Starborn (The Order of Orion Book 1)

by Samantha Jane

  “I’m here,” she said. She pressed her hand against his wound, trying to be brave as warm blood surged around her fingers.

  His Mercurian shield was gone and his aura began to disintegrate.

  “Lucas? Stay with me, hold on.”

  In the background she sensed Eve’s power lessen and then heard Reybourne yelling in a panic. “Eve, pull yourself together. Don’t let the other Starborn wake up!”

  Willow glanced at Serena, who moved now as though she was breaking free from Eve’s telepathic grip.

  “Eve,” yelled Reybourne. “You can take her back. I’ll let you take your sister back. Just do your fucking job.”

  Willow shook her head in denial. There was no way she was leaving Lucas. And there was no fucking way she was letting her sister leave with this monster. Frantically, she sought Eve who was still on her knees, her expression haunted. Willow motioned to her to close her eyes and after a brief hesitation Eve complied. Willow channeled pure love to her sister. Metaphysically opened her arms to Eve and grasped her tightly. Their astral connection was immediate. They stood in an open field of soft green grass looking at each other in twelve-year-old bodies. A bright summer’s sun warmed their skin.

  “Eve, don’t listen to him. Help me, please. Lucas is dying—he needs medical attention now.”

  “You don’t know what will happen if I defy him. What I’ll give up.”

  “Please, Eve, please! I’ve missed you so much. No one could care about you more.” said Willow. “As a child, I stood at the door of my foster home waiting for you. As a teen I looked for you wherever I went. As an adult I’ve searched for you on the Internet, through hospital records, doing anything, even breaking the law to try and find you.”

  Willow reached out and grabbed her sister’s hands.

  Eve’s expression was full of pain. “Your life has been tame compared to mine, Willow. You don’t know what you’re asking of me—”

  “We’ll help you no matter what it takes. Please, help us. Hurry.”

  Eve nodded and suddenly they were back in the research lab.

  The emotional attack that held the Sanctuary hostage instantly stopped.

  To Willow’s left, Serena moved with leopard grace as she grabbed her gun off the floor and opened fire on the Noctem group. Reybourne quickly turned to take aim at Serena and without hesitation Willow reached for the gun Lucas had given her. She aimed it at Reybourne and pulled the trigger.

  The gun kicked back hard in her hand, and Willow cried out, both from the recoil and the terror at shooting someone. Her bullet went wild, hitting a computer monitor. She told herself not to think about it, to focus only on eliminating the enemy, the one who’d hurt Lucas, the one who threatened the lives of thousands. She fired the gun a second time. When it went wide again, she realized Reybourne was manipulating her bullets. There was movement near the door and she rejoiced when Granger charge through the door firing his weapon.

  Both sides took cover behind desks. Shots rang out thick and fast.

  Willow pulled Lucas into her arms. His breathing was shallow and his skin clammy. Over the sound of the gunfight, she heard Eve call out to her. Reluctantly, Willow looked up from Lucas’ pale face to see Eve pointing at Willow’s chest. She frowned in confusion. Then Eve pointed to her own chest and then Reybourne. Willow nodded her understanding. She focused on amassing all of her internal energy. Rage and fear escalated within her until it overflowed out of her body and joined Eve’s own torrent of emotion. Their auras intertwined. Connected. And then surged forward toward Reybourne. His eyes bulged and he screamed in terror. Clawing at his own face, he fell to the ground. Adrenalin pumped through his system, overwhelming his organs. He writhed on the ground and Willow didn’t hold back. Eve showed no mercy either. Both had their own reasons for wanting him dead. And when he lay unmoving, his aura gone, Willow still didn’t stop.

  “Willow, Willow?” Granger crouched in front of her and shook her shoulders gently. “He’s dead. They’re all dead.”

  With a start she thought he was talking about Eve, but looked over to see Serena push Eve to the ground and cuff her hands behind her back. Even though Eve yelled obscenities, she didn’t resist. In a daze, Willow looked around to see all of the Noctem men dead on the ground.

