Disloyal Souls: Immortal Brotherhood (Edge Book 8)

  When they first met, Talon was a soldier. He was a barbarian to the noblemen and was downright uncivilized. He didn’t really give a fuck what they thought. At the age of twenty, he was sure he was an old man. He was stolen from his farm when he was ten, and sold months later. No matter how they tried, no one could break him. It was his fight that saved his life. He saw his first battle at twelve. By twenty all he saw was blood when he closed his eyes. He had no woman, no land, nothing but gold and a rank that would vanish if fate turned her head.

  He was ordered to attend a dinner at a noblemen’s home. To them, it was charming to see someone so brutal up close and personal. The bloodlust among those wealthy fools turned Talon’s stomach to the point where no amount of wine could sooth him. He felt like a caged animal inside the first five minutes.

  Everything changed when Saige walked in with her servants and Jamison. Talon could still remember balling his fists and chanting to himself do not kill as he glared at the male protectively standing with a female all Talon’s being had claimed at first sight. It was hard to turn the on switch off, to realize that he could not simply go and slaughter another just because they were standing by something he had claimed as his at first sight.

  Through introductions, someone told him Jamison was Saige’s brother. This eased Talon a bit, not much, though. He was used to females looking at him like a prize to be won, a mystery they wanted to unwrap. Like he was property. That wasn’t the way Saige looked at him.

  From a distance, she was cold, prim and proper, and like him, her mind was far from the room she was in. When her eyes met his, he watched her draw in a short breath as a blush washed down her body. She began to tremble; so much that Jamison put his arm around her in an action that said he thought she might be cold. Unabashed Talon took her in, studied every feature as his mind mapped out paths he would take to ravish her.

  As the night waned on, the two of them stared at each other every chance they had, her looking back and connecting with him pushed every right button he had. He had turned all his humanity off by this point in his life. Fear was a hindrance. Compassion was deadly. He always found staying close to his rage, and his black and white outlook kept him sane. Saige changed all of it just by being in the same room.

  He could feel her.

  The compassion in her was so rich that he could not help but be humbled. The sadness and hope interlocking baffled him. It took all the restraint he had not to march to her side and demand a name, a target he could attack. Whoever had broken her would regret the day they were born, he’d make sure of it.

  When she vanished into the garden he had every reason to think it was an invitation, if not a demand. He may not have been a slave, but he was by far not noble or one of their kind. One whisper from this female could destroy him and his legion. Of course, that was only the excuse he told himself as he marched after her. It was the only way for him to settle the stir in his gut, the burn in his chest.

  Orders, nothing more than him following orders, calling it honor and duty, did little to help his disposition.

  When he finally found her, she was lighting candles and praying feverishly. He didn’t recognize the God she was speaking to or the offerings she was burning. So he watched. He watched as conviction poured from her lips and the clouds parted, and moonbeams fell on her small form.

  It was hard to fathom, he could see—even swear he could feel—her mourn and rejoice at once. Neither one of those emotions made much sense side by side. His mind rolled over the possibilities of what brought her to this point. She wasn’t married, widowed, or divorced, he’d asked. She had no children, he’d asked. He was told she and Jamison were honored guests with bloodlines that were ancient and powerful.

  He couldn’t have her, not forever, no noble woman would commit publicly to a soldier, no matter what he had conquered or acquired. This was the first woman that had made him feel anything, and because of where he was born and what he was, he would be denied. His primal blood began to pump in anger at the audacity of society and all its fucked rules.

  Saige vanished through a passageway that lead to the guest grounds. A smirk lingered on his lips even though his heart raced and his blood pumped. Trying not to look like a heathen he lifted his belt to pin his erection against his stomach. Following her would be cause enough for death if the right person twisted the truth of the circumstance.

  Worth it, he thought as his footsteps carried him faster to her. He caught her just inside the covered passage, her arms flared out against the wall like she was sure it would open and steal her away, he encircled her with his arms and brought her body against his. Those damning words raced across her lips as her eyes stayed squinted shut. Talon loosened his grip. No matter how bad he wanted her, he’d never take her or any woman while they were afraid. He may not have had many morals, but he still had that one.

  When he stepped back, her hands fell to his shoulders. Confused as hell his hands slipped down to her ass finding a new kind of heaven. She was looking everywhere but at him, waiting, expecting.

  “No one,” she whispered. “They’re not coming.” There was a girlish delight in her whisper, like she had stolen a victory.

  He swayed his head. “All alone with me. Is this your wish?” His warrior instincts were on high alert. He’d placed stones on the pathway through the garden, and was carefully listening for any distant conversation or the slightest sound of a stone being accidently kicked aside that would tell him someone was approaching. He’d take this female anywhere, but he’d be damned if he would let anyone watch.

  Like she forgot he was there at all Saige looked up at him, her eyes were wide and washed in disbelief. Sexy and innocent, another oddity.

