by Sam Destiny
“You have seen how I was when he was just out of my life. Imagine how miserable I will be if he is out of this world,” Maya explained quietly, wishing she would have taken just a few minutes to get to know Cany so she knew what argument would be a convincing one for the courtier.
“The sun will be up in not more than twenty minutes!”
Maya took a deep breath. “I guess the guys just gotta drive like their lives depend on it then,” she announced.
Only when they sat in the car, Cany next to her, did Maya realize that her courtier was shaking.
“What’s up?” she wanted to know, figuring it was time to start being a Queen and worry about those that were supposed to be there for her. Besides, it gave her something to think about other than Jaden’s health.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing,” Cany replied and Maya just pulled up a brow.
“Okay, and now we try the truth,” she said quietly enough so the guys up front wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“The Morningstar warriors will all be there,” Cany finally answered and Maya waited, but nothing else followed.
“Okay?” she prompted and her courtier looked down at her hands, staying silent a moment before sighing.
“All of them will be in one place. They have a Hellraise with them. And a reputation,” Cany finally explained and Maya gently laughed. She simply couldn’t envision anymore how people could be scared of the warriors.
“They are sweet, trust me. And Red, that’s the Hellraise, is one of the few who didn’t backstab me. He was up front right from the beginning and I trust him. I promise they’ll be nice. Please, don’t worry, okay? At least not over that,” she explained, making sure Cany knew she was being serious. “Plus, you know Matt and Ryder. They’ll watch out for you,” Maya added loud enough so the boys heard her. She knew they’d follow her orders, no matter what would be coming.
Arriving at the twins’ home hadn’t been at all what Maya had thought or expected. Everyone stared at her, seemingly set on following Jaden’s wish about not letting her in. Had Ryder lied about Jaden wanting to see her?
“He doesn’t want you to give him your blood,” Lex explained, making fury boil in Maya’s blood.
“Just like he didn’t want anything else from me, you mean?” she screamed, silencing everyone else in the room right along with Lex.
“That wasn’t what he meant, Maya,” Kaden soothed her, but she wasn’t ready to let him.
“What is it you all are worried about, huh? Best case? He walks out of there alive and mad at you all for letting me in. Worst case? He’ll be just like he was before. I can do that! I can try! I will not let Jaden suffer forever like he does now,” she fussed, making sure everyone heard her.
“Let her through,” Ryder said quietly and Kaden, who stood right in front of her, suddenly looked over her head at her brother.
“There’s no way an Origin can survive that. We cannot let Maya into his room,” Kaden replied. Maya just wanted to push him out of the way, but he was like a statue under her hands, his chest hard and unyielding no matter how much she tried to move him. Even when she wanted to step around him, he just moved with her without even taking his eyes off Ryder.
“Are you worried about losing her or worried she could succeed, Kaden?” Lex asked, his voice shaking with suppressed anger. Maya felt as if she wasn’t even there, but that comment made her speechless anyways.
“Hold on, Lex. Don’t you dare go there! Jaden wouldn’t forgive me if he makes it out alive at the cost of her. Did you take a good look at her? She’s tiny! In the end they’ll both be gone and then what?” Kaden snapped and Maya looked at him, touching his chest. Tears of frustration were in his eyes and she wanted to cry for him because she knew that he was trying to protect her and honor his brother’s wishes.
“There’s no way in hell I’ll walk away again. I have the means to save him. I’ve gotta try at least!” She knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she just let it go.
Kaden’s expression turned hopeless, gentle as he looked at her. “I cannot let you do that, no matter what your motives are. There’s no way for us to get blood into you so whatever he takes you couldn’t replenish fast enough. This will be the death of you. I know my twin. We might be acting a lot like we aren’t even related, but we were meant to be one person and…”
“That’s it, Kade! Bite her,” Devon suddenly ordered, interrupting him. Maya turned to the Highlander, staring at him. He couldn’t be serious.
“Excuse me?” she sputtered while feeling Kaden move closer. She hadn’t realized how aware she was of him until Jaden suddenly wasn’t the only thing occupying her thoughts any longer.
