Cora's Kismet (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 1) Read online

  “I wish I had been because then you wouldn’t be hurting now. I would’ve taken you away from there,” Liam told her, his sincerity ringing loud and clear. She could feel his heart breaking for her pain and suffering, and it made her uncurl from her ball on the bed and unlock the door to let him in.

  They stood there looking at each other in the doorway for a long minute before Liam reached out and pulled her into his strong embrace. She wanted to fight him, but knew there was no use, there was no energy left in her to fight. When she met his eyes, she was relieved to not see even the slightest amount of pity or disgust, like she’d feared, but only concern and love.

  “They cannot hurt you again. I will not allow them to. You are safe with me Sweetheart. Always,” Liam whispered, and stroked her back.

  “I wish I could believe you, but Anna’s still out there somewhere, and I doubt she’s just given up,” Cora choked out. “She was the worst between the two of them.”

  “We’ll protect you,” Liam said with more conviction.

  “I hope so,” Cora responded with a sigh. She didn’t feel like arguing with him. He had no idea of just how evil Anna was. As she thought about the depraved woman, chills ran down her spine. She knew it wasn’t even close to being over.

  Liam didn’t respond to her words but continued stroking her back, trying to comfort her. They remained standing in the doorway to her room, neither wanting to break the embrace so they could move further inside.

  Cora lifted her head when she heard two sets of footsteps coming towards them. She looked over Liam’s shoulder to see her parents walking toward them, holding hands and looking very sad.

  Thomas cleared his throat and Liam stood straight, releasing Cora from his embrace but keeping his arm around her waist as comfort.

  “Where’s Viola?” Cora asked, before anyone else could speak.

  “She’s downstairs sleeping on the couch. We talked for a while and she explained things in more detail for us. We want to apologize for the horrors you had to endure growing up. We hope you know it was never our intention for you and Viola to be hurt in any way. Patrick is being dealt with as we speak and he will never harm you, or your sister, again. Anna will be found and punished to the severest extent of our laws,” Thomas spoke to Cora with such an air of authority and she wished she could believe his words. She had no doubts he believed what he was saying would happen though. She could still sense the anger simmering inside of him but could see the compassion and pain in his eyes for what she’d endured.

  “I know there’s nothing we can say or do that will make this better, but I’m hoping time will bring us together as the family we were always meant to be,” Angelica said, laying her hand on Cora’s arm.

  “To be honest, I never wanted you to know,” Cora whispered.

  “Why darling?” Angelica asked.

  “Because, I didn’t want you to feel pity for us. Yes, we had a hard life growing up but we survived it, together. I don’t ever think about any of it anymore,” Cora said with passion, although she was lying, because she had nightmares about it just about every night, unless Liam was there to keep them at bay.

  “We’re here to help you heal. Anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. We are family even if we’ve only been together a few days,” Angelica told her, seeing through her lie. She saw Thomas nod out of the corner of her eye. This was getting awkward for her and seeming to sense that, Angelica pulled back and placed her hand on Thomas’ arm. “We’ll leave you alone now, but please know we love you and always have.”

  They turned and headed back down the hallway to the stairs. As soon as they were out of sight, Liam took Cora’s hand in his.

  “Would you like to go for a walk? It’s such a beautiful day,” Liam said, hope sparkling in his beautiful eyes.

  “Sure,” she said, because she didn’t trust herself to say anything else. She was on emotional overload and one more thing could tip her over the edge. Besides, she enjoyed being in Liam’s company. A feeling of safety and contentment washed over her and her pain began to fade.

  Not letting go of her hand, he led her down the stairs and out of the front door. In an instant, they were surrounded by guards, and Liam felt Cora tense up.

  “It’s okay, they are here to protect you.” Liam tried for a soothing voice, but she could hear the irritation in it.

  “How are we supposed to enjoy our walk if we can’t see anything but guards the whole time?” Cora asked, drowning her words in heavy sarcasm. None of the guards even twitched a muscle at her obvious irritation. “Isn’t this a bit excessive?”

  “Don’t worry, they’ll back off when we get to where we’re going. And no, it’s not excessive.” Liam smiled down at her and gripped her hand a bit firmer with his own.

  “Where are we going? I’m not up for much right now,” Cora told him, letting her exhaustion sound in her voice. Liam looked over with a worried expression on his face.

  “It’s okay, it’s not far. Come on,” he said, excitement pushing his worry away. He tugged on her hand and they hurried along. Liam started talking about different things they passed and his heart warmed when he saw small smiles start to relax her face. They walked for about ten minutes before he stopped and pulled out a blindfold. “Do you mind? It’s only for a minute.”

  Cora stared at the blindfold in shock. “Why?” she asked, struck almost dumb.

  “You’ll see, but if it makes you uncomfortable I can just use my hand to cover your eyes. I just want to give you a little surprise. Trust me, it’s nothing major.” Cora saw the hope on Liam’s face, buried her feelings of being blindfolded, and nodded her head. She saw the guards fan out away from them and start a patrol of the area, so she knew they must be close to their destination.

