Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) Read online

  “Both of you get back here right now!” Thomas roared in anger.

  Neither girl responded as they left the house. Viola headed straight for the gazebo she liked to clear her mind and think in. Cora walked beside her, knowing where her twin was headed without having to ask.

  “We need to work fast because they’re going to try to stop us,” Cora warned Viola who already knew this as she paced back and forth in the gazebo.

  “I know, I need to figure out how to locate Dominic through our connection,” Viola gritted out through her teeth in frustration.

  Cora explained what Angelica had taught her when she’d had to find Liam. Viola followed her sister’s instructions without hesitation. It took only a couple of minutes before Viola’s eyes flew open with fear and horror in them.

  “What?” Cora demanded.

  “Oh no,” Viola breathed out.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Where are they?” Cora persisted when Viola didn’t offer up any information.

  “We can’t do this on our own. We’re going to need their help,” Viola said, looking straight into Cora’s eyes.

  “Do what?” Cora asked again, fear and frustration building in her at Viola’s lack of information.

  “Save them from Anna. She’s got them both,” Viola whispered, tears building in her eyes.

  “I thought she was still in the prison?” Cora asked confused.

  “I did too, but she’s not anymore,” Viola said and began running for the house.

  “Vi, wait,” Cora called out as she chased after her sister.

  “There’s no time. She’s got them in that machine Dominic was telling us about right now. We’ve got to hurry.” Viola yelled back over her shoulder as she leaped up the stairs to the porch and threw the front door open with a loud bang.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Thomas demanded, furious. “Don’t you ever walk out…”

  Viola cut him off before he could get very far into his tirade.

  “Anna has both Dominic and Sage and they’re being tortured right now as we speak. After she’s done with that, she plans on putting them in the maze Dominic designed to drive them insane like she had planned for both of us and Liam. We’ve got to go help them and there’s no time to waste,” Viola declared out of breath. By the time she was done, she was gasping for air.

  Thomas and Angelica looked at each other with worried faces. They knew without a doubt the girls had listened to the recording even though they didn’t know how they’d gotten their hands on it.

  “Dominic and Sage are fine. They are well trained in what they do…” Thomas began trying to reassure the girls, sure their imaginations were just overreacting to what they’d heard on the recording.

  “Really? You need to stop treating us like we’re little children. Never mind, we’ll go save them ourselves. This is a waste of time,” Cora said as she turned back toward the door. Viola was moving with her, years of practice putting them in sync with each other without hesitation.

  “I’m coming with you,” Liam declared from the dining room doorway. “You’ll need the help.”

  Neither Cora nor Viola paused as they walked through the front door to acknowledge Liam’s statement, but they didn’t close the door behind them which was their way to telling him they weren’t refusing his help. He rushed through the door with a glare at Thomas and Angelica, who stood there stunned.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  As they got into the SUV, Viola gave Liam directions. Before they were even out of the drive, three more shiny black SUVs joined them, which told the girls that their parents were at least sending backup with them, if they weren’t in one of the SUVs themselves.

  Cora smiled a grim smile at the sight and turned back around to face forward.

  “The three of us have to be extra careful going in there. She wants us specifically. She also knows we’ll come after them,” Viola warned Liam and Cora even though both had already thought the same thing in their heads.

  “Stupid men. They wouldn’t be in this position if they had just met with us after breakfast like we’d planned, to map out a plan, instead of trying to handle her on their own. I know neither of them are weak, but she’s powerful and has no conscience, which makes it worse. What were they thinking?” Cora ranted, angry at the two men who tried to play heroes for them.

  “What I want to know is how she got out of the prison and managed to trap them?” Liam asked in confusion and worry.

  “Oh, well, that’s easy enough to answer. Idiot, Dominic went in and got her out. From what I got from our connection, they helped her escape with the plan of Dominic killing her at the first opportunity, but she managed to trick them and then overpower them when they weren’t expecting it. Just because she was tied up, they let down their guards, which gave her the opportunity. Fools,” Viola grumbled in response to Liam’s inquiry.

  “It’s hard for me to believe that Sage or Dominic let down their guards around Anna. Neither of them are that cocky, especially around someone as dangerous as she is,” Liam responded with a worried look in the rearview mirror at the girls.

  “Anna seems to have a way of convincing people to do things she wants them to do even if it’s against their nature to do such things,” Cora commented thoughtfully.

  “I’ve noticed that too which is why they should have waited for all of us before going in there with a half-cocked plan, which backfired on them.” Viola said through gritted teeth. She was terrified for them both.

  For the rest of the ride, they worked through their plans to infiltrate Anna’s torture chamber, hoping to reach Sage and Dominic before she set each one loose in the maze of insanity, as Viola was beginning to think of it from the pictures she was glimpsing in Dominic’s mind.

  “Can you drive any faster?” Viola asked with impatience.

  “Not unless you want to get pulled over and detained by human police Vi,” Liam said with understanding. He wished the ride would go faster too. His brother was in severe danger. Their parents would kill him themselves if he didn’t save Sage. If he didn’t take care of it himself before they could get to him.

