“He moved out?”

Emme nodded. “That’s what it looked like.”

I straightened and carefully rose, not wanting to believe it. “I’ll go talk to her.”

I found Taran in the suite furthest away. She lay on the queen-sized bed, wrapped in a small white throw. Although her back was to me, I knew she was crying. The smell of her salty tears hit my nose before I could reach the bed.

Taran and I were tight, real tight. I knew when to push her and when to give her space. I lay next to her and waited for her to speak.

“How are things with you and Aric?” she asked.

I stared at the ceiling, ready to tell her we were fine. But that would’ve been a lie. “We’re okay.”

My comment gave her pause. “Just okay?”

“Things aren’t the same lately, Taran,” I admitted. “Aric’s temper has been short since the shape-shifters attacked. He’s irritable and exhausted all the time. I’m worried. He claims to be having trouble controlling his human half.”

“Not his wolf?”

I knew what she meant. It should have been the other way around. “No. It’s his human side that’s giving him problems.”

“You can’t be serious? What the hell’s his human’s problem?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Don’t be mad. I think he’s stressed about returning to his duties. The thing is, now I’m doing it, too. I wigged out—lost it completely and totally embarrassed him. I don’t get that way with Aric, ever. I was so crazy at the time. But he was more upset because I was upset. He stayed reasonable when I couldn’t think straight. I know we’ll be okay, so long as only one of us gets loony at a time.”

“I guess,” she said. “It’s obvious he adores you. Hell, any time you’re in the same room together he can’t tear his eyes off you.”

Her words made me want to smile, but I held back. “The nightmares are getting worse,” she said in the quiet that seemed to shroud the suite.

I almost didn’t want to know. “How?”

“I can see into the eyes that haunt my dreams. As dark as they are, I can see what they see. Ceel…I watch Mom and Dad being murdered in their reflection every time those eyes visit my dreams.”

“Taran…Jesus.”

Her voice croaked. “Yeah. I know.” There was more that she wanted to say, and she did, quickly abandoning the subject of our parents and how brutally they’d lost their lives. I couldn’t blame her. That was one of those topics we avoided at all costs, except what she said next didn’t offer me any sense of comfort. “Gemini asked me to marry him.”

I sat up slowly. Like her nightmares, I could tell by her tone this wasn’t good news. The scent of her misery surrounded us, clinging to the air and erasing all other aromas. “When?”

“Earlier today. He took me to the clearing that overlooks the lake. I thought he wanted to talk about some of the shit we’ve been going through. Instead he opened this little velvet box and asked me to be his wife.”

Tears dripped from her eyes and landed on top of the comforter. “You said no, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did. What choice did I have?” It was then Taran finally broke down. “Things have been broken between us since Anara ravaged my body. I know Gemini feels bad, I know he feels guilt. But that doesn’t make it okay for him to treat me like a freak.”

Taran sat up and rubbed the area between her breasts before the motion caught her attention and she stared at her gloved hand. “When we would make love, he wouldn’t touch it. I’d keep it covered, but he’d cringe away.”

I stroked Taran’s dark hair away from her face. She often exaggerated; it was part of her spirited personality. But this time, I didn’t believe she was distorting the truth. Gemini had been distant around her. He persistently maintained his gaze fixed on her face or anywhere else besides her deformed arm, and while he remained affectionate, his efforts seemed forced.

And I’d never seen him touch her affected limb.

“Does Aric avoid touching you where you were injured?” she asked quietly.

I didn’t want to admit that Aric frequently caressed the thick ugly scars marring my lower belly or how he’d often kiss the area when we made love. It was his way of recognizing the pain Anara inflicted and the invariable reminder of our loss. “No,” I answered simply.

“Which is why you’re marrying him, and why I told Gemini to walk.”

I sighed. “Taran, there has to be more to this than what you’re seeing. I think you need to talk things through. You love him. I know you do. Just like I know that he loves you.”

She shook her head. “He doesn’t love me. Not anymore. He loved the perfect girl, with the perfect smile, and the perfect body.” When she spoke again she was sobbing. “He doesn’t want the one who’s deformed, who can’t control her magic, who’s seconds from breaking down every time he recoils from her touch.”

I pulled her to me, embracing her gently as my heart broke along with hers. “Taran, if he asked you to marry him, it’s because he wants to promise you forever.”

Taran quieted then. “Forever is a long time with someone who finds you repulsive.”

I didn’t have a response for that. When it came down to it, I couldn’t excuse his behavior, just like I couldn’t blame her for refusing him. I gathered her closer, hoping that with time, my sister would be all right. Something was really wrong with Taran. And Gemini was only a part of the problem.

—
We hit the ground running when we arrived in Langkawi. That is, if hitting the ground includes dressing up like whores. When a she-vamp held up my so-called attire for the evening, I thought she was handing me a red silk infinity scarf. I peered around her, expecting more. “Where’s the rest?” I asked like a moron.

The vamp straightening my hair paused, as did the one applying my makeup. “What do you mean, where’s the rest? That’s what you’re wearing,” Agnes said, like it was obvious. “Show her the back.”

All there was to the back was a sheer mesh skirt. “Don’t worry. You’ll have a matching red thong and cute gold earrings,” Agnes added to sweeten the deal.

Somehow I thought the “cute” gold earrings would do little to draw attention away from my bare backside bouncing along. For the love of all holy, I didn’t want to wear the dress. In fact, I thought whoever designed it should have been arrested and possibly flogged. But I needed to grab Dilip’s attention and keep it. And I couldn’t deny that dress had the power to do it.