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

  Cora looked to Thomas and he nodded his grudging approval, but she knew she didn’t have very long. She took off and wasn’t much surprised when Viola came with her. She wondered if there was something between her and Sage, but the thought escaped her when Liam came into view wearing a polo shirt that matched his eyes and a pair of faded jeans. He was relaxing in a wheelchair that Sage seemed to be standing guard over with his life.

  When she reached him, she leaned over and gave him a huge hug, feeling better about what was about to happen. All of her doubts, fears and insecurities flew away on the wind just because he was there for her. She pulled back a bit and gave him a very chaste kiss on the lips before standing straight again. She knew this wasn’t the time or place for extensive public displays of affection and that if she’d have allowed herself to do so, it would be frowned upon.

  Keeping her composure, she sat down on the bench next to him instead of on his lap, where she would have preferred to sit.

  “How are you here? I thought the doctor said you had to stay in the hospital the entire week,” Cora asked, breathless and amazed.

  “I wanted to surprise you, and Sage helped me to pull this off. I have a very long list of restrictions I have to follow to the letter, but it’s all worth it to see you looking as breathtaking and beautiful as you do in this very moment. There is nothing in this world that would have kept me from being here for you tonight,” Liam said, his love shining bright in his eyes and causing Cora’s insides to melt.

  “Thank you so much Sage, this means so much to me. Liam, this is the best surprise I’ve ever gotten. I feel so much better with you here,” Cora said and Viola rolled her eyes and made a gagging sound causing Sage to chuckle at her dramatic antics.

  “You’re very welcome Little Sis. You’d better get back over there, Thomas is looking rather impatient,” Sage said and nodded his head in respect toward her father.

  “See you after the ceremony?” Cora asked in a whisper, as she leaned over to give him another chaste kiss, which only served to frustrate them both.

  “Of course, there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be,” Liam said and let her go, reluctantly. Watching her walk away from him, toward possible danger, was the hardest thing he’d had to do since he met her. If they were mated, he’d be down there with her during the ceremony, but they hadn’t had their mating ceremony performed just yet so he had to remain as a spectator who could help if things got out of hand.

  Reaching their parents, Cora looked up with twinkling eyes at Thomas. “Thank you for letting me go and talk to him for just a minute,” she said and stood on tiptoes to place a small kiss on his cheek. When she sank back down on her feet, she saw the proud glint of a father who loved his daughters with immense pride glittering in his eyes. She vowed from that point on, she would no longer call either of her parents by their names. From now on, she’d refer to them by their proper titles, Mom and Dad.

  “Shall we?” Thomas questioned and gestured toward the exquisite tiling Cora had admired earlier. With a nod of her head, she stepped out onto it with her parents and her sister surrounding her, as the family she should have spent her entire life with, but would spend as much time as she could repairing that rift from now on.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Thomas and Angelica guided both her and Viola to the area where the sun and the moon overlapped, turned them, so they were facing each other and took their places, side by side, on the moon. They joined hands with each other and then reached for their daughters’ hands, initiating a circle be formed. Cora and Viola each took one of their parents’ hands and then held each other’s hands, completing the circle their parents had started.

  Thomas looked at each of them and then up into the stands at the many people that were present. Cora waited for the feeling of nervousness to start, as it did every time she was on display in front of a large crowd of people, but it didn’t. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt like she was right where she was always meant to be. A feeling of rightness enveloped her as their parents began chanting words she couldn’t even begin to comprehend, in a low voice. She closed her eyes and started looking for the core of her powers, so she’d be ready when the time came.

  She had turned her attention so far inside of herself, she didn’t notice when everyone in the seating area, including Liam, had taken up the chant making it louder and louder, until she could feel it vibrate in her bones. The heat and ice feelings her mother had described started to burn and freeze through every nerve ending in her body. It was painful in a way she’d never experienced before, but she forced herself to endure it, without uttering so much as a whimper.

  Through their connection, Cora could sense that Viola was experiencing the exact same things she was and by reaching out to her, Cora’s experience became much more intense, so she pulled back into herself.

  When it became almost impossible to exist in her own skin, she could feel the powers building inside of her and trying to escape her body. All of a sudden, she went back into herself and searched for her core. It was so much easier to find, with the power streaming through her, than it had been earlier when she tried to find it without that power there.

  Her mother was right, there were no words to describe the feeling of finding the source of her power. It was like everything pleasurable in the world combined together. With her mind, she connected with it and began her intense tug of war. The power seemed to want to escape her at the same time as it wanted to obey her. She felt like it had a mind of its own.

  Just as she’d gotten the upper hand and was pulling the power into her core, she felt something pulling it away from her. She fought with everything she had to pull it into her core and wracked her brain for anything her parents might have said to prepare her for this unexpected occurrence, but came up empty. She thought this was not meant to happen and when she realized someone was trying to steal the powers that were hers, she fought with every thread in the fabric of her being.

