her in and shown her to her room.
But since we made eye contact at the restaurant earlier, I felt it would be strange.
I asked a fellow Nephilim, Sophia, to get her sorted and make her feel welcome instead.
Sam and I sat in my office behind the front desk, the door nearly closed so she wouldn’t see us.
We heard her come in and Sophia’s attempts at making friendly conversation, but she would have none of it.
Greer got upset that there wasn’t Wi-Fi or good reception.
She also commented on the cheesy Christmas decor and how it was too much.
Sophia tried her best to remain kind, but our Scrooge was just that: a Scrooge. It shouldn’t have surprised me considering her gray aura and what I experienced of her at Holly’s, but I was hoping she would have warmed up a bit after spending time with Kai.
Speaking of Kai…
It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced the usually joyful Nephilim’s anger—so long I nearly forgot what it was like. It’s still buzzing like livid hornets through the bond. He nearly screamed his frustration when Sam stopped him from kissing Greer.
Between Kai’s anger and how put out Greer was when she came in, I’m starting to think Sam should have let the kiss happen.
The aforementioned broody being is currently pacing the length of the office while we wait for Kai to come home from the bar.
He’s still spiraling, despite his submission earlier.
I would have thought him being at the bar when Greer arrived would ease him a bit, considering when I saw her at Holly’s, I still felt the hunger, but her presence made me less restless.
Yet that didn’t work. Then Kai nearly kissed her, and it made Sam… well, like this.
“Samael,” I say sternly. He continues to pace, practically wearing a hole in the carpet. “Please, take it easy.”
“How can I?” he scoffs. “I’m the only one concerned, and I don’t like it.”
I stand from my chair and step in his path, grabbing his biceps. His muscles flex beneath my palms. “What do I need to be concerned about?”
Sam brushes off my hands and shoves his in the pockets of his slacks. His nearly black eyes are heavy with his emotions, a mix of concern, stress, pain, and anger. Many beings couldn’t begin to fathom all that he feels, most Nephilim included.
His angelic grace, granting him visions of futures, deaths, and endings for all souls save the Nephilim and Angels, presses on him like a constant weight.
It would be a lot for anyone to see other people’s grief, to experience the weight of how their choices affect the ending of their lives.
It’s worn him down over the centuries. Kai and I do our best to help him, and he manages most of the time, but our new guest has disrupted his usual steady demeanor.
“Don’t play dumb, Remi. You know better than I do that Kai should not have even entertained an intimate connection with our job, a single kiss or otherwise.”
“Her name is Greer.”
Sam scowls at me. “Don’t tell me she’s got you under some kind of spell as well?”
“No, she hasn’t. I haven’t spent enough time with her yet for that to be true.”
“Maybe not, but you haven’t cared if I called a human by their name or not before.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I don’t think I’d call what I feel being under a spell.
Part of what I’m best at is living in the present, taking things in as they are and evaluating them then leading in kind.
The pull I felt to Greer at Holly’s spiked my curiosity.
Kai’s desire for her matches the attraction I felt as well.
Should I be concerned by what it all means?
Maybe. But I’m oddly grounded now that she’s here, even with the hunger still rolling in my gut.
The more I pull it apart, I realize the hunger is desperate to not only be around her but to get to know her as well.
Touch her. If I were in Kai’s position, I have no doubt I would have kissed her.
Maybe done more, regardless of the fact she’s here for us to guide.
Sam’s black aura, one that signifies his lineage and the power of his grace and is usually calm like the night sky, emanates from his being. The sight of it is curious. Normally, I tap into his energy to see it, but it’s expanding around him all on its own like he can’t control it.
“Sam,” I say carefully. “I know our reactions to Greer aren’t normal, but it’s affecting you deeply.” I lift my gaze to the smoky tendrils pulsing around him. His back straightens when he realizes what’s happening, and his aura snaps back into his body like a rubber band.
I take a tentative step toward him, thankful he allows me to place a calming hand on his shoulder, soothing him with my own aura, light easing dark. He closes his eyes, taking an inhale, and reopens them on an exhale. His angry gaze still remains, but he’s back in control now, pupils focused.