  “Willow?” Granger urged.

  Her gaze refocused on him. Blood dripped down his face and he brushed it away, leaving a bright red smear across his right cheekbone.

  “How is he? How’s Lucas.”

  She looked down at Lucas and her heart stopped beating.

  He was deathly pale.

  Please, Lucas, don’t leave me. Stay with me.

  Starborn swarmed the room. Swarmed around the computers trying to determine how much information had been uploaded. Swarmed around her and Lucas who lay half across her lap.

  She recognized Paige’s doctor as he inspected Lucas’ wound. “It’s a through and through,” he said. “But he’s lost a lot of blood.”

  “Granger?” Willow said hoarsely. “Where’s Isobel? Find her!”

  “Roger that, Doc. I’ll meet you at the infirmary.” Granger’s expression didn’t match his easy tone.

  The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. “We need to take him now, Willow. Let us have him.”

  She allowed them to put him on the stretcher and followed them as they raced through the Sanctuary toward the infirmary and away from Eve. She couldn’t think of her now. Lucas was her priority. Her life. Her future.

  40

  Willow

  The medical team frantically worked on Lucas; first cutting away his shirt and then trying to stem the blood.

  “Doctor, we’ve lost his pulse,” said a nurse at the same time as Willow felt his aura vanish.

  In horror, Willow watched the medical team frantically try to revive him. Taking a ragged breath, she tried to concentrate on Lucas—willing him to live. To open his beautiful green eyes again.

  Granger and Isobel skidded into the exam room, puffing from the exertion of running. When Isobel tried to push past the medical team, the nurses held her back.

  “Stand back, we need to operate immediately,” yelled the doctor.

  Willow clutched the doctor’s sleeve. “Let her touch him, please!”

  The doctor looked at Isobel and then moved slightly aside. “Just stay out of our way.”

  “Isobel, help him...please.” Willow stepped back to give her more room.

  As Isobel lay her hand on Lucas’ leg, Willow closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds of the hospital room.

  She centered her whole being on Lucas. On his heart. Willing it to beat. Willing him to fight.

  Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me. I’m trying to be brave, but I can’t live without you. I need you. I love you.

  His aura surged, grabbing onto hers with desperation, and then their auras entwined and fused together.

  She heard the gasps of the medical team and opened her eyes to look at Lucas. His skin was smooth with no evidence of torn flesh. And when she saw the steady rise and fall of his chest, she uttered a strangled sob. With shaky hands, she reached out and ran her fingers across his skin; rejoicing in its renewed warmth. She detected his steady heartbeat beneath her fingertips and savored the future it promised.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to Isobel, not looking up.

  Her eyes refused to leave the contours of his face, fearful of missing the moment he regained consciousness. She reached out to touch his face gently. Delighted in the feel of his stubble. “Lucas?” Her voice sounded strange, as if it belonged to someone else. “Lucas, it’s me, Willow.”

  His black lashes flickered. Suddenly she was staring into his beautiful pale green eyes and her heart soared.

  “Hey,” he said softly.

  “Hey, yourself,” she said, trying to be brave.

  The doctor inspected Lucas’ unmarked chest. “You might not have a wound anymore, but I think you should take it easy. Let him rest, Willow, come ba
ck a little later.”

  The medical team, Isobel and Granger all stepped back to give them a few moments to say goodbye.

  Her heart pounded as they stared into each other’s eyes. His shield was down and his feelings for her were raw and exposed. Trembling, she leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips at the same time as she embraced him metaphysically. Their mutual love enveloped each other in perfect symmetry.

  After a few moments, Willow stood back and took an unsteady breath. “You took a bullet for me. That’s pretty intense after only two nights of passion.”

  This time he managed a smile. “Yeah well, it was a pretty hot two nights.”

  A throat cleared behind her.

  “I’ll see you soon.” She kissed Lucas once more before following the others out into the corridor.

