Sunburst (Starbright Series) by Rachel Higginson Page B

mold with varying degrees of gorgeous. Their skin color was always a rich, golden tan, their hair the same naturally highlighted deep brown and bodies muscled to the max and well fit for fighting. The eye color and facial features changed from Warrior to Warrior, but all of them looked like they could be brothers, my dad and Nate included.
                  “We’ve seen him,” Nate announced. He walked over to the sink and immediately filled a glass of water for Serena and him.
                  “He’s with them,” Serena explained, taking the glass and draining it. Clearly they had flown directly here and landed just outside the house. They were out of breath and a bit windblown. And they were covered head to toe in leather- leather pants, leather jackets, and thick leather boots. I hadn’t climbed on the bad-ass bandwagon yet, preferring to fight and fly in my yoga pants and t-shirts. But they rocked this look with their otherworldliness. “We found them in London. Seth was with Aliah, Seven and a few more Fallen that we recognized.”
                  “What were they doing in London?” I demanded. The words fell from my lips before I could stop them, even though it felt like hearing the answer would kill me.
                  Serena shared a look with Nate and then turned her bright blue eyes back to me, “It looked like they were celebrating.”
                  “Celebrating?” I choked.
                  “Stella,” Nate started in his authoritative, rumbling voice and I knew he was about to confirm our deepest fears. “Seth is Fallen. Serena, we…. it was confirmed. He is Fallen.”
                  The words echoed around my head like marbles in empty space. They just kept rolling and rolling, bouncing off my skull, but never settling. I didn’t- couldn’t- wouldn’t understand this.
                  “It’s not possible,” I insisted.
                  The room was silent in answer. There was no response to my complaint, because everyone else had accepted what I wanted to believe was a lie. He wouldn’t have done that to me.
                  He wouldn’t.
                  A knock on the back door drew all of our attention. In unison we looked up and stared at it, like it was its own life form. Slowly my dad stood up and walked over through the mudroom to find out who it was.
                  When he returned into the main part of the kitchen, relief sagged his shoulders and he half turned to me, “Stella, it’s your friends.”
                  Piper. In all the craziness, I forgot she promised to come over.
                  “Oh, right.” I stood up, feeling like I had to push against the weight of the world to get to my feet. “I’ll go outside with them.”
                  I reached the door, feeling a building excitement to get out of this house and away from these people. I needed to be around my friends- the ones that wouldn’t abandon me, the ones that had nothing to do with the ugly side of my life.
                  “Stella,” my dad called out to me. “Whatever his thinking, or reason for doing what he did, he cares about you, Sweetheart. I believe he did what he did out of concern for you, not because he truly defected.”
                  My shoulders dropped and I felt the treachery of tears prick my eyes. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? He still did it. He’s still Fallen. No matter why he did it, or for whom he did it. The outcome is the same.”
                  Nobody had anything to say to that, so I opened the door and walked outside. Away from the ringing disappointment that Seth had just ceased to be a part of my life.
                  Forever.

Chapter Eight
     
                  “Hey,” Piper smiled at me. “You really do look like hell.