by Cynthia Eden
“No, she doesn’t.” Luke nodded. “Very astute of you to notice.”
Leo growled. Then he waved his hand toward Mora. Instantly, she was dressed. Covered in a soft t-shirt and jeans. Her wet hair slid over her shoulders. Leo caught her hand and pulled her from the bathroom. He didn’t speak, just double-timed it down the narrow hallway and into her kitchen. The shattered pieces of the mirror were still on the floor.
Luke appeared in front of them. Just—bam. He was there. “You had your turn with Fate.” He smirked at Leo. “Now I want a go at her.”
What the hell? Like she was some toy to be passed between them? “You’re as insane as Leo is!”
Luke blinked.
Mora jerked her hand from Leo’s grasp. “You both need to get something straight. I’m not in this war. I don’t have a side. And you two—you won’t use me.”
Leo turned toward her. His breath came in rough pants.
Something is way wrong. Her shoulders stiffened. “Leo?”
“They’re dead.” His voice was different. Rougher. More guttural. “They’ll never hurt you again.”
Luke inhaled. “Is that blood I smell?” He edged closer to his twin. “Blood on your hands?” He tsked. “Didn’t think you liked to get your hands dirty, much less bloody—”
Leo’s hands flew out and fisted in Luke’s shirt. “You don’t know me.”
Luke just laughed as Mora glanced worriedly between the two men. “Of course, I know you,” Luke announced with a dramatic sigh. “I know you better than you know yourself. I’m your mirror, remember? The broken one.”
But as she stared at them, Mora couldn’t help but think that Leo was the one who appeared to be broken.
Goosebumps rose on her arms and she pushed her way past those men. She needed to get away from them. They were dominating the space of her home.
“Speaking of broken mirrors…” Luke’s voice followed her. It was hard to say exactly how she knew it was his voice. He did sound so very much like Leo, only Leo’s voice sinks beneath my skin. My body reacts when he talks. It’s primal.
Luke’s voice was deep and dark and rumbling, but…I know he’s not Leo. Just as she’d known, with one glance in the bathroom, that she was staring at Leo’s twin, and not him.
“Did you scry for my brother?” Luke asked.
Mora stilled. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that he’d picked up a chunk of broken glass.
“I’ve got a witch who’s pretty good at scrying.” Luke rubbed the mirror piece with his fingertips. “Cordelia can see all kinds of things. For example, she swore that she saw my dear brother going on a rampage. For you.”
Her head jerked in an instinctive denial, but Mora’s gaze flew to Leo. He stood there, with his hands clenched and his eyes wild, and she could almost see the shadow of wings behind him. “I saw…” Mora whispered.
Leo stared at her.
“You,” she finished softly, her voice little more than a rasp. When she’d put her hand to the mirror in her bathroom…Oh, damn, it was real. I still had the cut on my hand and when I put our hands together earlier to show him the past, our blood mixed…
Leo flinched. Then he lunged toward her. Once more, Leo grabbed her. “It was the same fucking bastard. That redhead? He called himself Reever. He was the one who chained you in his basement—”
“My, you two have been busy,” Luke said, his voice amused.
“Fuck off,” Leo snarled without glancing at him. His eyes were on Mora. His hands locked around her wrists. “He was the same hooded freak from your past. The one you showed me? It was him. I recognized his voice, and he confessed to me. He was taunting me with what he’d done.” Leo’s breath heaved out. “How could I let him live? After what he’d done to you? He’d come after you twice. He’d hurt you.” Leo shook his head, hard. “No one can do that. I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again. No matter what I have to do.”
The drumming of her heartbeat filled her ears. The man in the hood…the man whose identity had always been hidden from her, no matter how hard she tried to see him…he was dead?
“They’re all dead,” Leo told her. He wasn’t holding her too tightly any longer. His fingers had begun to carefully stroke the inside of her wrists. “You have nothing to fear.”
“Wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Luke muttered. “I think she has plenty to fear.”
