The Trinity Sisters

by Kristin Coley

  “He was wrong. He admits that, and he’s sorry.” She tugged on my arm, asking me to pause. I did so reluctantly, still unwilling to meet her eyes. “We have to forgive the past, Milo. It’s the only way to move forward. You of all of us know that.”

  “I don’t have a problem with the past.”

  She gave a short laugh at that lie.

  “Are you kidding me? You can’t even look at me. You’ve barely spoken to me in the last two weeks, and I understood when your mate was missing, but, Milo, now you’re just avoiding me. Why?”

  The words stuck in my throat, and I started walking again. She tripped, but I kept her upright, and she jogged to keep up with me. I slowed, not wanting to be a complete ass.

  “I left you. I promised to come back, and I didn’t.”

  “Oh, Milo.”

  “It was unforgivable. I … I should have come back, contacted you, but I was afraid. I was afraid Dad would find out, and come and find Kincaid. That I would have to kill him to protect her.” Tears clung to her eyelashes at my words, and I shook my head. “Why are you crying? I’m the one that failed you.”

  “Milo! You could never fail me. You never have. You did what you had to, and I understand! I do. I missed you. I worried that something had happened to you, but I would never blame you for the choices you made.” She forced me to stop, dragging her heels into the ground. “She is your chosen one. We always knew killing them was wrong. We both played the part we were meant to play. I don’t blame you for not keeping your promise. Believe me. I love you, and you will always be my big brother. You’ve protected me my entire life, Milo.”

  I met her eyes finally and saw the truth reflected in them. She didn’t blame me, she never had. I dragged her to me in a tight hug, and felt her arms around me, squeezing back just as tightly.

  “May I join?”

  We pulled apart slightly to see our father standing there, hope warring with the fear of rejection on his face. Portia waited for my signal, and as I stared at him I saw hope, losing the battle the longer we stood there in silence.

  He’d been a difficult father to have, but he’d never once betrayed us. In fact, his help had become invaluable, and he’d proven his loyalty over and over. His ability to change his way of thinking, even after all these years, impressed me.

  He moved to turn away, and I grasped his arm. A small tug and we were hugging as a family for the first time in forever.

  “I’m sorry, son. Truly sorry for the father I’ve been.” I clapped him on the back.

  “You were a better father than I gave you credit for.” A laugh escaped me. “At least you never tried to kill us.”

  Portia let out a snotty snort, her laughter interspersed with tears.

  “Yes, father of the year for that alone.”

  “We can make it right.” He met our eyes, determination reflected in his. “We can protect them, and make sure the trinity fulfills its true destiny. Not the perverted form their father has tried for.”

  “Agreed.”

  “We’ll keep them safe.”

  The tingle surprised me at first. It flowed between us, our magic linking as the kinship bond was formed. For the first time, we were bound to a common cause, our magic working together and bringing us closer. Dad swallowed hard as Portia clasped our hands tighter, and I smiled as I recognized our bond. It was the same as the one I shared with Kincaid, and she shared with her sister and Luke. Together, we were forming a strong coven, one that could defeat even the strongest dark coven.

  A surge of power raced through me, almost bringing me to my knees. Portia and Dad caught me, and I whispered, “Kincaid.”

  Her name gave me strength, and I found my feet, running toward the house and whatever was drawing on Kincaid’s power.

  “Kincaid,” I shouted, as I raced into the house.

  “Here,” Garvin called, and I followed his voice to the library. The second he saw me, relief crossed his face. “They were chatting, gossiping really. I brought them a snack, because they’d been practicing magic, and then they both collapsed.”

  Both women were on the floor, their eyes wide open and glowing, but otherwise still. I crossed the room, about to gather Kincaid in my arms, when I heard my father.

  “DON’T touch her.”

  His bellow froze me, and I spun around, wondering what he was playing at. If something was spiking her magic, I could control the flow. She needed me.

  “Son, trust me. I know you want to touch her and siphon the magic that’s overwhelming her, but we have to be careful.” He studied my expression and nodded. “You could get pulled in. They’re not in control right now. I suspect Quinn is drawing on their power for some reason. It could be extremely dangerous for you to touch her. You could be drawn in, and she might need you to draw her out. Understand?”

  I nodded, clenching my fists to keep from touching her, the desire stronger than it had ever been. I took a breath to steady myself before asking, “What can we do?”

  “Find out some information. Garvin, what happened? Exactly.”

  “I walked in with a snack. Junk really, but it’s what they asked for.” Patrick nodded for him to continue, as I fought the urge to shake him. “They were talking to each other, but then they stopped. At the same time, they both went still. Then their eyes started to glow, but it kept getting brighter and brighter, and then they slumped over onto the floor. They didn’t move or anything. I checked to make sure they were breathing, and they were.”

  “You touched them?” Patrick questioned sharply.

  “Yeah, both of them. They didn’t respond when I shook them or called their names. They just seem stuck like this.”