  Cora caught onto Liam’s dark thoughts and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. When he glanced over at her for just a moment, she gave him a sympathetic smile. She’d gone through the same thing when Viola had been kidnapped by Dominic and taken to Anna, so she knew how he was feeling.

  Viola sat back and closed her eyes. She was trying to monitor the situation Dominic and Sage were in through the agony Dominic was projecting in waves. It was difficult and she now truly understood why Dominic felt the way he did about himself. She didn’t feel the same way about him, but she didn’t have to live with herself for creating something that caused such excruciating pain. She also didn’t have to live with the fact that she created a maze designed to break someone’s mind to the point where they’d never regain their sanity ever again.

  She tried to communicate through their connection that they were on their way to save them and that she forgave him for what he felt was unforgivable and loved him anyway. Viola sent as many soothing and loving thoughts and feelings to Dominic that she had in her heart to send him to help him endure Anna’s cruelty.

  When they finally reached their destination, they unloaded from the SUV and filled in Thomas, Angelica, and the rest of the guard that had been brought with them on what they had planned. For once, Thomas kept his mouth shut and deferred to the girls and Liam.

  After receiving their instructions, the men and women of Thomas’ guard fell into their positions, deactivating the booby traps Anna was quite fond of and taking up positions around the perimeter. Cora, Viola, Angelica and Liam stayed in their SUV while the guard did what they had to do, lead by Thomas.

  Every second that passed put Viola on edge more and more causing her to fight against her powers taking over. She figured, if anything, this was a great training exercise on controlling her emotions and her powers, instead of letting her p
owers control her. Taking deep breaths in and out, she steadied her inner turmoil and gained the control she was seeking.

  Smiling a little at her victory, a wave of agony from Dominic wiped that triumph away. She did maintain a small bit of pride when she didn’t lose the control she’d gained though.

  A knock on the driver’s side window alerted them that it was time to join the rest of the team. Without wasting a second, Liam, Cora and Viola jumped from the vehicle, prepared to do what they had to do to save Sage and Dominic from Anna. Angelica was the last one to emerge from the vehicle.

  “Based on the number of traps around this place, I’d have to say you were correct when you said this is one of Anna’s places. How she got out of our prison, I don’t know, but I will make sure to find out so it doesn’t happen again,” Thomas admitted, surprising the girls that he would admit he might be wrong.

  “Let’s go bring our boys home safe and sound,” Angelica said, resting her hand on Thomas’ arm. “Everyone be careful. Anna will take every opportunity she can get to prevent you from fulfilling your prophecy no matter what. Be on guard at all times.”

  “We will,” Cora and Viola promised as they all took their positions.

  Even though the mission had been planned en route, everyone moved as a cohesive unit. They infiltrated with very little problems, subduing anyone who stood in their way. When they reached the torture chamber was when things got tricky. Sage was not there anymore even though Dominic was.

  As planned, even though Viola wanted to run over and release Dominic from the machine herself, she and Cora stood guard, because they were the strongest and the most likely to be able to handle Anna if she showed up in person, while Liam and Thomas released Dominic from the machine.

  It took everything Viola had in her to keep her focus away from Dominic’s condition and on her task at hand. She was equally worried that Sage was no longer in the machine. When Liam and Thomas carried Dominic over by where Viola was standing guard she turned to look at him. What she saw ripped her heart into pieces, but she had no time for that at the moment.

  “Where’s Sage?” she asked frantic. They were not leaving there without him, in her mind that was not an option.

  “Too late. Maze,” was all Dominic could manage to get out before he lost consciousness.

  “We’ve got to get him medical help. Don’t go in there,” Thomas ordered as he and Liam took off with Dominic.

  After the three men had left the room, Viola and Cora looked at each other. Neither had to say a word to know what the other was thinking. They were not leaving Sage behind under any circumstances, so that left them with only one option, to enter the maze themselves and get him out against their father’s orders.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  As they started walking toward the entrance of the maze, all of a sudden they were surrounded by guards who didn’t hesitate to step in to back them up. For a fleeting moment, Cora understood what Liam had been trying to tell her in Viola’s room that morning. She didn’t waste time dwelling on it though, there were much more important things at stake so she had to keep her mind focused and her senses sharp. It wouldn’t surprise her if Anna was waiting inside of the maze for them to attempt a rescue for Sage. Maybe that’s even what Anna was hoping for.

  “Does this feel like a trap to you?” Viola whispered to Cora.

  “Yeah, but what choice do we have? We can’t leave Sage in there. He wouldn’t leave either one of us behind,” Cora replied in a whisper.

  “I know. I think what bothers me the most is my complete lack of fear right now. I’m worried about Sage, yeah, but knowing Dominic’s safe and being taken care of gives that woman no power over me. Whatever’s in there, we can take it and beat it,” Viola whispered with confidence.

