Page 95 of Love's Ace

They were… beautiful. Pale white hair and eyes that shifted like liquid metal, reflective enough that I could see the color of the grass, the blue of the sky, the black of my wings, and the blond of Aiden’s hair as he stepped around me.

“Bold,” one of them said, his head cocking to the side. The picture in the book at Gethin’s had done a piss-poor job of depicting them, but theywereperfect mirrors of one another. Twins, down to the mirrored birthmark that splashed across their jawlines. “Very bold of you to call us when you’ve made a mockery of everything we created.”

Fuck.

My eyes flicked to Aiden, who had one brow arched in an expression that was probably as close toI told you soas he could get.

My teeth clenched, but it was too late now. This was what we’d come to do.

“We’re here to—” I barely started to speak before one raised his hand, and the flicker in his eyes turned dark.

Black.

The liquid in Theo’s chest.

“We know why you’re here, don’t we, Celio?” He turned to his twin and smiled.

“Helix and I always know.” It was fuckingeeriehow alike they sounded.

“Now… the real question is, did you think we’d actually grant you your desire after what you’ve done?”

The two stepped toward us, and I tightened my grip on Theo. I could feel the nerves rolling through him and trying to steal his breath, but he straightened up, standing tall beside me.

“We didn’t do anything.” I wasn’t shocked that he sounded bold, a little sarcastic. After all, he’d learned that things likecupids and monsters existed and took it all in stride. “Wren did what he was made to do, and I’m whatyoumade me to be.” He shrugged one shoulder, but I could feel the way his fingers tightened in mine. “So fix it.”

Fix it. Apparently, if we’d had a plan to ask sweetly, Theo had thrown it out the window the instant the two showed up.

But I could understand.

I could see it in their eyes, everything Aiden warned us about.

There wasn’t pity there, or mercy.

There was time, as endless as the stars themselves, and just as vast anddark.

“Fix it.” Helix parroted, and the smirk on his face wasn’t kind. But it was amused. Maybe that was what we could play on, that amusement. Maybe… maybe we didn’t have to beg. “You are a bold little thing, aren’t you? All made of fire and black liquid.” He moved, but it was so fast I could barely track it—one second, he was in front of us, and the next he was behind Theo with an arm wrapped around his chest and my knife we’d used to cut into the earth at his throat.

“Fuck.” I wasn’t sure what I meant to do when I dove toward them, but I didn’t expect a sudden streak of pain. The other twin hadn’t even moved—just stretched his hand out toward me and twisted.

It was like I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t think.

I stumbled, trying to catch my breath, and watched helplessly as Helix pulled Theo out of my reach.

Hands on my shoulders steadied me. I didn’t have to look to know who it was—Aiden’s hold made it easier to breathe, easier to think.

But his arms were like steel on mine when I tried to move forward again.

“Don’t make it worse,” he whispered in my ear.

“Yes, little feathered thing,” Celio murmured. “Don’t make it worse. When we first created you, you weren’t meant to feel. You’re just supposed to be a soldier, a pawn to fight the Enmity. But here you are, corrupt withloveandlust. Look at you.” He shook his head, and blond curls fell into his eyes. Liquid shine.

Gold.

Like my blood.

“What do you want?” I growled, but I could still feel that pain writhing in my chest. “What can Igivefor you to help him?” My eyes flashed to Theo, standing silently with a knife at his throat.

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