“Faith.” I gripped the table with both hands as I said her name.
She swiveled around, her gaze boggling wide. “What?” She blinked rapidly and squinted. “Um...” She flicked her fingers in front of her face. “Guys, I’m having a little problem with my eyesight.” She glanced around the room, looking from one to the other until she returned to me.
“No, you’re not.” Silvie grasped Faith’s shoulder. “You have a twin. This is Hope.”
Faith’s legs wobbled and her eyes rolled until the whites showed. Loveria caught her as she fell.
Okay, not the best first meeting.
* * * *
Slowly Faith came to. Loveria fanned her face, holding her upright. “You fainted,” he murmured in her ear.
“I never faint.” She frowned. “Unless I see someone just like me and my best friend tells me I have twin. Then I do.” She gripped his shoulders, her knuckles turning white as she turned my way. “Oh. You’re still real.”
“What Silvie said was true.” I shoved my shaky hands behind my back. “I know this is...unexpected.” Crazy was more like it. “But if you’ll allow me to explain, I will.”
She flattened her hand on her chest. “You won’t see me stopping you...whoever you are.”
“You and I are true sisters of the blood-bond, born eighteen years ago to the same mother.”
Her gaze narrowed with precision. “Are you sure? I believe my mother would have mentioned there being two of us.”
“Our mother isn’t aware I live. I was born with a heart blockage and after our birth, I died. Alexo took me home to Dralion. His intention was to bury me on home soil, although because of the teleportation jump, my heart restarted. It was unexpected.”
Her gaze now held more interest and less suspicion. “You’re saying you grew up in Dralion? Oh my.” Her breath caught and she fluttered her hands at her sides. “You’re that Hope. Alexo once mentioned he had a sister named Goldie who was currently off-world caring for another family member named Hope. Australia, I think he said. Why did he not tell me exactly who you were?”
Dad had hinted at my existence? My heart lightened. “He had his reasons.”
“Why didn’t Alexo return with you, since you lived?”
“You believe me?”
“It’s a little hard not to with you standing right before me. So, why didn’t he return with you?”
“Dad was worried about what another jump would do, so he called in the healers and Donaldo was informed. Dad’s actions at that point were impossible to reverse. Kate’s safety had to come first.”
“The mated bond thing. I have that maddening relationship with Davio. I can’t bring any harm to him, which right now, sucks.” She eyed him. “Why’d you attempt to prevent my return? You knew she was here, huh?” It was not a good sounding huh.
He took her hands in his, squeezing them. “Hope requested through Silas the two of you not yet meet. I withheld only for that reason.”
“What the heck does Silas have to do with this?” Her gaze swung to Silas’s, slitting with deadly intent. “What have you done?”
“Hope is my mate,” he stated and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve done nothing but accept the bond.”
Faith’s gaze pinged to his hand. “You’re mated...to my sister?” She took one-step forward, her hands twitching at her sides. “Get your hands off her. I don’t know her, but I already know I don’t like you touching her.”
“We are soul-bound. Touch is expected.”
“I don’t care. Hands. Off. Her. Now.”
“I only have the one hand on her, but if you’d prefer I can make it two.”
She took another step forward, a very menacing one. “I want to hurt you, Silas. You’ve now given me the best reason to.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Was he egging her on?
At an intense moment like this?
He tucked me in closer to his side and her face went bull-fighting red.
Oh, he was.
Silas had said they didn’t get along, and now I believed.
I cleared my throat. “Silas, you have to behave.”
“No, I don’t.”
My hair whooshed across my face as Faith rammed into him.
She pinned him to the floor, one knee pressed into his belly and her elbow against his windpipe. “She asked you not to touch her. I have the battle skills, don’t forget. I like to fight.”
“She said for me to behave.”
“Same thing.”
“Let me up.”
“You’ve been hiding her. My own sister. From me.”
“Wincrest requested it of her. She obliged him, and so did I.”
“Since when did you start doing something a Wincrest said to do?” Dropping her elbow deeper, she scowled. “Damn it, and what’s wrong with me? I feel incredibly connected to her.”
Loveria wandered across and sat on the padded seat under the window. “It’s the blood-bond. The ties between you and your sister will be as strong as those between us as mates, only I hold your soul.” He eased his legs out and idly crossed them at the ankles. “This is refreshing to see, Silas. I think this is called retribution.”
Silas gawked about the room. “Does no one want to help me out here?”
A chorus of nos came from Zac, Viv and Belle.
Teeth clenched, Faith snorted at him. “I want to kill you and that thought isn’t going anywhere. It doesn’t help she looks like me. It gave me the creepies when you touched her.”
Silvie huffed. “Faith, you’ve gotta let Silas go. He’ll behave. I’ll make sure he does.”
“I have a twin, Silvie.”
“It’s a shock. I know.” She tugged her up. “Everyone, to the table. This little display is over.”
“But a sister?” Faith’s gaze jumped between Silvie and me. “I’ve always wanted a sister. This is unreal.”
Silvie pulled out a chair and plunked her in it. “Now you have one. Ask her some questions. It’ll take your mind off wanting to hurt Silas, and me, since I withheld too.”
