Chapter 20
Twenty
HAVEN
I’m still reeling from that kiss Becks and I shared, my lips tingling and my cheeks flushed, but for once his half-dressed state isn’t what holds my attention.
I can’t stop sneaking peeks at my sister. My twin.
Becks excuses himself to go put a shirt on while I’m getting another hug from my mom.
“I’m just so glad you’re safe,” she says for the third time, her eyes filled with tears.
“You’re glad? I’m not the one who had a knife in their gut the last time you saw them,” I say, shooting my dad a look.
Just thinking about that horrible night makes my stomach twist. I almost lost him.
“I’m all right,” he assures me.
I frown, because he says that, but are any of us truly all right with a body-jumping demon on the loose and gunning for us?
A throat clears and I glance over my mom’s shoulder, where Locklyn and who I’m assuming is Talon, are standing. He has his arm wrapped around her shoulder and she’s tucked into his side.
My sister’s husband—it’s still weird even saying that—is ridiculously handsome in that bad boy-esque way: dark-haired and chiseled, with stormy blue-gray eyes. I’m starting to wonder if the guys from their world are just grown hotter or something.
They make a striking pair, but that’s not really what stands out. It’s the way he’s offering her comfort without being physically overbearing, and the way she’s lightly leaning into him, taking what’s being offered.
I’ve only been in their presence for a handful of minutes and it’s clear to me that these two are locked into each other.
Noticing me staring, she offers a tentative smile and a small, uncertain wave. I’m not much smoother when I say, “Hi,” back. It feels like we’re on a blind date or something.
That is, if you were dating your own doppelganger.
We’re not an exact replica of each other. Her hair isn’t as red as mine. Her face is a touch rounder. But she’s close enough. Staring at her is a little like what it might be like to look into a slightly distorted mirror. I see myself, but also not.
Everything about this is so bizarre. Twins typically grow up knowing their sibling, but this is all happening to me, to us, at once.
“Come, meet your sister,” my mom says with a huge smile.
When I glance over at my dad, the smile on his face is bigger and more genuine than I’ve ever seen, and something about that feels like a jab.
Was their happiness not complete because Locklyn wasn’t there? Was I not enough for them?
Guilt immediately floods me, and I shove the rising insecurities away. It is a horrible thing to lose a child. Why would I begrudge my parents their happiness at finding her again?
I let my mom lead me over to where Locklyn and Talon are standing. I don’t know what to do. Should I offer my hand to shake?
No, that would be super weird.
Go in for a hug?
Locklyn doesn’t seem to know what to do either.
“Um, thanks for taking care of my parents,” I say, and then correct myself. “I mean our.”
As an only child for the last twenty years, that feels so weird to say.
Locklyn grins at me, and something tight in my chest loosens. “I’m just so glad that we got there in time. Well, that you did,” she says, her gaze traveling behind me.
I peer over my shoulder as Becks walks toward us, still barefoot, but with a dark green henley that makes his eyes seem impossibly greener. The look is working on him.
His gaze immediately finds me, and it’s questioning.
Even though I’m overwhelmed, I offer a small smile, trying to put his mind at ease. It must not be convincing though, because he frowns.
I have a sudden urge to find comfort from him like Locklyn’s taking from Talon.
As if reading my mind, he comes over and places a light hand on my lower back. The gesture is hidden from everyone’s view, but all at once it’s the only thing I can focus on.
“If Becks hadn’t found you when he did . . .” Locklyn says, her smile slipping.
“I try not to dwell on that myself.” His hand presses into me with slightly more pressure. “Any updates from the Order?” The question lands like a pivot, neatly changing the subject.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch both my parents tense.
Talon shakes his head. “No. We’ve gone completely dark as well. Feels safer that way.”
“I agree,” Becks says, then plows a free hand through his damp hair. “But it would sure be nice to have their support and resources right now.”
Talon shrugs. “It is what it is. Until they root out and seal whatever leak they have, it’s not safe to bring them into this.”
“We can’t stay on the run forever,” Becks says. “Eventually, we’re going to need to go on the offense.”
“True, but how do we fight a demon?” Locklyn asks.
Becks sighs. “That’s the question.”
