by Rachel Jonas
I stood in silence while Elise addressed them, doing her best to explain where they were, how they were here, and what era this was. It was more information than they’d ever be able to take in at one time, but she was trying.
Each seemed groggy as I evaluated their stances, even before Elise confused them with words like ‘talisman’ and ‘restorative magic’. It made sense that they’d be out of it. Two swayed a bit with dizziness, another rubbed the back of his own neck as he struggled to focus on her speech. One on the end braced himself against the stone wall. One leaned with his elbow propped on the shoulder of the brother beside him who stood strong, both arms folded over his chest.
Only some even had enough strength to put on the pants Elise brought down for them, so they still sported white towels secured around their waists. I tried to imagine how confused they must be by all this—their surroundings, seeing the faces of brothers some had witnessed being slain in battle, the modern surroundings, even Elise’s sleek, fashionable attire. At the thought of how disoriented they had to have been, I felt sorry for them.
Our experiences being brought back were different, but similar in that we hadn’t asked for any of this. While, yes, being given a second chance was a blessing, we were still here by someone else’s doing.
I stepped forward. Just a few inches, but quietly enough that they still hadn’t noticed me.
Which was how I wanted to keep it for now.
“I’m … I’m still not sure this is even real.”
My eyes stretched wide at the depth of that voice. The one who spoke ran a hand down his stubble-covered head. A heavy accent distorted the words considerably, but I understood him. His large arm flexed when he gripped the back of his neck, making his frustration apparent. Each matched Liam in height and stature, and I imagined that, in their day, the brood must have stricken fear in all those whose paths they crossed.
Elise passed a sympathetic glance toward her son, revealing his name.
“Caleb, it will take time, but I assure you this is all quite real,” she smiled.
In an unforeseen display of emotion, his gaze shifted to the right and I was grateful the shadows hid me as he stared at our brother. The one who, from here, seemed to most closely resemble Elise. Caleb stretched a hand toward his shoulder, but didn’t speak right away, just let his eyes linger for so long I thought he might not speak at all.
But then he did, and my chest felt tight at his words.
“The last time I laid eyes on you,” Caleb began, “I was carrying your body to the woods for a proper burial.”
My gaze went to Elise and it didn’t surprise me to see her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
The two embraced so tight it would have likely broken the bones of a normal person, but these six were far from normal. They were the first lycan/dragon hybrids I’d ever met. The first beings I’d come across who were just like me.
My chest did that squeezy thing again and I swallowed. Liam’s hand was still in mine when Elise’s gaze shifted toward us. Suddenly aware it was not only her and her boys in the room, her eyes lit up.
“Where is my head?” she smiled, elation lifting her voice an octave when she gestured behind her sons, right toward Liam.
And me.
At the movement, my brothers all turned, all six sets of eyes landing on mine in tandem.
My heart stopped. I froze.
“Declan, Josiah, Ivan … you asked about Evangeline, and I said I would explain,” Elise beamed, not needing to add more than that.
The three she called out by name all stepped forward first, the others moving right behind them. I was swept up into tight hugs, much like the one I’d seen Caleb give. But I wasn’t the only one being attacked. They had Liam, too—another of their long-lost brothers they could hardly believe was here.
There was so much going on—phrases being tossed about in a language I wasn’t familiar with; others in French, which I still didn’t understand. It was almost sensory overload, but the best kind.
No, I didn’t recognize or remember any of them, but couldn’t deny I felt a lingering connection I imagined one only shared with siblings.
I, Evangeline Callahan, had siblings.
A sloppy kiss landed on my cheek, followed by a laugh. They were fawning over me like a child, but I guessed that was normal, the way older brothers treated their baby sister. Still, all the attention made me a little shy.
“Boys, settle down,” Elise said with a laugh as she stepped forward. It amazed me how they obeyed, these large men immediately falling back at the sound of her voice.
She came to me, placed both hands on my cheeks, holding my stare as she addressed them.
“Be gentle with your sister,” she encouraged. “I know seeing her is, perhaps, the biggest miracle of all, but … Evangeline will need a bit of patience from all of you.”
The room grew silent and I felt the weight of her statement before she even finished. It also resonated with me that I was referred to as ‘the biggest miracle of all’, reminding me they’d all been alive when my life was taken. They’d all felt the brunt of the grief right alongside Elise and Liam.
“Evangeline wasn’t brought back in quite the same manner as the rest of you,” she began, turning from me to face them. “Hilda and I had to operate in secret even more so than we do now. So, with only half the magic required for the spell … I was unable to bring Evangeline back with her memories of the past intact,” she revealed. “She was restored as an infant, starting fresh, with no knowledge of her past.”
Those six pairs of eyes were on me again, mostly passing confused glances in my direction as I’m sure question after question bombarded them. However, only one spoke up as he gestured toward Liam and I.
“She remembers nothing?” Caleb asked.
Elise nodded. “That’s right.”
