Bitter Thorns (The Entwined Book 1)

by Chrissy Jaye

  “Okay,” Brooke said, setting down a plate covered in crackers, meats, and cheeses. My stomach revolted at the sight. She looked at me for a second, surveying the damage to my hair before offering me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I think it’s best if we get out as much as we can at the sink and then shower, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. I turned on the faucet to let the water warm up in one of the sinks and felt around in my hair, pulling out dead leaves, sticks, and what appeared to be dried vines with wickedly sharp thorns on them. Brooke worked silently from the back after setting a small trash can at our feet.

  “Hey,” Vian called somewhat breathlessly from the doorway. Something flashed across his face as he looked at the pair of us in the mirror that made my chest tighten. As he brushed past Brooke, he leaned in to whisper something before he started the shower.

  “So, about that dude,” I inquired when he came back to us.

  “Which one, Flynn or Kieran?” Vian asked. “Time to wash it. Duck your head under the faucet.”

  I did as he told me, trying to get as much of my hair wet as possible. “I don’t know. Both I guess. I’m so not okay with strange dudes seeing me naked. Or chicks for that matter. Sorry Brooke.”

  She chuckled. “It’s cool.”

  Vian took his time to reply. He worked shampoo into my hair, scraping at my scalp lightly with his fingernails and I let my heart fall into happier times. He washed my hair the way Mom used to.

  “Privacy isn’t really a thing here,” Vian finally answered. It felt evasive to me. “Time to rinse. Get in the shower. Brooke and I will find you some clothes,” he said quickly, practically pushing Brooke out the door.

  “Okay….”

  I took my time after they left, making sure we hadn’t missed any of those thorns. I didn’t want to be pricked by one accidentally or have one fall out in the shower and step on it. My hair was long, and I liked to keep it that way, even if the curls were a hassle to deal with. I’d admit that some things weren’t worth it though, like working out tangles or getting your hair caught on doorknobs. That sucked.

  Once I was sure I wouldn’t impale myself, I undressed and stepped into the shower. It was one of those nice ones that fell like rain from the ceiling. I let it rush over me, relishing in the heat. People who took cold or lukewarm showers were weird.

  “Need help?” Brooke called out.

  I startled and whipped my head around.

  “Umm, I’m good,” I called back after a second.

  “We found clothes for you. Ben had errands to run and Ameris—Kieran and Flynn’s mother—gave him some clothes that would work for you.” Her voice echoed throughout the room as I rinsed soap from my body. “No one wanted to go through Emma’s things just yet.”

  Emma.

  Emma.

  Emma.

  Her name echoed through my head. By the time it processed through my brain a third time, Brooke’s voice had morphed into my own, sounding like a panicked scream. My whole body sagged toward the floor as hot tears filled my eyes.

  I forgot? How could I forget? Who does that? What sort of friend did that make me? My last memory of her flashed through my head over and over. I could almost feel the heat of that white fire blazing up around her as I stared down at the tiled shower floor. Her blonde hair hung like a curtain around her head as she turned, her devastated blue eyes on me just before she disintegrated into ash. It was too much. I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn’t stop myself from reliving it. I could live for a thousand years and I would never forget that moment. How was this ever going to be okay?

  I was dimly aware that people were speaking to me. The shower had shut off, a towel was thrown over me, and two sets of arms wrapped around me. My body shook so hard as I cried that I was certain if they let go of me, I would shatter apart.

  The pain was like crushing waves. One would ebb before another crashed down. The sounds of my crying were so loud that it echoed. Either that, or someone must have been crying with me. Somehow that made it worse. Whoever said shared pain was better was a fucking liar.

  My mind was a hazy mess of chaotic thoughts and feelings as I was led from the bathroom. I all but collapsed once we reached Brooke’s bed. She crawled in behind me as Vian covered us both up. He left for a few minutes and I ended up with my head nestled in Brooke’s lap while she stroked my hair. The action reminded me so much of Emma that I ended up crying harder. I wanted her to stop, feeling as though I didn’t deserve it, but I was too selfish to tell her. I both wanted and loathed the comfort she offered.

