Forgotten Visions (The Divinities Book 1) (11 page)

Kalissa woke with
a smile from ear to ear. She stretched and felt every muscle, sore in all the right places, and then some. Amazingly, Ayden had scared all her anxiety away. In the multiple times they’d made love throughout the night, the fear and panic no longer consumed her. She had been freed from the prison her mind had created.

Ayden belonged to her. The connection and internal need to bond with him was too great to deny.

Her smile not faltering, she reached over to the other side of the bed and frowned, patting it a couple of times. Ayden was gone. It would have been nice to wake up in his arms after the incredible night they’d had together.  She climbed out of bed and searched for something to put on. The room was clean with the exception of their clothes from the night before in the chair next to the dresser. He’d brought their clothes in from the living room. That thought warmed her heart.
Neat, and he cleans up after himself
. Nice.

She walked over to the chair, picked up the first thing she touched, and put it on. It was Ayden’s t-shirt. And it smelled Divine. A giggle bubbled up inside her, threatening to spill from her lips. Like the one he’d given her at the hotel, this one fit her like a nightgown, falling halfway to her knees.

A frown replaced her happy thoughts when she wondered where he was. “Damn, men. Think they can give you the best night of your life and just leave you hanging,” she muttered to herself as she walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. The luring smell of bacon and eggs invaded her nose, and she froze halfway across the living room. Ayden stood on the other side of the island, preparing breakfast. She turned around to go back to the bedroom.

“Good morning.”

Ayden’s voice stopped her. She closed her eyes, feeling like the biggest bitch. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, forced a smile, and turned around to face him. “Morning,” she whispered.

“Why are you upset?” he asked, clearly able to feel her mood.

Kalissa walked into the kitchen and leaned her back against the counter next to him. Realization glided over her that she, too, could sense
his
mood. Right now, he was concerned about her. It was strange how connected they’d become in such a short period of time. Was it because they were magical partners? Were they starting to bond? That last question frightened her. She didn’t want to bond with him only to have him taken from her. 

He moved to stand in front of her. Her heart rate picked up, and her body warmed as his aura mingled with hers, forcing all her fears to dissolve away into nothing. Ayden sent her places and showed her pleasure she’d never dreamed of—multiple times throughout the night and in multiple places. All she wanted to do was to drag him back to the bedroom and not come out. Ever.

Ayden wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly into his body. “I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed.” He slid his hands to her ass, lifted her up, and set her on the countertop.

“Well, I could go back to bed and pretend to be asleep,” she teased and then kissed his nose.

Ayden chuckled softly and kissed her lips, moving to her cheek and jawline, and stopping when he reached her earlobe. “It’s too late. I’ve got you where I want you.”

“Do you, now?” Kalissa wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him even closer to her.

“Oh, please tell me you didn’t do it on the kitchen counter.” Khloe’s teasing tone pulled Ayden’s and Kalissa’s attention from each other and toward the door. Khloe walked over, took a piece of bacon, and popped it in her mouth. She leaned her hip against the island. “So. How are the lovebirds this morning?” she asked with a wide grin as Zach came in behind her and sat at the kitchen table.

Kalissa hopped down from the counter, careful not to flash everyone in the process, suddenly very aware that she was naked under Ayden’s t-shirt. Now that Zach was sitting at the kitchen table, Kalissa felt self-conscious. She excused herself and went to change.  

As soon as Kalissa
was inside the bedroom with the door shut, Khloe turned to Ayden. “Let’s see it.”

Ayden narrowed his eyes at her and smirked. This was a different Khloe than he remembered from his summer visits to the coven. Of course, she looked like Kalissa, they were twins, after all. But it was easy to tell them apart. Khloe’s hair was slightly lighter than Kalissa’s and had two pink streaks on either side of her face. She also had a nose ring, and her right eyebrow had a small hoop in it. “Did that hurt?” he teased, indicating her eyebrow piercing.

Khloe’s hand involuntarily went to her eyebrow. She smiled. “Not nearly as much as I wanted it to.” Ayden raised his eyebrows, but she ignored it. “Stop changing the subject and let me see it.”

“See what?” Ayden asked.

“Your mark.” Khloe held out her hand, palm up. Ayden hesitated, making her grow more impatient. “I can see it in your aura. Both of you. Show me your mark.”

With a heavy sigh, he extended his left arm and turned it so his Divine Rose was exposed. He knew she couldn’t see it, but humored her anyway. Khloe frowned. “It’s not there.” She looked up at Ayden. 

Ayden put his arm down and went back to cooking. “That’s because we’re not bound together.
You
won’t be able to see it.” Khloe shrugged and took another piece of bacon. Ayden playfully pushed her toward the table. “Go, sit. I made enough for everyone.”

“How did you know we were going to be here this morning? You have ESP or something?” Khloe teased and sat down at the table next to Zach.

“Or something,” Zach snickered.

Khloe shot Ayden a suspicious look. Ayden laughed. “I have the power of adaptability. I can draw on others’ powers. Sometimes, I pick up stuff without meaning to.”

