by Lola Gabriel
“Go on, Bea. What happened at the park?” Scarlet urged. “Tell us everything.”
“Mara was supposed to set the fire at exactly the moment the gates opened. That way, the mortals would see the dragons in panic mode, morphing, flying, trying to get away, and the dragons would be seen as weak because the brimstone would diminish their powers.”
Beatrice sighed. “But as it got closer to the minute, I was consumed with anxiety, Scar. I couldn’t let it happen. What if someone got really hurt? What if the fire wasn’t put under control fast enough? What if—? A million things. So I ran to try and stop her, but it was too late. They say they saw me running before the fire started, but they’re wrong. The fire had already begun—they just didn’t know yet.”
“God, Bea! Why didn’t you try and get help? Why didn’t you tell me, at least?”
“I tried to talk to you about it, but you were so busy with Cal. You didn’t have time to listen to me anymore.” Guilt flooded Scarlet as she heard the naked sadness in her sister’s voice. “When I couldn’t find you afterward, I assumed the worst. I was so scared, Scar, so I took off. This is a safe house, but no one from the coven came here.”
Scarlet and Theo exchanged a look.
“Have you heard from anyone else?” Scarlet asked nervously. She felt Theo tense at her side.
“No one,” Beatrice said miserably. “I think they were going to let me take the heat for this.”
“Or me,” Scarlet remarked dryly.
“No one is taking the heat for this but the witch responsible,” Theo said firmly. “You have my word.” Beatrice scoffed dubiously.
“You’re a Tallant,” she reiterated. “You’re the worst of the lot.”
“He’s saving your ass, Bea!” Scarlet snapped furiously. “Show some gratitude!”
Contrition filled Beatrice’s eyes, and she hung her head shamefully.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m so overwhelmed. I don’t understand how we got here. I just wanted to be a part of something bigger, something that I thought was doing good, and…”
“It’s okay,” Scarlet told her, drawing her sister back into her arms. “Everything is going to be okay.” Hugging her twin, she looked longingly at Theo, wondering what was going through his mind as he studied them.
“How?” Beatrice moaned, wiping her tears. “How is this going to be okay?”
“First,” Theo said, “you will come back to the estate with us.”
“Us?” Beatrice echoed, looking at her sister, dumbfounded.
“Of course. I’m not leaving your side,” Scarlet told her, and she meant it. The hours she’d spent not knowing where her sister was had been unbearable. No matter what Bea had done, Scarlet would never forget the agony she’d felt.
“What good will it do to go to the estate?” Beatrice asked nervously. Scarlet could see she was just as worried as she had been when Theo had brought her before Carlyle.
“It is better than hiding. God only knows what the witches are planning, especially if the weyr is closing in on them.”
“I’m so sorry, Scar,” Beatrice breathed. “I had no desire to drag you into this.”
“I know, and don’t worry. We’ll figure this out, right, Theo?”
Theo nodded comfortingly, even though Scarlet could see he was trying to work out how.
“Come on,” he said. “If I could find you, you bet that the weyr can also. We need to move and get you both into protective custody while we search for Mara.”
“Protective custody?” the twins repeated.
“What does that mean?” Scarlet asked, narrowing her eyes.
“It means,” Theo chuckled, “that I bring you home under my protection, and no one can touch either one of you.” Beatrice didn’t seem sold.
“Why?” she demanded without moving. “Why would you do that for me? I just confessed to poisoning Bruno with brimstone.” Theo sighed.
“We can discuss this as we move,” he promised. “But your sister will vouch for me.”
Beatrice turned her skepticism toward Scarlet. “Why?”
“Because,” Scarlet explained gently, “we’re mates, Theo and I.”
“Mates?” Beatrice chuckled. “Are you kidding me? What about your obsession with that deadbeat, Cal?”
Scarlet tensed. She wished her sister had an ounce more of decorum, but now was not the time to school her on the matter.
“Bea, you can either trust the woman who didn’t sell you out to a murderous weyr, or you can stay here,” Scarlet told her coldly. “The choice is yours.”
“Of course I trust you,” Beatrice muttered. “I’m just surprised.”
“I understand that, but can you be surprised as we get going? I don’t particularly want to fight with a bunch of incensed dragons,” Theo muttered, glancing out the door toward the street. He paused to give them a cocky grin. “Not that I couldn’t—I did train them all.”
“Let’s go, Bea.” Scarlet turned, and her sister hurried after her as she caught up with Theo. “Are you sure about this protective custody?” she asked in a low voice so that Beatrice didn’t overhear. She didn’t want to fuel her twin’s doubt. Theo paused midstride.
“Are you sure that you and Cal are through?” he asked. Scarlet’s jaw dropped, and she laughed, stunned.
“I have never been more sure of anything,” she replied vigorously. “I have no idea where you came from, but I know I’ve been waiting for you my entire life.”
Theo’s face relaxed into a grin, and he nodded.
“I suspected as much,” he teased. “And I know exactly how you feel.”
Their eyes locked, and Scarlet felt a newly-familiar wave of warmth overcome her as she reached for his hand.
