Enemies Allied

by Serena Lindahl

  Alec cursed. "How many Magitechs are there?"

  Alena shrugged. "Obviously more than we thought. Jenira thinks he has advanced Magitech security. He's not interested in fighting Mather. He just wants him to stop stealing his stuff. After Mather is gone, he agreed to work with Davin to bare the truth of Magitechs to the Territories. The only interesting part was when Jenira confronted him about his son. He's hiding something - or entirely surprised at the idea of his son being involved in any thefts. That’s baffling, considering he knows everything that goes on in his company."

  Alena sighed as the tension of the evening started to melt out of her. Her magic calmed to a more subtle hum. "Jenira is a scary woman, and I saw a hint of that tonight. I definitely don't want to be on her bad side."

  Eden giggled. "I agree. I think even Davin is scared of her." They all chuckled at the idea of the muscle-bound Davin being afraid of his girlfriend.

  "I know she thinks we're not ready to face Mather," the redhead said more quietly.

  Eden's eyes met Alec's over Alena's body. She took a deep breath. Her brother's words had been circling her mind all night - every moment she was frustrated with her tenuous connection with the other mage, she'd been nearing a decision. Her voice shook when she spoke. "I think we need to be as ready as possible."

  Her tone drew their attention more than her words. Eden ducked her head, her braid slipping over her shoulder. She cleared her throat nervously. "I think we need to work on our connection."

  Alena's nervousness shifted to desire so fast that it caused Eden to suck in a deep breath. Alec remained more cautious. He held back, waiting for her to explain what she meant.

  Eden rose on her knees, looking at both of them. Her breath caught in her throat. Alena: so beautiful, her green eyes alive with fire, and her magic like a live wire stretched between them. Alec: so ruggedly handsome and sweet, his tech ability like a clear pool of warm water.

  "Eden," Alena began, "there's no rush."

  Eden could sense Alena's struggle and desire. She quickly separated her own emotions from the others', studied them, and let them back out. She wanted to be sure their emotions weren't driving her own. But they weren’t. She wanted them, and she wanted them for more than just building their connection.

  Her mouth met Alena's soft lips; her hand found Alec's muscular thigh as she leaned forward. She kissed Alena with all the certainty she felt, putting her desire behind it. Then, she leaned back slowly, her eyes flickering between them.

  "I don't want to wait.”

  The desire rose between them, their magic and tech abilities twining like a braid of multicolored rope. She shifted to straddle Alena and leaned forward to kiss Alec. His groan nearly sent her over the edge as the other woman's lips found her neck. She took their passion and desire into her, her skin burning with the sensation of their bodies against hers. Alena's soft skin and gentle scent, Alec's scratchy face and hard muscles - the contrast was exhilarating and raw. She couldn't get enough as she pressed toward them. When they kissed each other, the magic soared into the air around them like a sentient being.

  Alec’s strong, callused hands trailed along her skin. His fingers slid from her bare shoulders to her breasts, shaking slightly as Alena kissed her. The woman’s tongue played with hers, drawing it out, and exploring her mouth with breathy whimpers that spiked Eden’s desire. When she tugged at Alena’s shirt, they made space between them for clothes to fall away.

  Alec sucked in a breath. “You’re both so beautiful.” His voice was filled with wonder; his amazement and lust saturated his words with meaning. Eden didn’t know who to concentrate on. Alena smirked at her, a mischievous look on her face as she positioned Eden on top of Alec’s lap and moved behind her. Alec caught her lips in a searing kiss, bursting with the pent-up hunger he’d been holding onto since he first met her. Eden felt his emotions as if she experienced them herself.

  His hard thighs beneath her and Alena’s soft breasts pressing into her bare back were dual sensations of bliss. Alec’s dark blue eyes caught her in his spell as his gaze caressed her face. His lips left hers, moving down her neck to her breasts as Alena kissed the side of her neck. Eden let go, sitting between them. She forgot about what she needed to do and gave over to the need pulsing through her. She was on fire.