  When she nodded her consent, Liam’s face lit up into a brilliant smile and he reached up to tie the blindfold behind her head with the tender touch of a lover. After checking once to make sure she couldn’t see anything, he took her hand and led her to the surprise he had put together after this morning’s failure of a family breakfast.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cora couldn’t contain her gasp of pure joy when Liam peeled away the blindfold. The scene before her was beyond amazing. They were by a small lake with trees dotting the horizon in both directions, and sitting a little closer to the shore was a gigantic blanket spread out with a picnic basket sitting on it and there were roses in all colors, littering the ground around them. She let her eyes wander and take in their surroundings, from the pristine lake to the colorful butterflies fluttering around, before she turned and smiled up at Liam.

  “It’s absolutely beautiful!” she gasped out in awe.

  “I thought you’d love it. This is where I’ve wanted to bring you since the first time I looked into your eyes,” Liam murmured, and brushed his finger along her cheek.

  “So I take it you come to my parents’ house often?” Cora asked, as she turned her head away and gazed at the ripples on the surface of the beautiful lake.

  “I work very close with Thomas, so yes, I am here quite often. Does that bother you?” he asked, a bit worried.

  “No, just trying to figure everything out I guess,” Cora said, as she took a small step forward.

  “Please don’t pull away from me,” Liam said, and put his hand on her elbow, turning her to face him.

  “Can you say, with complete honesty, that you don’t feel different about me after everything that you heard this morning?” Cora asked, her voice rough with emotion.

  “Yes, I can say that with all honesty. Now, I can tell you I feel a lot different about the two who were supposed to be taking care of you and hurt you in such a vicious way just for their enjoyment. They will pay, I promise you that.” He placed his finger under her chin and nudged her face up so her hazel eyes met his blue ones. “I still think you are the most amazing and wonderful woman in the entire world. You are strong, loving, loyal and passionate. You protect those you love and I am honored to be
your mate. I hope you will never doubt that again,” he said, with such feeling Cora could not doubt his sincerity.

  Cora felt her breath catch in her throat listening to the heartfelt words Liam spoke to her. She felt herself drowning in the warm pools of his eyes. Her lips trembled as he leaned his face towards hers to brush his lips across hers before grabbing her hand and leading her over to the blanket. She didn’t respond to his words because she was too caught up in the moment to know what she should say. No one had ever spoken to her with such love and respect before, or touched her like she was cherished and loved. This was all foreign territory and she didn’t want to ruin it.

  As they settled down on the blanket, Liam began pulling out an array of foods and spread them around them. There were sandwiches of different kinds, pretty much anything she could think of, fresh fruits, salads, and, of course, desserts.

  “Is this all for us?” Cora asked in amazement.

  “Eat as much as you’d like, of whatever you like. Anything left over will be donated to those who need it so it won’t go to waste,” Liam said, and held a ripe red cherry up to her lips for her to taste. She took the cherry and savored its sweet juices.

  “No one has ever done anything like this for me. This is truly amazing. I love it,” she said, and picked up a raspberry and slid it onto her tongue.

  “This is how you should have always been treated Cora. This is how you will be treated for the rest of your life if I have anything to say about it,” he told her and winked, as he reached for a ham sandwich and unwrapped it. He offered it to her, but she refused it, reaching for a turkey sandwich instead.

  They ate in silence for a while, Cora enjoying the fresh fruits most of all, because that was something Anna never provided for them while they were growing up. They were lucky when they got fruit cups in the school cafeteria with their lunches. Liam fed her bites of different exotic fruits she’d never tried before, and she felt like she was almost in heaven.

  When they were both done eating, they put all of the excess food away and leaned back, gazing at the lake and surrounding nature. Every now and then, Cora would point to a bird she thought was amazing or Liam would point out a dragonfly or butterfly to her. They chatted with mindless abandon about different things they liked and didn’t like. Cora found herself laughing easier and relaxing in a way she could never remember doing before meeting Liam.

  Liam looked over at her more often than at the scenery surrounding them. He loved seeing this soft and innocent side of Cora. The more he was with her, the more he wondered how anyone could be that cruel and violent towards her. She was such an innocent, gentle and kind soul.

  He knew he was falling in love with her more and more by the minute, but he didn’t want to scare her away by professing his love too soon. The complete depravity she’d been subjected to her whole life gave her no experience to draw on when it came to love for her. He’d settle for moments like this until the time was right, especially since she’d already accepted him as her mate.

  They sat there like that for a couple of hours, talking, laughing and getting to know each other better. It was all Liam had hoped for. He wanted to know more of the details of what they’d done to her, but he was sure now was not the time for that discussion.

  With a gentle hand, he reached over and laced his fingers with hers and loved the spark that ran up his arm from their connection. She jumped a little bit but didn’t pull away from the contact, and that pleased him more than he could ever put into words.

  Out of the corner of his eye he noticed one of the guards motioning to get his attention, letting him know it was time to head back to the house. He sighed because he never wanted this moment to end. He nodded to the guard, dismissing him, as he brought Cora’s fingers up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. She looked over at him with a smile that melted his heart.

