Page 10

“Come back with us,” Luke implored again once we had put our clothing back on. Together, we stood by the little pond, watching the ducks paddle back and forth across its surface.

I held his hand, giving it a small squeeze. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

I turned to Blake, the furrow of his brow the most emotion he showed on his face, even after we’d been intimate. My hand reached out, grasping his hand in my free one. “There are still things I need to do.”

“Like training?” Luke glanced around the clearing. “You can do that with us. We can help you.”

“No.”

“Eva, it doesn’t have to be this way.” Luke pulled my hand to his chest, cupping it with his own. “Why be out here all alone when you could be home with us with people who love you?”

My face threatened to break open into a large smile at his declaration. Just like with Zane, my heart swelled with emotion. Then I remembered how that conversation had ended with Adam almost getting attacked by the queen, and my smile died.

“You never told me why you were out here.” I shifted the subject away from what I really wanted to say.

Rebecca could wake up at any moment and, while I enjoyed my time with them, immensely, I needed them to move along so I could get back to my training.

Izzy took that moment to bust out of the woods, yipping and growling happily as she padded up to Blake’s side.

Blake bent to pet her on the head. She licked his palm and gave another growling yip, blinking her eyes adoringly up at her master.

“We told you about our trials?” Luke released my hand from his chest but not completely, seeming reluctant to let me go all together.

I supposed that was the nature of our relationship. Him not wanting to let me go and me unable to stay.

“Did you pass them?” I let myself enjoy these last few moments I had with them. I didn’t know when I would have a moment alone with them again.

Luke scrubbed a hand through his hair and chuckled. “In a manner of speaking. We passed, but only barely. We—”

“Looked like idiots,” Blake interjected, his eyes down turned.

“I’m sure it wasn’t all that bad.” I let my lips curl up in a small smile. “You should have seen me trying to create... well, anything really.”

“We did, and I couldn’t imagine you could look like an idiot doing anything.” Luke peered down at me with such adoration that my breath caught in my chest.

I wanted to stay with them, I truly did. If I could be sure the queen wouldn’t rear her ugly head, I would have. While she didn’t do anything now with the twins, that didn’t mean that she might not later. She was mercurial in nature. Who knew what would set her off next?

“She can’t stay. She won’t.”

My head jerked toward Blake. His single goldeneye leveled on me and understanding in his gaze.

“She doesn’t trust—”

“She doesn’t trust us?” Luke exclaimed, dropping my hand, his eyes wounded. “After everything how could you not trust us? We would keep you safe. We would—”

“Lucas.” The single word from Blake made Luke clip his mouth shut. “She doesn’t trust the queen not to try and kill us.”

Luke blinked at his brother and then turned his gaze to me, confusion and sadness filling his eyes. “Does she want to hurt us, Eva?”

“I...” I dropped Blake’s hand and stepped back putting some space between us. “I don’t know. I don’t know what she will do or when she will do it. Sometimes she’s fine. She didn’t care when I visited Zane.”

“You visited Zane?”

I locked eyes with Luke. “Yes. I thought maybe he could help me understand the queen, since he has the demon inside of him. I thought he could teach me to control her or at the very least keep her from controlling me.”

Luke cocked his head to the side. “And did he?”

“Unfortunately, we never got the chance.”

Blake made a sound in his throat that made me blush.

Luke’s brows lifted. “Did you and he...? Like with us?”

My blush deepened. “No. Nothing like what we did. Zane needs to sleep more.”

Blake snorted. “Understatement.”

“Anyway, the queen didn’t care about him. But then Adam—”

“Adam saw you, too?” Luke blew out a breath and laughed. “It seems our friends have been keeping secrets from us.”

“Why he didn’t tell you, I don’t know, but the queen didn’t like him.”

“Why? Because he’s the Arch Mage now?”

The mention of the Arch Mage caused the anger inside of me to swirl. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, trying to calm it.

“Eva? Are you alright?” Luke placed a hand on my arm.

I pulled it away, stumbling back a few more steps. “Please don’t.” Once I knew the queen wasn’t going to lash out, I looked at them both. “Like I said, the smallest thing sets her off, and I don’t want to put any of you in the line of fire. The only way I know how to do that is to stay away until I can find some kind of semblance of control, balance.”

“Understandable.” Blake faced me but didn’t try to touch me. He seemed to know that he needed to be cautious with me right now. “Can we do anything to help?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. I will say that there are many who don’t like how humans have been treated and will want to see change from Adam... the new Arch Mage. The queen demands it, and if she doesn’t see it happen...”

Luke and Blake tensed, taking a step forward. They must have seen something on my face because they stopped their brows furrowed and jaws clenched.

“You have to understand. The queen doesn’t discriminate. She hates the mages. They killed her mother, so she wants to see them all burn. The good, the bad. Everyone. All of them. It’s taking everything in me to keep her from going on a rampage. So please, let me go. Let me find my own way. Let me keep you safe.”

The twins exchanged a look and then nodded together.

“Very well.” Luke cleared his throat. “It pains me to leave you after we... Well, either way, I hate to leave you alone to deal with this. But I understand. We understand.”

“Thank you.”

When they didn’t immediately move to leave, I blinked up at them.

Luke took a hesitant step toward me. “Can we at least say goodbye?”

My lips curled up at the edges as I dipped my head. “Yes, I think that would be alright.”

Blake held back and let Luke come to me first as it always seemed to be with them.

I focused on the twin in front of me, accepting his arm around me, his hand on my face. I peered up at him, mesmerizing his face so that I would have it for safekeeping when we were separated. He traced my lower lip with his thumb as if he too were committing me to memory.

When his lips descended on mine, it was as if the world had stopped around us. The trees, the wind, the birds and ducks all went away and all I knew was the feel of him, the taste of his lips, the feel of his breath mixed with my own.

It took everything within me to only keep it at just a kiss. It was goodbye after all. It was over far sooner than I would have liked, but I knew it was for the best.

Luke withdrew from me, his gaze soft as he made way for his brother to take his place.

Blake did not gently embrace me the way his brother did. He crushed me to his chest, his mouth ravaging mine with so much passion that it nearly knocked me off my feet.

I clung to him, holding on for dear life as he overtook all my senses. His tongue melded with mine, his teeth nipping at my lips trying to get as much of me inside of him as fast as possible.

Then it was over and Blake was walking away, Izzy yipping at his heels.

Luke lingered behind. “Please be careful, Eva. It kills me to know you are out there all on your own. It would destroy us if something were to happen to you.”

“I will, Luke. I promise.”

Luke nodded and followed after Blake, his steps slower than his brothers.

Watching them walk away from me again hurt my heart. I wanted to call after them. To tell them to come back. That I’d changed my mind. My fingers curled into fists to keep myself from chasing after them.

However, I couldn’t help but call out. “And Luke?”

He paused in his trek, glancing back at me with such hope in my eyes that it almost made me regret calling out to him.

Instead, I let a small smile lift on my lips. “I’m not alone.”