“Like a vision of us being here this morning?” Khloe gave him a smile that made her nose wrinkle up.

“That was the only reason I didn’t take your sister back to bed.”

“TMI! I so do not want to know,” Khloe said dramatically and began to hum loudly with her hands over her ears. After a couple of seconds, she released her ears and laid her hands on the table.

With a shake of his head, Ayden finished up breakfast and filled them in on Kalissa’s dream-vision. “I’m concerned it would be a distraction to her and me.” He fixed his eyes on Khloe. “Could you talk to her?

She nodded as Kalissa came back into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. She immediately walked into Ayden’s embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist. He pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head. Her mood had darkened again, and he wondered if she was thinking about her vision. He thought about it too and came up empty, not understanding it. Something was missing, something vital to the events that would unfold. With careful planning and everyone on alert, maybe they could all walk away alive.      

“
I forgot how much
I love it up here,” Khloe said with her hand out the car window, letting the air pass through her fingers. They were on their way to The Wheel to meet Jacen and Lydia Rayners.

“The air is so clean. Oh! Where is Willow?” Khloe said, looking at Kalissa.

“There was a little issue on our way to the cabin.” Kalissa told her about the demons following them, Willow getting hurt, and Ayden’s driving skills. “But Willow’s okay. She’s probably just giving Ayden and me some time alone.”

“I suppose. She could have at least come by to say hi. I know she knows I’m here.” Khloe straightened in her seat and stuck her hand back out the window. “I missed you,” Khloe said softly after a brief silence.

Kalissa smiled and took Khloe’s hand.  “I missed you, too. Why so early?” She frowned, thinking the Lydia and Jacen must have driven all night to be here already from New York.

“The Dark Divine round-up has Papa nervous,” Khloe said with no emotion in her voice, though her uneasiness floated off her and added to Kalissa’s already edgy mood.

“Are we being followed?” Khloe asked.

Kalissa shook her head. “No. You feel like we’re being watched?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you sense anything?” Kalissa asked. Khloe could control all elements. It was her gift. It went further than being able to work with them, though. She could actually bend them to her purpose. So, Khloe could use all the elements to search and discover if anyone was out there.

Her sister closed her eyes. Kalissa knew she was using her senses to search for a threat. After a while, she said, “No, just a raven.”

“Yeah, that’s all I got, too.” Kalissa frowned. It was odd that both of them could feel something but not be able to find it.

“Could be a messenger,” Khloe said.

“You’re probably right,” Kalissa said. Ravens were messengers of the Afterworld. They were sent to deliver messages to the living from their loved ones that had already passed. The problem was, they only delivered their messages when they were good and ready.

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of The Wheel. The restaurant didn’t serve breakfast, therefore, opened at eleven in the morning. It was 9:30 a.m., so the lot only had one car parked in the middle of it. Three people stood outside the silver Audi. Two of them Kalissa recognized as Jacen and Lydia. She’d found old photos in her mother’s things. The other person, a woman, looked familiar, but Kalissa didn’t immediately recognize her.

“It’s a good thing we left the cabin when we did,” Khloe stated.

Kalissa agreed and said, “It was an estimate.” She pulled up beside the Audi. “I didn’t know Lydia was pregnant.” They didn’t keep in touch with each other. The Raynerses lived in New York, after all. Even though they’d come to visit the Maxville Coven as children, Kalissa didn’t know them well.

“Me either.”

If Noah had known, he would have told them about Lydia’s pregnancy, especially knowing what was at stake. Kalissa had heard that a growing fetus used up a lot of a witch’s energy. She wasn’t sure how much help Lydia would be against an attack. She was tempted to tell Khloe to head to Maxville with Lydia and wait for them there. It would be safer that way, and ensure that nothing would happen to Lydia’s unborn child. But that was one argument she didn’t want to get into with her sister at the moment.

Was it a mistake for Jacen to bring his sister here?

Lydia and Jacen, being two years apart, were as close as twins. Jacen was the oldest. Still, Kalissa could see that their auras seemed to mingle and reach out to one other. Like their magical energies were tied together.

Lydia was shorter than Kalissa’s and Khloe’s height of five ten. Jacen was taller than them, but only by an inch or two. The only things similar about them were their facial features and their hair. Lydia had beautiful, long, red hair. Jacen’s tresses were a dark auburn.

“Why do they look like that? They’re not twins.”

Khloe shrugged. “Maybe Angelica bound them. It’s not uncommon for mothers to bind their children together. It kinda makes sense with the demons. They would know if the other were in trouble, like we do.” 

She had a point. If they hadn’t already been bonded through their twin connection, Kalissa was certain their mother would have done the same. 

They got out of the vehicle and walked to the front of the cars where the others were waiting. “Have you been waiting long?” Kalissa asked.

“We just got here,” Lydia said, extending her hand. “Lydia Rayners. This is my brother, Jacen. And this is Melaina Harris. I hope you don’t mind, but Jace and I insisted on Mel coming.”