Soul of Darkness (8 page)

Aaron didn’t hesitate. One swift glance in the couple’s direction had sufficed to make him bolt toward them as fast as he could while the onrushing waves impeded his movements.

Persephone and Aidan were but an inch away of ridding themselves of the remainder of their clothes. Having already discarded their pants and tops, they were about to take off their underwear as well.

They seemed to have lost every ounce of self-control, and it appeared Aaron had arrived just in time to prevent a catastrophe.

Not wanting to take any chance
s―
and convincing himself that it was for this reason alon
e―
Aaron strode right up to his brother, tore him away from Persephone,and punched him in the fac
e―
hard.

Thrown backwards by the unexpected and violent blow, Aidan’s body hit the ocean, sending water flying through the air in a high arc. He sank beneath the surface and reemerged, spluttering and shaking his head as though trying to shake off sleep.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Aidan demanded heatedly, charging toward and getting up in Aaron’s face, ready to retaliate by the looks of it.

“Uh-uh,” Aaron admonished, “you deserved that.”

“What for?” Aidan challenged, obviously poised on the verge of jumping him if he found his reason insufficient to warrant such a punch.

“For being a dick,” Aaron simply stated, not in the least inclined to answer in any other way.

He just didn’t feel like it.

Before he could even blink, Aidan landed a punch that had him flying through the air in the same way his brother had been moments before. This was going to be interesting, Aaron thought as he managed to pull his soaking wet body out of the water.

Ugh…I hope I hit him as hard. That hurt like a sonofabitch! 
Aaron reflected, rubbing the part of his jaw his brother’s fist had made contact with.

“If you two boys are quite finished mutilating each other, I would like to head to a Bed & Breakfast, if you don’t mind,” a voice suddenly interrupted Aaron’s thoughts.

“Oh, you’re talking now?” Aaron asked, somewhat dumbfounded. He hadn’t heard Persephone utter a single word since she’d turned dark. What was she playing at now?

“Yes, I’m talking,” Persephone said simply before turning her back on him and walking away, apparently not motivated to
keep
  talking, though.

Aaron let it go. He didn’t need to know the reason for her sudden change in demeanor. What did it matter if she talked or not? Why should he care? It was all the same to him…he wouldn’t want to listen to a single word she had to say, anyway.

Glaring at his brother one last time for good measure, Aaron turned around and sauntered out of the water and onto the beach. Persephone and Aidan gathered the clothing they’d discarded, slipped back into it, and finally met up with him.

Coming to a halt beside him, Aidan shot him a haughty look, turned to Persephone and muttered something Aaron couldn’t hear. A second later, Persephone’s and Aidan’s clothing was completely dry…while Aaron stood there soaking wet, freezing, and waiting for a chance to get back at his brother.

If he didn’t know any better, Aaron would have said Aidan and he appeared to have developed a perfectly functional relationship as brothers, after all…continuouslyfighting an
d
trying to outsmart or get back at one another.

Albeit it wasn’t a mature brotherly relationship…more like the adolescent kind. But seeing as neither of them had ever known about the other’s existence before now, it seemed fitting they should start at the very beginning.

In a perhaps slightly screwed up way, Aaron found he rather enjoyed their fights, even if they ended up going at each other from time to time. It felt good to interact with his brother; and since Aaron didn’t really know how to act around Aidan, on some level it was easier to just
react
.

As for Persephone, Aaron didn’t know how to respond to her repeated betraya
l―
and to seeing how far she’d been about to go with Aidan. He felt angry, that was for sure. But should his anger be directed at her? Had she even known what she was doing…or was there nothing but Darkness left in her soul to govern her actions?

Had it been Persephone’s choice?

It had been Persephone’s choice,
Aaron reminded himself.

It had been
Persephone
who had fallen in love with his brother when she was supposed to have feelings for him.

It had been
Persephone
who had sacrificed her soul to save Aidan’s life.

She
had chosen to forfeit any future happiness they might have had together in doing so.

So, yes, his anger was directed at her.

She
  had done this…of her own free will.

But the thought that haunted him the most was how she could have deceived him so in the first place. How could she have made him believe that she was falling in love with him? Had her feelings been true, she would not have given up the chance of a life together…not for anythin
g―
or anyone.

He knew
he
  would not have.             

Yet, she had done it. Yes, oddly enough, he was glad his brother was alive, and he felt gratitude toward her for saving him. And yes, he still cared for her.

But the damage was done.

The faith he’d once had in her was lost…and he would never again believe in her. And it had nothing to do with her being Darkness’s servant but with the fact that she had betrayed him when she was still herself…when she’d had the chance to make the right choic
e―
the one he’d trusted her to make.

Now, that trust was gone. The doubt that had crept into his heart would not be undone.

So, where does that leave us?
he wondered. There could be no future for them without trust. Then why care what she did with his brother? Why should it matter that she had once again betrayed him?

The answer was simple: it shouldn’t.

But it did.

Chapter 5 * Stained

M
y gaze lingered on the image before me, trying to take in every possible detail of the pale face framed by locks of fiery hair. Green eyes looked back at me, their shape and color familiar yet strange at the same time. My mirror image ran her fingers through the strand of blackened hair before her eyes found back to mine once more.

After we’d left the beach, we’d driven for quite a while to find a B&B with an available room. An event of some sort seemed to be taking place in the area, making rooms hard to come by. Since it had already been late, the best option
―
rather than driving for hours or sleeping in the car
―
had been for the three of us to make do with one room.

