Cora's Kismet (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 1) (4 page)

Liam knew there had been something between him and Cora, but
he’d never before experienced the electrical spark that occurred when he’d
grabbed her hand. He thought back to the house and the less powerful shock he’d
felt when their skin touched. He’d heard his parents describe what it felt like
the first time they’d touched, but it had been nothing compared to what he’d
just experienced with Cora, twice.

‘Could she be the one? Is Cora my soul mate?’
he
wondered as he led the twins through the warehouse to the extensive medical
facility they had built.

He caught her frequent looks over at him, filled with a
curiosity that matched his own. He wanted to know everything about her and he
wondered if she felt it too.

“Are you ever going to let go of my hand?” Cora asked him
after a little while.

He stopped and looked at her. He didn’t want to break the
connection between them, but forced himself to do so. As soon as he did, he
felt cold and alone.

‘It’s got to be her. She’s the one,’
he thought,
fighting a desperate battle with himself to keep from grabbing her hand again
and never letting go.

“Sorry,” he said, and began walking again. Liam couldn’t
stop himself from looking over every few steps, to make sure she was still
there, even though every nerve ending in his body was becoming attuned to hers
and knew she was close.

“What is up with this place? Has the punch been spiked,
because it seems like our ‘father’ is in his own little world,” Viola asked,
being her usual sarcastic self. “I mean Lunarians and Solarians? Some freaky
prophecy? You’ve got to be kidding us, right?”

“It’s all true. I am a Solarian. I am drawn to the sun and
draw my powers from it,” Liam replied. “I’m sure it is a lot to take in like
this, but you’re going to have to accept who you are, very, very soon if the
world is going to survive.”

“What are these powers everyone keeps talking about? Viola
and I don’t have powers,” Cora asked. She was about at her limit with all of
this crap.

“You have powers, but they’ve just been bound for your
protection. Didn’t Thomas already explain this to you?” Liam stopped before a
door and punched in a pin code. They watched as the door slid open with a quiet
hiss.

Neither girl responded as they stared into the enormous room
that had just about every piece of medical machinery they could’ve ever
imagined, and then some.

“Come in my dears!” exclaimed a short man in a white lab
coat, as he approached them at a brisk pace. He pulled each of the shocked
girls into a huge, warm hug as he said, “I am delighted to see Liam was able to
retrieve you and bring you here to safety. I have not seen you since the night
you were born. How beautiful you’ve both grown to be.”

Liam cleared his throat. “Dr. Brown, we need them scanned
for any possible tracking devices that may have been implanted without their
knowledge and we need it done ASAP.”

“Of course. Please follow me,” Dr. Brown said, and spun on
his heel. He took off weaving around device after device until he got to the
one he wanted. Cora was shocked at how energetic and agile the man was, because
he couldn’t have been younger than eighty.

A nurse walked up, handed a medical gown to each of the
twins and instructed them to go behind a screen to change. The woman seemed to
be a robot, that’s how cold and methodical she was. There was no such thing as
a bedside manner when it came to her, and the twins hoped they never had to
have her caring for them again.

After changing into the gowns, Liam took the clothes they’d
been wearing and handed them off to a guard. “Take these to be scanned. We’re
taking no chances.”

“But, what are we supposed to wear?” Viola protested. “I am
not walking around here naked.”

“Fresh clothes will be brought for you in just a few
minutes. Can we please get started Doctor?” Liam resorted to business first, as
much as he’d like to whisk Cora away and spend every moment learning about her,
he knew the sooner they got through this, the sooner he’d have his chance.

“Yes, yes, let’s get started,” the Doctor said, as he clapped
his hands and motioned for Cora to step towards the machine that looked like a
giant transporter tube from some science-fiction movie. “I hope you’re not
claustrophobic, but I promise it will go very fast. Please step inside and be
as still as possible.”

Cora stepped forward and exchanged looks with her sister. “I
don’t like this,” she whispered. Viola just nodded her head in agreement. She
stepped inside the tube and turned to face her sister. A door she hadn’t seen
swept closed, making her jump, while trapping her inside. She started to panic,
banging her hands against the clear glass tube.

“Please calm down and be still. This won’t hurt you at all,”
Dr. Brown said in a soothing tone, which had no effect on Cora whatsoever. It
wasn’t until Liam stepped up to the tube, and placed his hand on the outside,
that Cora responded to anything. She stopped banging on the glass and found her
hand reaching up to press against it, opposite his. Her eyes met his, and for
the life of her, she could not explain her reaction to him. Her world narrowed
until he was the only one in it besides her.