“Okay, knock it off you two,” Beatrice grumbled. “Save your lovey-dovey crap for a time when my life isn’t on the line.”
10
Theo would never admit to Scarlet that he was more than slightly unnerved about bringing the twins to the estate. He had no doubt what his father and siblings would have to say about such a blatant slap in the face, but Theo didn’t care. He wasn’t letting Scarlet out of his sight, and Scarlet wasn’t letting her sister out of hers. The only solution was for the three of them to stay together, Tallants be damned.
“Are you out of your mind?” Eden hissed at him when he padded into the kitchen for a snack in the middle of the night. “How much security do you think your protection grants them?”
Theo arched an eyebrow.
“As a Tallant, it should afford me enough,” he replied. “What does that mean, Eden?”
“It means,” she said, “that all you need is one rogue warrior to get it in his head that he’s doing you a favor by taking them out—”
“Who would dare to be that stupid?” Theo barked, interrupting her thought. “No one.”
“Father might.” Theo felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
“What has he said?” he demanded. Eden shook her head.
“Nothing,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t see Scarlet and Beatrice being here as a slight. To be honest, I’m not sure I don’t see it as a slight myself. Even if Beatrice had nothing to do with the fire, she did admit to using brimstone on Bruno, and that is still deserving of punishment.”
“And she will be punished for it,” Theo retorted with more sharpness than he intended. “But she is the least of our problems when the coven is at large.”
“Beatrice is part of that coven!” Eden snapped. “Scarlet, too, if only by birth. Or have you forgotten?”
“Eden, what are you even doing up at this hour? Haven’t you other things to do?”
“I was meditating,” she answered. “But there is too much negative energy in this place.” Eden cast him a meaningful look before sauntering out of the commercial-sized kitchen, a steaming cup of tea in hand.
Theo sank onto a stool and stared blankly at the fridge, considering what Eden had said. They had been at the estate for three
days, and if he said he didn’t notice the tension, he would be lying. Moreover, he worried that everything his sister said was correct, that he was just pushing his luck by having the twins staying at the estate. His father was renowned for doing underhanded things. It wouldn’t shock him in the least if Carlyle made some sort of attack on Beatrice. Or worse, Scarlet.
The idea filled him with sickness.
It was a terrible idea bringing them here, he thought. I am too confident in my reputation around here, but I’ve only brought more scrutiny on them. What was I thinking?
The fact was, he hadn’t been thinking, not in the least. His concern had only been keeping Scarlet safe and in his sight. He’d been worried that Beatrice might somehow convince her to leave if they went off on their own. The estate, however, was not safer.
“Can’t sleep either?” Scarlet asked from the doorway, and Theo cast her a lopsided smile.
“Do you blame me?” he teased, extending his arm for her to slip against his side. “Look what’s in my bed.”
“And yet you’re in the kitchen,” she jested back.
“I was hungry,” he replied honestly, although his appetite had disappeared since speaking with Eden.
“Are you all right?” Scarlet asked quietly.
“Of course I am,” Theo chirped. “Why do you ask?”
“You haven’t been training with the warriors.”
“I am taking a break, enjoying my company,” he said easily, even though his shoulders tensed at the reminder. The dragons didn’t want to train with him, clearly, and they were coming at him with everything they had. It wasn’t that Theo couldn’t take it, but the sessions always put him in a foul mood, the animus almost palpable between him and the others.
And things are only going to get worse the longer Scarlet and Beatrice are here.
“Your father confronted Beatrice today.”
Theo’s eyes became slits. “What?”
“Out by the water. He told her that her ‘day of reckoning’ was coming.” Theo gaped at her in shock.
“Why didn’t you tell me when it happened?” he demanded, but Scarlet only shrugged, a half-smile on her face.
“We’re used to it,” she told him softly. “It was only a matter of time before Carlyle approached one of us.”
“I will have a word with him in the morning.”
“No,” Scarlet said. “There is no point, Theo.”
“Of course there is. Who else is bothering you? That goes against everything I’ve said, and there will be consequences!”
“Beatrice still has to own up to what she’s done, Theo. You can’t blame the dragons for being angry or your family for being suspicious of us. If the roles were reversed, I can’t even imagine how I’d feel.”
“You would be compassionate and understanding,” Theo growled.
“Maybe,” Scarlet agreed. “Maybe I’d be just as irate. Who knows? The point is, you can’t fault them.”
“I do! This is my home, and I demand their respect.”
“Theo,” Scarlet sighed, cupping his face with her hands. “I adore you and your passion for keeping me safe. I know the past few days haven’t been easy, especially since you know the truth about what Beatrice did. You are a man of valor, and I will always love that about you.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Why do you make it sound like you’re going somewhere?”
She bit her lip. “Because Bea and I are leaving in the morning. There’s nothing to keep us from going home. I’m sure the coven is long gone by now, and they certainly don’t want anything from Beatrice.”
“You do not know that for certain,” Theo protested, rising to his feet defiantly. “For all you know, they could be waiting at your house for you.” It was a weak argument, and they both knew it, but Theo couldn’t bear the idea of letting Scarlet go.