“You withheld?”
“Silas did first. He told me to.”
“Thanks, sis. Dump me in it a little further, why don’t you.” Silas smoothed out the collar of his shirt then tucked his loose tails in and guided me to my seat. “You still really want a sister? I forgot to mention, they’re a pain in the butt.”
“I do.” More than ever, now that I’d met her.
Faith wrinkled up the tablecloth as she leaned forward opposite me. “Goodness. It’s like I’m staring at my own reflection. Wow. Seeing you before me is a shock, but the greatest one I’ve had so far, and trust me, there’s been a ton in the past few weeks.”
I inched my feet out and touched my toes to hers. “I’ve only known of your existence for a short time.” I itched to get closer still, my blood-bond with her the strongest ever. It called me to her as Dad had said.
She laid her hand on the table and wriggled her fingers. “More.”
I gripped her hand. “I have the ability to mind-merge as you do. I’m merged with Silas right now, and since he and I met, we’ve discovered where Katerin Sol came from.”
She rocked forward and clutched my hand. “Our grandmother?”
“Yes. We’re not alone with our ability of mind-merge. Katerin’s sister, Elizara, spent time with me. The Sols come from the desert of No-Man’s Land. Ours is a rare skill, but there are four at the Sol compound who hold it. I also came into my water skill. It’s another that runs through the Sol line.”
Her gaze searched mine. “Mum knows nothing about No-Man’s Land. She would have said.”
“Dad intends to speak to her of it. He was waiting for you and I to meet, but there are so many other issues, like her own abandonment. He deals with one at a time and won’t be rushed.”
“He’s definitely persistent where her safety is concerned.” She nodded.
“Yes. They’ve been apart for eighteen year
s and I don’t want to press him after he’s waited so long for her return. What’s a little more time?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head. “I hate that I understand.”
Loveria tugged his chair closer to hers. “Your mother is a strong woman, Faith.”
“Yeah, but she was abandoned as a child, and that’s always been her one weakness. If she finds out she had a child she never met, no matter that–” Her voice wobbled. “–Hope died. In her opinion she’ll be no different than her mother, a woman who gave up her child.”
My hand shook as I held hers. “But these circumstances were out of her control.”
“I know, but will she accept it? Alexo must have seen differently.”
I dropped my chin to my chest. My heart ached for my mother. I wanted to meet her, not to cause her more agony by my presence. I longed to know her.
Silas eased an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve met your sister today. Think only of that.”
Faith switched her gaze to Silas. “Excuse me. I’m still not okay with you touching her.”
“She is my mate.”
A determined look lit Faith’s eyes. “As you keep saying, but it’s going to take me a little time to get used to seeing you two together. My blood is fair singing at being this close to her. It’s the whole blood-bond, but totally ramped up.” She stood and came around the table then pulled me to my feet. “And I’ll need to deal with it my way.” “Can you swim?”
Her voice in my head caught me by surprise. “How’d you know I was a telepath?”
“You’re a Wincrest, and the one thing I’ve learnt is our line is highly skilled. You said you had the water skill, so I take it you swim?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Great, because we’re about to take a dip in the river to mask our airstream. I’ve learnt how to escape Davio when needed. You up for some sisterly bonding without the overabundance of protectors in this room?”
“Hell, yes.” I grinned. “I just can’t ’port.”
“I’ve got you covered. Okay, let’s have some fun and ditch this Peacian joint.”
I was all for that. “What are you waiting for, sis?”
She beamed. “Yes, you are, sister-mine.” She flashed us from the room.
Chapter 9
Faith teleported us to a river shrouded by nightfall. We sprinted into its depths, Silas and Loveria having followed hot on our heels.
“Dive,” she yelled with the tightest grip on my hand. “Davio hates me leaving, in every possible way.”
“I’ll give us some leeway.” I swept my hand behind me and sent a wave of water into Silas and Loveria. It slapped into their chests and pushed them back.
“Wow. Love your water skill. I think we’re good to go.” She tugged me under and ’ported us.
We arrived on our bellies on damp sand, the surf crashing in. Sticky grains stuck to my palms as I propped myself on my elbows. White froth rolled in and tickled my feet. “Where are we?”
“Papamoa beach. I live close by, in Te Puke.”
“Oh, I’ve not been here before.” The moonlight touched the ocean, glittering along its surface.
“This is one of my favorite spots.”
On the landside, lights glowed a few hundred feet away in the windows of a restaurant, illuminating diners as they ate. Streetlamps positioned along the driveway of a beachside parking lot showed a square of grass and several deserted picnic tables.
“This place is beautiful.” I scooped a handful of sand and opened my fingers, letting the fine white grains slip through. Dralion’s beaches were predominantly black and the sand always so hot. “Thank you for bringing me. I can’t believe I’ve finally met you...my sister.”
She pulled me into her arms. “It’s always been just Mum and me. Now I have a father, a grandfather and all of a sudden, you.”
“Wait until you meet Goldie. She’s only a year older than us. Did you ever wonder if there were others?”