“Sam, what—”
“I know you live in the present, Remi—it’s what makes you, you.
” He cuts me off, obviously not wanting to speak about what just happened.
“But I need you to think about the whole picture here. Greer is here because she needs our help, not because she needs to be kissed or otherwise. We need to stick to the routine: three days, three visions. Then she’s gone. ”
My gaze is still locked on his when it occurs to me. “Is there something you know that you’re not telling me?”
He places his hand over mine on his shoulder. “Greer is here to learn. Her gray aura is unlike any we’ve seen; she was brought to us for a reason.”
“I know that. You know that I know that.”
“Then be reasonable.”
I sigh. “Nothing that has been said or done so far today will change what she sees here, and nothing will.”
“You don’t know that,” he says with a conviction that makes me wonder if he’s seen something in her future already that would. “Sexual intimacy can change everything,” he adds.
I grip his shoulder harder. I know he’s right, but maybe Kai’s sunny optimism and my present attitude is clouding our judgment. I can’t say I’m against it if anything were to happen, though. My curiosity over what this all means and the hunger in my gut is overriding any sense.
“I understand your concerns, Sam, but you can’t deny that something is different here. You feel it, too, or your reactions wouldn’t be so strong.”
He grinds his teeth. “I’m reacting because you’re our leader, Remiel, the head guardian of Elysian Pines.”
My own anger prickles at the back of my neck. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I shouldn’t be the one stopping Malachi from kissing our job. You shouldn’t be asking me these questions right now. We shouldn’t even be discussing something like this at all.”
“I disagree. We should be, because as we all have pointed out, many things about Greer aren’t usual.”
“Only because you and Kai are thinking with your dicks instead of your brains.”
I press my lips into a hard line, fisting my hands at my sides. “I’m not thinking with my dick, and I don’t think Kai is, either. My gut is telling me that Greer, these new feelings—there’s a reason for them. I think it’s best we let things play out how the town wants it to play out.”
“The town does not want us to fuck her.”
I nearly groan at his crassness. “I didn’t say that. But living moment to moment while she’s here won’t stop us from doing our job. She’ll still spend her nights with us, seeing what she needs to see.”
“You’re being serious?”
I nod in a terse motion.
“I think it’s a mistake. The only way to go about this is how it’s always been. We can’t get involved beyond that. We aren’t part of her future.”
I swallow the lump forming in my throat. Sam rarely ever talks about his future visions. Those are between him and the people who need to see them. But what he said, the “we” part of his statement, is what hit me in the gut.
“You’ve always said you can’t see our futures, Samael. Or any angel-kind, for that matter.”
He runs his hand through the silken threads of hair on top of his head. “I can’t. What I meant is we are not in hers. I’ve already begun to get flashes, and like the others, she doesn’t stay here.”
“But if you can’t see ours, then maybe—”
“Remiel,” he barks. “This place, you know it’s not meant for humans, and we’re not leaving Elysian Pines. When we agreed to be the guardians here, we bound ourselves to protect it, to help those in need, for as long as we walk this earth.”
“Breaking news: Kissing someone doesn’t tie you to them forever,” a voice cuts in.
Both of us turn to see Kai entering my office. He shakes snow from his long hair and stalks over to us, anger still shooting out of him like lasers.
“You know damn well that if she allowed it, you weren’t going to stop at a kiss, Malachi.”
The two beings stare each other down, their gazes full of fire and ice.
“Even so, what does it truly matter?” Kai asks.
“How many times must I say it? She’s our job, our duty. She’s not here to be played with. She’s here to learn lessons.”
“Which will happen,” Kai argues. “You had no right stopping me from kissing her.”
“I had every right. You were leading her down the wrong path.”
“And what path is that?”
“You were distracting her with passion and pleasure. She needs to feel the pain of her choices.”
“You’re overthinking this.”
“Correction, I’m the only one thinking this through at all. The two of you have lost your goddamn minds.”