“Jaden and Kaden are twins. They came from the same ovule. They were meant to be one person. They share the same blood. If Kaden can bite you, you can take his blood. It would be enough so you and Jaden would survive. This could solve everything. Your blood would be rebuilding blood cells while feeding Jaden enough to make him live,” Devon concluded, impatience creeping into his voice.
Maya though was already shaking her head, not trusting her ears. She knew better than anyone what a blood bond did to a person. Besides…
“If this theory was right then Kaden could have been my mate. He would have glowed at my touch. But he isn’t, look,” she said, pulling up his shirt to press her hand against his abs. She knew no one else would be able to see that, but she needed to reassure herself. Just like she had predicted there was no glow. She was freezing nonetheless, feeling Kaden’s gaze on her. She met his eyes, a plea in hers.
“Tell me you got a tattoo at a studio, Kade,” she begged. She hadn’t fully pushed up his shirt, but enough to free half of his chest and show the beginning of a flame tattoo.
He closed his eyes, tearing down the shirt, but Maya couldn’t stop staring at his pained expression.
“May, we wouldn’t be able to see that unless it directly involves us. But, with your new Queen power you probably will see that Kaden doesn’t glow like the rest of us.” Red tried to calm her down, but that wasn’t really working. Her new powers, those that were supposed to be amazing and cool actually hadn’t worked since the very first time she had stood among the guys after being changed. Not that she minded since it freaked her out just a bit, but she couldn’t deny that they could have been helpful in the sense of alerting her to something being wrong. “You can see it, right?” Red nudged, but Maya shook her head.
“It probably takes a little practice,” Lex explained, his voice still somewhere between pissed and tired. “Try to focus. Close your eyes and tell your body to show you what you want to see,” he went on and Maya stared at all the warriors surrounding her and Kaden. They couldn’t be serious. She had taken long enough to come to terms with the fact that Fate hadn’t made a mistake pairing her off with Jaden, but this? Her mind was reeling.
“Just try,” Lex pleaded, finally softening towards her again. “Please, just focus,” he coaxed and she closed her eyes, trying to push all thoughts away. It wasn’t easy, but eventually she held them off long enough to be brave and open her eyes. It actually made her smile a little because she could see the boys shining. Ryder was bathed in emerald light, Devon in bronze, Red in gold and Lex in aquamarine. Colbin was just himself, Matt shone in silver and Kaden… Didn’t have any glow at all.
“Unmated warriors shine, mated ones don’t,” Lex whispered quietly, interpreting her thoughts out loud for everyone.
“Maybe he didn’t glow before… I couldn’t know since…” she started, but was interrupted when Kaden took her hand. Defiance was clear in his eyes.
A moan escaped her lips before she could stop herself as his teeth pierced her skin. She remembered all those times someone had tried to draw her blood and then had cried out in pain. This was different though. This made her feel like only Jaden could.
Kaden tore his lips from her wrist, stepping back. He was breathing hard while his chocolate eyes held hers. Happiness and despair were gra
ppling in her body, her head saying one thing, her heart being unable to decide. Elation made her head light. She’d be able to save Jaden. Yet there was a part of her that wanted to give Kaden more of herself. So much more.
“Now I know what it feels like. Now I know why he taps into you to feel calm, no matter what you feel,” Kaden said in awe while at the same time agony crept into his expression. Maybe they had been wrong after all. Hope and doubt surged in her.
“Holy shit! We can save Jaden without anyone dying. This is awesome,” Matt exclaimed and Maya forced herself to look away from Jaden’s twin, who now was paler than death. Seemingly he finally realized what all of this would implicate.
“I am so incredibly sorry, May,” Red whispered and she willingly went to him when he opened his arms for her, seeking comfort where truly none could be found.
She wasn’t ready to let Jaden suffer, couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse to help him as soon as she was ready. Time wasn’t of the essence, but she sure didn’t want to have him feel this pain longer than necessary. Whenever he came around she could feel the overwhelming agony. Luckily he still was oblivious to all of what went on downstairs, just a few steps away from him.
