Bitter Thorns (The Entwined Book 1)

by Chrissy Jaye

  “Yes,” he breathed, already rubbing at his ear.

  I stepped back, bringing my hands up to cover my mouth, slightly horrified by my reaction. Violence had never been my thing and of all people, I’d used it on Ben. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Kieran said, stepping up next to me. “If you hadn’t done it, I would have. Part of being in a Circle is communication.” His words did nothing to alleviate the guilt churning in my chest after putting my hands on someone who had never been anything but kind to me.

  I swallowed and looked down, shuffling my feet. “It does matter,” I whispered bitterly. “No one should put their hands on someone like that.”

  Ben’s feet entered my vision just before he tucked a finger under my chin and forced me to look up at him. “You didn’t hurt me.” I scoffed, darting a glance at his red ear. “No, you didn’t. You were frightened and I didn’t think. We’re both in the wrong.”

  I could accept both of us being wrong. Nodding, I let out a slow breath and focused on the thing in his other hand. “What is that?”

  “Looks like a witch hex. What the fuck is it doing here?” Liam said. He stepped up next to Ben and plucked it from his hand. “Oh hell,” he said, letting it drop to the ground. “It’s got her resonance all over it.” He pointed toward me.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means someone wants to hex you,” Flynn said quietly. He muttered a curse behind a clenched fist. I watched as he began to pace back and forth. “We’re going to need to have someone look at that. See what it does.”

  “Liam and I can do that,” Kieran offered. “We can keep it quiet while you guys go to her appointment.” He looked at me. “Feeling’s gone, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. I think Ben picking it up probably canceled it out. If it was keyed to you, it probably detonated, but you weren’t close enough for it to take effect. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found a bit of your hair in that bundle.” My eyes widened at his words. “We’ll find out for sure. Let’s go in.”

  Chapter 10

  I gaped as we entered a long room. There were several crystal chandeliers that lit up the space. The floors were a rich dark mahogany, polished to a shine. I could literally see my reflection in it. Walls were painted in warm neutral colors and the entire room was richly decorated in plush furniture and expensive vases. And the plants. They were everywhere. The whole room seemed to overflow with them. It was almost too much, but it all seemed so natural. Unlike the grey impersonable exterior of the building, the reception area felt like I was walking into a high-end hotel.

  “Whoa, this is so impressive,” I breathed, my eyes looking everywhere, trying to take it all in. A few people sat in chairs scattered around, but I ignored their curious expressions.

  “Really? This is the big shocker?” Flynn quipped. “Not the impressive fires or our abilities to heal the human body?”

  “Shut up,” I muttered, though I did grin at him. Catching myself, I smothered it quickly. He was still an asshole and someone I couldn’t let myself get too close to. As soon as I covered my smile, his open and friendly gaze shuttered.

  “Yeah, keep lying to yourself, Princess,” he said quickly before turning away from me.

  I hated the guilt that tried to creep up inside of me. And I hated his nickname for me too. Somehow, I didn’t think he would change it even if I asked. The others, probably, but not him. Because he was an asshole.

  I followed as he approached a large desk, almost overlooking the old lady behind it. I stopped a few feet away, but Flynn reached back and snagged my hand, dragging me toward him.

  “Hey Melina, we’re here for a registration appointment,” he said smoothly, almost with charm. I had to crane my head around to be sure it was him speaking. His tone was so similar to Kieran’s I had to double check who was talking, but to my complete shock, it was in fact, Asshole speaking.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught me staring and smirked. I quickly looked away and focused on the small woman in front of me.

  The little biddy smiled up at us as she tidied her silvered hair, blushing at him. She looked between us and then down at our joined hands with a knowing look. “Well,” she said smiling up at me. “Ya’ve been a long time comin’, haven’t ya?” she drawled. My eyes widen as she stood up and puttered around the side of the desk. “Look just like yer momma when she was yar age. Bit of ya Father in there too, I spose. Got his cheeks.”

