Warrior (Princesses of Myth #2)

“What?”


“May I take your order?”

A waitress with a pen and pad in hand smiled at us, and Silvie grumbled a loud, “No.”

“Sure you can. Is there a chicken salad?” I smiled at the waitress, glad for the intervention.

“Yes, there is.” She jotted the order down and glanced at Silvie. “And you, miss?”

“The same.” Silvie thumped her feet under the table.

“Ladies.” Silas swept in and pulled out a chair. “My sister looks frustrated. What have you done to her?”

“I’m going to tell her about us.”

“Sir, what would you like?”

“A steak and egg burger, thanks. Iced water.” He snatched my hand under the table. “Heck. I can’t stand not touching you. Make it quick.”

Silvie’s gaze narrowed to tiny slits as the waitress left. “If I’m correct, I believe you two are holding hands...under the table. Don’t get me wrong, Silas, but Davio will kill you. After eighteen years of learning all your pranks, I’m used to you and I’d quite like to keep you around.”

I took the deepest breath, ready to tell all. “Silvie, Davio won’t kill him because I’m not Faith. My name is Hope Wincrest. Faith’s my sister and we share the same mother, well, the same father too, but I lived with him, not her.”

Shoving her cutlery to the side, she stared. “A-are you serious?”

“Very. I wasn’t raised with Faith, although obviously she’s my twin. Instead I was taken by my father to Dralion, right after my birth.”

“Twin? My best friend has a twin?” Her breathing became loud as she fought to drag in air. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“It’s not. I live half my life in Dralion, and the other half on Wincrest Station in the outback.”

“Australia and Dralion?” Scratching her head, she turned her gaze on Silas. “Is this for real?”

From underneath the table, Silas lifted my hand clear. “Hope is my soul-bound mate. She can’t approach Faith until Kate’s become more settled. Alexo Wincrest’s asked it of her.”

“Oh hell.” Silvie’s eyes went saucer wide as she gripped the table’s edge. “This is mad. You two are soul-bound? We’ll have another Wincrest on Peacian soil?”

“Yes.” I merged my mind with Silas’s, needing the comforting space. “We have issues since I’m not one of your people, but we’re dealing with it.”

“How did this happen?”

“You believe me? Us?”

“Yes.” She snapped her fingers at Silas. “My brother doesn’t lie. Tell me everything.”

“Here we are. Your meals and drinks.” The waitress set our plates before us and Silvie scowled at her.

She moved away quickly and Silas said, “I think you’ve well and truly scared her off. And I was drawn to the station because of our bond. We’ve had quite the journey, even headed to No-Man’s Land where we met Elizara. She’s Katerin Sol’s sister.”

“Wow. Don’t stop.” She picked up her fork and stabbed a wedge of chicken from her salad, her gave riveted on Silas.

“Hope has the skill of mind-merge.”

She choked on her food and Silas pushed one of the glasses of water toward her. She coughed, and drank half the glass. “Whoa. The skill that kills.”

“Yes, but unlike Faith and Davio, Hope and I have created a telepathic link. Elizara has the same skill and taught Hope how to merge through the link. We have a way to reach each other, negating the three-day effect.”

Silas answered all of Silvie’s questions as we ate. She sometimes shook her head, other times, sighed as if in understanding.

Eventually, she simply stared. “This will kill Faith if she finds out I’ve withheld this information. I can understand why you’ve asked me to, but I know Kate well, and even though she’s been through so much, she’s still a strong woman. She could handle this.”

“No speaking of it, Silvie.” Silas’s demand was firm. “I abide by Hope’s wishes and so will you.”

“Please,” I implored. “She doesn’t know about me, and right now, she can’t. Alexo’s request comes first. He has forewarning. He wouldn’t have asked this of me without good reason.”

“Hope is my mate,” Silas reiterated.

“I get that part.” She swung her hand toward me, knocking her glass. It tipped to the side and she made a grab for it. Fumbling, she missed and it toppled.

I reached to catch it, but the water didn’t spill. It stayed in the glass.

No way.

I’d just kept the liquid inside. I hadn’t wanted it to flow over the table’s smooth surface and into my lap. With my mind, I’d held the water at bay.

The glass rolled into my plate with a clunk and Silas picked it up. He peered inside then turned it toward me. “Would you care to explain why the glass is still half full?”

“I must have the Sol’s water skill.”