Destra finally had done it. She never had been closer to breaking Maya than she was that moment, and not even Destra could really be held accountable for that since fate had put the deciding twist into Maya’s life. She was breaking over a choice she had to make: Could she live with herself if she healed one brother at the cost of the other?
She shook her head. She’d never do that to Kaden. If, and she still held onto the hope that they all were wrong, he was supposed to be mated to her, or already half there, drinking his blood would kick his heart over the edge.
“Dear Creator, this is just not possible. I’ll do it without Kaden or I’ll die trying. Maybe it’s enough. Maybe I can save us all,” she announced, her voice hitching. Kaden stepped closer, wanting to comfort her but she evaded his touch.
“Okay, so I am drawing a short conclusion here. Just so we all know where we stand,” Ryder started. “Chances are high that Kaden could now actually be Maya’s mate if she had touched his skin first. As it is now, Jaden is up there, suffering and in pain because he was ready to kill your mother for you as a token of his love and we are standing here because you aren’t ready to have another one’s blood in you to save your mate? Really, Maya?” He was all but screaming. Maya felt as if someone had taken her the air to breathe. He didn’t understand. Couldn’t until he was mated. Before anyone else could react though Cany had slapped him hard enough to make his head snap around. She seemed to really enjoy hitting Ryder.
“You fucking bastard! This is your sister and Queen you are talking about. This isn’t about saving anyone, but about how many people will be broken in the process. Maya’s heart is on the line, just like Jaden and Kaden’s. Call me a romantic, but surviving a poison attack after trying to win his Origin back, only to wake up and realize that his girl never truly can be his anymore won’t exactly make Jaden a happy vampy,” Cany accused, fire in her eyes.
“I can’t do it,” Maya said another time, stepping outside to get some fresh air, being followed by Red.
“We’ll manage whatever comes,” he promised, pulling her in his arms again. Frankly this was the moment she realized that usually Kaden was the one to comfort her and no matter what, she already had lost the person that was her closest confident.
Jaden couldn’t remember ever having felt as much pain as he did since having touched Destra. His body was on fire, but it was the presence of other feelings in him that now made him swing his legs off the bed, ready to move.
“Kaden, stop and think for a second!” Lex’s voice made Jaden freeze just as he reached the door. He wasn’t in the mood to show all his fellow warriors how weak he was, but he would need to pass them if he wanted to see…
“Maya’s not gonna agree to that, Lex. Just because she has some honor code concerning Jaden.” The voice of his twin made Jaden refrain from opening the door.
“Try taking a step back and think about the fact that she maybe didn’t take that measure for her or Jaden? You, Kaden, are borderline in love with her and she knows what the blood does! Maya knows exactly what it entails for her to have your blood while she is saving her mate,” Lex hissed and Jaden stumbled back to the bed.
What in the world were those two talking about?
“I don’t care what it does to me because I am not gonna watch her die! Even if he’s not surviving this, that is not an option. And if he does survive this and she doesn’t, he wouldn’t ever forgive me for having had the chance to save them both and not having done it. Ryder was right,” Kaden replied and Jaden forced himself up on his feet again. He walked around the room, dragged his feet really, wishing those two outside would notice that he was awake. Kaden couldn’t save his life, no matter how hard he tried to believe that. Only Maya really was in that position, but if Jaden had any word to say about it, he wouldn’t allow her to risk her life for him.
“Ryder is a jerk right now. If she agrees to that, Kaden, she’ll always be bonded to you because…”
Because? Blood was rushing in Jaden’s ears and his knees got weak. Forcing his legs to move he crawled back up on the bed before the fucking poison made him blackout again without him ever finding out the end of this conversation.
Maya took a deep breath, being glad once Jaden’s temporary consciousness was over again. There was no doubt she wanted him awake, but surely not like this. The pain almost had brought her to her knees again and it broke her heart knowing that she got just a portion of it.