  Talon couldn’t stop himself once he felt his emotions reflecting like a beacon in hers. His lips landed on the soft petals of hers. The instant they did she melted against him, his strength held her to his chest as he forced himself to kiss her more tenderly. When she opened for him, Talon nearly lost his will, his fists clenched the silk gown she was wearing. To stop himself from ripping it to shreds he strained his hands to flatten. Once they did, he had no choice but to explore. Her quiet pants as her tiny hands rushed over his chest then up to cup his face drove him mad. He’d never felt a touch so innocent, so sacred. All the emotions he was having, ones that were so new he could barely understand them, were amplified.

  The mourning and gratitude made sense to him then. He missed her even though she was still there.

  Just as he hooked her leg on his hip, she pushed him away. If he had the chance, he would’ve questioned her strength. Before he said a word her finger moved to her lips, in the shadows they both watched as a couple moved down the path along the side of where they were hiding. Moments later, Talon heard the woman panting in pleasure. He grinned, and pulled Saige closer saying, “Shared desires.”

  Saige was next to him one minute and on the other side of the covered path the next.

  Assuming the wine had caught up with him, Talon stared her down. She was shaking, still blushing from his kiss, but there was a harsh look of disgust draped over her expression. “This can not be.”

  His dark stare dipped down her body, noting her hard nipples piercing through her gown, and how blushed her skin was, how she stepped forward only to step back.

  “Not noble enough for you?”

  She shook her head, but he could not tell who she was arguing with, him or her. “Not now, not now. I’m not ready.”

  He arched a brow because he was damn sure that she was ready, his hand only managed to dip between her legs once, but it was enough for him to know she was more than ready for him.

  “Your body is,” he bit out. “Is it your mind or my status stopping you?” He was already preparing himself for rejection, the sick feeling of someone putting him in his simpleton place.

  “I have to give you away,” her eyes watered like she was standing over his dead body.

  Talon drew his head back. “You think me yours t
o give?”

  “I know,” she said so quietly that he leaned forward trying to catch the lingering sound of the words. “You have wars to fight,” she said louder.

  “I have wars I have already fought. I know how short life is.”

  She smirked at him, one gesture and his blood was running cold. No one mocked him, not even this female that had shook the ground he was standing on.

  “I’m sorry I met you,” even though her words were cold her tone was soaked in mournful agony. “I wasn’t ready for this to begin.”

  Talon pointed at the ground. “Something was started here.”

  She shakily nodded. “But it will end far from here.”

  His dark eyes wildly searched hers. What did she know? Had she heard others talk about orders coming to him? What was she doing? Waiting to see if he lived?

  “What do you know?” he demanded.

  “More than I want to,” she said as she turned to scurry away.

  He managed to catch her by the arm, and for a mere second, she closed her eyes in pure euphoria. He felt it too, a sea of emotions that had no roots but ancient strength. “Who told you? What did they tell you?”

  In the next breath, she was at the other end of the passageway looking back at him. “It is time for you to love to hate me.”

  He didn’t even have a chance to ask what the hell she meant, she vanished. For hours he searched for her, then pissed and twisted he went back to his camp. It was somewhere in the middle of the night when he rose with a start. When his eyes focused, he saw his blade at the neck of a female, one he had every reason to believe was Saige.

  His eyes kept arguing with his instinct. It was dark, but there was enough light to see her face. She looked the same but felt different. The majestic feeling was gone. This female had no reverence. His heart was still, his blood calm, he was the warrior he always had been.

  Talon’s lips curled into a sneer, thanking the Gods that whatever spell this female had over him was broken. “You want me to hate you?” he hissed as her hand moved up his thigh. “Then you’re going in the wrong direction.”

  She may not have felt the same then, but his body had no problem replaying how hot and bothered they both were in the garden. He was starved, had to get back there, and was sure as soon as he was inside of her he’d be sated.

  She took his blade from his hand at the same moment her hand grasped his shaft. Not a single sound came from him, he was too confused why he felt so cold then. Why all those mysterious emotions were gone. With a growl, he pulled her lips to his. It wasn’t the same kiss. Not even close. What was tender and hungry was now raw and lust-struck.

  Touch by touch his mind and body were at war as he took her hard and fast. Covered in sweat he fell next to her and stared into the darkness, sure he had been bewitched, cursed, something. When you devour what you covet, you should not feel empty. It should not feel like every other female he had rutted at will.

  Then he heard her laugh. “You chased the wrong sister into the garden.”

  The sick feeling of guilt sank into his soul. Like it or not, he knew he’d been fooled and trapped. The question was, did he want to escape? How in the hell was he going to play this all to his advantage? He may not have had a single solution in sight, but he knew, one way or another, in the end, he’d have what he wanted or die trying to get it.

  Chapter Two

  The first night, right after Talon heard Reveca’s voice for the first time, he rolled his head to look into her eyes, seeing how gray they were.

  “Saige is a prude. She’s only had one man. He left her with child and fled from her overly religious ways.” Reveca slid her leg over Talon straddling his waist once more. “I’m the one who craves warriors, rule breakers. I’m the one you will never forget.”

  Talon arched a brow. He hadn’t met many twins, but he’d heard of them. By all accounts, they were a miracle said to be favored by the Gods. It was hard enough for a woman to deliver one child. Two? By far not an easy task.