  I looked over my shoulder, searching for Vian. When I spotted him, I gave him the help me look. He smiled at me and shook his head. Damned traitor. I turned back as the woman stepped right in front of me and grabbed my free hand in her old wrinkled ones.

  “Umm…” What was I supposed to say to some sweet old lady who just dropped the fact that she knew my parents on me like a bomb? Okay so it might not seem like a bomb in her eyes. She probably thought she was being nice. To me though, it was a shock.

  “Never ya mind. Ya wouldn’t remember little ole me.” She patted my hand and addressed Flynn. “They’re waitin’ on ya upstairs, I ‘spect.” Her gray eyes twinkled as she patted his cheek before throwing an exaggerated wink my direction. “Bet they’re all in a tizzy. Nobody knew ya’d fetched her. Probably get a talkin’ to,” she warned.

  “Don’t worry about us, Mels. We always skate by,” Flynn said, his voice practically dripping with charm. It made me want to smack him upside the head. Either for leading the poor lady along or out of jealousy that he was never this nice to me.

  I let go of his fingers like they’d burned me. This was heading into dangerous territory I didn’t want to explore. Do not go and develop feelings for another asshole. That didn’t work out so well last time. Boys did not make the world go ‘round. I had bigger problems anyway. Like getting hexed by a witch spell. Figuring out what being Entwined meant. Rebuilding my relationship with my brother. Confronting Payton about her role in all of this. Making Evan pay for what he’d done to Emma.

  Flynn grabbed my arm and led me back to the others while I made a mental list of all the things on my mind. The last one surprised me, even though it shouldn’t have. Did I really want revenge? I examined the thought while the others talked. My wants and needs were a tangled mess. The truth was that I did want Evan to suffer for what he’d done. I cared about the lies between me and my friends. But Emma hadn’t deserved to die for it. And something nagged at me about Payton. The look in her eye in those few seconds after Evan pushed her. She’d been afraid more than anything else.

  “—Valek should know what it does,” Kieran said as I clued back into the conversation.

  “Alright, you guys take care of that. We’ll meet you back here,” Flynn agreed.

  Liam and Kieran nodded before taking off across the room. Liam paused long enough to brush my arm as he passed and offered me a small smile that I didn’t return. My mood was completely soured from the day’s events.

  “Why not the elevator?” I asked when we started up a flight of stairs. I gave the elevator bank across the reception area a look of longing. I didn’t dislike exercise, but come on, why take the stairs if you didn’t have to?

  “Less people,” Flynn said, dropping my arm.

  “What he means is we’re trying to keep the hyenas at bay,” Brooke quipped, turning to give me a small wink. I smirked back at her, remembering our earlier conversation.

  Vian fell back to walk beside me. I linked arms with him, trying to hide my nervousness as we spilled out of the stairwell into a long, carpeted hallway. Ben took the lead, leaving the rest of us to trail after him as we passed white doors on either side. Something about them bothered me but I couldn’t say what until we paused in front of one.

  Where were the doorknobs?

  Ben pressed his palm flat against the door and waited a second before there was a humming noise.

  “Is it going to explode?” I stage-whispered to Vian. He snorted and shook his head.

  “Biometr
ics,” he answered, as if I knew what the hell that was.

  “Bio-what-ics?”

  “He means it reads our biology and resonance,” Ben said absently.

  “Science is my all-time worst subject.” It always had been. I had a hard time retaining all those facts, which was weird because it was the only subject I struggled with.

  “Never mind,” Brooke said in a placating voice. “It’s not that important.” I smiled at her gratefully. More and more, I was starting to feel stupid when it came to this world. I wasn’t dumb before this, but something in my brain refused to cooperate with the rest of me.

  The door opened and Ben dropped his hand, stepping back. He motioned for me to go first. How chivalrous of him.

