Dark Swan

by Gena Showalter

  What! After three years without a word from their eldest sister, Jade had found her? Just like that? "Why do you sound upset? This is wonderful news."

  "No. It's terrible. She's not the girl we remember, Lil. She's changed. She's . . . darker." Jade shuddered.

  "I don't care. She's still our Trinity." The girl who'd offered to take a beating for her. Someone as starved for affection as they were. Tormented by a past they couldn't change. A by-product of the horrendous things they'd all been forced to do. "We can help her." They had to help her.

  "She doesn't want to be helped."

  "You've talked to her?"

  Tears welled in Jade's eyes, spilled down her cheeks, and the sight hurt Lilica on a cellular level. "I pulled her spirit into this place"--she motioned to the mist--"before I pulled yours."

  Feeling as if she'd just been dipped in acid, Lilica croaked, "Her disease." Can't lose them both.

  Can't lose either one!

  "You can be around her without becoming infected. The disease isn't airborne or even passed through casual contact."

  "You're sure?"

  A confident nod. "I read her mind."

  Lilica chewed on her bottom lip, a habit she'd only recently developed. "She didn't want to stay here? Didn't want to see me?" How needy she sounded. But she didn't care. Lilica had missed Trinity as intensely as she would miss a limb, had been fighting to save her life, and her eldest sis couldn't be bothered to say hello?

  Jade's shoulders hunched. "I'm sorry."

  Another rejection. This one almost drilled her to her knees. She had to curb the urge to scream up at the skies, to shake her fists in the air. Why does no one want me?

  "Pull her spirit again," she said. Maybe . . . maybe the disease had affected Trinity's mind. Maybe it had spoken for her. Maybe she just needed a reminder of Lilica's love. "Yes? But don't tell me where you find her." She could inadvertently reveal the location to Dallas.

  Jade hesitated, clearly uneasy, but ultimately she nodded. "All right. Wait here." She closed her eyes--and vanished.

  Both eager and overcome by nerves, Lilica paced. If Trinity rejected her to her face, fine. Whatever. She would deal. But she wouldn't abandon her sister. Nope. Not me. She would continue to fight to give Trinity a better life. Or any life at all. And somehow, some way, she would find a way to cleanse Trinity of the Schon.

  The records at IOT claimed the Schon king had died the instant Trinity stole his life force. Because he had been dependent on the parasite, or because of a reason she couldn't yet comprehend?

  If the parasite remained separate from Trinity, simply living off her, its dark influence could be cleaved; it could be removed and killed without killing Trinity. In theory. The doctors had left notes in their files and had hypothesized the same. But they hadn't known how to remove or kill it.

  Had Trinity stuck around the lab, the doctors had planned to force Jade to steal as much of the Schon as possible, and use her as a guinea pig, testing different possible cures on her. If Jade had died when the Schon had died, well, they would have still had Trinity, the star pupil.

  Thanks to Walsh, the doctors had gotten what they'd deserved!

  Jade finally reappeared in the center of the mist, with Trinity at her side.

  Lilica stopped, her knees nearly buckling, her heart swelling with a sudden burst of love. She wanted to rush over, hug and shake her eldest sister . . . but she planted her feet firmly in place.

  Shouldn't overwhelm her.

  She studied the piece of her heart she hadn't seen for so long. The fact that all three girls had sprung from the same egg was even less apparent now that they were adults. They differed in every area. Hair, skin, and eye color (unless Lilica mimicked one of them). Height. Even body type.

  Trinity wore a lacy bra and panty set, revealing lush curves meant for seduction. With her blond ringlets, thickly lashed sapphire eyes, and pretty pink cheeks, she was more gorgeous than ever.

  No one would ever look at her and think, Gross! She's a walking STD!

  The only real difference was her scent. She no longer smelled like honeysuckle. She smelled like . . . nothing. As if the girl Lilica had known no longer existed.

  No! She existed. She could be saved.

  Topping out at five three, Trinity was the kind of woman Dallas considered state-of-the-art. Not just the kind he should want, but the one he had wanted--and perhaps still wanted.

  Just as Lilica knew more about his past than he'd ever told her, she knew how desperately he'd desired Trinity the few times the two had interacted.