“Mum never spoke of Dad over the years, and I never asked. On top of that, I had no grandparents or cousins or other family. I’ve always longed for a sister, which is why Silvie and I have always been close, but no, I never wondered about others. I could never have guessed what’s happened in a million years.”
“Dad stayed away to protect her.”
“I know, and I can’t fault him for his decision. But, if he turns up now, he’s gonna be in a heck of a lot of trouble.” She looked skyward and glared. “You hear that, Dad? Trouble, and a lot of it. So, if you don’t mind, get cracking on telling Mum I have a sister, or else.”
“You know he does what he wants. Or should I say, what he believes is best.”
“Oh, this is in his best interests. He better believe that.”
I grinned, stretching my hands to my knees then played my fingers in the surf, which rolled in. “Tell me all about you?” I wanted to know it all, and this was the perfect spot. “Silas said you’re studying at high school.”
“Exams are in a few months, although I’ve struggled to focus these past weeks with all that’s gone on. What about you? What’s in Australia?”
Well, that wasn’t enough. Still, she was clearly as eager to hear about me as I was to hear about her. “I’m in the outback, at a place called Wincrest Station. Oh, you have forethought. Take the image from my mind. It’s of the stables.” I flicked it up.
“Oh yeah, I love this part about my skill.” Her brow creased as she concentrated. “I see horses and a corral.”
“There’re two-hundred breeding mares. We rear stock for Dralion, grazing thirty-five thousand head of cattle. I spend half my time there, as does Goldie. She and I were raised together.” The incoming tide splashed over my legs all the way to my waist.
“It’s chilly now.” Faith jumped out of the water and rubbed her arms.
Joining her, I swept my hands down her body, sending the water away.
“Did you just– Gee, that’s incredible.” She patted her hands over her blouse and skirt. “The fabric’s dry.”
“It’s part of my skill.” I dried myself next.
“Wow.” She reached out and straightened my hair. “I love your skill. How cool.”
I laughed and fixed her hair.
“Hope. You there?”
I darted a look toward the sand dunes. Silas stood at the top of the bank, a hand to his brow as he peered through the dark.
“There they are.” Loveria slapped his shoulder as he jerked his head toward us.
“Don’t you dare move, Hope,” Silas demanded.
With super speed Silas blinked in front of me, so fast the rush of wind rocked me on my feet. “Hey, long time no see.”
Faith planted her hands on her hips. “For goodness sake. What is it with these Peacian men?” She let out the loudest sigh. “Me. Woman. Must. Have.”
I knocked my shoulder against hers with a giggle. “Surely you were warned about the males within the bond.”
“Not nearly enough.” She screwed up her face.
Loveria flashed in and caught her against him. “Let’s you and me talk. Privately.” He tugged her five strides away.
I went to reach for her, but Silas held me at bay. “No, remember Faith will have mind-merged with him and once they’re touching skin-to-skin, they’re fine. You though, I don’t need getting angry.” Silas stroked my back. “You didn’t have to run. I would have understood if you’d wanted time with her.”
Merging, I sank into my spot because it was hard not to when he stood this close. “I don’t need your permission to do every little thing.”
With a grin, he bent his head and pressed his lips to mine. “I know, but it’d be nice if you did.”
I clutched his shirtfront, a very wet one. “My wave of water didn’t stop you for long.”
“The only reason we searched here, is because it’s one of Faith’s favorite haunts.”
“Let me dry you.” Sweeping my hands down his body, I pushed the liquid away.<
br />
“Whoa, that’s clever.”
“It’s part of my skill.” I smoothed my palm over his cheek. “Won’t your sister be mad at you for leaving after she prepared such a lovely meal?”
“You left first.”
“Don’t put this back on me.” Ah, but he did have a point.
“She’ll understand, but just in case...” His gaze lifted over my head. “Davio, do you and Faith want to return and pack a basket with some of Silvie’s food? I’m not game catching sight of her right now. Tell her I’m sorry, but we’ll eat here.”
“Sure. You build a fire to keep us warm.”
Faith rubbed her hands together. “I love that idea.” She looked at me. “We’ll be back real soon. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I won’t.” Although, I didn’t care one bit for her leaving, no matter how long.
Only, the two of them shimmered and flashed away, and I stared at where she’d been.
“Hey, what’s that on your feet?”
The surf tickled my toes on the tide-line. I lifted my foot, and a shimmery gel coated me from my knees downward. “This is the gel I mentioned when I was in Dralion. It keeps me warm.” I stepped out of the water and with one flick of my fingers, the essence slid to the sand.
“Which means you must have been cold.” He led me higher onto the sand, gathering pieces of driftwood. “We’ll need this for the fire. So, what do you think of Faith?”
“I already miss her.” “Faith.” I called along our link.
“I’m here. Do you like marshmallows?”
“Yes. I love them.” I relaxed my shoulders.
“Have you ever tried marshmallows melted over an open fire and squished between two chocolate cookies? Not everyone has.”
“I like chocolate. I like cookies. Marshmallows are a given.” My mouth watered. “Please hurry.”
A giggle resounded in my head. “We won’t be long. Silvie has her own kitchen in the castle and we’re just dishing up plates. I’ll nab some of my favorite things from her cupboards.”
Warrior Page 16