“You learn faster if you live through it,” he said under his breath as he evaluated my composure.
“Apparently not.”
He nodded as he clenched his jaw. “You just haven’t been stimulated. Mum was hiding you. Coming through The Fall mucks with your senses. She probably didn’t completely put it all together until it was too late, but that doesn’t matter. She - they - risked everything to get you here, and I will be damned if either of us lets them or our bloodline down.”
My eyes started to glass over. I hated myself for being mad at my mom. I missed her so much.
In the blink of an eye, Cashton had pulled me to his chest.
“Shh, now, sista. I’ve got you.”
I clenched his back as I pulled him closer. His energy was so familiar. A perfect mix of both of my parents. I didn’t care that he was an illusion. He made me feel closer to the people I’d lost in this pointless war.
“You know I’m going to be hard on you. I never wanted you over here. I wanted you safe at home, speaking sense into those who dared to close The Fall. Now that you are here, I have no choice. I have to make you invincible - because even if I told you what your future held, you wouldn’t believe me...”
I nodded weakly against his chest as I squeezed my eyes closed. The tingling sensation in my mind started to fire off again. I could see that home. I could see and hear heated discussions between us. If these memories of mine were right, I did follow him here. He was not only my big brother, but also my best friend - the only one that really got me.
I tried so hard to hold on to those images to understand them more, but it was pointless. My heart stopped each time my mom or dad came into view, and grief would take over.
“We’ll figure it out. I’m not telling you to tell your bestie goodbye. I’m telling you that she has her own fate to conquer - and if you stand too close, she will use you as an excuse not to attempt it.”
He hit that right on the money.
Right about then, Madison charged out of the room. I slowly dropped my arms from around Cashton, but she was too mad to question my odd way of hanging my arms in the air.
“The lake,” she fumed.
I nodded once then sent my soul there. I guess she was telling me to move on and find Silas. That she got nothing out of Britain.
Once we manifested in the dog park near the lake, I let silence fall for a few minutes, allowing nature to entertain us with its gentle melody. Cashton was right behind me, surveying the area before taking stock of Madison’s frail composure. No doubt, Britain didn’t see this. She held it in until he was out of sight.
I really didn’t know what to say to her.
“We can talk about it if you want. But…I’m not sure he is good for you, Madison.”
“Right,” she mumbled, letting some of the tension leave her. “So why do you want to talk to Silas again?”
“He let Clarissa lead Winston into Chara, he knew Willow and Landen in a past life, he knows what’s going to happen, and he’s going to tell me how – now.”
“Maybe I should take out note cards,” Cashton mocked, pointing out once again that I was too entangled with too many powerful souls.
She moved her head from side to side. “He’s furious, Charlie. I don’t even know him that well, but that moment in The Realm when that image of Aden was kneeling by the bed, something snapped inside of Silas. I thought it was jealousy, but at the same time I saw understanding in him. Not the good kind, though. He was putting something together for the first time in over two thousand years, and he has every intent not to let you slip through his fingers.”
“So you have made it to The Realm. Good. At least you have toyed with the power that you can use at any moment,” Cashton muttered.
“Not his. Not anymore,” I said under my breath.
“Not anyone’s,” Cashton said, narrowing his eyes at me, showing my mother’s blue. I got that he was saying that I was not property, but I didn’t have the time or mind power to explain to him what I meant by that.
“Right,” Madison breathed. “Listen, I don’t care that Draven is going to rip me apart with his emotion of rage when he comes back and finds us gone, but it would be nice not to endure that - not today. So call Silas, think about him, or figure out how to see your way to Louisiana. I’ve never been there, have you?”
I moved my head from side to side and began to reach out to Silas.
I know you can hear me, I thought. Just so you know: I survived Winston - that is, if you care. I know you’re busy letting people die to build your army and all. I’m leaving here in 5...4...3...2...
At that moment, Madison let out a groan as she leaned forward and grasped her stomach. The next second, I felt a grip on my arm, then a hand lifting my chin, giving me no choice but to look into the glowing honey eyes of Silas.
“He’s got two seconds to take his hands off you - or I will do it for him,” Cashton seethed.
Oddly, Silas looked right at him and slowly let go of his grip on me. Cashton’s shoulders were pulled back. Every sleek muscle in his body was flexed.
Deciding to ignore Cashton, Silas looked at me. “Why would I not care?” His tone was harsh.
I was dumbfounded for a second. How could he see Cashton, a psychotic break of mine?
Madison let out a gasp then took a few steps back, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
“You want to get a grip on your emotions. Act like a Witness and fix that,” Cashton said with a sneer that was aimed at Silas.
Silas stepped away from me and walked over to Madison. She stepped back, but he was faster than she was. He rested his hands on her shoulder - and the second he did that all the tension left her body. She nodded once at him, but he didn’t notice. He was already walking back to me.
“Nice...so you can give that emotion, but not feel it? I thought I knew you - at least the boy I met in Pompeii, not this man who knowingly sent a missile right at me. Lucky for you, there were people there to help me fight her off.”
“You think I sent her to you?” he asked sardonically, glancing from me to Cashton.
