I nodded. Yes, yes I did. I was too nosy for my own good and wanted to know everything I possibly could about them. Sleep could wait.
“Move over.”
Abel scooted back, taking me with him. Addison lifted the corner of the white blanket and climbed in. I felt panic for a brief moment at the thought of being stuck between the two of them but it didn’t last. Probably because Addison didn’t try to touch me. He was a lot more reserved with his physical affections than his twin, unless he was shoving me, that is. I appreciated that he withheld his touch, I wasn’t ready for a whole lot more at this point.
Abel snuggled into my back as Addison shoved both his hands behind his head. The muscles in Addison’s arms bulged beneath his t-shirt and I had to force myself to look away. When I was around them like this it was
easy to forget how big they were. Addison’s bulging muscles were a blatant reminder of their sheer size. Abel muttered something under his breath and the lights winked out.
I tensed, finding myself afraid of the dark.
“Look up,” Abel whispered in my ear.
I did and my lips curved up in a small smile. The entire ceiling was covered in the neon light of hundreds of glow in the dark stars. There was no pattern I could make out, no reason to their placement.
“My twin doesn’t like the dark, either,” Addison muttered.
I stiffened and turned my head to glare at him. “I’m not afraid of the dark.”
I so totally was afraid of the dark. Why did they have to keep bringing it up?
“Right,” Abel drawled.
I wanted to smack the both of them.
“Dicks,” I muttered angrily.
Addison coughed hard to cover up his laughter. Abel didn’t bother to hide his.
I sighed heavily and tried to roll away from Abel’s embrace. He squeezed me, not letting me move an inch away from him.
“Sorry, sorry.” Abel said. “We won’t laugh at you anymore, I swear it. And, if you recall, my brother did say I did not care for the dark, either. The stars are up there for me.” I felt him shrug his shoulders. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
I rolled my eyes. Good for him. He could admit it all he wanted, he wouldn’t get the same from me.
“Annabell is one of the three. Well, technically it’s four now with you, but no one knows about you besides us so we don’t have to count you in with those other bitches just yet.”
Abel groaned loudly. “Twin.”
“What? They’re bitches and you know it. All three of them are. Annabell is probably the worst of all of them.”
“Twin, seriously,” Abel butted in, “get on with it.”
“Fine, fine,” Addison grumbled. “Annabell is a stuck up, thinks her shit doesn’t stink, vile bitch. See, the thing is, if you’re born with magic and you have a vagina then you’re raised like a princess and given your every heart’s desire. And you’re told you can pick whatever coven of your choosing to join. Well, anyone can pick their own coven but it’s different with the girls. Years ago, I mean way the fuck back in the day, it was decided that the coven the female chose would share her. That way there would be no inner fighting over who gets the girl. It was also the best way to ensure the safety and the happiness of the thing we covet most in life. Every coven dreams of having their own female, but it’s only a dream and no one expects it to ever become a reality.”
I absolutely did not like the way this conversation was going, but it did explain the conversation I’d listened in on outside of the kitchen. They did expect me to date them all. Well, save for the two who thought I was too young and didn’t seem to like me. I was beginning to think this was all one long dream I didn’t know how to wake up from. Who the hell were these people?
Brothers of the flame.
That’s what crazy Uncle Quinton had called them. What did that even mean?
“We never believed for a second that we would be blessed enough to have a female witch of our own. Quinton is angry, hateful and has always done shit that makes him seem like a stone-cold motherfucker. He’s our leader and I don’t think there’s many people who would see all of that as a potentially good catch. Until you get a good look at his bank account, that is. Quinton is loaded. Ty’s got more money and he used to be a lot less like Quinton. He was once the nicest guy we knew, and he never, not ever, lost his temper. It wasn’t until after Annabell that he became more like his Uncle.”
It was hard to imagine the Tyson he was talking about. I couldn’t line him up with the Tyson I had met on the first day of school. Even now that we were friends and he treated me with care I could still sense the darkness within him just below the surface. At every moment he could snap, the switch to his temper flipped and then he’d turn into the aggressive asshole I’d first met. He was like a caged animal. With Quinton, he was an animal who’d long since escaped the confines of his cage and he had no leash. I had no problem with believing the things he’d said about Quinton because that was simply the man he was, he didn’t try to hide it. I really liked this about Quinton.
“When Annabell turned seventeen she decided to go from coven to coven to see if she could find a place better suited for her than the coven she was born in to. She didn’t want to stay where she was. Her father had died when she was just a little girl and her mother had died while giving birth to her. The Elders in her father’s coven raised her. Growing up with their children, their sons, she was treated better than the rest of the children and it rotted her on the inside. She’s a vicious, spoiled bitch and the men she grew up with knew it. Still, they wanted to keep her for themselves. She, however, wanted more for herself. The only covens she stayed with for any length of time were the ones with the wealthiest people, like Quint and Ty. Not all covens are well off like ours is. She showed up here right after Ty’s parents died. He was a vulnerable wreck and Quinton was closed off from the rest of us and angrier than his usual self. She latched on to Ty like a leech and she tried to bleed him dry. She wanted to manipulate him into being her puppet. She used him and tried to turn him against Quinton because she didn’t like him. She didn’t like most of us. In fact, the only one’s she liked were Ty, Julian and Damien.
“She got to Ty because he was drowning in his grief and needed something to focus on. What’s better than a pretty girl with magic who sleeps with you and whispers sweet things in your ear when you’re having a bad day. We’re taught from birth that there isn’t anything better than a girl with magic. Hell, she doesn’t even have to be pretty for people to desire her. Lucky for us you’re pretty and sweet.”