And she saw a change sweep over Leo’s face. It was slow…a stiffening. A hardening of his eyes. A chill that swept into his gaze. Steely determination.
A wisp of sadness darkened his stare, but that emotion vanished as he blinked. Then Leo inclined his head toward her. “Stay behind me, Mora.”
What?
He turned to face his brother. “You think you’ll hurt Mora?”
“I think she needs to be afraid. She’s Fate, right? She knows what’s coming…why else has she hidden all this time? Trying to avoid the inevitable.” Luke gave a rough laugh. “But you can’t hide forever. And I want my turn to see what the future holds.” He advanced.
But Leo’s hand flew out and flattened on Luke’s chest. “You don’t touch Mora.”
“Fate.” Luke growled that title. “She’s Fate. And I want to know what she’s been holding back. Hardly fair that you’ve had the advantage with her. But then, you fucked your way into her good graces, didn’t you? Such a bad thing…for the good twin to do.”
Mora backed up a step. She didn’t want to be in their war. The temperature in the room was heating up. Those two were about to erupt. She knew what beasts lurked in their hearts.
Dragons. Twin dragons.
If they shifted in her house, they’d destroy everything around them. Maybe even me.
She risked another step back. While they were focused on each other, she could rush out the front door. She could jump on the motorcycle that still waited outside and slip away.
Leo will come after me.
Maybe. But not if he was dead, not if he was killed in the battle that had been promised so long ago.
“You fucked her,” Luke continued and it was as if he were deliberately baiting Leo, trying to push him to the edge, “and then you left her. You—”
Leo’s hand flew out as he drove his fist into Luke’s jaw. The blow was so powerful that Luke flew into the air and slammed into her wall. He left a giant, gaping hole there on impact.
“No!” Mora screamed. “You’re going to wreck my house.”
Leo’s head snapped toward her.
Shit. Should have kept my mouth shut and ran when I had the chance.
“I wasn’t using you,” Leo said. The words sounded like a promise.
Her lips parted.
But Luke’s laughter filled her home. He brushed chunks of plaster off his shoulders and rose to his feet. “Of course, he was. You think the Lord of the Light has some undying love for you, Fate? He wanted you to change the future.” He rolled back his shoulders and flames began to dance above his hands. “He wanted to save his ass because he knew this battle was coming. He knew we’d be fighting to the death. He wanted to see the best way to defeat me.”
Leo stormed toward him. “You will not hurt her!”
“I’m going to do anything I want with her,” Luke threw back. He’s definitely taunting Leo. Trying to push him over the edge. “Just like you did. Only maybe I won’t leave her as broken as you did. Oh, yes, I heard the stories. You think the tales didn’t reach me? How her bones were twisted, how the fire consumed her—”
Leo let out a roar. He grabbed for his brother.
“Stop!” Mora shouted. Then she was racing toward Leo. She didn’t wait for him to respond to her. She grabbed his shoulders. “Stop now!”
He looked at her. “Mora…it’s not safe. Get back!”
Instead, she got right between them. Her breath heaved from her as she put one hand on Leo’s chest and one hand on Luke’s chest. “You will not fight here.”
Power rushed through her, seeming to come from each brother.
She had her hands over their hearts and—
Oh, no. No! Mora screamed because visions were hitting her, tumbling through her mind, one right after the other. Visions of life and death. Of pain and hope. Visions of two brothers.
Visions that showed her just how wrong she’d been.
The world went dark. So very, very dark.
Chapter Eight
Mora’s eyes had gone absolutely black. Her hand seemed to burn a brand into Leo’s chest and her whole body was bow tight.
“Lord of the Light, Lord of the Dark.” Her voice was low, husky, and oddly distant. As if she were speaking through a tunnel when she was right there. “Lord of the Light, Lord of the Dark…”
“So is this shit normal?” Luke asked, voice gruff. “Does your girlfriend do this often?”
Mora’s head tipped back as she screamed—over and over again. Her body jerked as if she were getting shocked, charged up with electricity or—
Power. “She’s a fucking conduit!”