“How else would Clarissa and Dane even know that he was supposed to be in Chara? They’re under your command, at least your guidance.”
“When that boy showed up in The Realm, we were at war, giving you and your new friends leeway. I didn’t know he was mirrored when he left The Realm.”
“Don’t give me ‘I was too busy helping you to notice.’ You weren’t too busy to invoke a fight with Draven and Drake. Maybe he slipped through your fingers then.”
“THAT IS MY WAR!” he yelled so loud that I felt my insides tremble.
Cashton stepped between Silas and me and breathed in deeply. “Is it, now? Your scent states differently.”
Madison was at my side instantly. “Back away - now,” she breathed.
Silas raised his hands and stepped back from us. I don’t know if it was out of respect, fear, or if he knew that yelling at me was the last thing he should have done.
“I’m bonded to you,” Silas stated flatly. “When he pulls from you, he pulls from me. I had to stop him, or it would have been over - for all of us.”
“I had him under control. I pushed him on purpose,” I threw back at him.
“Why?” he bit out. “Did you have a death wish? I tell you what, Julia if there is one thing you suck at, it’s timing.”
Julia - that was the name I went by when I was at his side, and the sound of it singed my mind with the millions and millions of times he’s said it in both anger and passion. I also knew that his remark about timing had nothing to do with me choosing to do that in The Realm and everything to do with when I left him without a warning, a plan, or a goodbye.
I dodged around Cashton, ready to fight this out with Silas.
“Well, if there is one thing you suck at, Silas, it’s being honest and open. You never told me that you could feel when my energy was pulled. All you said was that you would kill him if he pulled it.
I had no choice but to teach him to be in control so you wouldn’t.”
“He can’t kill him - not even if he tried,” Cashton said in the most condescending tone that ever existed.
“Watch me,” Silas seethed.
“You have an identity crisis right about now,” Cashton said with a playful glare. “Ah, don’t look at me in that tone. You feel it, don’t you?”
Silas moved his glare to me. “Our love is a necessary evil. Simple as that. I have to love you in order to do my job. You don’t like it? Too bad. You’re going to get over it. He will not hurt you. End of story.”
Cashton moved his head slowly from side to side. “Seriously, you suck when it comes to swooning girls, don’t you? All work and no play.”
“Silas, what the hell is going on right now? Madison said those kids were stuck in some kind of deep meditation, that Monroe is. And right when I get Monroe to a safe place, you send Bianca at me.”
“I did not send her to you!” Silas bellowed.
“Watch it,” Cashton said, raising his chin.
“Look,” Silas exhaled, “that boy is lost. His own brother has a mark on his head. You survived it. He was mirrored at some point between me and you.”
“Where is Bianca?”
“Not a clue.”
“You better figure it out. I’m going to put that petal in her place once and for all,” I sneered.
Silas furrowed his brow, questioning my vocabulary. “You need to calm down and stop trying to solve everyone else’s issues. I’m keeping you alive. Let it be.”
“Their problems are mine,” I bit back.
“Not trying to dodge her away from that girl, are you?” Cashton asked as he tilted his chin up and judged Silas.
Before he could answer, Madison gasped then said, “We need to go, Charlie.” I heard a warning in her voice, but I assumed it was because she was over him, this conversation.
“Silas, she knocked a wall down in Aden’s head, and he took off. I need to understand why or how to put the wall back up. I can’t have him and Draven pitted against each other on top of everything else.”
Silas smirked. “Why would I want that wall up?” he asked, forcing anger into every word.
Madison screamed out in agony, doing her best not to bend forward. I was sure whatever calm energy Silas had given her had worn off, but I was wrong. I knew I was wrong when I heard “You want to change your tone,” and felt Draven’s hands firmly on my hips. It was clear then that Madison was picking up on the smoldering rage I saw in Draven’s eyes.
“She called me here...I guess she was lonely,” Silas taunted.
“Boy, do you have a death wish,” Cashton said under his breath.
Draven urged me behind him as he and Silas moved face to face.
“You touch her, look at her, give me one reason - and I will end you,” Draven promised in a tone that was so calm, I felt the chill within the words.
“You want one reason?” Silas said, tilting his head slightly. “I die - she dies.”
“Stop it!” I yelled as I pushed between them. “Silas, tell me how to put up the wall,” I demanded.
“No.” He locked eyes with Draven. “Because this time I’m going to kill both of them, and I couldn’t care less what protest Mother Nature puts in front of me. If I’d known that before - that there were two - this day would never have come.”
Draven pulled me aside and charged forward, but he hit an invisible wall. So did Silas when he moved forward. Wide-eyed, I looked at Madison.
“Wake now - before I get really mad,” she seethed, looking between Draven and me.
Cashton let a laugh bellow in his chest. “Looks like someone is learning to use her powers for good.”
Letting out a gasp, I glanced at Silas, letting him know those words hurt me more than a thousand deaths.
I reached for Draven and said, “Wake.” Still holding his stare, I saw the space around us return to the bedroom in which my body lay.
Madison stood abruptly and charged out of the room, leaving me to stare deep into emerald green eyes laced in black and fury.
