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  I was Guardian’s only hope, and I knew it. I knew it even if he didn’t. I made a split second decision. I was going to help him. I was going to do this because I knew that if I did not, karmic law would take my lavender beauty away.

  “We need a plan, and you need to be calm enough to help me make it. I’m not willing to risk everything I have ever had, or believed in, for the sake of one selfish madman. Display honor if you have one ounce of love for that girl.”

  Him seeing me use a firm, nearly cold tone was not new to him, yet he hesitated. He was now the one evaluating me; he was using his gift, seeing my intent. He knew I was going to help him, but he was not clear on the reason why. All he knew was that it was a miracle in and of itself that I was even entertaining this idea.

  “Camlin is trying not only to destroy you, but the sanctity of The Selected. He pulled you back for more reasons than you and I will ever understand, but you are not going to let him do that. You are not going to let him prove to the other realms that we are careless, that we let a man who was unpracticed and untested through that Fall—and he not only came back mad, slung at us from the wraiths of death, but he brought destruction with him. You will not let that happen.”

  “I don’t give a damn about him or The Selected! I left her. I have to go back. She will crumble without me. The darkness half of her will overtake her. She will be destroyed.”

  My eyes raced across his fierce image. I was looking for a resemblance in my recent past to the one he had lived—and when I saw it, when I saw him touch his lover’s skin and a glow of light beamed from her flesh, I knew then that the chances of me being this stark raving mad were promised to me.

  I was a stubborn man, I knew I was, but I was smart enough to listen, sometimes a moment or two too late; I admit that.

  Right now, in the chaos of this moment, in my mind, I was hearing my Skylynn telling me that she felt every crest on this shore, everyone’s energy mingling near ours in that life plan she saw. Fate was twisting us. Somehow, some way we were all twisted. Now, not only did I have to worry about Cashton and his sister, but the threat of Guardian returning. The universe itself was demanding that I move through that Fall, that I stop whatever this is that seemed determined to disrupt peace.

  “Something is meant to destroy us, my friend. Something is meant to divide us from the counterpart of our soul, and I fear that evil is within our world.” I knew it had to be the Hermetic Realm. They could not find fault, so they were going to create it. Crested souls were seen as sacred, and within days they had found a way to destroy three of them. I would not be the fourth.

  “Then it is within both,” he grated. “We were divided by darkness more than once.”

  I nodded, seeing this in his tracers, vague scenes of his lives.

  “Someone came through The Fall the day you left.”

  His brow rose as he tried to slow down his heaving chest. Both of us jolted more than once as we heard the screams in the distance, my men at war with the evil that had followed him through.

  “She’s yours,” Guardian said in a matter-of-fact tone to me.

  I didn’t bother to answer because I already knew that.

  “Camlin wishes to end her. He’s already attacked her once. I’m sure he has a plan for another attempt. For all I know, he has even staged this and the loss of Cashton and his sister to blame her as a curse.”

  “The loss of Cashton,” Guardian repeated. It took him a second to place the name, even though they had trained side by side. Suddenly, his rage came back with a vengeance; he had remembered him. I found myself slightly in awe of his mind, of his soul. I had pulled far too many people out of this emerald sea at their appointed time. I knew that even when the return was calculated, the memories of us were slow to come, that for a brief time we were seen as gods to those that returned.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “No one knows for sure. Camlin claims Cashton jumped in as The Fall was opening. While trying to stop him, his sister followed. We can see her—but not him—on the other side. It is feared his fall was too short.”

  “The Veil.”

  The Veil of death is something that has to be passed to reach the other reality, quite literally. The Veil is almost a realm unto its own.

  “We are searching, but that place is difficult to witness.”

  “Witness,” Guardian repeated, then his blue eyes went wide. “All is not lost; I confided in a Witness.”

  “What did you confide?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Surely not everything?” Some secrets of the soul are so sacred that words cannot even touch them. They cannot be expressed in such an elementary way as spoken language.

  “I don’t know. It may have been something to help him, but even if that was the case it will help me.”

  “You can’t go back right now.”

  “I have to go after her!”

  “If you give a damn about her, you will do as I say—for I am the only one that will allow her through that Fall. I am the only one that will bring her to your arms if she chooses to follow you—and if not, I am the only one that will ensure you return safely to that side.”

  “What do you propose?” he bit out, barely believing me, fighting with his own firing senses.

  “Man up,” I incensed. “You will stand. You will act sane. You will divulge very little. And you will return to your family home with the girl named Skylynn.”

  “You wish me to harbor your lover and leave mine to the savages of the night?”

  “She sees, Guardian. I don’t know how or why. All I know is that she has seen forward. She is an asset, and she has reason to believe that there is a massive war coming forth. I find it odd that Camlin is the only common denominator. That he has sought to destroy you, her, Cashton’s family’s name—and by default, me. He seeks to stop us from returning, or at the very least ensure that when we go, we fail. Do this. Act as if you have not a care in the world. That is the only way we can figure this out, and then reunite you with her.”

  His eyes moved to the dark emerald sea. “I feel her grieving for me. She is coming for me. She will follow me. I know she will.”

