Free In the Shadow of Angels: The Guardian Series 1 by Fanny Lee Savage Page A

long County Road was pitch black, only the glow of the moon and diamond shine of stars lending light. The vintage car’s headlights broke through the darkness as Emily sped, the speedometer hovering near ninety. We drove almost wildly down the flat winding road. Tall pine stands lined it on either side; an occasional double wide breaking the endless dark woods, its porch light a beacon in the ink black night.
    After giving up on the radio, I settled back into the seat, kicking my shoes off. Henri's teenage face flashed into my mind. We never talked of the day he left with our mother.
    “Did he tell you he loved you, Em?” I don't know why I asked. I didn't want an answer. Years ago, I came up with the notion he had used us both. Telling lies to gain our trust, luring Emily into betraying me. It no longer mattered, seven years later and as an adult, I liked to think I had grown past the hurt.
    “Who?”
    “Henri. Did he say he loved you?”
    “Of course he loved us!” Emily laughed, dismissing my question as silly.
    “No. Emily, when he took you to the sugar mill.” I pressed on, suddenly needing to know. “Did he tell you he loved you?”
    She remained quiet for a long time, her silence edging into the darker parts of my mind filling me with dread. “No,” she said, finally.
    It was silly, horrible of me really, but there was a small victory in her answer. Henri had told me he loved me every time we went to the mill. He made me promises and showered me in affection. But, he had still taken my twin there.
    “How long had you, you know, been together?”
    “We weren’t together,” she spat, her voice, twisted.
    “Then what were you doing at the mill?”
    “You have always been so naive,” she said, sharply. Emily gripped the wheel with both hands. “You have no idea what was going on. You lived in some dream land with Henri at the center. He didn’t love you or me. He loved the idea.”
    Her words stung. There was no pretending what Henri, and I shared. I could feel it, and I knew that Emily could, too.
    “You were jealous, and it killed you that he didn’t feel the same way about you,” I said, nastily, my voice slicing through the thick quiet.
    “Oh, Charlotte, I feel sorry for you. You believed he wanted to be with you. And maybe he did. But not for the reasons you thought.”
    I looked over at her. Emily was watching me in the dark, her eyes darting from me to the road as she drove.
    “You are unbelievable, Emily. You just can’t stand the idea that he didn’t want you. That he loved me over you.” Now I was the one being cruel, the one being petty.
    “You dumb girl. He may have been sweet with you, because that was what he knew you wanted. You were innocent. But he wanted more. And when you wouldn’t give him what he wanted, I was there, offering.” She laughed again, her body shaking, her hands still gripping the steering wheel.
    I wanted to and slap her. He told me he would wait for me. I knew she was lying. She had to be. Anger welled up, and noise roared in my head. I could no longer hear the rhythmic thump of the tires as we drove. Or the wind whipping at the canvas top of the vehicle. Only her words, cutting into my mind.
    “Once he had a taste of what he was missing, he wanted more.” She smiled wickedly. I could hear the lie in her words. She couldn’t stand that I had beaten her at something.
    “Wow, you are amazing,” I said the words with pity, but I felt like my head was going to explode. Part of me did pity her, but instead I was cruel. Her pain reached out to me, but I ignored it, reveling in the power I held. “But Henri would never have the likes of you. He must have felt sorry for you.”
    Emily remained quiet. No nasty retort, no further digs. Just thick silence, filling the small car, leaving it taut with resentment.
    “Fine. You’re right,” Emily said, finally. “He didn’t even try. I offered. I tried to make him love me the way he did you, but he never would.