  A turbulent storm suddenly rained acid inside Lilica. This wasn't jealousy she felt. It wasn't! Probably wasn't even anger. Surely. Because, if Dallas still desired Trinity, Lilica would have an easier time convincing him to forgo lethal force.

  What Lilica felt . . . was it self-pity? If she slept with him, solidifying their bond, and managed to cleanse Trinity as she hoped, she would be forever bound to a man who preferred her sister. Every minute of every day, she would feel his hunger for Trinity like a thorn in her heart.

  Doesn't matter. Do what's best for Trin. "How are you?" Lilica asked, cutting through the silence that hung so thick between them.

  "Not well," Jade answered. "She was in bed with another human. The second one tonight."

  "What? There's nothing wrong with enjoying a bag of mixed nuts." Trinity wrenched free of Jade's hold, all the while watching Lilica. "I can feel you judging me with your gaze."

  "I would never judge you." Lilica flattened a hand between her breasts. "I know why you do what you do. I love you. I've missed you. And I want to help you."

  Trinity flinched, her shoulders rolling in. "You can't help me."

  "I can. I will." I must.

  "You don't think I've tried to help myself?"

  "We're stronger together," she said, and it was true.

  "You don't understand." Trinity's irises appeared as hard as diamonds. "I don't need you anymore. For months I was trapped inside a realm without time or people. I was alone, and I nearly died. To get home, I had to endure horrors beyond your wildest imaginings. But I'm glad I did. I learned to rely on myself. To stop wishing you'd rush to the rescue."

  "Whether you want my help or not, you're going to get it. I will do whatever proves necessary to find a cure and cleanse you."

  "Maybe we shouldn't," Jade said. "Maybe the agents are right. While we are struggling to save her, she's going to be turning her lovers into killers."

  Trinity lifted her chin. "Your point?"

  Such disdain for the ones she harmed. This isn't the girl I used to know.

  Dallas was right, Lilica realized: there was a huge difference between defending yourself and slaying an innocent. That wasn't judgment but fact.

  "There has to be another way to save you," Jade insisted.

  "There isn't." The corner of Trinity's mouth lifted in a sneer. "I tried other ways, and I paid dearly for it."

  Very gently, Lilica said, "Right now, you're trapped in the middle of a great and terrible storm. But one day, the rain will stop. It must. A garden will grow."

  "When did Lady Wicked become such a romantic fool?" Trinity turned her scowl to Jade. "Take me back. Now."

  "No. Not yet." This wasn't even close to the happy reunion Lilica had imagined, but she wasn't giving up. Would never give up. "Why did you stay away from us after you escaped the institute?" The question had been part of her for so long--years!--that it slipped out without permission, her voice drenched in despair. "Why didn't you come back for us? Why didn't you communicate with us?"

  Trinity blanched, only to buck up a second later. "You should cry your thanks rather than issuing complaints. I kept you safe."

  "We were trapped inside IOT." Jade rubbed the spot over her heart. "Trust me. We weren't safe."

  All attitude and zero finesse, Trinity snapped, "If the doctors had gotten hold of me, you would have suffered." She turned away. "I'd planned to come for you. Eventually. First I had
things to do. I still have things to do."

  "What things?" Lilica asked. "Maybe I can help."

  "You can't." Spine rigid, Trinity added, "You should have left me alone. You should have waited for me to come to you. I don't want to be with you right now. I don't want to see you."

  Being whipped, the skin flayed from her back, would have been easier than hearing those words. And yet, Lilica detected a thread of vulnerability in Trinity's tone, and it gave her hope. My sister is still in there.

  "Talk to me. Tell me why you don't want to see us. We're your family."

  A pause. A heavy exhalation of breath. "No, Lilica. We haven't been family for a long time. I'm not sure we ever were."

  A barbed lump grew in her throat. "No. No!" She stomped her foot. "I don't believe that, and neither do you. The disease is speaking for you."

  Trinity pointed a finger in her face. "You don't know me. You say you want to help me. To cleanse me. But I don't want to be cleansed. Not anymore! What you call disease, I call power."

  What! "You're either joking or fooling yourself. You aren't empowered. You're subjugated. Dependent on the harm you do to others."