  “I think it’s time for us to head back. There are a lot of things I’m sure your parents want to tell you, before performing the unbinding ceremony tonight, that will help prepare you and Viola,” he said, with sadness and regret filling his voice.

  “I wish we could just stay here. My life has changed so much in the last few days my head is spinning. I’m not sure I can take too many more changes.” Cora sighed and stood looking at Liam. She felt her heart reaching for him, but she wasn’t ready to put such faith into someone while her internal wounds were reopened and raw like they were right now.

  “Meeting you has changed my life in so many ways. I will be here for you through everything if you’ll have me. I wouldn’t go back to my life before you for anything in the world,” Liam said, with honesty pouring from his voice.

  “Thanks Liam, that means a lot. I’m going to need time though. I feel almost like my twin just betrayed me in the worst possible way, only she really didn’t, because she has every right to feel the way she does. I guess I’m just so thankful to be out of that place, that I don’t have it in me to be angry or bitter about the past. It still hurts, but I’m sure that will pass with time,” Cora told him, being blunt in the way she always wished she could be. Liam was a bit surprised she’d even mentioned this morning at all.

  “Anytime you need to talk, I’m here. Don’t ever forget that,” Liam said, with a smile.

  Cora smiled back as they gathered the blanket and picnic basket and headed back to the house, surrounded once again, by guards.

  As they walked, Cora remembered something she’d been meaning to ask him.

  “Have you found anything out about your team?” she asked, worry filling her tone.

  “Nothing. It’s like they vanished into thin air. The only thing I can think of is they flipped to the other side and used that as an extraction but that doesn’t even make sense.” Liam’s tone turned solemn as he answered her question.

  “Oh I hope it’s nothing like that.” Cora said, her brow crinkling up in thought.

  “We’ll keep looking. Don’t worry about that.” Liam tried his best to reassure her.

  When they reached the house a few minutes later, there was tension flowing from everyone. Cora couldn’t understand the dramatic change in everyone.

  “What’s going on?” Cora whispered to Liam as they entered.

  “I don’t know. Let’s see if we can find your parents to find out,” he whispered back, taking her hand and leading her down the main hall.

  They made it to Thomas’ study and heard a rather loud discussion. Liam went to enter the room, but Cora pulled him back. She knew this was a prime opportunity to learn something about what was going on, and it wouldn’t present itself again. Liam turned a questioning look in her direction but Cora just shook her head at him, warning him to stay quiet.

  “They are not going to be ready unless we tell them everything,” Angelica pleaded.

  “They have to be ready,” Thomas replied being stubborn. “Our whole future depends on them.”

  “I understand that, but it’s not fair to them to be thrown into this war blind, with no idea what they’re facing. We need to explain everything to them and let them make the choice,” she responded with the fierceness of a mother protecting her young. Cora could tell the conversation was about her and Viola and it seemed Angelica was on their side, whereas Thomas wanted to keep secrets. The idea of secrets bothered her.

  “We cannot tell them everything. You know that. If we do, they will walk away and we will all die. Is that what you want?” Thomas demanded.

  “If they find out we didn’t tell them everything, they will walk away anyway. The truth is better,” Angelica told him, willing him to understand and make the right decision.

  “Do you really think if we tell two young girls everything, they will choose to do what is right? Tell two girls, who have nothing invested in our culture, that if they don’t make this sacrifice, our entire race is doomed forever?” Thomas asked her.

  “After everything they’ve been through, I think they will understand and make the right choice, but you need to
give them that chance or everything will backfire on us and innocents will die.”

  “Do you think they can handle it Angie? I want to believe they can, but I just don’t know.” Thomas’ voice softened.

  “They’re our daughters. They’ve been put through a thousand hells just to get to where they are now, against everything we tried to make happen for them. It destroys me inside to know they were tormented and abused growing up. I think what they’ve been through will help them to understand just how serious the situation is and they will make the right decision in the end. That decision has to be made based off of the truth, however. I will not stand by while you hide things from them.” Angelica’s voice choked up as if she was trying not to cry.

  “The prophecy occurs on their next birthday. Do you think we can prepare them by then?” Thomas asked, his voice quiet, almost fearful.

  “Yes. I think they are strong and can handle anything. Look at what Cora did to Patrick and she’s bound. I do, however, want to know more about what Viola meant when she said Patrick tried to pimp them out. Tried infers he was not successful. How would two young girls prevent something like that?” curiosity filled Angelica’s voice as she voiced this thought.

  “Do you think they’ve been accessing their powers, without realizing it, for years?” Thomas asked her, sounding thoughtful.

  “I think it’s a very distinct possibility,” Angelica said with caution. “If so, they are even more powerful than we’ve ever imagined. What do you think this means?”

  “I think it means we have to be very careful around them. We have to teach them to control their powers,” Thomas replied, almost as soon as Angelica had finished asking.

  “We’re performing the unbinding ceremony tonight so their training will begin first thing in the morning. Do you think Liam should be in charge of training Cora since he’s her mate?”

  “No. I want someone else training her,” Thomas snapped. Liam’s eyes widened in shock at Thomas’ sharp response.