  I felt an ache in my own heart for him. I would not trade places with him now for the world itself.

  “Then one way or another, you are with her. Do this for me.”

  His heaving chest had slowed. He was weary, angry, and frustrated beyond measure, but he stood and nodded once, agreeing to my terms. I knew that agreement was only temporary, that he would only allow me so much time to bring his girl to him or ask for me to return him.

  I glanced to the palace. In the far distance, I saw Skylynn staring out from the balcony, her beautiful face anguished as she seemed to search for me.

  Guardian noticed my attention had been taken and followed my gaze.

  “Guardian, don’t let anyone hurt her. Keep her safe until I come for her.”

  He offered no response. He was fascinated by her, as all those that had seen her were.

  “She’s mine,” I bit out. “You will understand rage for the first time if I find she is harmed in my absence.”

  His stare moved to me. “Ensure that absence is not vast, for I swear to you, though I have compassion for you as if you were my own brother, no bond is stronger than what I have for my lover and I will do, say, and become anything I have to in order to seal our souls as one.”

  “As will I,” I seethed. “Come. Stand tall,” I said as I grasped his arm and began to lead him to the marble shore.

  My men were still fighting the wayward dark spirits. I was so full of rage, of desperation, still consumed with the power that Skylynn had given me that I only half-heartedly sent a wave of vim to the sea.

  Silence was heard all at once. Everyone turned to the source to find me glaring at Camlin.

  I wanted him to know exactly how powerful I was. Exactly what was waiting on him.

  “Seize this traitor.”

  “On what c
harges?” Camlin argued.

  “Attempted murder.”

  “I did no such a thing.”

  “I saw you cut his tether. Tarek will see that in my thoughts. You have struck the family of the Falcons, their youngest son. Creator have mercy on your soul, for Sebastian Falcon will not rest until you are destroyed; that much I promise you.”

  “You are the one that should be punished. It is your fault that he’s mad. You allowed this, not me. You are destroying your own heritage and trying to blame me.”

  Guardian rushed his hands through his damp hair and let a sly grin come to his face. “Who’s mad? Me? I’m hungry, and I’m full of tales of how vital this Fall is to our balance. I prevailed. I lived lives of glory because I was guided by the power of The Selected. I will ensure my family is well-versed on my journey.”

  Camlin’s eyes grew wide with shock, and he wasn’t the only one; all of The Selected were taken aback by his awareness.

  They knew I had a powerful vim, that I had shocked many souls back to lucidness, but never anything like this—and I never had been able to do that and stand without help afterwards. I had shocked Guardian back to life and killed the evil that followed him, and I did that because of Skylynn. Because her energy was mingling with mine. Because I was not one soul, but two made of one.

  The men near Camlin seized him and led him into the great hall.

  Guardian fell into step, playing his part better than I could have asked him to. He slapped my shoulder. “I tell you what, that was one wild ride,” he said with a laugh and audacious grin. “Hey, did you figure out how to use those drum sticks? I need to have my family send you over a set of drums; I really do. I don’t think I would have had such a smooth ride without you.”

  When we entered the hall, I realized my time line was correct. Guardian had lost a full day and a half of the time he asked for. How did I know that? Sebastian Falcon was standing next to Tarek’s throne. His soul mate, Genevieve, was off to the side. They had planned to stay here this night so they would be here to prepare for Guardian’s return the next dawn.

  Sebastian’s gray eyes were pained as he watched his baby brother approach him. He was looking for a flaw. He was trying to figure out how much of him was still present, wanted to know what part of his brother he needed to grieve for.

  I had no answers for him. Guardian was holding his energy close to him, his thoughts on the present. What I did see on that shore when I pulled him out showed a brutal fight for exactly what Guardian said he was going over there for: he fought to destroy fear in all of mankind.

  My grandfather nodded for me to approach. His eyes were already looking into my energy. He saw what I saw: Camlin pull The Fall open, him pull Guardian back.

  One glance from Tarek told the men that were holding Camlin to take him to the brig that we never used. It was only created to hold evil if they ever made it to the shore. If we ever found a reason to question if they should live.

  Sebastian and Genevieve were carefully looking over Guardian. He was not paying much attention to them; he was focused on me. The stare in his eyes told me I better keep my end of the deal.

  “I do not mean to be rude, or inhospitable,” my grandfather said to the Falcons. “But might I advise you to begin your journey home this evening. I do not feel at ease with having guests with so much unrest.”

  “Is he free to go?” Sebastian asked.

  “I will send Aden tomorrow, to ensure that he is well.”

  “And the girl?” Genevieve asked.

  Tarek looked to me. I swallowed uneasily. I knew if Guardian’s lover were to follow him, it would be on this night. I had to watch for her. I knew if I did, Guardian would ensure that his family protected Skylynn while we unraveled this mess that Camlin had created.

  “She will leave this night with you.” I cleared my throat and tried the hide the anguish in my expression. I was doing about as well as Guardian was on that front; if anyone really knew us, they would see the pain in our eyes, the worry. “I’ll collect her.”