  Alec’s mouth closed over one of her nipples while Alena’s hand trailed along her bare stomach. She writhed on his lap, rocking against his hardness. He was still wearing his pants; she tugged at his waistband, unable to remove them with only one hand. His lips reluctantly released her breast. She moved aside for just a second so he could undress. He pulled her back with a growl that vibrated through her bones.

  Alena tilted her head back, kissing her firmly. Eden caught her arm, pulling her to the side so she could mimic Alec’s ministrations on her. Alena tasted like fire and honey, a combination of her unique flavor and magic. Alena’s hand moved between them as Eden focused on her nipples. The mage palmed Alec’s hard length and pressed it into Eden’s wet folds. Alec bucked against them, his powerful muscles flexing with tension.

  The other woman kissed her way down Eden’s neck and nipped at her ear. “I want to see him slide inside you,” she whispered. The words, so carnal and honest, spread hunger and heat through Eden’s body.

  Alec groaned. “I don’t have any protection,” he cursed. It wasn’t something they’d considered. Their minds had been preoccupied with other things.

  Eden rubbed against him. She wanted to feel him bare inside her, needed to. “I’m protected from pregnancy and clean,” she replied breathlessly. “I need to feel you, please.”

  Alec cursed, his usual steady demeanor lost in the intensity of his desire. Power rolled through Eden; her muscles shook. Alena’s beautiful eyes sparked with fire and she licked her lips. Swooping down to capture those soft lips as Alec lifted her above him, Eden devoured Alena’s mouth. Her hand dipped to the other woman’s core just as Alec pushed inside her, his thickness stretching her tight passage. His head dropped against her shoulder.

  “Mmmm,” he hummed. “You feel so good.”

  Eden released Alena’s lips, her fingers sliding through the other woman’s wet folds to find her clit. She turned the other woman’s face to Alec and watched them kiss as he seated himself fully within her. His thickness pulsing inside her caused her to throw her head back as her spine arched. Alena and Alec each played with one of her breasts as Alec started to move under her and inside her.

  Her fingers teased Alena’s clit, loving the sounds she was able to draw from the other woman. The looks on their faces made her inner muscles contract with sweet passion and need as her climax built. Alena pressed her body against hers as Eden slipped a finger inside her, mimicking Alec’s motions. They came together, and Alec followed soon behind, pouring into her with a groan that echoed through their bones.

  As she gave herself to both of them fully, over and over in different positions with love and happiness, their connection solidified. They existed inside her; their powers entwined together. For the first time in her life, she felt fully complete. Her magic and tech combined with each of theirs to create a powerful force. Nothing had ever felt more right or more natural. They belonged together - all three of them - like this.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Eden

  Mather glared at someone out of the picture, his eyes dark with anger. “We must move against them,” he growled like an animal, fire blazing in his eyes. “Now!” he roared.

  The person out of the vision, the one that Eden couldn’t see or feel, winced - though she didn’t know how she knew. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the vision to shift to include that person.

  “We can’t reach them in the castle,” a voice said, slick with fear, genderless and bare.

  “Then we must bring them here. My daughter, whore that she is, grows more powerful. I can feel her. And that null,” Mather snarled, “that null must be eradicated.”

  “Surely w
e can wait?” The voice came again. “They are no match for you or your army.”

  “Now!” Mather roared again, and Eden whimpered in her sleep. As if he heard the sound, the Magitech turned toward her. He looked into the shadows. “Is that you, daughter? Are you dreamwalking to me? I should have known.” His anger turned thoughtful as Eden watched.

  She tried to pull herself from the vision, but she couldn’t. She felt smothered in wet concrete, unable to move.

  “You are weak,” Mather told her, his gaze burning into her. “If you had come to me for your training, you would be able to control your visions more. You would be able to save your friends. You would be able to save the nulls. Let’s make this more interesting. Each day that you tarry, I will kill another null. Sometimes I just kill the non-null twin so that the other one slowly goes insane.” His eyes glittered with madness. Eden felt like she was staring down a viper. “I tire of these games. I have plans, and your little team of useless mages and techies is a headache to me. Come to me so that I can kill them and be done with it!”

