Page 56

ARELLA

Minutes ago, my grandpa was choking my boyfriend against the wall. Now Trey is making a ton of backward statements, told my family I’m pregnant, and just threatened to blast them with a fireball. What is going on, and how did my life unravel so quickly?

The kitchen is silent. Gramps looks like he’s about to strangle Trey again, and my man has a smug grin on his face like he’s challenging Gramps to do it. I’m too confused to move.

Like usual, Grammy’s the only one with her head on straight. She gestures toward the table before the men—excuse me, boys —can start fighting again. “Why don’t we all sit down?”

Trey doesn’t miss a beat. He twists on his heel to pull out a chair for me.

I sit, then he pulls out another chair, moves it next to mine, and plants himself on it.

He even makes a show of putting his arm around the back of my chair and resting his hand over my shoulder.

Still smiling, he locks his gaze onto Gramps as if daring him to say something about it.

My grandparents take the seats across from us. Both of their expressions are like they’ve seen a baby get thrown off a skyscraper.

“I just made a bunch of confessions,” Trey says, “all of which Roxy has confirmed are lies. I think it’s time you two made some confessions of your own.”

Gramps and Grammy swivel their heads to each other. They seem to say something with their eyes. What I gather from it is that neither of them know what to say and they’re hoping the other will take the lead.

“No confessions?” Trey asks.

The room stays hushed.

“Not a single one?” He waits another moment. “All right. If you want, I could say my theories, but I think Arella would rather hear it from you.”

Hear what? What am I missing?

Trey continues, “Let’s see. I don’t know the whole story, so I’ll just have to fill in the blanks myself. What I don’t know is how the fuck you came into her life and why. And what reason you two possibly have to think I’m dangerous to her.”

Like a reflex, my arm flies to backhand him in the chest. “Trey!”

“Ow!” He rubs the spot I hit. “What?”

“No swearing, remember?”

His head jerks back. “Oh, now that rule is in effect? What about earlier when you swore?”

“Things were heated,” I say defensively, straightening up. “It was necessary.”

“What do you think, Phil?” Grammy asks in a soft tone, biting her lip.

“I think this boy is a good liar and has fooled you. I think I’m two seconds away from killing him. And while I’m dragging his body into a ditch, I think you should go make the call.”

What call? And excuse me? Drag Trey’s body into a ditch? I’d like to think Gramps is joking, but the daggers in his eyes tell me otherwise. “Grandpa! This is the father of my unborn child you’re talking about murdering.”

Gramps doesn’t take his attention off Trey. “Ari, you are not pregnant with this man. It’s impossible.”

“What makes you think—” I gasp. He knows about Zordinaries. He thinks it’s impossible for me to carry a Zordi child. But how does he know that?

“Phil,” Grammy says calmly, “I think we’ve gotta tell her.”

“We will do no such thing! We swore from day one that we would protect her. We won’t stop just because some deceiving asshole has crashed into the picture. Now go make the call. They’ll help us take care of this.”

“But Phil . . . He loves her.”

Bang! Gramps slams a fist against the table. “He’s lying!”

“He’s not,” Grammy says with calm conviction.

“Seriously, Rox? He’s already manipulated her. Now you’re gonna let him manipulate you too?”

I’ve gotta hand it to Grammy, she doesn’t allow Gramps’s fury to affect her. Her voice stays even as she says, “My internal alarm went off as the boy made all those backward statements. You can’t fool my gift.”

Finally, it hits me. “Oh! You’re a Detector.”

Grammy nods. “Yes, dear. I am.”

“But that means . . .”

“Yes, dear. We are.”

My grandparents are... Zordis? How? Does that mean I am too? I don’t have any powers though. Plus, my body functions like an Ordinary’s body. Then that means... “You’re not my grandparents.”

Grammy’s gaze falls to her lap. “No, dear. We aren’t.”

“Roxy!” Phil shouts, slamming both fists against the table. “What the hell are you doing? I did not agree to this.”

Grammy isn’t having it anymore. “Phillip, you need to exit the kitchen, and you are not to return until you have a handle on yourself. You’re embarrassing me in front of Ari and her boyfriend.”

Trey lifts a finger. “Actually, I’m not just her boyfriend. We’re soul mates. Confirmed by the glimmer on multiple occasions.”

Gramps grits his teeth together as he turns to Grammy. “Rox?”