  “Let go you insolent little children!” a high pitched, cackling voice screamed. “That power belongs to me, and I won’t be letting go of it anytime soon.”

  Cora opened her eyes to find the source of the voice, only to meet the very cold, very dead eyes of an old, haggard woman whose mouth was twisted into an awful sneer. She didn’t know who this woman was, but there was no way she was surrendering her powers to her.

  Maintaining eye contact, Cora sucked her powers back with a natural ability that surprised even her. It was as if her powers quit resisting her when the evil woman started trying to steal them.

  Once her powers were locked inside of her own body, she glanced away from the unknown woman to check to see if Viola was having any troubles, prepared to back her sister up to the death. Cora was relieved to see Viola had gained full control of her powers as well and was ready to do what needed to be done.

  When Cora went to take a step forward, Thomas pulled on her arm, forcing her to stay in place and remain holding hands to maintain the circle. Somehow she understood the power of the circle protected them.

  “You have no place here, take your leave now!” Thomas shouted, his voice shaking from his anger.

  “You have no authority to order me around Thomas. I am far superior to you, and you will answer to me,” she spat with venom lacing her words.

  “I will never answer to you,” Thomas growled low. Cora could feel his tension through his fingers. She could feel how much he’d like to break the circle and take this woman on in battle, but her gut instinct told her he wouldn’t because, in doing so, he’d leave his twin daughters and cherished mate vulnerable.

  “It is only a matter of time before you all will answer to me. Mark my words, the day is coming, and I suggest you accept it now, without a fight, because there will be no mercy from me if you don’t. Now you two little insolent children, give me what’s mine, and I will spare you,” she spewed out, and Cora heard horrified gasps from the crowd around them.

  “Never,�
�� Viola spat back at her.

  “Never,” Cora agreed without a second thought.

  “Wrong choice children. Now you will die a very slow, very painful death. I will make sure of that.” She lifted her hand as if to blast them when all of a sudden she was hit with both fire and ice from somewhere behind the circle. Cora turned her head to look out of the corner of her eye, and her mouth fell open in horror.

  Liam and Sage had teamed together to launch an attack on the unknown woman, and it was only hurting Liam. He was too weak to be using his powers.

  Cora started trying to yank both of her hands free of the circle to get to him, but both Thomas and Viola held tight to her.

  “Liam will be fine if you stop showing how much he means to you, Cora. He knows what he is doing and has trained for this his entire life,” Thomas whispered to her, so low she almost didn’t catch his words. It took a minute longer before they sank in, and she stopped resisting.

  “Can I send him power and strength?” Cora asked, in a similar low voice.

  “No. That would be too noticeable, and she would intercept it before it ever reached Liam, making her stronger. Just stand firm, they are weakening her. She won’t stay for much longer and risk being defeated now,” Thomas told her with assurance Cora did not feel.

  “Why don’t the others help them?” she asked in return.

  “Because they are officials and not trained in combat situations like we are. If they try to assist, she will most likely steal their powers and strengthen herself, which is what she’s looking to do here tonight,” Thomas said, keeping an eye on the woman at all times. It seemed as if he saw something she did not because, it didn’t look to her like the woman was weakening, but it did look as if Liam was.

  “Who is she?” Cora asked dying to know who the woman hurting Liam was, so she could make sure the woman paid for her crimes when the time was right.

  “She is your grandmother. Her name is Camilla, like your ancient ancestor, and she believes in your ancestor’s version of history. She will kill you and drain your power from you in a heartbeat, if it helps her to achieve their goals. Do not let your guard down, ever,” Thomas warned with a strong and passionate, yet soft enough voice that only she heard. Cora was floored by the revelation and angered by it as well, but the pain Liam was experiencing pulled her focus away from her maternal grandmother to where it needed to be.

  Closing her eyes, she said a quick prayer for her mate to be alright at the end of this mess because, she knew in her heart that if anything happened to him, she would not survive it either.

  “Stay strong Sweetheart. I will be fine. Trust me on this and stay in the circle, connected, where you are safe,” Liam whispered into her mind with his fading strength. His words made her hold tighter to her family than she had been before, but also filled her with worry.

  “Please be safe my love.” Was all she asked of him in return, because she didn’t want to distract him from his attack and be the cause of anymore injury to him.

  It felt like forever before the woman backed off and spat at them, “This is not over. I will be back and next time I will take what is mine. You will not live to be able to tell anyone about it.” She then turned and vanished from the amphitheater.

  “Hurry, we must finish the ceremony to bind the powers to the girls,” Thomas shouted at the audience and then began chanting again, in a much more urgent tone than the previous chant had been in. The others joined in without hesitation, and Cora felt a warmth inside of her that felt comfortable and then a chill that felt like ice, cool her back down to normal temperature and then faded into an easy presence inside of her core, melding itself to her. In a way, it felt as if the power was pledging its allegiance to her, and her alone, forever.