  I paused halfway through the door. Having already let go of Vian, I reached out to snag Brooke. No way in hell was I going in there alone. This was the sort of thing I always did with Emma. But she wasn’t here anymore. My lip trembled as I took in the room beyond. It looked like a lab, complete with all sorts of scientific gizmos I couldn’t name. Like ordered chaos and my own personal hell. I’d never liked doctors, but I understood the need for them.

  The last time I’d seen one was just before being placed in my last foster home. I’d spent two days in the hospital after one of my foster family’s real children had smacked me around for having a smart mouth. He liked to use his hands and had left me with a broken jaw, a fractured wrist, some severe bruising, and possible internal bleeding. No one had operated on me, so I wasn’t sure how true that last one was. It’d only felt like it.

  “You’re shaking,” Brooke whispered to me. I nodded, acknowledging her, but didn’t say anything. I was too busy staring at the three lab techs, wondering which one would examine me.

  “She doesn’t like doctors,” Vian answered as he wrapped an arm around me. “It’s fine, Olive. They’ll do a quick physical and some readings. Very standard.”

  “Right,” I said, trying to trust his words. It was hard though. “Just no needles.”

  The only man in the room had noticed us finally and put down whatever he was doing. He looked to be in his early thirties, with dark hair and hazel eyes. He smiled as he approached us, and I forced myself to relax.

  “Renee,” he called over his shoulder. “Can you assist?”

  I looked past him to see a woman stand up slowly and waddle toward us. She was very, very pregnant with light brown hair and warm blue eyes.

  The man waited for her to join him before he continued toward us, assisting her as she moved. I wondered if it hurt to be that pregnant. She looked ready to pop. How the hell did her back support all that extra weight? I decided right then and there that I never wanted kids. I couldn’t imagine my small body contorted like that. Just…no.

  I looked back to the man. I watched as the friendly smiles and nods he gave to the others melted away as his gaze came to rest on me, frowning as he looked down at me. I instinctively took a step back and bumped into someone, letting out a squeak of surprise.

  Lucien’s arms came up around me to keep me steady.

  “I’m so sorry,” the man said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just a shock,” he said before looking over my head. “Hi Flynn, how are you?”

  “Good, sir. We’re here to get Olivia registered and have her testing done,” Flynn said quickly, skirting a look in my direction.

  “Yes, of course. I’ve been expecting you.” He helped Renee into a nearby chair and started going through the equipment on the desk. “Though I can tell you now, this is going to take a bit longer than expected.”

  “Why is that?” Brooke asked, concern was clear in her voice and written all over her face.

  “Well, she’s not quite right, is she? Surely, you’ve noticed her stunted growth,” he said, slightly exasperated. I flinched as if he’d struck me. Being small wasn’t new to me, but having it stated so bluntly, as if something were wrong with me, hurt. Fucking doctors.

  “Demaric,” Ben said sharply. “She’s right there. You’re scaring her.”

  “Right, sorry,” he said, offering me an apology with his eyes. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just not natural is all. But I’m sure we’ll get it sorted out.”

  I wasn’t sure how to feel. Nothing he said was comforting in any way. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to walk right out the door and pretend he didn’t exist.

  Vian leaned into me. “You know I love you, right?” he asked, chucking me under the chin. I recognized what he was doing. Distracting me. I rolled my eyes and leaned back into Lucien. His arms tightened around me.

  “Whatever, can we just get this over with?” I’d never been good with verbal communication, especially when feelings were involved. It was comforting, having all these people around me, even if I didn’t quite trust them yet. Lucien in particular seemed to know that words wouldn’t help right now. His chest pressed into my back and I felt his steady heartbeat beating between my shoulder blades. I wouldn’t be able to stay there, but for now, it helped.

  Demaric smiled at me and motioned for me to move closer. I took a fortifying breath and left the safety of Lucien’s arms. The man held out a small silver device in his hands. There were several leads attached to one end. I eyed it warily, wondering what I was supposed to do with it.

  “I need to attach these to your stomach,” he explained.

  “Why?”