“What?” Luke snapped.
Leo didn’t explain. Mora was touching him and his brother, and power was pulsing through her body, again and again. He locked his arms around her, yanking Mora away from Luke, and the minute she stopped touching his brother, her body stilled. Her screams stopped.
She sagged in Leo’s arms, unconscious.
“What in the hell was that?” Luke demanded.
Leo held Mora carefully, his worried gaze on her face. She was still breathing. But…
“That happen a lot to Fate?” Luke pushed, his voice curt.
“Mora,” he gritted out as he stalked toward the couch. Very carefully, he put her on the sofa, then he crouched at her side. “She has a name that she uses. She’s not a thing. She doesn’t like to be called Fate. She’s Mora.”
“Right. Mental note.” Luke stood on the other side of the sofa, and his glare was on Leo. “We’re not done, you and I.”
Leo’s hand was on Mora’s wrist as he checked her pulse. Too fast. “I don’t have time for you right now. She matters more.”
Silence.
It took a moment for Leo’s words to register in his own mind. She matters more. When they did register, he looked at up his twin.
Luke stared at him as if he’d never seen Leo before in his very long life. “You were fighting me…” Luke spoke haltingly. “Because of her?”
They needed to be clear on this. Leo smoothed back Mora’s hair and then he rose. “I just killed for her.” His gaze held Luke’s. “No one hurts her. No one uses her.”
Luke’s chin notched up. “Not even you, brother?”
Leo took that hit. “Not even me.” He wouldn’t be asking her to scry again for him. He wouldn’t be asking her for anything. She’d already paid far too much for him.
So it’s time for me to pay her back. Time for me to make up for all that she has lost.
“We both know the end is coming.” Leo gave his brother a cold smile. “You can only put off the inevitable for so long.” He went right back to holding Mora’s wrist. His fingers pressed to her pulse. He just…he needed to feel her. She soothed the beast within him. The one who’d been moments away from erupting and attacking Luke. “But our battle will not be here. And she will not be caught in the middle.”
Luke’s gaze fell to Mora. A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Fate can be cruel.”
“You won’t touch her. Or I will destroy everything that you value.”
Immediately, Luke’s head snapped up. His eyes had gone cold and dark. “Tread carefully, brother. You don’t want to threaten what I hold dear.”
“Then you don’t fucking threaten what matters to me. You don’t attack her. You don’t get anywhere near her.” His touch was still light on Mora’s wrist. Her pulse was steadying. He glared at his brother. “You fell in love. The big, bad, Lord of the Dark. You fell for one of my paranormal creatures. A creature of the light. And I let you keep her.”
Luke growled at him. “Let…?”
“What I gave…” Leo’s eyes narrowed. “I can take.”
This time, Luke was the one to grab him. “You dare to threaten my mate?”
“And you dare…” Leo tossed right back. “To threaten mine?”
Luke’s mouth parted in surprise.
“We’ll have our battle,” Leo promised him. “But it won’t be here.”
“L-Leo…?” Mora called, her voice slurred.
“I’m right here, love.” He turned his back on his brother. Because the choice has been made. He’d spent so long trying to figure out how to stop the coming battle with Luke, how to save his twin, but…
Mora will not be the price I pay for Luke’s life. She’d suffered enough. There would be no more pain for her. He brought Mora’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
He would do everything within his power to always keep her safe.
He felt the rush of wind behind him, and then Mora’s front door slammed shut. He glanced over his shoulder. Luke was gone.
For now.
But Leo knew his brother would be back. Their time was almost up. There was no way out, not for either of them.
Mora’s eyes fluttered open. Confusion clouded her stare as she looked at him. Then…she smiled. “There you are.”
His heart jerked in his chest. The way Mora was looking at him…
It’s the way she stared at me so long ago.