  As soon as she left the hospital room, the enormity of what had happened hit her full force. She looked down at the blood on her clothes, on her hands. Thought about Wren and the dead Noctem. Thought about Eve. Her heart, so full of love for Lucas, still felt empty, still craved what only a sister could provide.

  She glanced up and saw Granger walking away down the corridor. She called out to his back “Where is she?”

  He stopped and turned to look at her. “Your evil twin is in a cube where she belongs.”

  Relief surged through her at hearing Eve was still alive. “Without her, Noctem would have left the Sanctuary and killed God knows how many Starborn.”

  His usual easy smile was gone. Instead he looked tired, and older. “Yeah, well without her, all our families and Starborn sleepers would be safe.” He ran a hand through his blond hair. “You do realize what she and Noctem have done, don’t you? They’ve uploaded our registry to Noctem headquarters. It was heavily encrypted but if they crack it, thousands of innocents will be exposed.” His voice wavered. “I have four sisters.”

  Willow felt sick to her stomach. “Maybe Eve can help us…she helped today. She turned on them. Rejected Noctem. She’ll help us.”

  She ignored the fact that yesterday it was she and Lucas who had turned their back on The Order. Things were different now. There would be no running. No escaping. Only trying to make things right.

  He shook his head. “That’s not what she was offering a few minutes ago when I heard her screaming obscenities from her cube.”

  She clutched his arm. “Please, Granger, talk to the Council. Tell them she’ll help.”

  “Willow, with Wren dead the Council is scrambling like crazy. Serena told me about Lucas wiping our memories of helping you guys get away. I’m glad you came back. I’ll keep your secret, but I’ve got no sway with the Council.”

  “But surely you can put in a good word for her? Or maybe Serena might do it?”

  “Willow, the traditionalists like Oliver and Isaiah are gonna have a field day with what’s happened. They’re gonna go positively medieval on this.”

  “Please?”

  He sighed. “I’ll do what I can.”

  41

  Lucas

  Lucas held a naked Willow in his arms as though he might never touch her again. He kissed her forehead and stroked her long red hair. She nestled in close to his chest and he savored the feel of her body against his. Her heart against his. Their lovemaking tonight had been tender. They had told each other with words and then with their bodies, how grateful they were for a second chance at life and with each other.

  He tried to focus on that moment. Tried to not think about the Starborn and their families exposed to Noctem’s threat and power.

  “What will happen to them?” said Willow, her thoughts pulled in the same direction.

  “I don’t know. If Noctem breaks the registry encryption, Starborn families will be targeted. We can warn sleeper Starborn, but our families will be more difficult to protect.” Lucas steeled himself against the memories of his own past. “We’ll stop them. The power of all four sanctuaries will prevail. Eve will make things right.”

  “But why must Eve go back to Noctem? Why can’t she stay here?”

  “It’s the only way I can see how to fix this. We’re lucky that Serena has taken Wren’s place on the Council. I’ll convince her to speak up for Eve,” he said, gently stroking her hair. “There’s a risk that the Council could order her execution, but I think they will be willing to consider my plan. We’ll have a chance to make things right, she’ll have a chance to make things right.”

  “Noctem will kill her if they find out what she’s done.” Her voice wavered.

  “She’ll go back as the sole survivor. They have the registry. There’ll be no reason not to trust her.”

  Willow rested her head against his chest. “You don’t know that.”

  His heart ached for her. She was terrified for Eve and wanted only to keep her close after so many years of searching. He sympathized, understood what it felt like to have something so precious snatched away.

  “If she goes back to Noctem and finds out who has the information, who will be targeted, and feeds that back to us, she can help thousands, find redemption. Think of all those families out there. Granger’s, Serena’s, Isobel’s. All of them have loved ones.”

  Her fingertips traced a path across his chest. “All of them, except you.”

  “Yes, except me.” Lucas reached out and touched her face gently. “But I have someone now. Someone who I would do anything for.”

