Free Jade Moon (Celestial War Book 1) by Julia Richards

not the way we expected.”
    “What happened?”
    “Rather than come after us, they killed Lois and Frank,” her voice fell flat, dulled with emotion but tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes.
    “What?” I sat up, horrified.
    “They threatened your father and me, but were afraid to move against us openly. It would have brought down the full force of the Solaris upon them. We counted on that to keep us safe…and they didn’t attack us directly. Instead, they killed Lois and Frank. Tortured them, sent me their…” Mom broke into a full sob.
    I crawled into the narrow chair next to her and wrapped my arms around her.
    She let out a few shuddering breaths. “They sent me their hearts, Harper. That was when your dad knew we had to hide somewhere they couldn’t find us. He knew Orlando Ek. Mr. Ek agreed to shelter us in his home village. And so we fled to Belize.”
    “Why didn’t dad come with us?”
    “He’s a Sun Warrior. His duty was to fight the Lunates. He also said it would be easier for them to find us if he was there. I realize now, of course, that we made a mistake.”
    “Mistake? Is that why we came back?”
    Mom nodded. “We were safe in Belize for so long, I thought we had really gotten cleanly away.” Mom looked wistful. “But then, a few months ago, men showed up in San Ignacio asking about us. Throwing around money. Mr. Ek got word that they were on their way to San Pedro so we had to run. I didn’t want to risk everyone there and I was afraid what they would do if they found us. So we fled to the only place I thought there would be enough Solaris to keep you safe.
    “But, that’s the problem with secret societies, you never know who is who. This used to be a Solaris strong hold, and there are still some people here that remember me. Martin Silver. Boon Wattana.” Mom’s face pinched with stress. “They are reluctant to help, though I don’t fully understand why. Which means I’m in the dark, not sure if we are truly safe here. I mean, Martin offered to watch over you at school, assured me that, since it was so public, you would be safe there. He also told me there are many Lunates here now. So, perhaps we’ve come to the belly of the beast. But I have no idea where else to go.”
    “So it’s the Lunates you’re afraid are after us now. After you for some reason?”
    “That’s right.”
    “And dad was some kind of Sun Warrior?
    “Yes, he is.” She beamed with pride, clearly still loved him.
    For a second I let myself imagine it were true. “That is really freaking cool.”
    That got a genuine smile from her.
    “Well, now you know everything I do. I swear I have an actual birthday present for you but that will have to wait a few days until your birthday.”
    “Mom, thank you for telling me all this. I don’t want anything more.”
    She looked so relieved that a small bit of guilt lifted off my shoulders.
    “Hey, you’re supposed to stay home tomorrow for your suspension, right?” Mom said with a gleam in her eye.
    “Yeah.”
    “How about we go get a few pints of ice-cream, a block of yummy cheese, a baguette, and some dark chocolate. I’ll rent some movies and we can see if the old DVD player here even works. Make a day of it?”
    “I would love that, mom,” I said. And I meant it.
     

 
    Olivia
     
    Mom and I had an amazing day together. We lounged in pajamas and ate and laughed. It was almost like being home in Belize.
    “Tomorrow I’m getting you a cell phone,” mom said absent mindedly. I tried not to whoop with joy.
    As the sun set I stupidly joked, “Man, mom, I’m thinking about getting in trouble again. We could do this once a week or something.”
    I regretted it as soon as it left my lips. “Please Harper. I don’t think I can handle more stress.”
    “It was a joke, Mom. A joke.” But it killed the cozy mood. She got up and puttered around, straightening things that weren’t really messy. We went to bed slightly uneasy, too much emotion