“I knew you’d be here when I woke up.” Her eyes were filled with so much…love? No, no, couldn’t be. But she stared at him as if he were the most important person in her world, and her face had gone soft and tender. “Isn’t it funny…but I think I even missed you while I was dreaming.”
It wasn’t funny at all. He swallowed. “I…missed you.” More truthful words had probably never been spoken by him. Every single day without her had been like acid eating away at his insides.
She’s confused. I freaking charged her up with my power—and she got hit with Luke’s. She doesn’t understand what happened. I need to back away.
He needed to do the right thing with her. “You should relax a few moments.” He rose to his feet and his hand slid away from her. “You got hit with too much power—”
Her hand grabbed his. “Don’t leave me.”
Fuck. So this is hell. Always wondered what it was like.
“I dreamed that you left me. And I was cold and I hurt, and I just wanted you back.”
Move. Away. He cleared his throat. “You…you took the brunt of some powerful magic a few minutes ago. Just…do you want me to put you in your bed? So you can rest?”
“Yes.” Her voice was husky and sexy and it slid right over his body. “Put me in bed.”
He swallowed. Twice. Then he bent and picked her up in his arms. For a moment, he just inhaled her sweet scent. She smelled good and fresh. Like flowers. She’d always smelled that way. Her body was soft and warm, and she just seemed to fit perfectly against him.
One of her arms wound around his neck.
He started walking toward her bedroom.
Mora pressed a kiss to his throat.
Shit.
“I’ve always loved the way you taste,” she whispered, and Leo felt the lick of her tongue on his skin. “Do you like the way I taste?”
He was at the door of her bedroom. “Baby, I love the way you taste.”
She gave a soft laugh. Then she lightly nipped his neck. His cock jerked as arousal flooded through him.
He hurried into her room. He lowered her onto the bed and started to step back, but her arm was still around his neck.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Mora asked him.
He wanted her mouth more than he wanted a breath. Through clenched teeth, he gritted out, “Do you know where you are?”
She licked his lower lip. “Of course, I’m with you.”
Every muscle in his body tensed. The things she could do with her little pink tongue…Focus. “Baby, do you know when you are
?”
She eased back a little, staring up at him with a furrow between her eyes. He wanted to put his hands on her. All over her. But instead, he grabbed the wooden headboard behind her. Leo caged her between the bed and his body as he waited, knowing that his time was running out.
She’s going to stop looking at me as if I’m the only man she’s ever wanted.
Maybe he should kiss her. Get one last taste. A memory to see him through the darkness that was coming.
She deserves more. He’d wronged her enough.
And he could see it happen. The memories came flooding back to her. The cloud of confusion left as her eyes widened. Her lips parted, and she seemed to pale.
“I know…” Her voice was a rasp. “When.”
She knew him. She knew all he’d done. Leo could see it in her eyes. So he gave a grim nod. “Luke is gone. You don’t have to worry about him. I’ll take care of my brother.” His hands lifted from the headboard. “Good-bye, Mora.” He turned away.
But she pulled him right back with one word. “No.”
He glanced at her.
Mora’s eyes were blazing. The tender emotion from before was long gone. And in its place, was that desperation? Fear?
I can’t let her be afraid. I won’t.
He cupped her delicate jaw. “You’ll be protected, I swear it. The Lord of the Dark will never touch you.”
Her lips trembled. Her eyes swam with—dammit, with tears. “You are wrong,” she told him with a twisted smile. “So wrong.”
Alarm knifed through him. “Mora?”
“Kiss me.”
Those were the last words he’d expected. He thought she’d want to throw his ass out. He thought—
“Maybe it won’t be the same. Maybe you’re different.” There seemed to be a stark hope in her voice.
Did she think that she wouldn’t desire him any longer? That the wild need that had always burned so hot and fiercely between them would be gone now? That they’d be free of the primal connection?
Leo knew the truth…I’ll never be free. The woman before him had haunted his dreams for centuries. He’d reached for her, time and time again, only to find an empty bed. And if she wanted him to kiss her, if she was asking for his mouth…