  Eden shivered, her whole body trembling, but she still couldn’t leave. She pulled at herself, calling out to Alena in her mind, calling out to Alec, to Gideon.

  “Your lovers,” Mather spat the word, “can’t save you. You are mine. After I have killed them, I will own you just as I did your mother. You will dreamwalk on my command.”

  He started to approach her, his body almost floating in her dreamlike vision.

  Eden jerked her body, feeling a hot fire start in her chest. She screamed once - a piercing scream that echoed through her mind like shards of glass ripping her essence apart. She pulled on her core, felt the burning calm that was her connection to Alec and Alena. She tugged on it, willing it to flood her body. In the distance, Mather roared with rage.

  “Eden!” Strong arms shook her, and Eden came awake with a gasp. They were all still lying in bed, naked with their hair askew.

  Eden collapsed between them and sobbed. She took deep, panting breaths as their magic and calm soothed her. Their heartbeats kept pace with hers.

  “I saw him,” she gasped. “He saw me. He knows we’re here. He threatened the nulls.”

  “Whoa, slow down,” Alena soothed, her hand caressing Eden’s hair.

  Alec kneaded her back, calming her tense muscles. Eden fell back against the bed, taking both of them with her. Alec propped himself up on an elbow, still stroking her bare stomach with a comforting touch. Alena did the same on the other side, her hand gently caressing Eden’s arm.

  Eden breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Their fear, confusion, and blazing connection filled her. “Mather,” she finally said. “I dreamwalked to him. He was talking to someone. He said he’s coming for us.” Her brow furrowed. “No. The other person said they couldn’t get to us in the castle. Mather saw me after that. He said he would kill one null for each day that we didn’t come to him.”

  Alena’s hand abruptly paused its motion, and Alec’s muscles tensed against her. “He knows about you; he knows about us. I don’t know.” She hiccuped on a sob, her voice breaking. She opened her eyes to see Alena’s burning gaze and Alec’s bright blue eyes. “We need to tell everyone.”

  Alena nodded and leaned down to kiss her, the action erasing her fear and renewing her desire.

  Eden pulled away, lifting a hand to Alec’s face and looking into both of their eyes in turn. “I can feel both of you,” she said, enjoying their surprise as it wove around them like a soft blanket. “I used our connection to pull away.” She kissed Alec. The fear of the dreamwalk faded in their arms, and memories of their night caused her to burn with desire again.

  Alec groaned against her mouth, his overnight stubble rasping against her smooth skin. “As much as I would love to never leave this bed,” he said, his other hand caressing Alena’s naked side over Eden’s body, “we need to tell the others.”

  Eden nodded, biting her lip as she thought about what the dreamwalk meant. Alec’s eyes darkened.

  “You know you can’t do that.” Alena laughed.

  “What?” Eden asked, her brows rising.

  “Bite your lip like that. It drives Alec and I crazy.”

  Eden blushed before smiling coyly. Her eyes darkened and she deliberately sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Well, in that case…” Alena swooped down and captured Eden’s lips in her own, gently nipping them with her teeth.

  When she came up for breath, she met Alec’s burning gaze. “We’ve created a little vixen, Alec.”

  He threw back his head and laughed, the rumble sending delightful shivers through Eden’s body. He kissed them both on the forehead and rose reluctantly as he slipped from between the sheets naked. “I guess I have to be the responsible one,” he said, even though Eden could read the desire in his aura and see the evidence as he pulled on his pants.

  She groaned petulantly and followed suit, pulling the same dress she wore yesterday over her head and asking Alena to fasten the small buttons on the top. Alena did, kissing the skin she covered. The three of them left the room, Eden feeling guilty for being so happy after the dreamwalk she had witnessed.

  “You can’t do that,” Alena murmured. “You can’t let him take our happiness. If he takes that, we are truly beaten.”

  “You knew what I was feeling?” Eden asked in surprise.