  I turned sharply and moved from the room—not with my vim, but with my own two feet. I needed time to gather my words, to convince Skylynn that this was best, that I would find her tomorrow.

  She was standing just behind my door, as if she felt me coming.

  Seneca looked down and then passed me to leave.

  “What happened?” Skylynn asked.

  “Camlin tried to destroy another soul, one that I trained and sent over there.”

  “But he didn’t,” she said as her body tensed.

  “No,” I said under my breath as I moved closer to her. I carefully reached for her hips and pulled her against me, feeling that vibrating energy of hers coursing through my touch. “He didn’t because you empowered me. Because you made me strong enough to bring him back.”

  “Then what is this look in your eyes?”

  “You need to go with the Falcons now. With Guardian.”

  “What? No!”

  I let a vague smile come to the corners of my lips. There was that fight I wanted her to use as a weapon. I knew it was there all along.

  “Camlin is under this roof, and more than likely more from his realm will be called here to hear our accusations. It’s not safe for you. The Falcons can protect you.”

  “You can.”

  “I can. I know I can. But Guardian lost someone on that side, and he thinks she will follow him. I’m the only one that can bring her out of those waters, that can conceal her. He’s going to keep you safe until I come tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? We only have tomorrow,” she argued.

  “No. We have forever because you will be far from The Fall.”

  She started to argue with me, but before she could say a word my lips were on hers—and they were not tender. I could not hold back anymore. I could not dance around the emotions anymore, deny my body what my soul had devoured all day long. I had spun us around and had her back against the wall, her dress pushed past her hips, her legs around my waist. I was exploring every part of her with the passion I felt, but suppressed. Her body’s reaction, her moans, the way she pulled my hair and bit my lips as I all but bruised her lips with mine, drove me wild.

  I loved her too much to let our first time be like this, to take and not give back, to do this then hand her over to the Falcons. I slowed my kiss, leaning my forehead to hers as we both fought for breath. I squeezed her thighs, which were clasping my waist. “We have an eternity, not days. You’re mine. Let me keep you safe tonight.”

  Her hands clasped my face as she stole a deep, sensual kiss. “I can’t stop my mind from pulling me to you. Don’t be angry if I appear as soon as you send me away.”

  I had to smile at that. “Deal.”

  I let her legs fall. I opened the door for us to leave, but she walked past me into my quarters. I was sure that she was going to fight with me over this.

  I was wrong; she only went to the bedroom, to gather the gift I gave her. She held the case with the violin to her chest as if it were a shield—which was exactly what I wanted it to be.

  I kissed her temple as we took our time walking to the others.

  Chapter Eight

  Our goodbye in front of the others was modest, though I doubted anyone had any trouble seeing what was going on between us. Genevieve wrapped her arm around Skylynn and led her away.

  Guardian held my stare; he knew from the training I had given him that what I agreed to do would violate the sanctity of The Selected, that though my grandfather oversaw this palace, allowing a soul born on the other side through The Fall without judgment was forbidden.

  If his girl did make it through that Fall, she was in more danger than she ever would have been if she stayed behind. If the Hermetic Realm discovered her, they would not rest until she was destroyed.

  Stating that Skylynn was a new soul that fell from above would not protect her from them either. The Falcons had unknowingly agreed to harbor fugitives that the rest of our world would want take
n down.

  The Hermetic lived in a world that did not recognize energy or anything that was supernatural. Telling them that I saw Camlin’s infraction, that my grandfather had seen it in my thoughts, would not be enough to sway them.

  One way or another, they were looking for a reason to shut us down. They knew all along if Camlin failed in the dark charge he was given that they could still find fault with us. That they would have a justifiable reason to ensure The Fall remained forevermore closed.

  I had to get Cashton and his sister back before that close came.

  I really didn’t see a way out of this mess. I just needed to know that Skylynn was safe, and even though I knew I could not have placed her in more capable hands, I still felt the anguish, the worry of not having her by my side. I still saw the visions she saw. I still felt that separation crawling toward us without mercy.

  The shoreline was soaked from the recent battle. The waves were turbulent, so much so that the glow of the sea was hard to see as the dark waves crested. I had little to no hope that anyone would survive passing it this night.

  I had been watching The Fall, the emerald sea, for hours, lost in my thoughts. I refused to fall too deep into meditation to find Cashton’s sister or him. I wanted to be aware.

  Of course, I had no issues finding my twin. Anger swelled in me as I realized that his being was mingling with the darkest energy on that side. That he was pulling light to him, as if it were food. It would not be long before he transformed into the darkest of all evils.

  “She is near,” I heard a sweet voice say.

  I glanced up to see Seneca.

  “Who?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t Skylynn. Through the last hours, I had thought that I felt her a time or two, but her energy would fade and I assumed that it was just my memory calling her forward.

  Seneca didn’t answer as she sat at my side. After a few moments, she turned to face me. “Before the next moon, she will move next to him; she will be within a breath of him. Everything is aligning.”

  I knew then that we were talking about Cashton’s sister and my twin.