  Maybe I slept at some point after Vian came back and wrapped himself around both of us. The next thing I knew, Brooke was speaking to someone at the door.

  “She’s not hungry, Honey.”

  I opened my groggy eyes to find someone standing in the doorway. He looked vaguely familiar. What was his name again? Logan? No… Fuck, I was too exhausted for this. I’d ask Vian later.

  “Neither of you have eaten all day and everyone is restless. You don’t have to eat, but it would go a long way in settling things if everyone were together.” He gave me a weak smile, but I could see the exhaustion on his face.

  “We’ll come down in a bit,” Brooke replied, pushing a stray curl off my face.

  I sat up, expecting to see Vian but he was gone. I didn’t remember when he left again. “Where’s my brother?” I asked in a hoarse voice.

  Liam. That was his name, I remembered.

  “Downstairs,” he answered immediately. “I’m glad you’re better.”

  I stared at him blankly, unsure of how to respond to that. As a rule, I was distant with most people. Brooke was an exception I’d made in the face of so much testosterone last night. “Umm, thanks,” I finally said. I didn’t like how his eyes warmed over when I spoke to him, as if I were someone he had the right to have warm feelings for.

  “I’ll let them know,” he said before closing the door.

  “How many people live here?” I asked. I really wanted to be prepared if I was going to meet more people.

  Her eyes were tired and bloodshot, but she threw her head back and laughed. “Having you here is going to make this so much better. The answer is six, including my own brother and yours. Lots of testosterone around here.”

  I groaned and sank back into the bed. Brooke started playing with my hair again, combing her fingers through some of the tangles after such a restless night. “Don’t worry, they’re not a bad group of guys, you just have to get to know them.”

  Great. Just. Great.

  Chapter 5

  I took a deep breath as I took in the room, noting the light gray walls, stone fireplace, and simple furniture spattered around. The only thing that gave it any personality at all were the five guys spread out amongst the room, eyes fixated on a large screen. There was no art on the walls, no artistic flare. It looked exactly like a bachelor pad, except there weren’t beer cans littering every available surface.

  I snorted at my wardrobe as I stood at the bottom of the steps. The noise brought everyone’s attention to me in my pink pajama pants that said, ’Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them.’ I had no doubt that Brooke had picked these for me.

  Vian started laughing. Of course, he would find this funny. I shook my head with a sigh and looked at Brooke, who beamed at my brother. She was going to be trouble. Not that I was against taking digs at people, but only if I knew about it beforehand.

  “Hey guys, this is Olivia,” Brooke said, stepping forward to introduce me. She pointed at a guy sitting in a brown recliner. He had the same blonde hair and blue-green eyes, as well as her high cheekbones. While he was thin, he was all corded muscles. “That’s Ben, my twin brother.” He looked me up and down, not in a predatory way, but more assessing, like I was an interesting puzzle. “Those two idiots are Lucien and Liam,” she continued. Both had honey blonde hair, warm amber colored eyes, but where Liam was built, Lucien was slim, like a swimmer, though they looked about the same height.
Without waiting, she waved an arm toward Flynn and his twin. “And that’s Kieran. You’ve met Flynn already.”

  I nodded, unsure of what to say. How the hell were there so many twins in one room? Attractive ones at that. “Did your mothers all form a club and insist on having designer babies or something?” I blurted into the silent room. Seriously, that had to be the answer. There was no way three sets of twins won the genetic lottery like they had. It just didn’t happen.

  Lucien and Liam ducked their heads together, but their shoulders shook with silent laughter, while Ben looked like he was trying to decide if I was serious or not. Asshole and his twin shared a look between them, having one of those private twin conversations I was well acquainted with. And speaking of mine, he looked like he wanted to sink into the couch and never resurface, which was just fine with me since he’d laughed at me before.

  “Well?” I asked turning to Brooke who leaned against the wall with a huge smile on her face as she watched things unfold. I shrugged my shoulders and crossed the room to Vian and worked out a plan so I could tell Asshole and Wandering Hands apart. I smacked my twin’s leg, urging him to scoot over, and plopped down next to him.

