Page 42 of Taken By the Twins

That’s not necessarily true. As a pair of twins who shared their essence their whole lives before giving it to me, technically they do have two pairs of horn. They just each have a pair on their own heads.

Not like I need to one-up Billie and her friend. Maybe a decade ago I would have, but that’s the old Tandy. And while that part of me will never die—especially since I’m immortal now—I don’t need to rub it in their faces that my twin mates are the longest-lived, most respected seers in all of Sombra, plus the only set of demons that exist.

Why do that when I can simply give them my most lascivious grin and say, “Who needs two pairs of horns when you have two cocks?”

Kennedy lifts her hand, covering her mouth as she giggles.

Billie, like she used to whenever I made a comment like that, simply rolls her eyes.

I just grin at them.

And that’s when, over the sudden, stunned silence, we hear someone shout out near enough to the window to catch our attention.

My mates, too. As one, Damien and Lucian turn in the opposite direction. Loki—two horns with purple eyes—shifts on his heel, racing for the door; no doubt he’s coming inside for his pregnant mate. Glaine—two horns with green eyes—starts to jog in the direction that my demons are staring in.

Right. Because he’s the guard, and if he’s Billie’s mate, he’s sure that she can take care of herself. That, or she’s safe in the house while he goes to see what’s causing the ruckus outside.

I’m sure my mates would want me to do the same. But, thanks to the essence exchange, they have to know that keeping me safe and sound, out of sight and out of mind, is never going to work for me. Hell, I’m the chick who said ‘fuck it’ and ran into the shadows to find Damien, and even though I understand now just how close to being lost he was when I found him, that didn’t stop me from letting him have me however he wanted.

There’s a reason why Billie and I always got along. Though Sierra was usually the instigator, with Billie having to bail me and Sierra out whenever we got into trouble, Billie is determined. She’s fearless, too, and will never let anyone tell her what to do.

She also has a motherly instinct a mile wide. I’m actually kind of surprised that she’s not the one ready to pop out a kid, like Kennedy is—and, from what I understand now, Sierra, too—but she always took care of us. First, Sierra and me, while we were in Thr33peat, then Whiskey Rose as Sierra’s popstar persona’s manager.

Now she has Glaine, and as soon as he takes off, so does she.

I’m curious. Can’t help it, and though I wait just long enough to help Kennedy get awkwardly off the couch when she flailed a little, we follow after Billie.

Loki meets us on the front porch leading into Glaine and Billie’s home.

“Kennedy,” rumbles the purple-eyed demon. “Stay near.”

She nods, and the three of us hurry over to where Damien, Lucian, Billie, and Glaine are.

We’re not the only ones looking around. Multiple demons—and demonesses that look nothing like the males—step out of their houses, conferring the way that nosy humans do back home.

“What’s going on?” asks Kennedy.

“It’s Shannon,” Loki tells her. Shannon? Who’s Shannon? That’s a human name if I ever heard one.

Kennedy’s hand drops to her belly. “Is it time?”

Her mate nods. “Malphas came running into the village, carrying his human. The clanmother and clan leader went to his quarters. Azazel is there now, too. We must stay here and give them their peace and privacy if we expect the same.”

I’m so confused. I mean, yeah, I’m the newbie here, but it’s like I’m the only one who has no clue what any of that means.

Even my mates seem to understand. I don’t sense any confusion coming from them, and when I turn to find them both, I’m stunned by how absolutelybrighttheir eyes are. They’re still purple, but like they’re suddenly high-beams, you’d almost mistake them for white.

“The child is coming,” intones Lucian.

“Duke Haures is coming,” adds Damien.

“The end is coming,” they echo at the same time.

I’m sorry… what?

I just found my demons. What do they mean, the end is coming?

And why, when I reach through the bond to understand what they mean, is desperation to keep me forever the only thing I feel? I thought we had forever?—

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