Red had left her alone, probably trying to argue whichever was his side on this, but she didn’t care. She just wished she knew how things would turn out so she’d know what the best choice was.
“Cupcake…” She closed her eyes at Kaden’s voice, wishing she wouldn’t be so confused about how he could have been her everything.
He stepped close and even without looking at him she knew her earlier reaction to him trying to comfort her made him cautious.
“I’m not gonna do that to you, Kade.” And she wouldn’t.
“Do what, little star? Push me away? Because you are already doing that. Are you worried this could change something between us? I got news for you: It already did. I cannot lose Jaden, and I’m sure not gonna risk having him in a world where there’s no you. We won’t have sex; I won’t have your blood in me. We won’t be neither mated nor fully bonded. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I’ll even give you the blood from my wrist if it makes you feel better,” he whispered and she turned, swallowing before speaking.
“Jaden fell in love with me because of that bond and it solidified whenever we exchanged blood. I won’t do the same thing to you. It’s one thing falling in love with a person because they are amazing, but it’s something entirely different if you don’t have a say in it,” she fussed, wanting to pass him, but he pulled her in his arms, proving that despite everything he had the ability to calm her down considerably with just one hug. Unfortunately that made her conviction to go through it without him even stronger.
He gave her one last squeeze before letting her go. He left everything unsaid that obviously was resting on the tip of his tongue. She took a deep breath, being sure that she could never thank him enough for not having spoken up that moment. It wouldn’t have made things easier or less messy, of that she was sure.
“I’ll have Lex monitor your thoughts closely and I swear, if we get the feeling that you’ll die on us, I’ll be in that room,” he said before letting her turn away.
“Kaden…” She stopped in the door, looking at him another time. She had no idea what she had intended to say, but she went on with what felt right that moment. “I love Jaden.”
“You don’t know him, Cupcake,” he replied and she nodded.
“Exactly my point, because I still love him,” she pointed out, hoping he’d understand how serious this bond-thing was.
/>
Silence greeted her as she entered and Maya sighed. Sometimes it really was the worst thing to have everyone hear you perfectly. Without giving them another look she walked up the stairs, feeling as if she was heading to her own funeral.
“Take my dagger, Maya. You’ll need it,” Kaden whispered, being right behind her. Just then she realized that she had no idea when it would be time to give Jaden her blood.
“Listen to his heartbeat. Once you have the feeling it’s about to stop, you start feeding him,” Lex said, as well coming up behind her. “We’ll be right here,” he then added, squeezing her hand.
To her utter surprise Jaden was awake, sitting on the bed. Her heart stopped before it sped up.
“I’m gonna kill them. All of them,” he growled, his voice nowhere near his usual powerful tone.
“Pretty big words for someone who’s slowly dying an agonizing death,” she replied, her voice shaking. She wanted to be close to him badly, but she had no idea what was on his mind.
It was then that she realized worry overpowered his pain, which hadn’t made her aware that he was awake.
“I’m here because Ryder thought you might feel the need to say something to me, but…”
“Stop talking, Cupcake!” He pushed himself off the bed and Maya moved closer so she’d be ready to catch him if he should stumble. The moment she was within his reach she found herself hugged against a body that was undeniably home.
“I thought I wouldn’t ever see you again, so I am kinda glad that they didn’t listen to me,” he mumbled into her hair, kissing her below the ear, then her cheek and then her forehead. Relief now eased his pain.
“I did everything wrong. She challenged me. I knew it was a trap. We all did. We just couldn’t tell what kind. She didn’t attack and it freaked us out. But then she started talking and…” The look in his eyes spoke of pure regret. “She held a mirror to my face and I snapped. The moment my fingers locked around her throat I knew something was terribly wrong. It was like a burn going through my body; a reevaluation of my life, set in flames. I knew all my actions had been wrong when it came to you and I figured I’d be dying without ever really having told you what I feel. If I hadn’t betrayed you, myself and our bond, I would have taken my daggers instead of my hands, but…” He drew a long, clearly painful breath.