“Truth,” Grammy says.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Gramps’s chair squeals as he shoves himself away from the table. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Good,” Grammy says. “And don’t come back until you’ve cooled down.”

Gramps makes a grunt as he slips into a pair of shoes near the back door. He continues muttering swearwords to himself as he slams the door shut and stomps across the yard.

“I apologize for his rudeness,” Grammy says.

“I’ll have a strict talking to him later tonight.

Now, Ari, I owe you an explanation, and I’m happy to tell you everything, but first, I just realized I’ve been a bad host. Would either of you like something to drink?

Or a snack? I’ve got Christmas cookies and milk. ”

“Milk and cookies would be great,” Trey says with a sweet smile.

I only nod because I can’t get any words out. My grandparents aren’t really my grandparents? What?

Behind me, Grammy rummages around the kitchen. A moment later, three glasses of milk appear on the table. Trey grabs one of them. After he takes a long drink, Grammy tops off his glass, then returns to the table with a large Tupperware of home-baked cookies.

Trey grabs one from the box and pops the entire thing into his mouth. “Delicious.”

“Thank you,” Grammy says as she settles back into her chair. “I feel like there’s so much to say. I don’t know where to start.”

My mouth is dry as I say, “I know where. Why don’t you start with the part where you and Gramps aren’t actually my grandparents?”

Trey places his hand over my thigh, offering me a small slice of comfort.

“Ari,” Grammy says with a soft pouty look on her face.

“I hope you can understand that while we aren’t biologically your grandparents, it doesn’t change that in every other way, we are.

From the moment you were placed into our care, we vowed that we’d protect you with our lives and love you as if you were our own.

If anything, you’re more like a daughter to me.

When you came to us, Grandpa and I were already in our fifties, so we had to claim to be your grandparents. ”

“Why did you have to claim to be my family at all? What happened to my real family?”

Grammy tears up a little, making me feel bad for what I said. She places a hand over her heart. “We are your real family, dear. Maybe not biologically, but Grandpa and I are the ones who raised you and made all the sacrifices we needed to for your safety.”

“Safety from what?”

“Not what, dear. Who. And that who is the Grant family.”

Trey’s body stiffens. I put my palm over the top of his hand on my thigh, offering him my comfort in return. He doesn’t ease into me the way he usually does, so I give his hand a little squeeze and shoot a scowl at my... well, the person I thought was my grandma.

“Don’t lump Trey in with the rest of the Grants,” I say. “Whatever happened back then, he had nothing to do with it.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Grandma turns to Trey. “How old would you have been back then?”

“Seven,” he says. “I was seven when my parents were killed. On the same day Arella’s parents died.”

Wait. What? It was on the same day?

Grammy furrows her eyebrows together as she thinks. “Ah, yes. It was the same night, wasn’t it?”

Trey’s body goes rigid. “Can you tell us what you know?”

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, honey?” I ask, because this poor man has spent most of his life wondering what happened the night his parents were killed. I never thought it’d be my grandparents who might have the answers.

Trey closes his eyes, sucks in a deep breath, then slowly releases it. When he reopens his eyes, he nods with vigor. “I’m more than ready.”

Grammy takes a drink of her milk, then begins.

“Phil and I were living in San Diego. He was an Enforcer. I also worked for the zovernment, but in foreign affairs. We had been married for quite some time and had no children. We’d had a child at one point—a daughter.

She died when she was fifteen from a severe case of zmonia.

It’s like the Ordinary pneumonia, but for Zordis, and worse.

The mortality rate is about forty percent, and our little Cassie didn’t make it. ”

Grammy locks her watery eyes on me. There’s nothing but pain on her face.

“Your grandpa and I were devastated. We only had one child, so when we lost Cassie, it felt like we’d lost our entire world.

That’s why when our longtime friend Rita came to us with a child who had just lost her parents and needed protection, we didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“Rita had told us she was a graphic designer until she showed up that night on our doorstep with you in hand. She explained that she was really a ZIRDA agent and that she was working on this mission to discover what made some rare Ordinaries immune to Zordi powers.

“You were the youngest of the Ordinaries they were studying. Your parents were told that you were part of a top secret medical study led by the government. Your parents were assured that the research would cause you no harm. As you can guess, they were lied to. The tests were not safe whatsoever. ZIRDA was doing everything from cutting the Immunes open to pumping them with drugs and raping them.”

I gasp with a hand covering my mouth. “No.”