The confusion in his expression spread like wildfire and it only took Elise a moment to understand why.
She turned her attention to my hand linked with Liam’s, gesturing toward it when she spoke.
“This,” she began with a smile, “has nothing to do with memory. This is the result of a lot of hard work on Liam’s part.”
There was a quiet moment while they stared at me like an exhibit in a museum, but then a voice cut through the silence. And with a joke, no less.
It came from Josiah, spoken in a still-raspy baritone. “If she’s anywhere as stubborn as I remember,” he quipped, “that must also mean Liam’s patience hasn’t thinned.”
The others laughed a bit—one shaking Liam by the shoulder, another rustling his hair. I simply smiled, because it was true on both accounts—my stubbornness and Liam’s patience.
“But Evangeline has come a long way,” Elise continued on. “Perhaps the six of you could do your part to help her fill in some of the blanks.”
Their expressions were all so warm toward me. I felt it when they nodded or agreed out loud.
“Good then,” Elise smiled, glancing at my brothers once again. “It smells like Hilda’s finished preparing your meal. You’ll eat, and then we’ll talk more after that.”
She leveled a knowing stare toward Liam and I when adding more, a coded message only he and I understood concerning our current plight.
“There’s much to discuss,” she concluded.
If only our new arrivals understood what that really meant.
Chapter Sixteen
Evie
I was pretty good with names and had memorized each one long before today. Only now, there were faces to match.
Declan, the oldest, was almost the spitting image of Elise—mirroring her slight facial features and straight, dark hair. Since we settled in the living room, he’d been posted by the stereo in a daze. From the looks of it, he was pleasantly surprised by the evolution of music, appreciating how it had transformed from his time to now.
Josiah and Caleb had finished their meal, but were still snacking on a tray of fruit Hilda brought in. Tobias and Ethan
were getting to know Dallas. He made it a point to stay away for a while, giving Elise space to get reacquainted with her sons before stepping in, I guessed.
And then there was Ivan.
He hadn’t gone far from Liam since first realizing he was here. I recalled Liam sharing that, of all my brothers, he and Ivan were the closest.
I smiled to myself from where I rested on the couch, watching the two chat about … probably everything. It’d been a while since I’d seen Liam behave so normally, so much like who he was before the last several weeks altered his life in so many ways. There had been such a strain on him lately, a struggle to deal with what’d been done to him. The guys noticed pretty quickly he was human, which forced him to explain why. Doing so then led to a brief explanation to our current predicament with the Sovereign and his army, but we had yet to get into the meat of the issue.
However, when Elise stood and all eyes shifted toward her, I knew it was time to do just that.
In the center of the living room, she was poised and elegant like always. Her gaze passed over us all—her family. There was a look of pride that couldn’t be concealed. I was sure she would have preferred for tonight to be about nothing more than spending time with her boys, enjoying their company after so many years apart. In a perfect world, it would have gone exactly like that, but in our world, we weren’t fortunate enough to suspend reality for so long.
Some of the light went out behind her eyes the exact moment the air in the room thickened with tension.
“Let me start by saying how incredible it is to lay eyes on all of you again,” she smiled, emotion riddling every syllable. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of this.”
Some of my brothers lowered their heads as Elise’s feelings transferred to them.
“As you all know, the magic used to bring you here comes with grave consequences,” she went on. “Consequences dire enough that I swore I would only put the talismans to use if one of two things happened. One: if the Sovereign were overthrown and there was no longer a stigma attached to restorative magic. Or two: the survival of the people he’s ruled with an iron fist depended on it.”
Her watery stare panned around the entire room.
“Unfortunately, the latter came to pass first.”
We were all silent, listening as she explained to the newcomers.
“The Oracles prophesied that Evangeline would take the throne following a great war,” she went on. “As you all know, it was your father’s desire that she be the one to wear the crown should the day ever come. So, with Hilda’s help, and a special blessing from the Oracles, we brought her back eighteen years ago. She went most of her life having no idea who she really is. Which is why I asked you all to be patient with her. We’ve done our best to fill her in on her past, to teach her how to hone her abilities, but this is all brand new to her.”
I caught several of the guys passing curious glances my way. A sudden spike of insecurity had me turning straight ahead, focusing only on Elise when she went on.
“But Hilda and I pulled some strings to get you all back at full strength, with your memories intact, because, well, in addition to wanting our family to be whole again … we also need your help.”
She swallowed deeply, and then forced the next part out.
“In short, the war the Oracles predicted is upon us and things are not as they were in your day—shifters have forgotten their strength, their purpose,” she explained. “Those who have recently transitioned are just now coming into the knowledge of what they are, what they’re capable of. So, we’ve been on a mission to educate them, to help them fully realize their potential.” Her gaze dropped to the floor before adding. “However, as unfortunate as it may be, we were unable to complete that task, and now, the hour is upon us where we must face our greatest adversary.”
“Ready or not,” Hilda added.