  Hatred gleamed in Trinity's eyes, crackling amid flames of rage. "Perhaps I am. But I control my people."

  Understanding suddenly dawned, chasing away the shadows of confusion. As children, the triplets had had little control over their own lives. Actually, they'd had zero control. Of anything! The lack had warped them, and the doctors had known it.

  Those doctors had even predicted that Trinity, Jade, and Lilica would one day do anything to control everything.

  They'd just been proven right, at least in Trinity's case, and it galled.

  "AIR is actively seeking your assassination," Lilica said. "I'm doing my best to--"

  Trinity held up her hand for silence. "They've actively sought my assassination for a long time. They will never succeed."

  "Well, they've now got their best agent on the case." The pride had returned to her voice. "Dallas Gutierrez will stop at nothing--"

  "Dallas?" Trinity smiled slowly . . . evilly. "Worry not. One day, he'll belong to me."

  Well, well. Lady Divine had invaded Lady Wicked's turf. In more ways than one!

  "I'm bound to him," Lilica said with more force than she'd intended. "He belongs to me, and I will never allow you to infect him."

  Trinity's fury returned in a snap. "Break your bond with the man trying to kill me, sister. Today!"

  Lilica stood rooted, stupefied. "I won't. I can't."

  A brute of a man suddenly stalked through the mist. A brute, yes, but a beautiful one. His curling hair was the color of spun gold, just like his eyes and skin. He had the face of an angel but the scowl of a demon. "Woman, I told you what would happen if you stole from me."

  "John," Jade said on a wispy catch of breath. Her cheeks flushed, and she trembled.

  With fear . . . or desire?

  Whichever, Lilica jumped in front of her, ready to fight and defend.

  Trinity stepped in front of them both. "Who do we have here?"

  John ground to a halt. Scowl deepening, he stretched out his hand. "Jade. Come to me. Now."

  Jade trembled harder, but remained in place. "Don't worry, warrior," Trinity said, her voice a carnal rasp. "I have no plans to harm her. You, on the other hand . . ."

  "Go," Jade whispered in Lilica's ear. "Return to your body while she's distracted."

  As if. "I don't know how. Besides, I'm not leaving you with him." She spoke the last with enough volume for John to hear. "I don't know what he plans for you."

  He clenched and unclenched his fist. "I'm her shield. Nothing more, nothing less." If his possessive tone meant anything, he wanted to be more. "And you're preventing me from doing my job."

  "What job is that?" she demanded. "Protecting Jade or killing Trinity?"

  "Just . . . leave the circle of mist." Jade gave her a little push. "Your spirit will do the rest."

  She dug in her heels.

  "Do you plan to kill me, John?" Trinity took a step closer to him. "Perhaps we can negotiate a truce instead."

  Fear radiated from Jade. Obviously she cared for John. And not just because he provided peace and quiet.

  Lilica made a split-second decision. She couldn't allow Trinity to hurt him, so she dove on her eldest sister, flinging them both outside of the mist. Before they landed, invisible chains yanked them apart. Those chains pulled Lilica on a roller-coaster ride . . . until she slammed into a brick wall. No, not a wall. Her body!

  With a gasp, she jolted upright.

  8

  Dallas had been pacing inside his bedroom for hours. The entire time, Lilica had slept on his bed. His own personal Sleeping Beauty.

  At the lab, when she'd gone limp in his arms, he'd almost passed out himself. Somehow he'd found the strength to stay awake and dress her in her bra, panties, and the shirt off his back. He'd had other options. Like her own clothing. But he'd wanted her perfect body draped in his clothing, her skin touched by his scent. A possessive instinct he hadn't been able to override.

  He'd driven her here because he'd needed her here. He'd needed his woman surrounded by his things. As soon as he'd tucked her into bed, a sense of contentment had sprouted, and it had only grown.

  What was he going to do with her?

  His resistance to her--to a future with her--was crumbling fast and would soon be nothing but a pile of ruin. When she'd stripped for him, he'd basically had a near-death experience. Ecstasy overdose. Her nipples had glittered like pink diamonds, and the scrolls etched on her flesh had glowed softly, like a thousand rose-scented candles meant to set the mood.