  “Okay. That’s good to know.” He looked at me. “Just because Garvin can touch them, doesn’t mean you can. He’s not magic. You are and bonded. Just wait.”

  I nodded tightly, barely controlling myself from going to her.

  “What’s going on? I heard shouting.” Scott appeared at the door, looking apprehensive.

  “Kincaid and Sinclair are catatonic. Something is drawing on their magic.”

  “Their father?” The horror in his voice, as well as the idea of their dad doing this had my hand twitching toward Kincaid.

  “No, son. Wait.” I glared at him, but held myself back.

  “Let me try,” Portia said, she held up her hand at our father’s automatic protest. “We need to see if we can connect with them. I’m magic and can try. Dad, you have the best idea of how to fix this and, Milo, you’re the strongest. Once we know more, you can pull all of us back.”

  Patrick nodded reluctantly, and I flashed Portia a thankful smile. She gave me a small grin in return, and moved to Sinclair.

  “I’m more connected to Sinclair. I’ve known her longer. I’ll try with her first.” She placed her hand on Sinclair’s shoulder, and we watched her eyes go blank. Garvin snapped his fingers in front of her face with zero response.

  “She’s out.”

  “Let’s hope she can come back.”

  “Sinclair!” We heard Luke slam through the front door, and Scott said, “I’ll get him.”

  He escorted a wild-eyed Luke into the room, and then had to hold him back as he tried to go to Sinclair.

  “Wait, wait.”

  “Luke.” Patrick’s voice pierced through Luke’s fear, and he stopped struggling. “We don’t want you to touch her, just yet. We are trying to discover what’s going on. We think Quinn is drawing on their combined power.”

  Portia’s fingers twitched, and I stepped closer. They twitched again stronger, but stopped. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but the urge to pull her from Sinclair was strong.

  A moment later, Scott had her in his arms, and having come to the same conclusion as me, he’d yanked her away from Sinclair.

  “Thank goodness,” she gasped, leaning against Scott. “I was trying to pull myself out, but the force of the magic was too strong.”

  “Did you discover anything?” Patrick kept his voice ca
lm, but Portia’s words had me aching to touch Kincaid. If Portia had felt it, then it must be a thousand times worse for Kincaid.

  “You were right about Quinn. She’s trying to work a massive amount of magic, and she tapped into her sisters. They’re locked in what looked like a bubble. They’re facing one another, and Kincaid and Sinclair are funneling their power to her. I’m not sure what she’s trying to do, but I think Luke and Milo should be part of it. It may be their only chance to do whatever she’s trying to do.”

  I didn’t need to hear anything else. I grasped Kincaid’s hand and fell into a blue spider web. The blue strands were everywhere, connecting everything together. Luke stood next to me, and in front of us were the three sisters. Kincaid was to the right, Sinclair to the left, and a young woman, her hair the color of flames, stood directly in front, facing us. She was terrified and exhausted. I wondered if she’d used every bit of her own magic before tapping into her sisters. I held Kincaid’s hand. Luke had Sinclair’s hand, and I watched as the sisters linked their hands together. The moment they touched, everything went blue, and we were falling.

  I opened my eyes to see Garvin staring at me, his violet shirt stained with something. The sight was so incongruous, I blinked. I’d discovered the man was fastidious, so seeing a stain was impossible.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes suggesting I wasn’t all there.

  “Are you?”

  “If you discount a two-hundred-pound man slamming into me and making me spill my drink, I’m fantastic. Now, as the guy that slammed into me, how are you?”

  “Alive. I think.”

  “Milo?” Kincaid’s sweet voice had my head turning, and I saw she was looking at me anxiously.

  “You’re okay?” I asked her, running my gaze down her, grateful I hadn’t slammed into her. Garvin could take it, but Kincaid would have been crushed.

  “I’m fine.” The tears in her eyes belied her words, and I gathered her into my arms. “But I don’t know about Quinn.”

  I skimmed the room and saw Luke with Sinclair, Scott and Portia holding hands next to them, and Patrick pacing.

  “What happened?”

  “We’re not sure. We were sitting here, and we felt her call.”

  “It was the strangest thing, Milo. Her voice … I recognized it.” Kincaid gazed at me with an awed look. “She asked for help. We couldn’t help but grant it.”

  “We felt her pull on our power, and then we were with her. Surrounded by threads of magic, we couldn’t see what she saw, but she told us our father was there. He was going to kill the coven that had taken her in. She was trying to save them. We let her use our magic, but it was getting uncontrollable.”

  “Then you touched us, and it flowed. The magic flowed. We reached for each other’s hands, and then boom.”

  “We were back here. I have no idea what happened with Quinn, or if she was successful.” Sinclair tucked her head into Luke, crying, and Kincaid gripped my hand tightly.

  “She was successful. She had to be.”

  “Then why did everything go to hell when we touched?”

