Tara sat in the hotel room, looking across the table at her sister. If she hadn’t known it in her bones, she would have never imagined that they were related.
Her sister’s long hair was dark brown, so dark that it was almost black. Her pale skin was flawless. Her dark eyes seemed to take in everything around her, as if she was untrusting. Sort of like Tara had been when she’d first arrived in town.
The more she looked at Selene, the more she realized they were almost complete opposites.
The moment Selene had appeared in the dark field, she’d felt her. It was as if a part of her that had been missing had fallen into place.
Just like the two moons she’d grown up seeing each night in the sky, she and Selene were each a half of something greater.
“Have you had visits from our parents?” Tara asked Selene.
“Yes,” Selene answered with a slight sigh. The southern drawl assured Tara that Selene had spent a great deal of time in the south. “They’ve been visiting me for years,” she added, looking a little weary.
“Any clue what’s going to happen tomorrow?” Colt asked.
Selene ran her eyes over him and then shook her head. “No. I’ve seen visions, but each time they change.”
“Same here,” Tara admitted.
“In some, Rhea is the destroyer, in others, Typhon is,” Selene added. “In others there are different monsters that help them both. The only steady fact in each vision is that nothing survives the battle.”
“You mentioned back in the field that you’re the goddess of darkness. Why?” Tara asked her.
Selene glanced down at her hands. “It’s what Typhon has called me from the beginning. Another gift of mine is that I can’t be seen in the dark. No matter how bright the light, it won’t penetrate the darkness that surrounds me.”
“Where I came from, Selene and Tara were twin moons,” Tara said, taking her sister’s hand in her own. “They were beacons in the night sky, watching out for and protecting all below.”
“Where you come from?” Selene shook her head.
“I’m from another world. I think Mason called it a parallel universe. That’s the best way to describe it. Another planet, similar in almost everything to this one.” Tara looked at Colt with a smile. “Rhea hid me there, or so she claims. with a man I believed was my father. I had a normal life until my sixteenth birthday, when I appeared here. In this world.”
“In your ruined prom dress,” Selene added.
“Yes, my party dress,” she corrected.
“Must have been some party,” Selene said. “I remember being jealous of the dress, even though it was ruined.”
Tara wanted to ask her sister why but figured there were more important things to talk about currently.
“Your friends,” Selene asked after a moment, “are like us?”
“In a way,” Tara answered.
Selene’s eyes moved to Colt. “And you?”
“Nope, normal boring human with no extra powers,” he answered with a smile.
“That’s not necessarily true,” Tara said. “We’re fated. We’ve been together all throughout history.” She took up his hand.
“Like reincarnation?” Selene asked.
“Something like that,” Tara replied. “Whatever it is, we’re meant to do this together.”
“And the others?” Selene asked.
“Yes, but it’s complicated. Some of them have their own families. We don’t want to jeopardize that.”
Selene was quiet for a moment. “I’ve seen them before. I spent a lifetime looking…”—she shook her head— “for a sliver of normalcy. For anyone who might understand what I was going through.” Her eyes moved up to Tara’s, and Tara knew just how she felt. How lonely the last ten years had been.
Reaching over, she wrapped her arms around Selene again.
“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” she assured Selene. “I’m here.” She glanced up and saw Colt standing over them, looking worried. Reaching for him, she pulled him into the hug with Selene. “We’re here,” she corrected. “You’ll meet the rest of the gang tomorrow morning at breakfast.” She pulled back. “For now, why don’t we get some rest?”
Selene dried her face and nodded. “I’m next door to you.”
“If you need us,” Colt said softly.
“Thanks.” Selene avoided their eyes. “I left in such a hurry when I got your call. I drove straight here.”
“My call?” Tara asked, confused.
“A burst of power that showed me exactly where you were. A few days ago.”
“Where did you come from, exactly? How far away from Hidden Creek?” Tara asked.
Selene shrugged. “Atlanta. I was… visiting a friend.” Selene reached for the door. “Goodnight,” she said before disappearing out the door.
Tara turned back to Colt and silently walked into his waiting arms.
“That was… unexpected,” Colt said into her hair.