  His dark eyes searched the woman above him as his mind churned in every direction. Did Saige send Reveca to him? Was this a peace offering? Why was her sister saying Saige had a man and child? Was this a secret? Nothing made sense. He should’ve been sated. Content that his body found the release it craved. The Gods had put a divine female in his bed who lusted for the life he had.

  But he wasn’t sated. All he could think of was Saige and how to win her. Which only pissed him off more.

  Night after night Reveca came to him. Who was he to refuse her? He needed something to fill the hole in his heart. And it was a way to learn more about this family who were anything but what they had told others they were. After a while, Reveca began to stay longer than the night.

  They spoke of battles and overtures that had to be taken. They both shared a passion for war games. They had a friendship that was hard to define. There was no question that Reveca was a missing piece in his life that had been found. His dilemma was she was connected by blood and plight to a female he could not stop thinking about. How fair was it to Reveca that when he was inside her, tender and loving, that he was thinking of Saige? It wasn’t. Thankfully, Reveca was not a woman that wanted to be held gently, so the weighted moments of regret were short lived.

  Day after day, Talon would torture himself by watching Saige from afar, feeling her agony. One glance his way, no matter her expression, and he’d feel his blood rush. The stolen glances and words were all they had. They were all they ever would have. In time, Talon would fall on the battlefield. Reveca would bring him back, forcing him to promise his loyalty to her forever. Saige would basically call him a chew toy for her sister when he did corner her and demand she acknowledge what she was feeling.

  Saige grew colder over the years, and he grew harder. Even with their strengthening dispositions, they shared enough stolen moments to torture each other with the knowledge they were not an appreciation but real, souls meant to be connected—divided by both choice and circumstance. More times than not when Reveca left Talon, or he left her, it was Saige that came to Talon to beg him to return. When he wouldn’t, when he nearly let Ambrosia devour him, it was Saige that pulled him back. Only her presence was needed to do so, she could amplify his vim without even trying.

  Why had he not gone to her lately? Pride, of course. If she saw fit, she’d come on her own. Instead, Saige’s lack of action spoke volumes. She was ready to be rid of him. The sisters had tired of the warrior they had snared long ago.

  Saige had always strived to hate him, and demanded that he do the same. They were to ignore the emotions between them until she stated the time was right. Every spell that could be cast to subdue attraction had been invoked by her. There were times when he’d feel their effects. He knew he should have held onto the magic of them, used it to finally rid himself of the thoughts of Saige that would seize him at the most in opportune moments.

  He fought the spells instead.

  When she accused him of pushing her magic away he’d sneer, “If you want me dead, then do it. I don’t care to walk the Earth like a corpse with no ambition.” He made her cry with his words, then she rambled on about sacrifice and timing.

  Beyond Talon, no one ever saw the tender side of Saige, at least Reveca didn’t. Talon stood in the middle of them in the beginning, often siding with Saige. As the years went by, and Saige’s actions and control slashed out at Talon and Reveca, Talon had no choice but to defend Reveca. Defending Reveca was defending his legion. His family. She was the creator of immortals he revered.

  To the world at large Talon voiced his hate of Saige, and the reasons. All of them were true. Alone, they were both different people. As soon as he understood that was exactly how Saige wanted it to be, he buried all he felt for her deep inside and only dared think about it when the Saige he knew, not the prude sister of his lover, surfaced.

  Now this, Saige gave her sister back a coveted lover and left him to die in one swoop. The tiniest part of Talon told him to g
ive her time, that this was sudden, still in transition. The lie was so bad that he didn’t even count it on his possibilities of outcomes. It was easier to focus on Reveca, how she had taken him on a ride of a lifetime. All the while hiding who she really was, a mourning lover.

  When Talon stared at Reveca with disdain, when he argued with her about their past or future, he was laying the blame of two sisters on one. He knew it was wrong to do so, but what else could he do? Dig up old shit with Saige, emotions that hadn’t been touched since before a man landed on the moon? No, that was not the answer. Besides, the men he deliberately left out of knowing about the triangle he was stuck in would see Talon reaching for Saige as nothing more than a desperate act to have some part of Reveca with him.

  They’d either pity him or shame him. No one, least of all Reveca, would believe that the reason Talon never had a heart to give Reveca was that Saige had destroyed his with their first shared glance. No woman before Saige or after her had ever stroked a place so deeply within him or ever would.

  He wasn’t lying when he told Reveca if he could love a woman, it would be her. It was his truth. Reveca’s only flaw was that she was not Saige.

  The flood of memories from the past, moments he had purposely not brushed against needed to stop before Talon did something irrational. No matter what promise he made himself about how the new him would live his life—he’d needed time to let this all dissolve. He needed air and a mission to focus on.

  He rose from the bed muttering some business as usual line and took off as fast as he could down the hall. He only made it down one flight of stairs of the huge mansion when he all but crashed right into Saige. Talon muttered a curse as he stepped back avoiding a reality check that had been trying to surface for a while now.

  “I’m busy,” he spat to Saige trying to look away and hold her stare at the same fucking time. Not easy. Walking away was pointless; he’d never been able to outrun this female.