Page 10 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)

JACESON

T he instant I opened my fucking mouth, things went from bad to worse.

It always does.

That’s why I let my twin speak.

I stand to my full height, groaning when the bones of my back pop. I glare at the door separating me from Rue, fighting the urge to tear it into kindling. I wish I could say I didn’t deserve to be tossed across the room, but that would be a lie. Any of the others would’ve been able to handle the situation better.

That doesn’t mean I’m giving up.

I refuse to leave until I untangle the mess I created. I hover outside her door like a creep, then I close my eyes and press my head against the cool metal in defeat. “When we first saw you exit the house, every single one of us was transfixed. I’m not sure if you know this, but teenage boys can’t look at a girl without thinking with their dicks.

“You were never a game to us.” I take a deep breath, then admit something I’ve never said out loud, not even to my brother. “You can probably guess that I’m not very good with people. I’m even worse when I talk to girls. While I can look at a girl and admire their appearance, I don’t feel any emotional attraction toward them. Absolutely no desire to know them better.”

I break out into a sweat, barely able to admit the truth to myself. “I thought something was wrong with me…until I met you.”

I wait for any sign of reaction from Rue, but her room remains ominously silent. I thump my head against the door and blow out a heavy breath. “For the first time in my life, I understood my brother’s obsession with women. No, not women. Woman. Just one. Just you.

“It’s like the world suddenly came alive.” My fingers twitch with the need to pick the lock, and I hold back from sheer will alone. I can’t risk sending her running. “You were never a game. We were each so incredibly drawn to you that none of us were willing to back off. We ultimately decided we wanted to keep you. You are one of us now. Some of us just knew it before others.”

My heartbeat is racing so much that it’s like I’m speeding down a windy highway at a hundred miles an hour. Being near her is exhilarating in a way I’ve never experienced with anyone else. I can’t lose that. It would be like living only half a life, always from the outside, but never participating.

It would be hell, especially since I now know something better is out there.

Rue.

As if I summoned her, the knob turns, and I find myself staring down at her beautiful face between the small crack in the door. I straighten abruptly at her perusal, holding so still that I’m not even breathing as I wait for her judgment.

She sighs, then steps back, and it feels like someone has reached into my chest and removed something vital. It’s only when the door opens in silent invitation that my shoulders wilt. I’m so relieved that I’m lightheaded and have to grab the doorframe to keep my knees from hitting the floor.

Inhaling deeply, mostly for courage so I don’t fuck things up further, I step back into the room. The space is sterile, bland without a hint of personality, but I don’t see anything but Rue. “I think I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. Each job we took, each mission we accepted, was just practice, giving us skills we needed to learn in preparation for when you came into our lives.”