“You know that’s not true,” Scarlet chided him. “And we’re not worried about the Seraphs. At least, I’m not. They better pray I don’t run into them.”
“Scarlet, do not do this,” Theo pleaded. “This is all fresh for everyone. Give it time, and things will get better.” She stared at him with sad eyes and shook her head.
“You know that’s not true, either. The grudge between the witches and dragons has gone on for centuries. Your family will never accept me, much less after everything that’s happened, and I can’t say that Bea will ever fully trust you, either.”
“Who cares about what everyone thinks?” Theo snarled. “You are my soulmate, Scarlet. You can’t deny the connection between us!”
“Of course I’m not denying that,” she told him, her blue eyes wide. “I’ve never felt more strongly about anyone than you. You’ve woken something in me that I never knew I had, and no one will ever do that for me again.”
“Scarlet… even if you go, we will still be together, won’t we?” Dread filled Theo as he understood the severity of what she was saying, and the expression on her face only solidified what he feared.
“I think the longer we’re together, the worse it’s going to be when we inevitably have to end this.”
“Forget about my family,” he said urgently, tightening his grip around her waist. “I will leave with you. We’ll start a new life somewhere else, away from my family and the other dragons.”
A sorrowful smile touched Scarlet’s lips.
“Do you see how difficult this is already?” she murmured. “And it’s only been a few days.”
“The best days of my life,” he insisted. “Scarlet, do not do this!”
“You can’t leave your family any more than I could leave Beatrice. They are our families, Theo, and we are eternally bound to them. When I am gone, they will still be here. You can’t just cut them out for trying to protect themselves.”
“I would cut them out for rejecting you,” Theo cried, frustration lacing his tone. “How can you just walk away from this?” Scarlet dropped her eyes, but not before he saw the well of tears in them.
“I’m sorry, darling,” she breathed, untangling herself from his arms. “We are leaving in the morning.”
“Scarlet!” But she was gone, leaving Theo to stare after her, dumbfounded.
How did this happen? How did I find my mate and lose her in the span of a week? He wanted to blame his father or her sister for the situation they were in, but the problem went much deeper than that, much further back. If only Osric hadn’t antagonized the witches… if only the Seraphs had let go of their grudge… if only…
He was falling into a dangerous game, one where there was never a winner. As his father often said, there was no changing the past. They could only fix the future. But how? How could he fix things when Scarlet was convinced their relationship was doomed from the start?
“Theo!”
He turned and frowned at Bran, who entered the kitchen. Had the entire household forgotten how to sleep?
“I am just retiring, Bran,” he warned his cousin, heavily rising from his stool. “What is it?”
Bran’s mouth curved into a happy smile. “It’s good news, cousin. We have found the Seraph Sisters!”
“What? All of them? Where?” The questions fired out in a torrent, and Bran chuckled happily.
“They were holed up with another coven outside of town. Mara was among them, and she is on her way here now to answer for her crimes.”
A pang of hope fluttered through Theo as he considered what this would mean for him and Scarlet—if it even meant anything at all. He couldn’t see what difference it would make to have Mara now. Even if she confessed to setting the fire, it wouldn’t take away blame from what Beatrice had done. The Gales would still be regarded as pariahs among the Tallants and their ilk.
“You are not as happy as I thought you would be about it,” Bran said.
“Scarlet and Beatrice are leaving tomorrow,” Theo grunted. “The tension is too much for them.” To his utter surprise, Bran’s face twisted in panic.
“What?” he cried. “When did they de
cide this?”
“I only just learned of it myself,” Theo replied, his brow furrowing. “Why are you so alarmed by it?”
“No reason,” Bran mumbled, spinning to leave, and Theo found himself alone for a third time, his heart heavy. He trudged back to the suite he was sharing with Scarlet. To his chagrin, the room was empty. He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
There is no way to salvage this. I have already lost my mate.
And Theo could already feel the hole growing in his chest, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
11
Beatrice cast Scarlet a look through her peripheral vision as she put the kettle on the stove, but Scarlet barely noticed. She’d been in a daze since returning home, her environment surreal, as if it didn’t really belong to her.
“I was thinking that maybe we could go do some shopping today,” Beatrice offered with a forced brightness.
“Groceries or clothes?” Scarlet asked, as if either answer was relevant. She knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She would curl up in front of the television and scroll through Twitter, same as the past two days. No matter where she sat or what she did, she found herself uncomfortable, unable to relax. But the minute she got up to do something, she was unbearably tired and wanted to lie down.
“Clothes,” Beatrice said. “Want to come and tell me what looks horrible?”
“No,” Scarlet replied without missing a beat. “Thanks.” The kettle began to whistle, covering Beatrice’s long sigh as she poured the steaming water into two cups. “What is this?” Scarlet asked, wrinkling her nose with disgust as the aroma of the concoction wafted into her nose.
“It’s something I learned with the Seraphs,” Beatrice explained. “It’s supposed to heal the soul.”
Scarlet snorted and put the cup down on the table, untouched.
“I don’t think the Seraphs have any say in teaching you about soul-soothing,” she retorted.
“They weren’t all bad,” Beatrice murmured. “Mom was one, remember?”