The room was silent again, and I glanced around at them all. The guys were deep in thought, taking in the breadth of what Elise had just shared, maybe feeling overwhelmed by it all, or maybe—
“You need us to fight and that’s what we do.”
It was Declan’s deep booming voice that made the declaration, bringing some of the life back to Elise’s expression.
“It would be our pleasure to bring Sebastian’s reign to an end like someone should have done centuries ago,” Tobias chimed in.
There was the unmistakable gleam of excitement filling their eyes. It was as if they actually wanted this fight. I compared their reaction to my own—timid, frail, always imagining this whole thing would just blow over for lack of attention. Then there were my brothers—brave, ready, thirsty for war.
“We’ll need weapons,” Josiah said, standing as he went on. “With Hilda’s help, we can lace our blades with magic.”
Dallas nodded, joining in on the conversation when it switched to a topic he was well-versed in—combat.
“And keep in mind, a lot of time has passed since the six of you were in battle. A lot’s changed. Weaponry and tactics have all evolved quite a bit. I’ll spend a couple days bringing you all up to speed on what I can,” he offered.
The guys nodded and I was painfully aware of one who had strategically dismissed himself from the conversation.
Liam.
Instead of giving input and sharing his knowledge, he was completely silent. No one else seemed to notice, but I did.
Making my way to the other side of the room, I went to him. Giving a smile, I pretended not to notice how his mood had shifted. Mostly because I knew him well enough to know he would prefer it that way. So, I didn’t say a word, just settled in front of him on the floor, letting my back warm against his chest as his arms enveloped me.
“How do our numbers compare to theirs?” Ethan inquired.
Elise turned to Dallas to interject.
“There’s no way of telling for sure, but I’d bet he’s been multiplying his army pretty rapidly,” he answered.
“Yes, we can imagine,” was Declan’s solemn response. “I’m sure he’s turned several hundred innocents to mutts by now.”
“It’s his favorite tactic,” Josiah added.
“A coward’s tactic,” was Ivan’s take on it.
I agreed wholeheartedly.
“So, this is where we are, boys,” Elise sighed. She’d given them the condensed version of our plight, but even that was weighty. “Are there any questions?”
Some shook their heads, some mumbled responses, but the general consensus was that they understood.
I could have been wrong about this, but … they definitely seemed to be looking forward to what was to come.
Declan stood to his feet, and the rest of us were silent as he went to stand before Elise. He pulled her into his arms, and amidst a long embrace, spoke to her with such conviction, it mattered very little that I didn’t understand what the words meant.
“Du côté de mon frère, je vivrai ou mourrai. Mais ce dont je suis certain, c'est que je me battrai.”
I was only at a loss until Liam whispered the meaning in my ear, broadening my perspective of the six who joined us today.
“At my brothers’ side I will either live or I will die. But what I’m certain of, is that I’ll fight.”
Among the many other traits and strengths I observed among them today, one stood out above them all.
Loyalty.
Chapter Seventeen
Evie
Coming up as an only child, I’d never awakened to so much noise.
Ever.
Boisterous conversation and laughter startled me conscious, only to find Liam smiling at me from his side of the bed—bright-eyed, seeming to love all the commotion. I, on the other hand, felt like my head had just hit the pillow. This must have been the norm to him, having grown up in such a full home.
What sounded like a stampede thundered through the house and I guessed there was some sort of roughhousing going on down there. With a groan, I buried myself beneath the comforter.
The sweet words only made me marginally less aggravated when the blanket was snatched away, letting sunlight beam across my face again.
“Just ten more minutes,” I whined, smiling when a kiss was placed on the corner of my mouth.
He always knew how to get to me.
“In ten minutes there won’t be anything left to eat,” he warned with a laugh. “Trust me.”
I opened my eyes some, remembering that there were six more his exact size downstairs. He was probably right about that.
I hopped up, hoping the aroma of pancakes and bacon weren’t only a tease, a trace memory of the breakfast my brothers had already devoured.
I finger-combed my hair as best as I could, but it was a mess and all over the place. It would have taken more time than I had to fix it correctly, and like Liam said, breakfast was no longer an unlimited resource around here.
We took the stairs by two, racing to the bottom where I was swept up into his arms and braced against a broad chest as he carried me into the kitchen. There was so much going on—so much noise, so much laughter, so much life.
A kiss to the cheek and my feet were lowered to the tile again where I fidgeted with my hair for a second time, noting how it doubled in size after my shower last night. It was no use, so I left it for now.
Seated around the island counter and at the table beside the sliding glass doors, the guys shoveled forkfuls of food into their mouths, showing no signs of stopping.
I glanced up at Liam and he gave a knowing smile. He was right to get me up and downstairs when he did.
Hilda and Dallas seemed to blend right into the craziness. With a wave of her hand, Elise ushered us over, her expression revealing how much she was enjoying the chaos. She grabbed two plates from the cabinet and began filling them for Liam and I.