  “It’s an electromagnetic machine that works best if placed over a major artery,” Ben supplied. “The best place is the abdominal aorta.” I looked at him like he had two heads. Seeming to realize what he’d done, he smiled at me. “Sorry. It, uhh, measures certain things in your body through the bloodstream. Like sugars. It can also test your resonance, see how powerful you are. Whether you’re blocked, or scarred, that sort of thing.”

  “I get everything but the bit about being blocked or scarred,” I said. I knew what blood sugar was but the rest of it was sort of gibberish. “Give me a book later?” I added with raised eyebrows.

  His small smile morphed into a beautiful smile that lit up his face, just like his sister’s. The ice in my heart melt just a fraction and blinked at him.

  “Exactly right, though. Good job, Ben,” Demaric said. “Just lift your….” He trailed off, realizing I was in a dress at the same time that I did.

  Fuck. I turned and glared at Brooke. The chick had watched me get dressed this morning and hadn’t said a damn word.

  “Sorry!” she rushed to say. “I didn’t think about it. Plus, you look so cute in it.”

  Kill me now… cute? Ugg. My face heated and a shudder rippled down my spine. She and I were going to have a talk later.

  “Actually,” Renee said, “this is perfect. I have to do a full physical on you, including a pap, so you’d have to change anyway.” She smiled at me with sympathy as my expression fell into a grimace.

  Double fuck.

  Chapter 11

  The room Demaric left me in was cold. It looked like a typical exam room, complete with a sink along one wall, one of those small spinney stools, and a table for patients to sit on. I was staring up into a blue cupboard above the sink, cursing my own height. The gowns were on the top shelf and I could either ask someone for help or climb for it.

  Nervous, I looked between the door and the black countertop before muttering a curse. Just before I put my hand on the door to open it, I heard voices from the other side and paused. It sounded like Flynn and one of the doctors were having an argument and all my resolve to ask for help flew out the window. I turned back toward the counter and started to hoist myself up. I had just put one knee on it when the door opened.

  “—not mention our dynamic in the report?” Flynn was asking someone.

  “You know I have to,” Demaric’s voice answered. “The council is already up in arms about the stunt that you all pulled. It would just cause more issues if I left something out and they take notice of the problem.”

  Flynn sighed and backed into the room. “What
are you doing?” he barked when he caught sight of me frozen halfway up the counter.

  “Umm.” I slowly slid back down until my feet touched the floor. “I can’t reach.”

  His eyes drifted from me to the gowns on the top shelf before he smirked and turned back. “She’s not dressed yet. Give us a moment.” He shut the door and strode across the small room and snatched one down for me. “Here. Get changed.”

  “Where is everyone else?” I asked.

  “Brooke and Lucien left to get you some clothes since we don’t know how long this will take. We have dinner tonight with my parents. Vian and Ben got called away by Liam. It’s just you and me.”

  I blinked at him as he explained. The others leaving I could sort of understand, but not my brother. I worked to keep my breathing even, but I could tell by the way Flynn was looking at me that he could see the struggle.

  “I asked them to leave,” he admitted quietly.

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because, we need to have a discussion. Get changed.” He pointed to the gown I was worrying in my hands.

  “I’m not going to change in front of you,” I snapped.

  He rolled his eyes as he turned around and showed me his back. “Better?”

  I eyed him as I pulled up the hem of my dress. No more dresses. Period.

  The gown was thin, but thankfully, not white. It didn’t take me long to pull it over my underwear before shucking those too, rolling my clothes into a ball and set it all next to the table. I wasn’t wearing a bra, mostly because there wasn’t one that could fit me, and I didn’t know what happened to the one I’d been wearing when I’d arrived. The back of the gown was open, so I had to hold it shut as I climbed onto the examination table.

  “Done,” I said, somewhat bitterly. I still couldn’t believe Vian had left me here, or even Brooke for that matter. All that talk about being a unit and doing things together felt like a lie. “What do we need to talk about?”