  I already knew that one of them had lighter colored eyes, but as I continued to watch them, it became clear who was whom. Asshole was slightly smaller than his brother and lacked a pair of piercings in one ear. Plus, Flynn seemed to naturally brood. As if he sensed me staring at him, his gaze whipped in my direction and settled into an intense glare. Before I could do something childish, Lucien sat forward and cleared his throat to get my attention.

  “So, I’ll start,” Lucien said before glancing at Flynn. “Unless you’d rather?”

  “By all means,” Flynn said, flashing him a genuine smile before focusing back on me. It was unnerving. I glanced at my twin, wondering if it was because we were cuddling, but quickly decided I didn’t care. At least the others were trying to be sneaky about looking at me. Even Liam didn’t openly stare this time. I would just have to deal with Flynn looking at me as if I was some sort of plague.

  “Right. So, Livvy, would you rather ask your questions first and we can fill in anything you might not have thought to ask, or do you just want me to lay it out for you and answer any remaining questions?” Lucien ask, focusing back on me.

  I offered him a smile, but I doubt it looked genuine. “Actually, I’d rather just ask questions, if that’s okay?”

  “Of course.” He sat back, relaxing and waited patiently.

  I took a shaky breath, working past the lump that had formed in my throat. I knew what I wanted to ask but was I really ready for the answer? Fuck it. I had to know. “What happened to Emma?” Everyone, and I mean everyone, sucked in a breath. And just like that, my bravery ran out.

  I swallowed, growing nervous as my thoughts spiraled. I clutched Vian’s hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. I didn’t even have to look at him for him to know I was freaking out a bit. I watched as shock, anger, and grief played out in varying degrees across everyone’s faces. I shouldn’t have started with Emma, but it was already done. “How many of you knew her? Was she how you met Vian? Why was I unconscious for four whole days, and why didn’t you take me to a doctor? Come to think of it why did I wake up mostly naked next to that guy?” I motioned to Flynn with my head as Vian squeezed my hand again. Yeah, I was freaking out alright. I made a point to take a deep breath and try to calm down. Everyone was staring at me, half of them with their mouths hanging open.

  “We’re Entwined,” Ben stated matter of fact. Out of everyone in the room, he was the least ruffled. “We’re humans, but also not. And before you can ask by ‘we’ I’m talking about you and your brother as well...”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, focusing on keeping it to one question this time. Anything to not break down in tears again. That was a one-time thing. I didn’t know these people and I hated that I’d already shown my vulnerable side.

  “It means that we have access to a science the rest of humanity doesn’t. Well, most of it,” Ben continued. “To really understand, we would have to delve into thousands of years of history and theory.”

  I nodded, accepting his answer even though I had no clue what that really meant. Entwined? Was it a race? He made it sound that way. There’d always been something different about me. Something that set me apart from my peers. My heart was beating in my chest, and I knew I probably looked a bit wild. Once upon a time, I hadn’t been so good at hiding my emotions. I was often described as reactive, impulsive, and destructive. But after years of being in the system, I’d mastered my brash nature. Except I felt far too readable to these people, especially with Flynn studying me so intently.

  “Okay, let’s say I believe all of this so far. How did we get here? I don’t really remember anything beyond…” Emma dying in front of me. I couldn’t say it out loud.

  Lucien sat forward again, piercing me with a look. “All of us have natural abilities, instinctive ones. We know that you and Vian are Precogs. As in you know things about the future before they happen. Well, you do at least. Vian’s works differently. He dreams the future.”

  I knew that, but Vian never liked talking about his dreams. They weren’t reliable and tended to be metaphoric, open to interpretation. We’d learned that lesson the hard way after our parents died. He’d admitted sometime after it happened that he’d dreamed them as birds falling from the sky.

  “Well, Liam and I are Benders,” Lucien said, breaking into my thoughts.