Kai looks over at me, his eyebrow raised. “What are you feeling, Remi?”
My green eyes hold his steadily, searching those warm brown depths.
I see a quiet plea there, a hope I’ll be in his corner.
But the truth is, I don’t take sides. My place in Elysian Pines is to see to everyone, whether they belong to this town forever or a fleeting moment.
Sam. Kai. Greer. All I want is what’s best for them all.
“As I was telling Sam, I think it’s best we see how things play out.”
Kai nods. “That was my feeling, too. It’s why I wasn’t going to pull away in the bar. Greer needs more than just a few dreams to change her path.”
“You think your cock is the answer, then?” Sam looks at me. “Or should I say cocks?”
Kai throws up his hands. “What the fuck is your problem, Samael? You’re being an asshole.”
Sam rolls his broad shoulders back. “I’m attempting to get my point across, since apparently both of you aren’t thinking with your brains.”
“Oh, you got your point across alright,” Kai snaps.
I stalk over to them and put my hands on their shoulders.
The golden light of my aura expands out of me, a mix of hope and love instead of animosity.
The intensity of the air around us eases, but by the grind of their teeth, I know they’re fighting it, attempting to remain angry like petulant children.
“This isn’t how we speak to each other,” I say softly.
There’s a pause, and the two Nephilim lock eyes, daggers flashing between them. I continue the flow of my calming energy, and to my surprise, it’s Sam who breaks first. His shoulders ease, and he brings his large hand up to grasp the side of Kai’s neck, his thumb on Kai’s bearded chin.
“I’m sorry, Malachi.” His eyes find mine, and he places his other hand over mine on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Remiel. I don’t know what came over me.”
Kai covers Sam’s fingers with his hand. “It’s her,” he says. “Greer’s aura—her energy. It’s potent in more ways than one.”
I dip my chin. “I think Kai’s right. Everything about her is potent.”
Sam grips Kai’s throat and my hand a bit harder.
“I know how you both feel. I understand the hunger, the restlessness, the bite of anger.” He runs his tongue over his teeth.
“But that’s why I believe it’s important we stick to the plan.
Three nights. Three dreams. Greer needs us, and we can’t let our desire overtake us. ”
Kai keeps his eyes on Sam, but I hear the ghost of his voice in my mind. The words are only said to me. He said “our” desire.
I don’t react to his private communication; instead, I squeeze both of their shoulders.
I put on a small smile, pumping more hope and good energy around us until Kai is smiling, too.
I feel his calming blue aura pulsate out as well, adding his own comfort to the mix.
He may not be able to see and study auras as well as I can, but he uses their energy just the same with his focus.
I have many questions I’d love to ask Sam.
I want to know more about Greer’s future, but he won’t tell me.
He wants things to play out how he thinks they’re meant to with no interference beyond our usual guidance.
I do as well, but I also know that Greer’s future and her choices depend on her. That means that things can change.
Moreover, he’s ignoring that he can’t see our futures—he’s simply going off the fact that we’ve bound ourselves to Elysian Pines. But what if our futures can change, too? I’ve never thought about it because I didn’t have to. I’ve always accepted what is, not what was or will be.
The restless, voracious energy swirls in my lower abdomen, and my decision about this situation becomes clearer.
There’s a reason we all feel differently when it comes to Greer, why the three of us are butting heads, and it’s not just because of Greer’s gray aura.
I simply don’t know what that reason is yet.
“Are you ready for tonight, Kai?” I ask, pushing my thoughts away for now.
He nods. “I’ve already begun to sift through her memories. I think I know what’s best to show her, what she needs to see.”
“Brilliant. Now, strip.” Kai’s eyebrows shoot damn near his forehead, and when I look at Sam, his gaze is dark and simmering.
“Now? I thought I had a job to do.” He smirks.
“She’s not asleep yet; we’ll know when she is. I think we all need to take the edge off.” I begin to unbutton my shirt, and the energy in the room shifts to something carnal. “What do you think, Sam?”
He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing in the column of his throat. “I think that’s the best thought you’ve had all night, Remi.”