Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

“No.” Lynk chuckled under his breath at the absurdity that anyone would mistake him for Thane. “He looks more like Torren or Raith. I guess I’m kind of the runt of the family. Well, Sapphire and Silver are small as well, and they’re identical, but they have a different mother.”

“Wait.” Kieran held his hand up as his frown deepened. “There is another set of twins in your family?”

“Four actually. Two sets from our mother, then two sets from our stepmom.”

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“Okay, so there are thirteen of you. Spell it out for me. I know Torren is the oldest. Then Raith, then you and Thane, but who comes next?” Kieran shook his head and scratched at the back of his neck.

“This is going to sound horrible, but again, why you? If Thane is so much bigger, why didn’t Torren want us to find him first?”

“Don’t worry, Kieran. You’re not going to offend me. I’m not sure how it works, but I guess since Thane got the size and strength, I got the magic. I’m quite a bit more powerful than him in that aspect.” Kieran took his hand and squeezed it as he leaned over and kissed Lynk’s forehead. “I never doubted your abilities. I’m just trying to understand.” He settled back in his seat, but didn’t release Lynk’s hand. “Okay, so tell me about your brothers. You said there were four sets of twins?”

While he seriously doubted Kieran was that eager to hear about his family tree, Lynk warmed to the idea that his mate was taking an interest in his life. “Okay, so after me and Thane is Mikko.”

“Torren said that only Thane could bring Mikko out of Purgatory.

I don’t understand.”

“We’re all witches and all powerful, but some of us have extra abilities. Thane can commune with the dead. When a Braddock dies, when one body ceases to breathe and its heart stops beating, another body is born. It’s like reincarnation, but we remember our previous lifetimes.” Lynk paused, unsure how much he should divulge about how that had come about in the first place.

“And this has to do with you being the keys to the Book of the Banished, right?”

Lynk nodded slowly. “The original circle of thirteen witches tried to destroy the book but was cursed in the process. The book bound itself to the faerie, Camdin. The witches’ souls were ripped in two, and half of it sent out into the universe. Those thirteen would always protect the book.” Lynk paused, trying to figure out how to finish his abbreviated version of the legend.

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“Torren says it’s never happened that all thirteen have been born to the same family before,” Demos offered from the front passenger seat.

He didn’t realize that anyone else knew the story and wondered how many others Torren had told. Part of him also began to panic and prayed that Demos would keep his mouth shut about anything else that he knew. Lynk would eventually have to tell Kieran, but he wasn’t ready for that just yet.

Luckily, Demos wasn’t one to divulge secrets or offer much in the way of small talk. He settled back into his seat and turned his head to stare out the window. Varik continued driving in silence, not even glancing at them. Ridley was either asleep or doing a good imitation of it in the third-row seat.

Kieran cleared his throat, drawing Lynk’s attention back to him.

“You lost me again. If Mikko is supposed to be reborn, how is he in Purgatory?”

“Well, because he isn’t dead. We won’t know how he got trapped there until we get him back and he tells us.”

“And why couldn’t Aslan get him out?”

“Too dangerous.” Lynk shook his head. “Aslan doesn’t understand his power yet and can’t control it. He could end up letting out the wrong spirit and hurting himself in the process.”

“Okay.” Kieran paused and a big smile lit his face. “I’ll leave the witchy stuff to you because I don’t understand most of it. I’ll just hit stuff really hard.”

Lynk laughed the first real full-out laugh he could remember in so long. “Fair enough.”

“So, more about your brothers.” Kieran wasn’t just asking to make conversation. Lynk could see it in his eyes and the way he leaned forward just slightly that he was really interested. Who had ever been interested in what Lynk had to say?

“Well, Mikko’s twin is Nix. Our mother died shortly after they were born, and our father remarried a couple of years later. I don’t 48 Gabrielle

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think either woman was his true mate, though.” Lynk shrugged. His father had seemed happy, and that was all that mattered to him.

“Torren said that your stepmom was a shifter.” Lynk bobbed his head. “That’s right. She was a jaguar shifter as are my half-brothers. Eris is the oldest of that group. Then the twins Edge and Blade. Sabin was born next, followed by the second set of twins Sapphire, but we call him Phire, and Silver, and finally Indo.”

“Interesting names,” Kieran commented, but he didn’t sound like he was being an ass. “I always wished my name was cooler.”

“I like your name. It suits you.”

Kieran shrugged. “It’s kind of wimpy.”

“Not at all. It’s a strong name fitting of a warrior. Like I said, it suits you.”

His mate might have argued further, but the vehicle began to slow, and Varik announced that they were approaching the front gates of the Snake River Coven. Lynk’s stomach tried to twist itself into knots, unheeded by the deep breaths he sucked in to try and calm his racing heart. He didn’t want to appear nervous or fearful, but his body was betraying him by slowly coming unglued.

An arm wound around his waist and slid him across the seat until he was pressed right up against Kieran’s side. Lynk had been so lost in his frantic thoughts