  Moth to flame? Yeah, he finally understood the phrase. He would do anything to follow those marks with his tongue, no matter the end result. Hunger clawed at him, leaving him raw and aching, nothing but exposed nerve endings and raging testosterone.

  Why had he knocked her out? Why had he turned her down? How stupid could he be! She was everything he'd never known he needed.

  If Lilica wanted him to attempt to save Trinity after the disease died, he would attempt to save her.

  What's wrong with me?

  With a gasp, Lilica sat upright. Her wild gaze scanned her new surroundings.

  Incapable of staying away, he strode to the side of the bed and eased down beside her. Moth. Flame. Going to get burned. Didn't matter. He had to touch her.

  No, no. Not without permission. Only a few hours ago, he'd knocked her out to save himself from temptation. Because he'd wanted her, and she'd only wanted to control him.

  His body cried: Want me the way I want you.

  She would be frightened of him, or determined to hurt him back. He had to tread carefully.

  "Where am I?" she demanded.

  He hardened instantly. Her voice had always made him think of sex, lots and lots of dirty sex, and the forced nap had only made it worse.

  "You're in my apartment."

  He tried to look at the bedroom through her eyes. Everything screamed bachelor. The bare walls he'd never cared about decorating. The king-size bed with a light-brown comforter. The nightstand filled with condoms. The minifridge in the corner, currently stocked with beer.

  Her northern lights gaze roved over him, softened . . . and then sharpened. Her leg shot out from under the covers to kick him off the mattress. "Bastard!" She stood, fury pulsing from her.

  He thumped on the floor and, glaring, jumped to his feet. "I'm a bastard, yes, but you're worse. You were using me to save your sister."

  Wait. Was he seriously complaining about her reason for seducing him?

  "That's right. I was trying to save the sister I love . . . and the woman you wish you could screw before you kill!" As she stood before him, chest heaving, dark hair tumbling to her waist, he waited for her thoughts to fill him. . . .

  Silence.

  Irritation darkened his mood. He needed help with the conversation--or rather, the mountain studded with land mines--
but because their emotions were high, he wasn't going to get it.

  What he said next would either whisk him to the safety zone or throw him behind enemy lines.

  Tread carefully.

  For the case. Of course.

  "You told me yesterday I couldn't want you because I didn't know you. I've never known Trinity and have no interest in learning. You, I'm learning, and I only want to know more." The words were truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

  She'd been created in a lab, an experiment gone wrong--or incredibly right. Even now, despite everything, it gutted him to remember the loneliness she'd lived with her entire life. Her strength humbled him.

  Scowling, she lifted her chin. A stubborn gesture he was coming to loathe. "The bond is speaking for you."

  "Maybe, maybe not." Was it the bond feeding his curiosity about her? The bond causing every cell in his body to crave information as much as sex? "Before you say anything else . . . don't. We're not thinking clearly right now, and we won't . . . until we come."

  Breath snagged in her throat, the pulse at the base of her neck suddenly hammering. "The bond will--"

  "Solidify. I know. If we have sex. But we won't. We can make each other come in other ways. With our hands and mouths."

  She licked her lips with slow deliberation before shaking her head. "I don't trust you."

  "I won't knock you out again. You have my word."

  Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "Perhaps I like the idea of leaving you like this. Hungry for me. Desperate."

  His erection jerked beneath his fly. "Trust me, sweet. I won't be staying in this condition. If I must, I'll take care of it on my own."

  Her eyes widened as he kicked off his boots and unfastened his pants, then made a big production of sliding the denim down his legs and kicking the garment a few feet away, the many weapons hidden in panels of material thumping as they crash-landed on the floor.

  Trembling, she reached for him, caught herself, and let her arms fall to her sides. "The rest," she rasped. "Remove the rest."

  "Is someone else hungry?" His erection stretched past the waist of his underwear, revealing a bead of moisture that welled at the tip. He rubbed a hand up and down. "Desperate."

  She watched his hand, and her breathing quickened.

  "I'll make you regret this," she grated, then gripped the hem of her shirt to slowly . . . so slowly . . . work the material overhead, revealing the exquisite femininity no other woman could ever match.