“Well, we’re not going to figure it out in the next few minutes. Have you eaten?” my mom asks Becks and me, and we shake our heads. “Then let’s start there. We can talk more strategy over dinner.”
I grimace, thinking of the meager food we have left. I think there’s a ramen packet, a can of SpaghettiOs, and some chicken breast, because Becks eats it religiously. We even ran out of proper breakfast food a day ago. It was hard getting out of bed with no bacon to lure me.
I’m about to break the news about our food situation when Talon offers to go to the car to grab the groceries.
I perk up. “You brought food?”
“Of course,” my mom chuckles. “There are a lot of us, and we have to eat. And if I know you, there’s nothing in the kitchen except sugary cereal and Easy Mac.”
Becks starts laughing, and I playfully swat him.
“And ramen and SpaghettiOs,” he adds unhelpfully.
“Sorry not all of us are into chicken for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
He shrugs. “It’s a great source of protein.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, because you need to work on building more muscle mass.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he says, pinching my side with the hand on my back, making me squirm.
“You won’t need to worry about eating processed foods or chicken for at least the next couple of days,” my dad adds.
“That’s right,” my mom says. “Haven, I’m going to make your favorite. Lasagna.”
My mouth immediately starts watering. My mom’s lasagna is the best. My stomach grumbles in anticipation.
“Someone’s excited,” Becks says.
“You have no idea,” I tell him with a grin. “Get ready to have your world rocked.”
He cocks a brow. “You mean for a second time tonight?”
No. He. Didn’t.
I clear my throat, ignoring the comment, and glance back at my parents and Locklyn. My mom and dad just look amused, but I don’t miss the frown on Locklyn’s face as she glances back and forth between me and Becks.
The next moment Becks drops his hand and takes a half-step away from me. Maybe I shouldn’t read into it, but I can’t help but feel bereft at the loss of contact.
I sit next to Becks during dinner, and we can’t seem to stop sneaking glances at each other.
Every time I catch him staring, he grins like he’s daring me to look away first. I tell myself to focus on the food, or the conversation happening around us, but it’s useless.
His thigh keeps brushing against mine under the table, just enough to make it hard to think straight.
I’m sure it’s accidental. Probably. But each time it happens, a tiny spark zips through me, and I find myself holding my breath until it happens again.
It’s ridiculous, really. Less than an hour ago, I’d never met my grown sister. My twin. And now I’m sitting here getting flustered over Becks’ leg.
The two emotions—relief and excitement—collide until I can’t tell which one I’m supposed to feel.
I should be overwhelmed by everything that’s happened.
A demon is still after us. But my family is finally together again.
There’s so much uncertainty about the future, but all I can think about is the way Becks’ laugh sounds when he relaxes, or the warmth of his shoulder brushing mine in the candlelight.
After it has just been Becks and me here for so long, the cabin feels crowded tonight, filled with voices that overlap as everyone tries to catch each other up.
Locklyn sits across from me, her expression calm and sure, like she’s been holding the world together by sheer willpower for weeks.
My parents take turns talking, mostly my mom, explaining how Talon and Locklyn helped them move between hospitals several times to stay hidden.
I’m so thankful they are all right. I was never able to connect with Kendra and Tate again because there’s no cell reception in the mountains. Becks left one time to drive down the mountain to connect with Talon for an update, but other than that it’s been no news.
When my mom speaks about my sister, there’s a light in her eyes, full of hope and joy that I’m not used to seeing. The way she looks at Locklyn—like she’s the sun come back after a long winter—makes my stomach twist unexpectedly.
It’s not that I’m not happy. I am. I’m grateful. But watching them talk so easily, seeing my mom lean toward Locklyn like she can’t bear to blink in case my sister disappears again, it stirs something I don’t want to name.
Jealousy, maybe. Or longing.
It makes thoughts come to my mind that I’d rather not. Was I not enough all those years?
I shove it all down. Hard.
Locklyn being alive is a miracle. Anything less than pure joy feels wrong.
Becks’ voice cuts through the noise, low and easy as he recounts what happened in the last hotel, though he smooths over most of the details, making it seem not quite as dangerous as it actually was, most likely for my parents’ sake.
They’re already gripping their utensils a little too tightly, trying to act calm.