As soon as we’d entered the room, I’d disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. My reason for doing so was simple:I was stalling…trying to avoi
d―
at leastfor as long as I possibly coul
d―
a complicated situation in a cramped space involving two small beds and…the three of us.

It was just a matter of time, though, before I had to return to the bedroom,where I would find both of them waiting for m
e―
my own personal nightmare…

One room…three people.

Scratch that…one room…two gorgeous men…and one woman!

It had been bad enough to share a room with Aidan for the last couple of weeks, the sexual tension always making it hard for me to ignore his presence.

Now, my hormones were on overdrive!

I couldn’t imagine the awkwardness this night would have in store for us.

Even the middle-aged owner of the B&B, a very religious and prudish woman by the looks of her, had seemed apprehensive about our sleeping arrangement. No doubt she’d had her own ideas about what would be taking place in our room. The distasteful look she’d given me had suggested as much as she’d very reluctantly handed us the key.

Although fully aware of the shortage of rooms and lack of other options, she’d taken one good look at us
―
had undoubtedly picked up on the palpable tension
―
and silently condemned us.

But just because a stranger believed I was that kind of woman didn’t mean I had to prove her right. I knew who I was…and
that
  wasn’t me. One man was all I needed…all I wanted. The only problem was: which one?

A question I had no answer to. A question, moreover, I didn’t have time to ponder, as there was something much more pressing on my mind:

Who am I?
  I wondered as I continued to gaze at my reflection.

Which version of myself stared back at me through the small bathroom mirror? Had I left Darkness behind when I’d felt the weight lifting from me? Was it even possible?

The black strand of hair remained unchange
d―
a river of ash amidst a bed of flame
s―
a scorch mark forever reminding me of the choice I had made. Did this mean Darkness was yet inside of me…still controlling me? Or would my hair stay this way even after it had relinquished its hold on my soul?

It seemed too easy, too reckless, to believe I had actually overcome Darkness. I couldn’t possibly have been strong enough to break the connection, to render our contract null and void.

And yet…I
was
Morrigan
. Though I might not remember being her, for all intents and purposes I possessed her power. Had I used that immense force to free myself of Darkness? It could have happened…

Or was I being naïve to believe I was once again in control?

Nonetheless, since I’d felt the crushing weight of Darkness’s presence subside, I had not once heard a stray voice inside my mind. Darkness had not spoken another word to me.

I’d been standing in front of the mirror for over ten minutes now, trying to discern any lingering shadows suggesting a dark presenc
e―
a flicker in my eyes perhaps which would have given it away.

But there had been nothing.

Nor did any part of my body feel like it didn’t belong to me. I felt like myself…whole again…not torn asunder and fighting for control as I had before when Darkness had been in command of nearly every single part of my body and mind.

But finding my way back to myself also meant reconnecting with the memories and emotions I’d possessed before I’d surrendered my soul’s light. Thus, I found myself reliving the very dilemma I hadn’t been able to escape since before my brush with Darkness:

My love for two men…brothers…twins.

Can my life get any more complicated?
  I silently asked myself but got no answe
r―
a
good
thing, as the only one to answer besides myself would be Darkness. So,
no answer
  was exactly what I needed.

But what I needed even more was a way out of the mess I was in.

Sighing inwardly at the thought of soon having to leave the safety of the bathroom, I dug up my toothbrush and paste from the depth of my small wash bag and brushed my teeth. After putting on a pristine, white silk pajama, I took a deep breath and turned toward the door, not in the least ready to face what I supposed would be an awfully long night.

Upon entering the bedroom, I saw Aidan and Aaron standing at opposite ends of the two small beds, which they’d pushed together to create a larger sleeping space.

You have 
got
to be kidding me,
I thought, panicked.

Whatever I’d expected to find on the other side of the bathroom door, this wasn’t it!

I’d thought they’d let me have one of the beds to myself and share the other. They were brothers, after all…and two males. It had seemed the obvious choice.

Though, now that I thought about it, two such large men weren’t very likely to fit on one small mattress at once. And given the absence of a couch or recliner, the only alternative was for one of them to sleep on the floor.

Since neither of them seemed even remotely inclined to sacrific
e
his comfort for the sake of the other
―
even if it made things
that
much more complicated
―
it seemed I had little choice in the matter if I didn’t want to be the one to call attention to the awkwardness of the situation.

So I said nothing, headed directly toward the bed, and lay down smack in the middle of it. Closing my eyes, I dismissed their very presence…at least outwardly…and desperately tried to swallow past the extremely large lump in my throat.

There I remained in exactly the same position, not even moving a muscle, listening to every little sound Aaron and Aidan made while getting ready for bed.

At long last, I made out the faint creaking of their approaching steps on the worn wooden floorboards.

With bated breath I listened to the squeaking sound of the mattress as they lay down on either side of me and to the rhythm of my heart as it pounded so violently against my chest that my body seemed about to burst.

In a matter of seconds, the atmosphere in the room had turned deathly quiet and dangerously charged.

The air that had flowed in and out of my lungs freely before I’d lain down suddenly seemed in short supply. And though I knew full well that it was merely my apprehension which was making it hard for me to breathe, this knowledge did nothing to relax me and dispel the feeling of suffocating.