  Patrick stopped pacing. “I may have an idea.” We all looked to him, and he sighed. “By physically touching one another, you will unite the trinity. Wherever you were, it wasn’t your physical bodies. I imagine your attempt to touch overloaded the magical circuits, so to speak.” He glanced between them. “It forced each of you back to your body, but on a positive note, it would have generated a massive amount of power, enough I’m sure to work any spell she was attempting.”

  “I’m not sure she was working a spell,” Kincaid said slowly, thinking back. “I think she was trying to do her own magic. Like Sinclair’s illusions.”

  “So, flight? She was trying to fly everyone out of where they were? Away from our father?”

  Kincaid nodded, looking at each of us.

  “Maybe.”

  “Oh, now that’s badass.” Garvin paused in his effort to remove the stain on his shirt and gave a one shouldered shrug. “You were thinking it.”

  “If that’s what she was attempting, then yes, it would have required massive amounts of power, especially if it was multiple people. It could explain what happened,” Patrick added, handing a bottle of water to Garvin. “Blot, don’t scrub.”

  “If she was successful … then where did they go?”

  Luke’s quiet question silenced all of us. If Quinn could fly or transport people, then the challenge of finding her had just become exponentially harder.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Quinn

  He was going to kill them all to get to me, I thought desperately. He would take Dane and Gloria, all of these people who choose to risk their lives to keep me safe.

  Gone.

  Because of me.

  I couldn’t let it happen, I wouldn’t let it happen. They’d told me to stay inside the circle, it would protect me. He wasn’t supposed to be able to find me, but he had. He’d shown up with more than a dozen men to our fewer than ten, and it was only a matter of time before he killed them all.

  I could hear their taunts; the promises they were making. That if they handed me over, they wouldn’t destroy the entire coven. I wanted to beg them to do it, to give me to him so they would be safe, but the words wouldn’t come. I was terrified of him. He was the stuff of nightmares, and my skin burned being near them. Their evil blistered my arms without even touching me, and that fact alone terrified me more than anything.

  “Stay inside the circle, Quinn!” Dane’s voice broke through my fear, his sideways glance making sure I was still where he’d put me. He knew me, knew I’d want them to be safe, and might do something rash to protect them all. He told me over and over, it was his job to protect me, not the other way around.

  I disagreed.

  They said I was one of the trinity. Some powerful set of three that would change magic. Gloria had known who I was, the second she’d seen me. I could almost believe it myself now. I’d seen the women the night the man had killed my parent’s, I’d transported myself to Dane, but it was him—the man in front of me who oozed evil—that finally convinced me I was one of the trinity. He wanted me, and I knew if he succeeded it would be the death of everything I loved.

  I glanced around, seeing each of their faces, focused on one singular goal—to save me, to save their beautiful light magic from the likes of him.

  A stroke of his arm preceded a flash of light, and Peter fell. A scream ripped from my throat at the sight. He was a good guy, a college student who believed we had to fight to protect our magic. He’d believed I was worth fighting for, and now he’d died for me, as well.

  I saw the pain flash across Dane’s face before he controlled his expression. They were friends. He’d recruited Peter when they realized who I was and that I would need protection. I knew he felt responsible for his death, but I was the one responsible.

  The coven had been trying to locate my sisters. They insisted it was the only way to keep me safe. They said only together would the trinity work; that we could do amazing things, defeat even the most terrible evils, if we worked together. I believed them, and we were here to see if we could locate one or both of them, but we were interrupted by my father.

  Father.

  The word sent a shiver down my spine. He was no father of mine. I’d had a father, and he’d been killed, killed by one of the men standing next to the man who told me to call him Daddy.

  “Ignore them, Quinn. You’re stronger than them. They need you, and they fear you. If you stay in the circle, you’ll be safe.” Dane stood directly in front of me, and I knew he’d die there, protecting me.

  I refused to let another person die, but how could I save them? I didn’t know any magic. Two weeks ago, I’d been an eighteen-year-old who’d just graduated from high school. There was no such thing as magic and witches. Evil was something other people dealt with, not me. I had no idea what a trinity was, much less that I was part of one, and a five-hundred-year-old prophecy.<
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  My fingertips and toes tingled, the first sign I was about to teleport. I fought it, unwilling to transport myself to safety, while they fought for my life. My body reacted to danger, to the evil that raised red blisters on my arms, by fleeing. I’d been practicing control over the past weeks, but I’d never been in danger like this. It took all my strength to stop it.

  Dane sent me a quick glance, and hope suddenly crossed his face.

  “Jump, Quinn. Go. Save yourself. You can do it.” I shook my head frantically. No way was I leaving him behind. We were bonded, he helped me with my magic, and it was impossible for me to leave him. I stretched out my hand, imploring him to take it. Together, it was the only way I would go. He shook his head, and I saw his eyes slide to the others. He wouldn’t leave them, any more than I would leave him.