  I stared at him for a beat. “Like Airbenders?” I couldn’t help it when a small laugh escaped me.

  Vian snorted next to me. I elbowed him. I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was being serious. Sort of. Hitting him only made it worse though. He broke into laughter that he tried to hide by pressing his face into my hair. Lucien ducked his head as I turned bewildered eyes on him, but I caught the amusement in his gaze and gave up. Whatever.

  “No,” Liam responded with a smirk. “More like we can bend reality and step through it from one place to another. And we can take people with us. All Entwined can do it, but most need a separate conductor. I believe Brooke mentioned Slipping to you earlier. But if you want some elemental shit, Ben and Brooke are your twins. Just don’t ask them to fuck with the weather. It always ends badly.”

  “Noted,” I said, bothered when my voice shook a little bit. Who could blame me though? I was in a room full of people who could bend space and control the weather. My free hand clenched into a fist, using the pain of my nails to center myself before speaking again. “Does this ‘ability’ stuff have anything to do with why I was out cold for four days?”

  “Yes and no,” Liam answered. “When we travel, you have to be hyper aware, but you…” He looked around, as though he were struggling with what to say. His eyes landed on Flynn who gave him a meaningful look. “You completely drained yourself when Emma—”

  “What he’s trying to say is you expelled all your energy. A perfectly natural reaction to what you witnessed,” Ben said. “Then, during the travel, Liam had to fight off the beings that live between reality.”

  “You almost died,” Vian added. His voice was strangled. I clutched at his hand when he looked away from me. Unshed tears clung to the corner of his eyes as he refused to look at me.

  “I can’t say I totally understand…” I shook my head, trying to clear the image of Emma that rushed forward. “What about my bag?” I asked quickly. “Mom’s bracelet was in it. It’s all I had left of her.”

  Lucien cleared his throat, scooting to the edge of his seat. “We went back but everything was destroyed. We’re not sure if it was because of your reaction or if the witches did a poor job trying to cover it up.”

  “So, it’s gone?” I said quietly. He nodded and my eyes closed automatically. Grief crashed over me as I leaned into my twin, trying to suck it all back into the darkness of my heart. I could cry about it later when there were fewer eyes on me.

  Vian’s lips mumbled into my h
air, “I’m sorry, Olive.” I drew in one ragged breath, the only indicator of just how big a loss this was for me, and let it out slowly. Breathe. Just breathe. This wasn’t as bad as losing our parents. It’s just a bit of metal she used to wear.

  “Okay.” My voice shook, but it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. “If I was so sick, why didn’t you take me to a doctor or something?” My eyes opened slowly to look around at their faces.

  Asshole’s twin leaned forward, a twinkle in his eye. I really wished I could remember his name. “You didn’t need a human doctor. You needed us,” he said, waving his hand around the room. “But our natural Art isn’t just healing, it’s pain too. Sometimes you need both in order to heal.”

  Note to self, do not piss off Asshole. Maybe just a bit, but yikes… pain? Not my thing. “I can’t keep calling you Asshole’s twin, but I’ve forgotten your name,” I blurted. Oh, for fucks sake, Livvy. You are the dumbest chick sometimes…

  “Name’s Kieran, but I’m okay with Asshole’s twin as long as you don’t switch me out with him.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of Flynn and I almost laughed. The man in question was back to glaring at me. Or maybe he’d been doing it the whole time and I’d managed to block it out.

  “No promises,” I quipped, meeting Flynn’s stare. Silently, I counted backwards from fifty. For whatever reason, Vian trusted these people. I was determined to behave, not for them, but for him. “Right. Okay. Hard stuff now.” I turned to my twin. Part of me wanted to have this conversation in private, but the nastier side of me wanted to make him squirm. Just a bit. “You knew about all of this. Obviously. But you didn’t feel the need to tell me.” I stated it plainly, trying to keep any inflection from my tone.

  His green eyes were guarded as he stared back at me. “I did keep secrets, yes. But not because I didn’t want to tell you,” he stated hastily. “I couldn’t. Not with the situation you were in.”