The Unveiling by Shyla Colt Read Free Book Online

and keep him in his spot on the couch.
    "What more is there?" Mars asked.
    "I don't know. That's why we need to Call them."
    "I don't like this," Kade said.
    "Finally a voice of reason!"  Mars threw his hands up in the air and slumped back against the couch, arms crossed over his chest.
    "But if you think it's necessary you have my support," Kade finished.
    "Come on! We're taking our parents away from whatever place they've found their peace in, making them relive their own death. That's sick! How can you stand here so unaffected by what you're planning to do?"
    Phelan's eyes grew bright with anger. "I'm not unaffected. I have a duty to our people. Our parents will understand that. They've lived under the same pressure."
    "Oh, so now you want to pull the King card?" Mars said.
    "I'm not pulling anything," Phelan said. His knuckles had gone white, and Bastien could see he was on the edge.
    "Why don't we all just calm down—" Kade said.
    "No!" Mars jumped from the couch.
    "I don’t understand why you have such a problem with this, Marsden. You know as well as I do it's the only option we have," Phelan shook his head. "This is about what's best for our people, not our own issues."
    "Easy for you to say, Phelan, you were always the golden child. A chip off the old block, destined to follow in daddy's footsteps, and taken to every royal function and showed off like a prized treasure. I barely knew Mom and Dad! I was the one who was sent away to live in a foreign land. For what? I don’t know!"  Mars chest heaved, and his eyes grew glassy. "I don't know," he whispered. He sank down onto the edge of the couch. The fight left him as fast as it'd come. Phelan walked over and sank down onto the couch beside him, throwing an arm around his shoulders.
    "Now you can. I knew their death was hard on you, but you always hide everything behind that wicked sense of humor and easy smile. At the least, this is our chance to truly heal from the gaping hole their early deaths left in all our lives. I have my own issues. I don't know if Dad will like what I've done with his legacy or understand the decisions I've been forced to make. Look at us, we're on Earth."  Phelan shook his head and gave a weak chuckle. "The D'Shar family does what's necessary to keep their people safe and I think happy, for the most part. So, we're going to pull it together and do this now."
    Mars nodded his head. "You're right."
    "I’m going to make sure we all get some one on one time with the folks as well. It's an opportunity we can't pass up."
    The words may have comforted Mars, who managed a shaky smile, but they made Bastien nervous. The last thing he wanted to do was dredge up old things with his parents.
    "So we all agree to do this?" Phelan asked.
    A chorus of yeses filled the room, and Phelan patted Mars on his back before he stood. "Good. I'll call Rivka now." He pulled out his phone and walked toward the door to the room, leaving them to talk amongst themselves.
    "What are your thoughts on this, Bast? You were pretty silent," Kade said.
    "I think Phelan is right. We're missing something and until we fill in the blanks, Tavel will remain one step in front of us. We can't have that. I sense he's getting desperate or ready to launch a plan he's been working on for a long time. Why else would he choose to come forward and kidnap Zasha?"
    "What do you think he's going to do?" Mars asked, once again composed.
    "No idea." Bastien shook his head.
    "I've been working closely with forensics from the P.I.U. unit trying to figure out all the chemicals he used and what they were for. It's been terrifying. It's like he's trying to make some kind of modified being,” Kade said.
    "Why?" Mars asked. "We're already stronger, smarter and more powerful than humans. Why isn't that enough?"
    "For some people, enough never comes," Bastien said. "They always want more. It's like a black hole inside of them that wants to swallow everything whole."  His thoughts drifted to the