Page 246 of Caelum

Frazer shrugged. “I have respect, but you’re trying to tell me that the prophets wereJannah, and, what? That my woman is too?”

“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” she bit off. “Or aren’t you listening?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, and I could see he was starting to get pissed—Frazer did not like being questioned by anyone save his Pack. I knew it came from his shitty relationship with his parents, but it always put us at a disadvantage when we were in situations that required diplomacy. And Hell Hounds? They were the antithesis of diplomatic.

Maybe God did exist if he put a Vampire in our Pack… Samuel, being Samuel, threw water onto the flames by murmuring, “We’re listening, ma’am, but you have to understand how difficult this is for us to understand.”

Avalina’s lips tightened, but the politeness, thepolitesse, in Sam’s voice would have been enough to satisfy the Queen of fucking England. As much as I loved him, the dude could kiss ass like no other.

And he wasn’t even into rimming. I’d know, considering I’d watched him work over more than one girl in our years at Caelum.

Eve, of Adam and Eve fame, tipped her head at us with all the regalness of Lizzy the Second then murmured, “TheJannahare rare, and their abilities are often exploited if discovered. Most spend their lives in seclusion, hiding from others so their talents can’t be used or manipulated for the gain of strangers. That makes our connecting with them incredibly difficult.”

“I don’t mean to be dumb,” Nestor interjected with a frown, “but why don’t you justwishto connect with them?”

Bartlett shook his head. “I’m no longerJannah.” He winced. “That’s not right. I’m different. I’m the first. My abilities died when I died that first time, and I was punished further. There is only oneJannahliving at any one moment in time, and even then, one doesn’t die and another is born.” He shrugged. “It just doesn’t work like that. There is no way to discern when next aJannahis born.”

“Is there a way of creating a pattern with the births? Sensing where the line might lead?” Nestor questioned, his tone eager with interest.

Again, Bartlett shook his head. “There is one link—Avalina and me. Everyone in this room has a direct connection to us, and yet it has been watered down so many times over the millennia that it’s barely there, which is why some families bear amajnunand others don’t. But ‘barely there’ is still a link. TheJannahfall where they fall, and we cannot anticipate their birth. It is not supposed to be easy. Absolution and forgiveness never come without a cost.”

“A cost to humanity,” Eren argued. “It’s humans who are suffering. The Ghouls’ numbers are growing and they’re killing innocents.”

“And their deaths weigh on our souls,” Avalina whispered. “But we can only do so much, and even then, it can cause issues. Bartlett calling Merinda to help with Eve was a huge misstep. We may still be punished for that. It is a punishmentweare willing to handle, but God decides where his wrath may fall.”

An uneasy silence fell among us as we thought about God smiting us.Great.Something I seriously wanted on my bucket list.

Rubbing the back of his neck for the tenth time in less than half an hour, Frazer muttered, “And the ink? Do you understand it? Can read it?”

Avalina nodded. “It’s been a long time since I saw this language. Mostly it was spoken, not written. Early man was not capable of this level of communication.”

“Do you know what it means?” Eren questioned.

She tilted her head from side to side. “For the most part.”

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

I blinked. “Okay. So… are you going to tell us?”

“It depends on what you’re going to do with the information.”

Stefan snorted. “Those tattoos glow like Eve is plugged into the grid. The second we veer off course, she falls asleep.”

Bartlett frowned. “Veer off course?”

“When we intended on hiding her from Caelum because of her abilities, she passed out. She only truly woke up when our plans to understand the ink manifested and we found you.”

Avalina shot Bartlett a look that didn’t take much to translate—concern.

“What is it?” Nestor asked, his fingers fidgeting with his unease.

“That has never happened before. The glowing part.” Bartlett studied my mate. “Is it possible to make them glow now?”

“She doesn’t have an on-off switch,” I argued, but Eve shot me a look that I tossed back her way. “What? Youdon’t!”

“Calm down,” she ordered, her tone flat. “Or I’ll make you.”

The threat hovered in the air, and I knew I wasn’t the only one stunned.

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