  They looked at each other for a long moment.

  His heart pounded at his declaration; the closest he’d ever spoken to words of love.

  Her blue eyes darkened and she took his hand from her cheek and kissed his palm. He closed his eyes at the exquisite sensation. His skin caught fire as she trailed tiny, sweet kisses up his arm, across his collarbone, before stopping at his throat. She shifted to straddle him across the waist and reached up to tenderly kiss him on the lips.

  Wanting to be with her in every way, he dropped his Mercurian shield. Willow responded immediately, lowering her own shield. Their auras touched each other playfully at first then their metaphysical arousal ignited their bodies in an exquisite intensity.

  Willow pulled back from their kiss. “Lucas, my body…my soul craves you.”

  His heart soared with lightness and wonder. And love. “As does mine, Willow. As does mine. I pledge my life, my love, forever more.”

  Epilogue

  Eve

  “Let me out! I need to get back. Let me the fuck out,” screamed Eve.

  She had been in this fucking cube thing for hours. Leaning back against the wall, she let herself slide down until she sat on the cold floor.

  It figured. She’d gone from one cage to another.

  She had looked for security surveillance when she had first been shoved in here, but hadn’t found any sign of monitoring or communication. She had also tried to reach out metaphysically, but her power couldn’t breach the confines of the cube.

  Instead, she was left alone with her emotions.

  She had well and truly fucked herself. Killing Reybourne had been something she had wanted to do forever. But not like this, not when Noctem still owed her.

  The only thing in her favor was that if she could find a way back, Noctem wouldn’t know of her turning traitor.

  Willow had messed up her head, big time. Seeing her, unblemished and pure and nothing like Eve, had been painful. Her twin was as pretty in real life as she had been in their astral meeting. Her hair long and still their original dark red color—it had been years since Eve had worn hers that way. She had no scars—her skin smooth and untainted. Childishly, when Eve had first seen her she had wanted to run her fingernails across her twin’s face and scratch that perfection away. Years of pent-up resentment and anger toward her twin had threatened to spill over.

  But she had been weak willed and fallen for Willow’s pretty words and desperate pleas. And now she needed to find a way to get out of this fucking cube and get back to Noctem before Caine found out.

  Hours later, the cube doors
slid open to reveal Willow and a blond Adonis standing protectively beside her. Tall and muscular, he was a perfect playgirl pinup.

  Her sister and her band of handsome protectors. She felt a spurt of intense jealousy at her sister’s life.

  “Eve, it’s so good to see you,” said her sister in a soft voice.

  Educated. Kind.

  Nothing like me.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” Eve said, uninterested in small talk. As she slowly rose to stand, she ignored Willow’s aura of hurt.

  The blond stepped in close. “I’m Granger. The Elders have sent us to speak with you.”

  She stared into his amber-colored eyes. “Too fucking scared to visit me themselves?”

  “Where has our registry gone? Who has it?” he asked. His expression was neutral, but he wasn’t a Mercurian.

  She could read him. He was worried but she also sensed his desire for her. It thrummed through the tiny cube. She felt herself responding and became angry. Fucking men. Eve gave his aura a gentle nudge and then a sledgehammer swipe. He reared back in surprise.

  “Don’t,” cried Willow. Her sister’s blue eyes pleaded with her. The only thing they shared that was still identical.

  Eve shifted uncomfortably. “It’s for the heavy weights in Noctem.”

  Granger’s nostrils flared. “Why?”

  “Why? Why do you think? Power. They want more Starborn under their control, more Starborn to do their bidding.”

  “Why did you help us? Turn on them?” asked Willow.

  Eve didn’t reply.

  Her sister persisted. “You wanted him dead as much as I did. Why?”

  Eve refused to answer. Refused to look at her twin.

  “I heard you call out that you want to go back. That you need to go back. Why?”

  She leaned back against the cold wall and crossed her arms. “None of your fucking business.”