  Cora was quiet for a moment, assessing her own feelings about entering the maze and found nothing but calm and confidence, like what Viola had described to her. She smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

  “You’re right. We’ve been through so much at Anna’s hands, I’m not afraid of her anymore. I don’t underestimate what she’s capable of, but as long as we’re together, we’re stronger than she is, so I’m not worried about anything she throws at us. I just hope we can get to Sage before any permanent damage is done to him,” Cora said, a bit of worry creeping into her voice.

  “Sage is strong, don’t underestimate him either. We’ll get him out of there,” Viola said, reaching over and giving Cora a quick, reassuring hug just as they entered the maze with their team.

  It was pitch black inside. One of the guards in front of the girls pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on. Viola remembered what Dominic had said about the maze being designed to give the person entering it hope of escape at the beginning so she didn’t put much stock in the hallway that had multiple doors on both sides. What was inside of those rooms was nothing to look forward to, she was sure of it.

  “Fan out, start checking each of these rooms. We are not leaving without our man. I want you in teams of two and be on guard, this is the maze of insanity, you will find things in here that no one should ever be subjected to. Keep your cool and don’t let it get to you,” The guard with the flashlight ordered the rest of the team. They paired up and fanned out in immediate response. As the twins headed off together to try to help, the guard who’d given the orders to the team stopped them.

  “We are here to help and protect you. Please stay with me so I can provide you with assistance whenever you may need it,” the guard requested respectfully. What the girls appreciated was that he didn’t bark out orders at them or demand it of them. With a quick look between them, they both nodded their heads in agreement.

  The three of them moved forward. As each room was searched and cleared as being empty, a cold feeling began to grow in the pit of Cora’s stomach.

  “If these rooms are all empty, where’s Sage?” she asked Viola.

  “He’s here. We just have to keep searching. Hey, do you think you can use your connection with Liam to try to sense his location?” Viola perked up when the thought occurred to her and she asked.

  “I don’t know, I’ve never tried,” Cora responded, turning the idea around and around in her head, trying to figure out a way to do such a thing.

  “You are only connected to your mate, not your mate’s family,” The head guard told them with a glance over his shoulder.

  “Well, it’s at least worth a shot. It would save us valuable time in saving him if I can figure out how to do it,” Cora snapped at him for his negativity.

  “You will be wasting our time, and his, if you try,” the guard replied, his voice becoming sharper.

  “Get over it,” Viola said, anger in her voice. “Don’t pay any attention to him Cora, you can do this.”

  Cora nodded and stopped walking. She closed her eyes and searched out Liam’s energy. Hers was so in tune with his now she found it without a problem. Then she searched out Viola’s energy and found it without a problem either.

  Taking herself deeper, she brought up the memory of Sage comforting her in the medical center when Liam was still unconscious from Anna’s torture. That was when she’d first felt the brother and sister bond that they’d formed begin and her body had registered his energy as well at that moment.

  Using the memory, she brought Sage’s energy into her main focus. She let her body become in tune with it and then sent out a search with her mind to find where his energy was. It was so faint that she almost missed it when she found it. Without thinking, she latched onto it and tried to feed a bit of her energy into his to help strengthen him as her feet started moving forward.

  Cora felt Viola’s hand on her arm to help prevent her from running into anything or tripping as she kept her eyes closed to maintain the very fragile connection she had with Sage.

  Wordlessly, she led the team through the maze of insanity. They passed through rooms that had spiders and snakes crawling or slithering on every surface that could be seen, but with h
er eyes closed, Cora had no idea what was going on around them. She kept all of her senses focused on Sage and his fading energy.

  After passing through hallways and several more rooms, they reached the room Cora knew Sage was in. She opened her eyes and put her hand on the doorway.

  “Please, allow us to go in first and make sure the room is clear,” the head guard gritted out. Cora ignored him, but Viola could tell he was pissed Cora had proven him wrong. Viola couldn’t help the smirk that crossed her face at his reaction to Cora’s powers.

  She was slowly learning that each person seemed to have a power that was unique to them and how they used it. For a brief moment, she wondered what hers was and then brushed it off because rescuing Sage was a much higher priority.

  Cora reached down and turned the knob, throwing open the door. Both girls couldn’t help but be creeped out by what was inside. Everywhere they looked, there were clowns. Big ones, small ones, pictures, it was something that would drive anyone mad if they were in there too long. Viola shuddered as she entered the room with Cora. Now was not the time to chicken out, Sage needed them to get him to safety fast.

  “He’s in here?” Viola asked to make sure.

  “Yeah, I’m guessing he just couldn’t go any further and collapsed. The kind of pain he was in, I’m surprised he made it this far,” Cora said, a tear running down her face. She’d tuned out the clowns and was focusing solely on Sage’s fading energy.

  “Fan out and find him.” The head guard ordered at Cora’s words. Without hesitation, the rest of the team flooded the room and began searching. After a few minutes, they found him lying on the floor with a pile of stuffed clowns covering him up. He was unconscious and barely breathing. His skin was cold and clammy. The paleness of his face sent a shiver of fear down Viola’s spine.