I shoot him a quick look of gratitude, and his mouth curves into that barely-there smile that makes my heart do stupid things.
When the conversation shifts, I work up the courage to tell my parents about my training, how Becks has been helping me learn to use my magic, little by little.
The words come out carefully, like I’m testing them for danger.
My mom and dad exchange a nervous glance, and for a heartbeat I think they’re going to tell me to stop, that it’s too risky.
But when I explain that I’ve been using it consistently for a week now and the demon hasn’t found us, I see some of the tension ease from their shoulders.
“She’s making good progress,” Becks says encouragingly.
I nod, smiling faintly.
Progress.
The word settles warmly. For the first time in a long while, it seems like things might finally be moving forward, even if the world around me is still a dangerous mess.
After dinner, we figure out rooms. There are only three bedrooms. Becks is quick to offer his up, letting the two married couples take the rooms beside mine.
He’s so much larger than me, he shouldn’t be the one to sleep on the couch, but when I try to get him to take my room, he won’t hear of it.
I’m headed up the stairs when I hear my dad’s voice from down the second-floor hall right before I reach the landing.
“Thank you for keeping her safe like you promised,” he says, and I pause.
“Of course,” I hear Becks answer.
“She’s been our world since the day she was born,” my dad confesses. “After we thought Rose, or rather Locklyn, was killed, we’ve been living in fear that someone would take her from us too. Her mother and I . . . I don’t know that we’d survive that.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her. Not while I still have air in my lungs.”
He says it with such conviction that my breath catches. I’m instantly touched.
“I know you want to protect her,” Becks goes on, “but she’s strong. Excuse me for saying so, but stronger than I think you realize.”
I feel my eyes widen. I don’t know how my dad is going to take that.
There’s a brief silence. Then my dad clears his throat.
“Perhaps you’re right. Our fear has held her back from experiencing life. Sometimes when you want to protect someone, you end up holding them back from their true potential.”
“I’ve experienced that firsthand. It’s not a mistake I’ll ever make again,” Becks says, making me wonder what he’s talking about.
“Well,” my dad says gruffly. “I just wanted you to know I appreciate you looking out for her.”
“I’m glad I was there,” Becks replies. “She’s special.”
A throat clears behind me and I startle, my foot sliding on the stair before I catch myself.
Locklyn is just below me, an amused gleam in her eye.
“I was just . . . um . . .”
She raises an eyebrow. “Eavesdropping?”
My cheeks heat. “Pretty much.”
An impish grin slides on her face. “Well then, I approve. Find out anything good?”
I give an uncomfortable laugh. “Not really. Just my dad thanking Becks for keeping me alive.”
“Oh,” she says, and it seems like her smile dims. “Becks is a good guy. If there’s anyone you want on your side against a demon, it’s him. He’s super powerful, and his protective instincts run deep. That’s a dragon shifter for you.”
I smile, thinking about the first night when he ran into my room when I screamed.
“I’m well acquainted with those instincts.”
She tilts her head. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”
“Not much of one,” I admit. “I saw his control slip once, during a snowstorm when he thought I was in danger. He was embarrassed that I saw his scales.”
The smile on Locklyn’s face does more than dim this time. It drops completely off her face. “He lost control of his shift?”
Shoot. Was I not supposed to tell anyone about it? I hope Becks won’t be mad that I did.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” I say, trying to brush it off. “It was just a flash of scale.”
Locklyn nods, but there’s a touch of something in her eyes that has me on edge. It feels like I’m missing something. But what?
“Anyway,” I say, stepping up onto the second-floor landing. “I should probably grab a shower and then head to bed. It’s getting late.”
“Of course,” Locklyn says with a nod.
I’m about to walk away when she says my name. I pause to find a genuine smile on her face, her expression hesitant, shy, even.
“I hope this isn’t weird to say, this whole situation is kind of bizarre, but I want you to know I’m really glad to have a sister. I always wanted one. We’ve lost a lot of time, but I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”
I nod, understanding. “Me too. Becks has told me so much about you, it almost seems like I know you already. He’s one of your biggest fans, you know.”
“The feeling is mutual. Like I said, he’s a good guy. A great one, in fact.”
“Agreed,” I say, feeling a little less scared about suddenly having a sister.