“Yeah,” she agreed with a nod of her head. “One last happy surprise.” She sighed. “I’m tired.”
“Me too. We’d better get some rest,” he said, still holding onto her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “Just… this feels right. Her being here.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “She was as lost as you were when we first arrived in town.”
His words played over in her head as she lay in his arms, trying to shut down. There was too much to think about. Too much coming their way. Sometime just before dawn, she finally slipped into a dreamless slumber.
She woke when she heard Colt turn off the shower in the bathroom.
Glancing at the clock, she realized she had gotten less than three hours of sleep. Thankfully, she wasn’t working that morning and didn’t have to be into the coffee shop before sunup.
They were meeting the rest of the gang there at ten, after the main morning rush.
“Morning,” Colt said, walking into the room with nothing but a towel draped low on his hips. She felt her body instantly come alive. He was an impressive specimen of a man. Lean toned muscles ran down his stomach. His chest and arms were wide with bulky muscles, as were his thighs. Strong. It was the best word she could think of describe him.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we might be a little late meeting everyone,” Colt said, walking over to sit on the side of the bed.
Smiling, she reached over and pulled him down on top of her.
“Then it looks like we’re going to be late,” she said before kissing him. She ran her fingers over his still-damp skin, pushing her hands through his wet hair, kissing his warm lips, feeling his hard body next to her softer one.
Here too was contrast, yet they moved in unison with the same goal—pleasing one another and themselves. She’d never felt so connected to anyone in her life.
When he touched her, memories of their past lives together blurred with the now, causing her love to swell beyond her ability to hold it all inside.
When she cried out his name with her release, she knew that together, they held more power than even her parents had assumed. Somehow, with Colt by her side, she just knew that she was going to beat fate. Somehow, she was going to stop the end of the world.
An hour later, she sat in the coffee shop, listening to everyone argue. After they’d introduced Selene to the gang, discussions had started about how they were going to deal with things that night.
Since there was still a handful of other people enjoying their coffees in the shop, their conversations were very vague. At first, it was just everyone asking Selene questions about where she’d come from and her life.
Tara was interested to learn that she’d spent most of her childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home in the Nashville area. She didn’t mention the friend she’d been visiting in Georgia, and the rest of the gang didn’t ask.
It was as if everyone had been expecting her to appear before tonight. Tara wondered if they had already discussed the possibility.
The moment the group was alone in the shop, Jess locked the door and turned off the open sign.
“I think I can close a few hours early today.” She sat down next to Jacob. “We don’t mean to pry, but every new member has to go through a little trust test,” Jess said, nodding to Xtina.
Xtina sighed heavily, then held out her hands towards Selene. “Do you mind?” Xtina asked.
Selene’s dark eyebrows rose slightly. “Things don’t go well when people touch my skin,” she said.
“Yeah, I forgot to ask you about that last night,” Colt said. “Tara didn’t seem to be affected.”
Selene looked down at her hands. “I guess she’s an exception.”
“What happens?” Jess asked.
“The best I can tell is that people see their worst nightmares when they touch me,” Selene answered. “Sort of a glimpse into their own madness.”
“I’ll chance it,” Xtina said. “Just as long as you don’t mind my gift of seeing your memories.”
A look of curiosity crossed Selene’s face. “Everyone?”
“Everyone except my husband.” Xtina smiled and motioned towards Mike.
Selene was quiet for a moment. “There is one person I’ve never affected besides Tara,” she said quietly. The she reached out and laid her hand in Xtina’s.
Everyone watched the two women as moments passed by in silence. When Xtina leaned back and broke their connection, everyone relaxed.
“You… didn’t see anything?” Selene asked.
“I saw parts of your childhood. The difficulty and loneliness of being passed from one home to another,” Xtina said with sadness. “I saw the first time you realized you had a gift. The fear of those around you. How they treated you. I’m so sorry you went through everything you did. I also saw your fear of what’s coming and that you would do everything in your power to stop it. Like the rest of us.” This last part Xtina said to the table. “We can trust her.”
Everyone seemed to relax even further.
“Okay.” Jess broke into the silence. “How are we going to do this?”