He cupped Sunshine's cheek so that he could stare into her dark brown eyes. There was nothing about her features that reminded him of his wife, but her actions...
"Talon? What's wrong?"
He couldn't speak. He didn't dare tell her that she reminded him of a woman he had loved fifteen hundred years ago.
"Nothing," he said quietly. "You need to dress."
She got up.
"Speirr?"
Talon grabbed the blanket and covered himself as Ceara shimmered into his cabin.
"Is something wrong?" Sunshine asked as she noted his sudden discomfort.
He shook his head.
Ceara drew up short as she caught sight of Sunshine. Her eyes widened. "You have company?"
He didn't answer. He couldn't without clueing Sunshine into the fact that Ceara was with them.
"Is there a problem?" he asked.
"No," Sunshine said.
"Yes," Ceara responded. "Did you know Acheron is looking for you?"
Talon scowled. He grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand and dialed Acheron's number.
No one answered.
"Is his phone turned off?" he asked.
Sunshine's scowl matched his. "Whose phone?"
Ceara shook her head. "He's been trying to reach you all night."
His frown deepened. Looking down, he dialed Nick.
Again, no answer.
"This is weird," Talon said. "No one answers."
Sunshine shrugged the matter away. "Not really. It's almost two a.m. Maybe they're asleep."
"Trust me," he said, "these guys are wide awake right now." He turned back toward his sister. "Ceara, where's Acheron?"
"Ceara?" Sunshine asked. "Acheron? What are you talking about?"
Ceara ignored her interruption. "He's with Artemis at the moment, but he's been worried about you."
"Why did you wait so long to come?" Talon asked.
"I couldn't get here any earlier. Something kept me blocked from you."
"Since when?"
"I don't know. Something has its power cocooned around you. Something dark and evil."
"Who are you talking to?" Sunshine asked.
"Sunshine, please, I'll explain in a minute. First, I need a few answers." He looked back at Ceara.
Ceara was staring at Sunshine curiously. She walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sunshine shivered. "What was that?"
Ceara jumped back as if the contact had shocked her. "Nynia," she breathed, looking up at him with a startled frown.
Something inside him screamed out a denial. This time when he spoke to Ceara, he spoke in their native Celt. "Nae, she's not. It's not possible."
"Possible or not, brathair, it is her. She has Nynia's soul. Can you not feel it?"
Talon stared at Sunshine, his heart hammering.
Could it really be?
Wrapping the blanket around his hips, he moved over to where Sunshine stood and placed his hands on each side of her face. He tilted her head up so that he could look into her dark eyes.
In spite of his denials, he felt her. He had felt her the first moment he had looked at her under the lamplight.
From the deepest corner inside him, he'd known all along she was his Nynia. Known the first instant he had tasted her.
His hands shook from the truth of it.
"How can this be?" he asked.
But in his heart, he already knew. Camulus had sent her to him.
She was here to destroy him all over again.
His chest tightened to the point he couldn't breathe.
That was why he had been so attracted to her. Why he didn't want to leave her. Camulus wanted her to seduce him so that he would have to watch her die once again. In his arms.
Closing his eyes, Talon pulled Sunshine against him and held her tight, torn between wanting to fight heaven and earth to keep her and knowing in the end he would invariably lose.
No one ever defeated a god.
Sunshine struggled to breathe inside his crushing embrace. "Talon, you're scaring me. What's going on?"
"It's nothing. I just need to get you home."
Away from me before the gods realize that you're here and decide to punish you for it.
"Speirr?" Ceara asked, her voice sounding distant. "I can't stay here. I'm being pulled away again."
"Ceara?"
She was gone.
Talon clamped down hard on his emotions. He couldn't afford to have them right now. He had too many things to do and he needed all of his powers to face the challenge of keeping Sunshine safe.
Not to mention, he needed to find out what was interfering with Ceara's powers and Acheron's phone.
Sunshine's life was in his hands. This time, he wouldn't fail her.
Talon ground his teeth, wishing he could change history.