Free Reclaimed by Diane Alberts Page B

as well. His record remained—or had been, anyway—undefeated. No one could get around him; he was infallible.
    The key word being was .
    Isaac had a very powerful gift as well. He could, in essence, control the weather. A sunny day could turn into a turbulent tornado at the blink of an eye. When he got too emotional, or out of control, the weather matched. The first few years of this life had been quite disastrous. Many villages had been destroyed by his anger. It took years for him to manage it, but he had gotten to the point where he could easily stay under control.
    Or he had been, until Sabrina walked into his life a few weeks ago. Now, nothing felt under his control.
    The ground shook from the force of the thunder overhead as he contemplated Elijah’s growing power. His brother’s gift had always been his speed and strength. But…now he disguised himself as well.
    So he was not only up against an unarguably superior opponent in speed and strength, but also one immune to his defenses?
    Shit, shit, shit .
    Kicking a tree, he stalked into the dark woods. Sabrina’s screams from her nightmare echoed in his head, no matter how far he walked.
    Come on, man .
    “Connor? Get over here.” His voice came out so soft a human would not hear it.
    Sensing Connor’s presence, he swung to face him and scowled. Connor smiled sheepishly.
    “Sorry about earlier. I ran into the side of the house. I thought I had more room, but obviously calculated wrong. Did she see me?”
    “Yes, but it’s okay. I took care of it.” He snapped as he waved his hands. “What I really want to know is how Elijah managed to get to Sabrina. Didn’t you sense him? Try to block him? What happened?”
    Isaac knew he sounded like an ass. He didn’t care.
    “Wait, what? Elijah has been nowhere near here, I’m sure of it. I would have known.” Isaac watched as anger, disbelief, and finally shock crossed his friend’s face. “No. No way he came here. Even now I can’t sense his presence. You’ve gotta be wrong. It’s not possible,” he whispered.
    It was as bad as he’d feared. Connor couldn’t even sense Elijah had been here, yet alone whether or not he remained here? The world would go to hell in a freaking hand basket.
    Lovely .
    Lightning and thunder crashed overhead.
     
    ***
     
    The next day, Sabrina yawned for the fifth time in one minute before giving up and heading into the kitchen. Time for another cup of coffee.
    A damn storm had killed any chance she had of getting any sleep last night. Where the hell had it come from, anyway? As she inhaled the hazelnut aroma steaming from her mug, she contemplated her dilemma. Isaac had left this morning after an admonishment to be careful, which she knew translated to do not let Elijah in .
    A knock sounded at the door. Weird, she hadn’t been expecting anyone. She grabbed the knife off the island, just in case, and went to open the door. She gripped the doorknob and froze. She didn’t need to wonder who stood on the other side. Elijah.
    She could sense him.
    Why could she sense Elijah, without even seeing him, but Isaac could walk up behind her and grab her, and she’d be none the wiser?
    Why would she sense his soul, his essence, calling to her from the other side of the door?
    And why did it feel like such a betrayal?
    Oh, right. Because it was .
    She should be attached to Isaac, the man from her real life. Not the one that haunted her dreams. Yet, even knowing she should avoid him at all costs, some invisible pull led her to wrench the door open.
    She studied him by the light of day for the first time. Though his eyes and features were identical to Isaac’s to the casual observer, Elijah was distinctly different. His face seemed harder, more cynical. Like he had seen and done it all already—and life no longer held any fun for him. His mouth also appeared to be set tighter than Isaac’s, and his body held more tensely. She wondered if he always looked so harsh.
    So dangerous