Chapter Seven
I threw a glare at Cashton, telling him to make his exit now. He raised his hand, telling me I had five minutes and that was it, then vanished into thin air.
Draven was different, his energy. I was still sitting on the bed; he was leaning over me, each strong arm flexed at my sides, his jaw locked. I gasped, feeling him. Not his skin, but his essence. It felt like a warm, tantalizing blanket was all around me, teasing my flesh with its raw power. I felt his rage, his passion, and his love in this blanket encasing me. It was like his soul was around him, not within his gorgeous body. His energy - even with the anger I felt in it - was releasing all the tension in my body; it was lifting me, hypnotizing me, inviting me into a plane of existence I didn’t even know was possible.
The only time I’d even come close to feeling something this powerful was when I was around Drake, but even his gaze could not compare to this. No, this was directed at me. This was claiming me as its own. This wasn’t the Draven I knew before I was sent into a deep sleep. No, not at all. But I wasn’t complaining. I liked it. I wanted more. I wanted to feel his skin, to see if the energy was stronger near the source, if I could climb into this feeling and never come up for air. He had me mesmerized, and he hadn’t said a word or even touched me.
I took in a slow, deep breath.
“Wow,” I gasped. “I think I like this new Draven.” My voice was a deep whisper, laced with an invitation, one that I’d never had the courage to display with words.
His eyes flickered with desire, but that was soon stifled by the anger there.
“You sleep for three days - and the first thing you do when you wake up is go to him?”
I swallowed my desire and found my defense. As I leaned forward, he leaned back at the same time, not letting me touch him.
“No,” I said, ignoring the unspoken rejection. “After I woke up from the most wicked dream you could ever imagine, I talked to Madison. I talked to her because she was here, waiting on me to wake up. When I figured out what was going on while I was knocked out, I took a shower, then went to Britain to figure out how to find and kill Bianca. That didn’t go so well, by the way. So then I went to Silas to figure out why he sent Winston to us, knowing Bianca was mirroring him. I wanted to know how to put that wall up in Aden’s head.”
“Why are you so worried about that wall?” he asked scornfully as he stood up and crossed his arms.
If I weren’t looking directly at him, I might have mistaken him for Drake. He was in black dress slacks, a black button up shirt, and his dark wavy hair waywardly swooshed out of his eyes. He was dressed like a modern king, not like the musician I knew, the one who I’d rarely seen without jeans - holy ones, at that.
“Because obviously it has driven a divide in our circle. Aden is alone in another dimension, and you are here. Did you even try to talk to him?”
“I don’t need to talk to him. I can feel him. He doesn’t want to be bothered.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Those were obviously the wrong words to say. If looks could kill, I would be a goner. That glare was powerful.
“We’re twins, Charlie. You know we have a solid connection. We are very aware of each other.”
I had to hesitate before I had a response. I knew what he said was true; opposites or not, they were very in tune with each other. Aden had told me after my accident that he was relieved that Draven and I were all right, that he didn’t think he could handle another second of us being apart. I promised him that no matter what happened between Draven and me that he would always be my friend. I knew nothing would ever divide Draven and me; I just said that to reassure him.
He looked at me like I didn’t hear him then said, “It hurt, Charlie. I mean it really hurt. I’d never wished I wasn’t a twin until that happened.”
I brushed off his comment at the time, thinking it was just b
rotherly love he was picking up on - but right now I’m starting to think maybe there was more to it, that they were connected on a different level. If that were true and there was a wall knocked down, one that would give Aden emotions he didn’t want Draven to sense – I’d run, too.
“All right,” I said in a quiet whisper, “I get it.” I stood just to be closer to him. I felt like I was on the edge of that hypnotizing blanket of his energy, and I wanted to be inside of it. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. I told you before, it doesn’t matter what he remembers, if there was something in a forgotten past. This is now - and right now I’m yours and you’re mine. I don’t like the idea of him being alone, dealing with it. I know him, too, and I know that if he did see something, it more than likely made him sick to his stomach because in this life he could never see me like that. We are strong together and weak apart. Winston is either evil or lost, and Grayson is hunting him. Aden is in another dimension. You are sparring with Drake in some kind of training session. Madison is fighting insights on steroids. I was alone, looking for answers - trying to figure out how to fix us. I don’t regret not telling you I was awake, but I’m sorry that you took my intent the wrong way. I was scared, and when I’m scared I have to run – even if I don’t know what direction I’m running in.”
His eyes softened, then turned to coal. I knew he was searching through where I went, what Madison and I’d done, and I held nothing back. He wanted in, and I was going to let him in because I had nothing to hide. I was his. We were one.
After a moment, the green I loved so much flooded his eyes and he stepped forward. When his hand settled on my waist I gasped, knowing for sure now that his energy was the strongest next to his skin. He lifted his other hand, allowing his fingertips to coax my lips closer to his. I held my breath, imagining how different his touch would be. And when his lips touched mine I realized I had a very weak imagination. I felt a hum that started with his soft lips, then eased through my body, gripping my core and pulling me higher into this unknown plane of existence. I pulled him closer, feeling his firm body press against mine, the energy that accepted me as his.