In the back of her mind, a small part of her recognized the
fact there was a whirring noise as the machine started up, but she couldn’t
focus on it. Her entire focus was on Liam. Every nerve ending in her body was
reaching out to him, in a way she’d never experienced before in her life. She
had no concept of time passing at all, when suddenly the door to the machine
whisked open, making her jump again. She moved out of the tube as fast as she
could and looked at her sister.

“What just happened?” Viola whispered in her ear.

“I don’t know,” Cora replied, shaken to her very core.

“Well, at least he’s super-hot,” Viola whispered to her, as
she stepped towards the tube. She wiggled her eyebrows at Cora and then stepped
inside. Cora rolled her eyes in response to her boy crazed sister’s comments.

“Did you find anything?” Cora remembered to ask, as the
machine started to scan Viola.

“Yes, if you’ll follow me.” The brisk nurse with zero bedside
manners told her.

“Can we wait for Viola?” Cora asked, hesitant to leave her
sister’s side. She felt if they were separated now, they’d never be brought
back together and she would not tolerate that. None of these people had earned
their trust just yet. She knew it was possible she was being paranoid, but she
just couldn’t help herself. That’s how they’d been raised up until now.

“Viola will be done in just a couple of minutes and brought
to where you are. We don’t have time for this. Let’s go,” the nurse clipped
out. She reached out and grabbed Cora’s arm in a rough grip and tried to pull
her along. Cora dug her feet into the floor and started fighting the nurse’s
manhandling of her, flashbacks of the past replaying in violent scenes in her
mind.

“Let go of her now,” Liam bit out in a fierce voice that not
only shocked the nurse, but Cora as well.  Cora was so shocked by Liam’s strong
reaction her memories faded behind the wall she’d built in her mind. The nurse
released her at once.

Liam reached out and took her hand in a gentle grip and
started to follow the nurse, tugging Cora along.

“Thank you,” Cora said in a soft voice. “I still don’t want
to leave Viola though.”

“I promise you, nothing will happen to her here. I’m sure
she will be brought over to you as soon as she’s done being scanned, to have
her chip removed as well. It seems the Kilpatricks did not want to take any
chances of losing the two of you and implanted tiny microchips in the back of
your right shoulder blades,” Liam informed her, as they reached a medical table
and he helped her onto it.

“They did what?” Cora exclaimed in shock.

“They implanted you with a tiny microchip that transmits
your location at all times. We need to remove it and dispose of it before they
get here and find your location,” The nurse replied, before Liam could speak.
“Now lie down on your stomach.”

“Will removing it hurt?” Cora asked, procrastinating.

“We will numb the area before removing it,” the nurse
replied, her words clipped. She was long past getting on Cora’s nerves.

“It’s ok, I’ll stay with you,” Liam told her, understanding
her hesitance. He guided her towards lying down, face first, with the gentlest
touch she’d ever experienced. When he touched her, she felt safe in a way she’d
never felt before.

“Promise?” she asked, before catching herself. She didn’t
know who this wimpy girl was that had appeared in her body out of nowhere. Cora
had never been a wimp. She’d always been strong through whatever life had
thrown at her and Viola.

The smile that lit up Liam’s face warmed her heart and made
her forget the self-loathing thoughts that had been running through her mind.
In fact, it made her forget everything but him. That wonderful smile made his
blue eyes dance, highlighted his strong square jaw, which had a short beard
growing on it that made Cora ache to reach up and run her fingers across it,
enhanced his high cheek bones and made her heart melt all at the same time. She
never even noticed when the nurse gave her a shot to numb the area the chip was
to be removed from. All she knew, in that moment, was him.

“I promise,” Liam said, reaching for her hand and gripping
it tight. She knew in that moment she wanted him with her forever.

Cora’s shoulder blade was sore after having the chip
removed, but she was glad it was gone. She couldn’t believe they’d chipped her.
‘
Who does that?’
she wondered as Liam led her and Viola from the medical
facility still holding her hand. She was thankful for the clothes that were
brought to them, because she had no desire to ever put back on the clothes Anna
had bought her.

“Where are we going now?” Viola asked Liam.

“We’re going to get you something to eat. It’s been a long
day and you’ve got to keep your strength up,” Liam said.

