by Sirena Noir
Chase stood up and began to pace again. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Aiden pushed off the wall and walked to his brother, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Would I lie about this? She’s our mother.”
Chase looked away. “I know who she is. She’s the reason I’ve been living in the dark. I’ve wanted to bring her back for so long…” He choked on his words.
Aiden let go of his twin. “Chase, Mom is in Tealsdor. I’m telling the truth.” He didn’t know what else he could do to prove it.
Watching Chase silently pace the floor, worried Aiden. Chase was too quiet and Aiden knew he needed to read his brother’s thoughts to know what he was thinking. He had to know. He only pressed a little, finding out that Chase’s shield was down, he entered his mind. It was too easy. “You don’t have your shield.”
Chase threw down his fists. “What do you care?”
Grimacing, Aiden took a step back. “I care more than you think, brother. I’m here because I care. I’ve put my eternity on the line because I care. Don’t you dare turn this around on me. I’ve cared more than I want to admit for the last few hundred years. Three-hundred to be exact.”
“So have I. Except, I don’t think you understand how deeply I’ve cared. And not just about you or Mom either. Everyone I meet I can feel. Do you know what that’s like?” Chase pointed to his head. “Do you think you could handle a day in my life, feeling every single emotion while walking the streets of Cynnistear?” He scoffed, looking at Aiden intently, waiting for an answer that wouldn’t come. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Sneering, Chase gestured to the cave entrance. “I don’t have my shield because Madison has my powers still. They are slowly coming back to me, but not fully. I gave them to her to save her. I want her to have them.”
“Fine,” Aiden nodded, his nostrils flaring. “I get it. You’d trade your life for the life of the girls. How noble of you. The dark angel has a compassionate soul.” He stepped so close to Chase that Aiden could feel his brother’s breath on his face. “Just remember, you’re the one who selfishly perished while the girls needed you. While I needed you. It doesn’t get any more Cynnistear than that.”
Aiden pulled the box out from the holster on his back carefully so that Chase couldn’t see the tablet. “Mom is in Tealsdor. And now, we have her box. Aren’t you the least bit curious to know what’s inside? Don’t you want to know why it was so important that she got it to Trilorean?”
Chase stilled, looking at the wooden box. “I don’t know. Maybe we should wait.”
Aiden squinted, staring at Chase. “Are you scared? Worried? Trilorean is gone. What would we wait for?”
Chapter Fifteen
Aiden looked at Chase with love. He knew the decision to open the box wouldn’t be a light one. On the contrary, it was a very dark choice. The box was heavier now that he had the key to open it. The crystal amethysts gave the wood a purple hue. He could already smell the cedar, just holding it. “Are you sure? We could open it and find out all the secrets she kept from Hawthorne.?
Chase twisted his mouth to the side. “I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t. You said yourself that she wanted Trilorean to have it.”
Aiden tossed his hands in the air. “Are you serious? Trilorean is dead.”
“I know Trilorean is dead. I was there too!” Chase squeezed his eyes tightly shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know. Maybe,” he sighed. “Whatever Mom thought was significant enough to hide must be important. Maybe we shouldn’t open it.”
Aiden’s stomach clenched. “How can you say that? It’s Mom’s. We don’t have anything left of her. Maybe this was for us?” Maybe it was a bad idea to tell Chase about the box? He couldn’t understand why his brother wasn’t agreeing to open it. Aiden had to know what was inside. It was just like Chase to disagree with him. Aiden had for hundreds of years, why did he think he would change now?
Chase gave an impatient huff. “Then why did she want Trilorean to have it?”
Aiden strained, pushing his limits with his brother. Why was Chase being so difficult? “I don’t know! Maybe because when she gave it to Jestiah we were only kids. We’re grown now. Three-hundred years grown.” He ground his teeth. “Not everything is yours to protect.”
Chase forced a hard smile. “Look who’s talking. You’re the one trying to protect the prophecy from coming to fruition.”
Aiden drew in a long breath and released it before responding. His brother just didn’t’ get it. “Three-hundred-years and that’s the best you can come up with?”
Chase’s hard smile turned into a sly grin. He shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t had three-hundred-years to perfect it like you have. Maybe I should be more like my little brother? Maybe I should have followed him into the light. But no, I chose the dark side. And I like it.”
It was hard for Aiden to hear Chase say that when he so clearly knew it wasn’t the truth. His twin brother hated it. His hatred was written all over his face, in his expressions, and the way he talked. It was in everything he did. Aiden could see Chase’s misery. He didn’t have to be around him 24/7 to know his brother. They were connected in ways most twins only dreamed of.
“Chase, we can’t end this yet. There’re things we don’t know about being played out. Can’t you see? I could have killed you by now, I could do it now, but I won’t. I can’t kill the girls either. We need to find another way to stop the prophecy. Something’s not right.” The way the Rogues were able to breach HALO when they were younger, killing Trilorean, then they passed the gates of Nevaeh… there was more to this prophecy than either of them knew.