  Within minutes, the chanting was done. Her parents broke free of the circle and rushed over to Liam and Sage. Cora ran close behind them and cried out in misery when she saw how both had collapsed next to each other. It was obvious Liam had disregarded the doctor’s orders and rose out of the chair to put more force behind his powers and anchor himself, which had weakened him faster. She collapsed on the ground next to him looking for a pulse or breathing and found nothing, making her tears roll down her cheeks faster and faster.

  “What do we do?” Cora screamed at anyone who could give her answers. Everyone stood there hanging their heads, full of sorrow, as if they already knew the answer she was unwilling to accept.

  “We have to help him. There has to be something that we can do. Anything!” she screamed, even more urgent than before. “Damn it, someone help me save him!”

  Viola slumped down to the ground next to her sister and grabbed her hand firmly in her own.

  “Cora…” Viola started with a sadness Cora did not want to acknowledge.

  “No. Don’t you dare say it. If you do, so help me, I will never forgive you,” Cora warned in a low voice. She heard Sage moaning as he began to wake up beside them.

  “You must accept it my dear,” Angelica said with tears streaming down her face to match Cora’s own heartbreaking tears.

  “Never!” she screamed and threw herself over Liam’s still body. She pushed power into him without thinking about it. As if her power and her body knew what they were doing without her own knowledge.

  “I will not let you die on me like this Liam. Come back to me. I love you. I need you. We are one,” She whispered in his ear and aided her power in finding the core of his power and jolting it. She did it in a rhythm, such as a doctor would do with a defibulator to jump start a person’s heart. She poured her love into Liam with the power, gentle and sure, closing her eyes and feeling the power and love beginning to do their jobs and start to heal him.

  Everyone stood still and silent except for Viola and Sage, who was awake now and kneeling beside the couple, horrified by the sight before him. They all watched to see what would happen, each sensing the transfer of power and feeling his life begin to return to his body. It was as if nobody was breathing, in anticipation.

  Out of nowhere, Liam gulped in a deep breath, and his eyes flew open, flying back and forth searching hers out, questioning what had just happened. Cora beamed at him in ecstasy and kissed him with a passion that would never go away. His hand reached up and cupped her head, holding it to his as his lips seared hers.

  When she pulled back, to give them both some much needed air, he pulled her head down so he could whisper in her ear, “I am yours forever with no end. You are mine forever with no end. I love you. I need you. We are one.”

  Cora’s face lit up like the sun as she pulled her head back and looked him in the eyes as she repeated his words back to him, knowing what they meant without any explanation. “I am yours forever with no end. You are mine forever with no end. I love you. I need you. We are one.”

  “And so let them be mated for all of time to one another. No man or woman shall come between, and only death shall part them. It is done.” Cora heard her father say, with a love so tender she looked up at him, and he nodded at her.

  As Liam sat up and wrapped his arms around Cora, Viola looked around confused.

  “What just happened?” she asked, to no one in particular.

  “Well, I only caught part of it, but it seems as if Cora saved my brother’s life, and then they performed a rather impromptu mating ceremony. Anyone care to fill me in on any details I might have missed?” Sage said, relieved his brother was alive, and in better condition than when he’d been in when he was rolled to the ceremony in a wheelchair.

  “We will discuss this later, right now we all need rest,” Thomas said, fatigued. He had his arms wrapped tight around Angelica, who was beaming with pride at her daughters.

  “Yes, there will be time to sort all of this out tomorrow,” she agreed. “For any of our guests who would like to stay, please let us know, and we will be very happy to make the arrangements for you. If you would like to leave, please stay safe and watch your backs because it is no longer safe out there. You all know what
you are facing, be prepared, but you will not stand alone.”

  Cora looked up at her mother with a whole new admiration. Angelica had a way of empowering people with her words and her passion. She had a way of pulling them together and rallying them. That was a trait she hoped she possessed because, if the prophecy was correct, there was a lot of rallying and unifying to be done. Until then, she would train, and she would love. She would live every wonderful moment life had to offer her until there were none left, because she had everything she needed in the world surrounding her at that very moment, and nothing made her happier.

  Where to Find the Author

  Cheryl Davis can be found and contacted online at:

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CherylDavisAuthor

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/CherylDavis04

  Author Website and Blog: http://authorcheryldavis.weebly.com/

  Email: [email protected]

  About the Author

  Cheryl Davis is a wife and stay at home mother to two sons and two daughters who grew up in Akron, OH and eventually settled down on the Central Coast of California. She’s always had a love of reading and had a creative spark inside of her. She’s very active in arts & crafts. Creating things and stories is a huge part of who she is as a person.

  Cheryl’s always had a bug to want to tell the stories of the characters that were always churning around inside of her head but never really thought that she’d be able to get those stories out into the world until she found indie publishing. The more research that she did, the more the idea to actually give her characters their spotlights grew until she just had to write.

  Destiny Begins

  The Twin Destinies Saga Prequel Novella