  Alena’s brows drew together. “No. I think I just guessed.”

  Eden nodded. In a way, she wished Alec and Alena could feel her feelings as she could feel theirs. And in a way, she was kind of happy they couldn’t. It was a burden to her at times, to experience everything everyone else felt with so much clarity.

  They were at the top of the stairs when Elle popped into the air before them. Eden squeaked in surprise, jumping back. Alec steadied her with his strong arms.

  “You need to speak to the others?” the Brownie asked.

  Eden’s heart beat too fast from the scare to reply so Alena responded. “Yes. Eden had a dreamwalk that is relevant.”

  Elle nodded and vanished in a blink.

  “She scared the crap out of me,” Eden breathed.

  Alec chuckled. “The first year I lived with Bette, I think she did that on purpose to unnerve me.”

  Eden smiled as she imagined that. The castle’s Brownies were even more elusive than Bette had been. Elle was everywhere and nowhere at once. Jay was only seen when food was involved.

  The thought of food spurred the three of them to the dining room. Eli was already there, pacing back and forth in front of the windows. The rising sun behind him highlighted his silhouette in reds and oranges. He stepped toward Eden and grasped her hand. “Something has happened.”

  Eden nodded, even though it wasn’t a question.

  He paused a moment and looked from her to Alec and then to Alena. His lips curved. “Good. You have strengthened the bond.”

  Eden’s cheeks burned. She wanted to tell him their bond was more important than a tool, but she didn’t. She rested in the comfort of the loving couple at her side, not needing to justify her feelings to her brother. He smiled as if he could read her thoughts and tugged on her messy braid playfully. Eden wondered, not for the first time, what it would have been like growing up with him as a big brother.

  The others slowly trickled in and helped themselves to coffee and sticky pastry. Jenira looked like she hadn’t slept at all; sweat coated her skin as if she’d been working out since she came back last night. Mac entered with Lightning at her side, grumbling about Brownies waking her from a sound sleep. Davin looked exhausted and on edge. Cat and Andrew were their usual calm selves. Cat carried a digipad she couldn’t look away from even while she poured a cup of coffee.

  Eden looked around and frowned. “Where’s Elliott?” She hadn’t seen him since the day before when he’d muttered about the house hiding the lab from him.

  Davin sighed, running a large hand over his unshaven face. “Gone. He left while we were out last night.”

  Jenira st
opped pacing to shoot a look at Eden. “What happened?”

  Eden took a deep breath and told them of the dreamwalk. Silence followed her words.

  Davin stood up from the table, cursing loudly. “He has us trapped,” he fumed. “We now know that he can’t reach us here and that he thinks more time will give us an advantage. But if we wait, innocents die.”

  Mac set her coffee cup down loudly. “We can’t let that happen. Those people are like me. They didn’t ask to be born nulls.”

  “I know,” Davin growled and then apologized under his breath for snapping at her. Mac shrugged away his apology.

  Eden poured herself another cup of coffee. “We can’t wait. If we do, he might find a way to bring his fight here after all. He’s very determined. He says he has plans that need to be followed through on and we’re just a nuisance.”

  There was another moment of silence before Eli spoke. “The joint council meets next week.” His words were steady, but they sent a spark of fear through Eden’s body.

  She hadn’t paid much attention to Territory politics, but the annual council meeting between the Western and Eastern Territories was common knowledge. It included the most important people in both nations. Citizens from the entire country attended, watching the proceedings on large screens from a protected courtyard in front of the building where they met. Security was tight, but it wouldn’t withstand an army of automatons or advanced cyborgs.

  Davin cursed again. “He’s going to target the council if we don’t stop him first. More than a couple of null innocents will die, and the entire country will dissolve if the leaders are killed.”

  “And most likely, he will do it in such a way that both sides blame each other. They’ll be too distracted by hate to pay attention while he enacts his plan.” Jenira’s tone was angry and exasperated.

  “So we’ll take the fight to him,” Davin said. “There’s not much choice.”