“For what?” Viola asked, as she gave Cora a slanted look.
Any other time, it would have been her asking all of the questions. Instead,
she was quiet as a mouse, absorbing everything going on around them, her
primary focus being on the feel of Liam’s hand in hers.

“As soon as your mother returns, they will unbind your
powers. You will have to learn how to use them as quick as you can, which will
be draining for you. Also, we’re going to have to teach you all about our
history and ancestry. Being gone as you were, and bound, you’re missing vital knowledge
that can and will save your lives,” Liam told her.

“So, we’re going to Lunarian/Solarian summer school? That’s
just great. I can assure you that is not how I planned to spend my summer
vacation before senior year,” Viola said in typical dramatic fashion. Cora
rolled her eyes and Liam gave her a small grin as they entered the kitchen
& dining area.

The smells coming from the room made Cora’s stomach rumble
in anticipation of food.

“I guess you could call it that. Come on, the spaghetti here
is the best. I know you’re both hungry,” Liam said, as he tugged on Cora’s
hand.

“Spaghetti? You don’t have some off-the-wall menu of stuff
we’ve never even heard of?” Viola asked in her normal upbeat tone. It was
always amazing to Cora how Viola could take everything in stride. It even made
her jealous sometimes.

“We eat the same things as humans do. Their food is
delicious. If we’re going to live here, amongst them, we have to blend in,
that’s all there is to it,” he said, grabbing plates and handing one to each girl
before grabbing his own.

He heaped mounds of spaghetti onto each of their plates and
grabbed several pieces of garlic bread for each of them. Then he turned and led
them to a table out of the way. Cora could feel the stares of the few people
who were lingering in the room follow them. It was starting to make her skin
crawl.

“So, do you live here?” Cora spoke up and asked, trying to
distract herself from being the center of attention in the room.

“No. We have apartments and houses and such,” Liam replied,
before stuffing his mouth full of spaghetti. “There are bunks here though, for
those who are working and don’t want to take the time to go home or don’t have
the time to take, but need to rest,” he said after he cleared his mouth, then
stuffed it full again.

Each of the girls took smaller bites and about rolled their
eyes into the backs of their heads. ‘
Such a typical male, eating like a pig,’
Cora thought and smirked behind the napkin she’d brought up to her mouth to
wipe the excess sauce from her lips. They both moaned in delight at how great
the food was. None of them said much else through the rest of the meal, as they
concentrated on eating.

When they were through, Cora laughed. “I think you’re going
to have to roll me out of here. I ate way too much. But it was just so good.”

“Yeah sis, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat like that,”
Viola said chuckling.

“It’s good though. Were they not feeding you well where you
lived?” Liam asked, concern etched all over his face.

“Most of the time it was fend for ourselves. There was never
much food in the house, so we learned to survive on very little,” Viola said,
before Cora could stop her.

“Why? Anna and Patrick had more than enough to provide for
you anything you needed, or wanted.” Cora noticed the concern in Liam’s voice
turn to anger and build as he asked the question.

“Who cares? We’re outta there now. Not going back, even if
we have to live on the streets,” Viola said with a shrug of her shoulders,
which gave off the air of nonchalance but Cora knew beneath that air was fury
and pain that ran deep.

“I’m sure Thomas and Angelica will have something to say
about that,” Liam said with a bite in his tone.

Cora put a hand on his arm to calm him. “Don’t worry about
it. We’re fine.”

“Don’t defend them. It was wrong what they did, not feeding
you properly. What else did they do to you?” Liam asked, realizing malnutrition
may not be their only crime against the twins.

“I am not defending them. I will never do that,” Cora said
in a low tone, full of rage and then faked a huge yawn. “Can we talk about this
some other time? I’m beat and I’ll bet you are too Vi.” She gave her sister a
look, warning her not to say anything else. Viola had a big mouth once she got
started and there were things Cora didn’t want known. She didn’t want to see
the looks of pity that would be directed their way once word spread of the
abuse they’d endured at the hands of the Kilpatricks from the time they could
walk.

“Yeah, I’m kinda beat myself. Even though that tranq put me
to sleep, it wasn’t exactly restful. Where are we supposed to be staying?”
Viola responded in an easy manner.

“Of course you’ll be staying with us dear,” a female voice
said from behind them. The girls turned around, and for the first time, laid
eyes on their mother.