Page 23 of Shifter’s Promise (Devourer of Magic)
Chapter
Nineteen
M y bedroom door slammed open the next morning, jerking me from sleep.
“Huh?” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
“What is this I hear about you having a mate again?” Kara dove onto the bed, her momentum making me bounce slightly.
I blearily regarded her through the haze of sleep I attempted to crawl out of. How did she even find out about Leona? She was rarely at home when the triplets and Leona were around.
“Father told me,” she said. Eyes wide and sparkling, she propped her chin on her fists. “I’m so excited for you, but how could you keep this from your own sister?”
Kicking her feet, Kara pouted, but that twinkle never disappeared. She wasn’t actually upset.
“I’ve barely seen you recently.” It was a poor excuse, but still .
“Twiiiin,” she whined. “I’m your only sister. You’re supposed to tell me everything.”
My lips twitched. “We kissed.”
Kara’s eyes rounded and her sharp squeal rang in my ears.
“Oh my goddess, when? ”
I laughed, unable to help it. Her behavior reminded me of her childlike self—the one I’d known before I disappeared. I’d missed so many years with her, precious moments in time I would never get back.
“Just the other day.” My cheeks blazed, a stupid grin plastered to my face.
“Where did it happen? Tell me everything! ”
I sat up, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. “Here, I guess.”
“Here?” Kara glanced at the bed, flush rising to her cheeks.
“Not in my bed,” I clarified with a chuckle. “Downstairs in the kitchen.”
Her grin matched my own. “What’s her name? Father said she was the triplets’ guard. I can just imagine their faces when they realized their betrothed was mated to their bodyguard.”
Giggles filled the air as we laughed. My whole body filled with pleasant warmth, so grateful to be back even though almost two weeks had already passed. I don’t think I’d ever stop being happy to be home.
“Leona,” I said, cheeks flushing once again.
Kara poked my cheek with a wicked smile. “You’re in love aren’t you? It’s all over your face. ”
“Love?” I spluttered. Red as a tomato, I hid my face in the sheets. Did I love Leona?
“Yes! L-O-V-E. Love!”
My heart pounded at the realization. Do I love Leona?
“We… we’ve only known each other for a short time,” I mumbled into the sheets.
“Whaaat? I can’t hear you!” Kara yanked the sheet from my hands.
I growled at her half-heartedly. “We haven’t known each other long.”
“And?” Kara rolled her eyes, making me just a little glad I’d missed her teenage years. I could only imagine the sass.
“And…” I threw up my hands in defeat, flopping back onto the bed. “I don’t know yet.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Kara assured me with a confidence I didn’t feel.
I sighed, slinging an arm over my eyes. “I don’t deserve her, Kara.”
Silence met my words, but just as I was about to search for the answer on her face, she grabbed my arm and yanked me back up. Determination blazed in her soft green eyes.
“What the fuck kind of nonsense is that?”
I blinked, shocked. Since when did Kara learn to curse?
“If anyone deserves a second shot at love, it’s you.”
My brows furrowed, gut twisting with a long held guilt I couldn’t quite rid myself of .
“I couldn’t protect my first mate. Why would I ever deserve a second?”
Kara grabbed my shoulders and shook me so hard my world spun.
“When did you get so dumb, sister?” she snapped.
“How were you supposed to protect your mate when you were a slave? Your beast was stripped away. You had no magic, probably barely any strength.” Her eyes glazed with unshed tears, making my heart lurch.
I sat straighter, holding her arms, grounding myself.
“You’re right, but?—”
“There is no ‘but’, Twin.” Kara squeezed my arms. “You did everything you could at the time, didn’t you? Despite it all. I know you, sister. You would never have let someone hurt what’s yours.”
I nodded, even as emotion burned my eyes.
“Never,” I agreed shakily.
“So don’t tell me you don’t deserve a second chance. You’re one of the few that does.”
Kara drew me into her arms, rubbing my back even as I cried soundlessly. She was right. Her words had struck exactly where they meant to—healing a part of me that would always blame myself for Gina’s death.
I could still remember the cold bars of my cell.
Underground with no light, the metal was ice to my feverish skin.
I’d slammed myself against the bars, reaching through them in an effort to grab Gina’s desperate hand.
Slavers had pulled her away in front of me, but rather than let them have their way with her, she’d used the last of her strength to break her own neck .
The resounding crack would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.
Not for a second did I blame her. I would have done the same if it meant not forcing my mate to watch my assault.
Gina had been the most prized, most beautiful beastkin in the slaver’s dungeon.
She was also the most loved by the guards.
My leopard raged in our shared mind, feeling every ounce of our pain—sharing it. Sobs wracked my throat and body until another set of warm arms wrapped around the pair of us. I glanced up through my tears to find father holding us both as we cried.
He didn’t let us go until our tears dried up, and silence fell.
“You both deserve the sun and the stars, my sweet girls,” Father said.
Ahh, so he heard .
It wasn’t exactly a large house. With shifter hearing, there weren't many conversations one could ignore.
Kara reached out to wipe my tears, and in turn I did the same. Brushing the last of them away, we all smiled at one another. We might be missing mom, but the rest of us were back together. We were home again. A whole family.
“I love you guys so much,” I said, hugging them both once more.
“I love you too,” Kara said, squeezing me back.
“I’ll never stop loving my girls.”
Held together in each other’s arms, I could finally breathe easy. I was home. I was whole. And tomorrow, I’d get my revenge.