Aiden wasn’t ready to risk his eternity without knowing everything. He stared deep into Chase’s eyes. “The Rogues mentioned Trilorean having a map. I can’t go to Outer Darkness yet, Chase.”
Chase was silent. After Aiden divulged everything, he had nothing to say. There had to be something he wanted to say.
Aiden tried to pry inside Chase’s mind, but was blocked. “I thought you said you didn’t have your powers. You gave them to Madison.” Alarmed, Aiden tensed. That must mean the girl was unprotected.
Anyone could find her.
His heart raced. The Rogues, Others… anyone else could now find her before they could.
Chase shook his head. “I didn’t have them. I still don’t have them all, but they are coming back.”
Aiden paced the cave. His footfalls echoed around them. “That means that girl is losing her shield. We need to find her before someone else does.”
“Are you worried someone will find her and kill her before you? I can’t believe you could be so heartless, even knowing you’d go to Outer Darkness. You’d do anything to end this prophecy.”
Aiden stopped pacing and took his brother by the shoulders. “Chase, you are my brother. I’ve been trying to tell you, I don’t want the girls dead.”
He shoved Aiden’s hands off. “And you want me to believe you, just on your word alone?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aiden groaned. “I showed you the box. You have the key. What do you want from me?”
Chase took a moment, and Aiden knew he was reading him. But Aiden had nothing to hide.
“I’ll figure the map thing out. I overheard some things in Cynnistear, but I’d have to dig deeper. But, right now, I need to get back to Madison. Without my powers, she will be without my shield, like you said. It’s not safe for her to be alone. I don’t know how to do both, though. Watch her, keep her safe, look for the other girl, and find out about the map.” Chase sighed.
Aiden grinned. “What if I told you that I know of another empath. She’s just like you. If I bring her to you, maybe you can help her learn how to shield?”
Chase nodded, but frowned. “That would help, but again, I don’t have my full powers. I’d never be able to find her right now.”
Aiden grinned. “I heard you brother, but you see… There is this thing about this girl. I don’t have to find her, she finds me. It’s
strange, but she pulls me to her. One moment I’m here, and the next…”
“You’re gone,” Chase finished for him. He shook his head, slow and disbelieving.
“Yes. I can’t explain it.” Somehow, Aiden didn’t think he need to. “If I can get her to you, then maybe you can train her. Maybe she can help Madison as well? They could be together and we won’t have to worry.”
Chase held his head high and pushed his shoulders forward. “Can I trust you?”
Aiden leaned forward. “Can I trust you with the map of Outer Darkness? Once we leave here, the Rogues and Others will be out there, looking for us.”
Aiden’s limbs tingled. He could feel Sabre calling to him. He wouldn’t be there much longer.
Chase nodded. “We’d both be taking a risk.”
The stinging in his wings intensified, and Aiden knew he had only mere seconds left with his brother. “I don’t have a lot of time. You keep the key, I’ll keep the box. We’ll open it when the time is right. For now, now we need to protect the girls.” Aiden could feel himself leaving, but he wanted to stay with his brother.
Chase placed a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “Do not fail me, brother.”
That was the last thing Aiden saw before being whisked away. The darkness enveloped him and he welcomed it.
Chapter Sixteen
Aiden recognized the room. It was where he first met Sabre. Well, where he scared her half to death when she came out of the shower.
The windows were dark with the slight sunlight from the early dawn slipping past the slits in the blinds. Sabre sat on the floor, crumpled in a heap of blankets and tissues. She hiccuped and blew her nose, then grabbed a handful of more tissues and wiped at her tear-filled eyes.
He rushed over to her, taking her soft hands in his as he knelt next to her. “Are you okay?” He had been worried about her since her guardian took her away. He was grateful to see that she was not dead, that he had not killed her. Not that he would admit that last part out loud.
“I’m fine. Actually, I’m confused. I don’t honestly remember much. It feels like a dream. You know?” She said in an uncertain tone. “I remember a cemetery. And then…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s all blurry.”
“It wasn’t a dream.” He could feel the tension melting away. He wasn’t sure when he had started to care so much for the girl, but he had been genuinely worried about her. Using the back of his hand, he stroked her cheek. “You helped me and my brother. You helped us both. And I know that this is a long shot, but I was hoping you could help someone else, now that you have me here.”
Sabre looked up at him with her big brown eyes. There was absolutely no way he would be able to kill her now. There was some sort of connection between them. One he wasn’t willing to lose.
“Who would I have to help?” She asked cautiously.
