Black Destiny (Black Opals 2)

he felt at the thought of never seeing them again clutched at her chest hard and she began to breathe heavily in order to deal with it.

“We got a plan?” she asked once she’d composed herself.

Kerr’s body language was tense, his face dark with anger, worry and frustration.

“Kill anything that moves.”

“Got it.”

“Lily.” His voice broke and she was at his side in an instant. “I just want you to know,” he whispered. “When we get out of here there’s no going back.” His intense eyes captured hers and her belly rolled over as her heart began to accelerate. “I meant what I said earlier. You belong to me and I to you. If years of war have taught me anything it’s to grab hold of what’s good, of what you want and never let go.”

She could only nod. There was nothing else to say. Several explosions echoed into the bunker in rapid succession. They grabbed their weapons and began to move forward. There was no other exit. There was no going back.

The noise was deafening. The Serpentis had definitely arrived. Lily glanced at Kerr. He looked magnificent, larger than life, and as the adrenaline pumped through her, she smiled.

The last four weeks had been some of the toughest mentally and physically and yet they’d brought her a man unlike any she’d ever met before. And she’d totally do it all again, just for the chance to be with him.

A crash reverberated not more than ten feet away and she gritted her teeth, her fingers loose on the trigger. Nervous energy mingled with fear fuelled a fire that left her senses tingling, and as something flew at them she bit her tongue and her mind went into battle mode.

“Lily!” A scream sliced through the noise.

What the…? She shot a look at Kerr and held her hand up indicating full stop.

“Lily, where the hell are you?”

Lily began to move forward, not believing her ears. It couldn’t be…

And then her twin, Jaden, was there, right in front of her. The same features, long crimson hair reflecting back at her.

They ran to each other and Lily couldn’t stop the tears. “How?” she asked, confused.

“Never mind. We don’t have time. I’ll explain everything when we get back. Take this.” Jaden held Lily’s opal in the air and then placed it around her neck. “Had a run in with an asshole called Mallick.” She smiled though the concern in her eyes was very real. “We need to get you guys out of here right now.”

“But can we?” Lily tried to clamp down the hope that was burning inside of her. “Time shift with Kerr? This far from home?” As a general rule time traveling with someone other than a gifted shifter was dangerous. There were too many variables, too many dangerous outcomes.

“Frankie did it.” Jaden smiled wickedly. “You should see the tattooed dude she brought home to Dad.” She snorted. “And really, how could you leave someone who looks like that behind?”

The strange cluttering of the Serpentis was growing louder. Lily grabbed Kerr who looked down at her, clearly confused but willing to try anything.

“Hold onto me.” She touched his lips with her fingers. “We’re going to try and get out of here.” She smiled and shook her head. “There might be a chance after all.”

He nodded and the fact that he was so willing to trust melted her heart even more. The sisters focused, their Opals began to burn as they started to chant, their minds, spirits transcending time and space. Mist gathered along the floor, creeping up their limbs as a wind came from nowhere to caress their bodies.

Lily had never felt so powerful. With the strength of her sister and Kerr at her side, she knew anything was possible. As the energy began to pull at them, she opened her eyes, held onto Kerr and then succumbed to the magick.

The actual state of travel was distorted. Sound came and went, darkness became light and vice versa. Time slowed down and then sped up but through it all the absolute silence was constant. It seemed to stretch into forever but in fact only lasted several seconds.

The crashing of sound into her ears was the first sign she’d been successful. And then she was crying and hugging Kerr tight to her chest as she began to laugh hysterically. It was over. They were safe.

Kerr looked stunned as they lay in the shift chamber, their bodies a tangled mess of limbs and she grabbed his chin, taking his lips in a kiss that was full of emotion.

Slowly she became aware of an audience and Lily looked up into the faces of her mother, Rachel, sisters Serena and Frankie. There was a strange man she’d never met before but she dismissed him as she broke away from Kerr and was enveloped into the warm arms of her mother.

“Oh god, Mom, I thought I’d never see you again.”

Her mother stroked her head and Lily exhaled slowly as she tried to clamp down on the many emotions running through her. When she finally stepped away, she grabbed Kerr’s hand and brought him forward.

It was then that a nagging coldness rifled through her.