Even without the energy of old magic coating them, I knew who they were. The identical expressions, the cold stares. They were the twins who had been breaking out dragon marked from prisons around the world. And corrupting my sister.
Chapter 12
I stood wordlessly, my eyes locked on them. My instincts were screaming that they were the enemy. They looked nothing like the females in my demented little dragon dream, but I knew it was them. I could feel their energy.
Mischa jumped to her feet, and before I could reach out and stop her she had dashed to the females, embracing the closest as if they were the best of friends; then she turned and hugged the other. Neither of them lifted their eyes from me, even over my own sister’s shoulder. It was as if they were taunting me, showing me how much they’d infiltrated into Mischa’s life, how close they were to her. Something cold was in my hand. I looked down and realized I’d reached out and snatched up one of the knives. It was pretty blunt, but it would work as a weapon.
Mischa had turned now and she waved at me. “Jess, come and meet the girls. They’ve been waiting for you to return.”
I’ll bet they had.
When I didn’t move, her green eyes darkened, and she did that nibble-on-the-corner-of-her-lip thing. “They’ve been helping me look for you. I don’t know what I would have done without their support.”
Both of the twins turned from me then, bestowing my clueless twin with smiles that gave me the creeps, but at least they had lost the dominance contest. They weren’t shifters like Mischa and I, though. I couldn’t tell which race they were from. I turned to my pack.
“What the hell happened with you all and Mischa while I was gone?” I was mainly directing my soft, but bluntly spoken question at Maximus.
His features hardened, although it looked a little like guilt and a lot like worry flashing across his eyes. “Let’s just say she didn’t react in a positive manner when I found Cardia.”
I had figured that was the issue. But why was she taking it so hard?
Lienda clued me in. “She thinks like a human, not a supernatural. Especially when it comes to love.”
On occasion I forgot that Mischa hadn’t been raised in the supernatural world, so things like true mates didn’t mean anything to her. I had explained to her before that most supernaturals mated within their race, but there was so much more to it.
Supes had three types of relationships: a chosen mateship, which was not a destined match but still committed; a true mateship, which was forever and determined by the fates; and casual relationships.
It wasn’t easy to find a true mate, but if you were mated or in a relationship with a supernatural who found their true mate, you had no choice but to accept that it was over. No fighting, arguing, or even thinking twice about it, it was understood and very little drama occurred.
Which is why I never thought for a second that Mischa would take the whole Maximus and his little mate thing so hard. Firstly, I was pretty sure my sister and the vampire had never really been together, they just had this weird flirtation going on. And secondly, she knew they could never be true mates.
But the whole human part of her clearly felt differently. And now to ease her heartache she’d jumped straight into bed with what was quite possibly the enemy.
I catalogued the twin’s features. They were like Mischa and I, mostly the same but with a few flairs of difference. One was a little finer boned than her sister, and her hair had orange streaks through the blonde. I was going to call her Orange for the hair, and the other one Lemon.
The fruit twins.
Orange was speaking to me. “We have much to discuss with you, Jessa. You’re the fourth of our compass.”
I shook my head. “No thanks, Orange. I have my own set of Compasses, I don’t need to be the fourth of another.”
Jacob cracked up then, he drew the attention of most of the supernaturals in the street.
I snorted. “It wasn’t that funny, Jake.”
He doubled over as he continued laughing. “Shit, yes, it was funny as hell. You named her Orange. I’ll bet the other one is yellow … no, not yellow.” He squinted, his laughter trailing off. “Lemon.”
Our pack had clearly spent too much time together over the past twenty years.
Lemon – ignoring the comedian fey – took over the negotiations. “The dragon king rises in a few days, and you’re important. Don’t you want to fulfill your destiny? You’re chosen.”
“Chosen for what? To murder everyone?”
She shook her head. “Our destiny isn’t to kill anyone–”
“No, but the dragon king will kill the lot of us. I won’t be a part of it.”
“You have no choice. It’s your destiny.”
I sighed, shifting my fingers for a better grip on the knife. Jonathon was standing at my side and I could see the tension radiating off him, his hands were clenched. Most of us around the table were standing now. It was like a high-noon showdown. Mischa was looking more and more miserable from where she lingered between the two groups.
I let my wolf and dragon rise to the surface, just enough that my energy was strong. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up, fruit twins. I am never freeing the dragon king. Never. Ever. Ever. Ever.” I drifted my gaze across to Mischa. “You need to step away from them, they are just using you for their own gains. You can’t trust them.”
Lemon grinned, showing all of her teeth. “Mischa has sworn an oath to help us with this task.”