Aiden took a step back, dropping her hands. “There is a girl like you.” He stumbled for the right words. What if she said no? “But… she’s not like you.” He stood, pulling her with him. “You have the ability to feel others. Their pain, their happiness. It’s a gift. My brother has it too. But, with that ability comes a great power. You have the power to shield others, not just their emotions but shield yourself and them from others like me. Right now there are so many who want to find you and kill you.”
She swallowed hard, looking away. “I thought you wanted to kill me?”
“I did, but I can’t.” He turned her face so he could look into her eyes. “I won’t.”
“Why?” She chewed on her lip, so hard Aiden was afraid it would bleed.
He shrugged. “I guess I’m just not as dark as I thought I was.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Your wings are white, your hair is blond, your eyes are green. Nothing is dark.” She placed a hand on his chest, stepping closer. “And right here, I can feel that you are not evil.”
Aiden backed up, letting her hand fall away. “I may not be evil, but I’m not exactly good. I wanted to kill you, remember?”
“I remember you telling me it was to save others. That’s not a bad thing.”
Aiden backed up even more. She was confusing him on purpose. Everything was confusing. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow at her. “Can you help us or not?”
She lowered her head, breaking eye contact. “I can try, if someone can show me how.”
Aiden winced. He had hurt her. He wasn’t as good of a lorean as he needed to be. He sucked at being an angel. “My brother, Chase, he can help you.”
She looked back up at him. “Okay.” She attempted a smile. “You said he was cute, right?”
Aiden chuckled. “I told you, he’s not near as good looking as me.” He winked and stretched out his hand, letting her take it when she was ready. “Ready?”
She nodded, squeezing his hand.
Aiden closed his eyes and searched for Chase in his mind.
Come on, brother, where are you?
Layers after layers, Aiden searched for his brother. His mind wore out, slowing down. He leaned against the wall of Sabre’s room. What he wouldn’t give for full energy. Just one body to siphon from until he had his fill.
Then, like lightning, he saw a flash of light followed by blackness. It was Chase trying to direct him, he was certain. It had to be. Or maybe it was Madison? Though he didn’t know because he had never met her. Either way, he knew where to go.
He made sure he had a good grasp on Sabre’s hand before letting himself pull her with him through the layers to the northern mountains of Idaho. A shift in the layer told him they had arrived.
The sun was just cresting over the mountains, giving the last shadows time to hide before the light took over. Tall pine trees littered the mountainside. A log cabin was nestled against the hill with trees surrounding it.
Sabre shivered despite it being early summer. He smiled knowingly. Early mornings were still chilly no matter what time of year that high up.
He had to find Chase. He let go of Sabre’s hand and started toward the house. The door opened and Chase came out, but froze on the doorstep. He didn’t see Aiden. His eyes were locked on Sabre.
Aiden looked back over his shoulder to see Sabre in the same frozen state. What in the world was going on? He looked back to his brother.
A woman with fiery red hair slipped past Chase onto the porch. “Chase, what’s going on?” She looked from Sabre to Aiden. Her breathing visibly hitched.
The whole world stopped for Aiden. His chest fluttered as his heart beat so quickly he couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t stop himself from moving forward—toward her. His wings ruffled and spread out, claiming her in an embrace as he reached her, wrapping her in a cocoon of feathers. He didn’t know what was happening, or how, but he knew he was bound to her. Her life was now his.
He couldn’t speak as she clung to him.
With his wings still protectively around them, he reached up and brushed the back of his fingers across her soft, pale cheeks. He flipped his hand to trace her full lips all while staring into her green eyes. He could see eternity through them.
He knew there was no life without her. In that moment he knew he was going to have to do whatever it took keep her safe. Even if that meant fulfilling the prophecy.
A hand fell on Aiden’s shoulder, breaking the spell. He blinked, but she was still there. He lowered his wings slowly, hating to expose her to the world.
Tristan let out a long silent breath. “You are a hard angel to find.”
“I’ve been told that a time or two.” Aiden was still filled with a tightness that tingled throughout every nerve. Madison. Just thinking her name sent a spark through him, igniting a fire.
Tristan cocked his head, looking between Aiden and Madison. He let his head fall back and sighed deeply. “This just got a whole lot harder.”
Grab Flying From the Dark, book 4 of the Brotherhood of Angels series. Aiden has to decide just how much of him still loves his twin and ho
w much he needs the prophecy to end.
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***Other titles by Sirena Noir***
The Brotherhood of Angels Series
Beginning of Darkness
Darker Shade of Love
Falling into Darkness
Flying from the Dark
Darkest Side of Kissing
Darkest Horizon
Hours of Darkest Love
Minutes into Darkness
Reflection of Darkness
Tortured Darkness
Twisted Darkness
Tears in the Dark
Darkest Shade of Love
THE END
Copyright © 2017 Bonnie R. Paulson/M.R. Polish c/o Captiva Publishing, LLC
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