Daughter of Gods and Shadows by Jayde Brooks Read Free Book Online Page B

thought he was, and just as confused as Eden.
    Eden walked with her head lowered, her arms folded across her chest, angry. It seemed like she was always angry and guarded, prepared to fight, ready to explode. It was not a good way to live but it was easier with her head down. She didn’t have to look at them, and they were everywhere—creatures that looked like they were straight out of a horror movie, or aliens, only nobody else seemed to notice but her.
    Eden walked down into the subway station replaying Rose’s words back from memory.
    â€œYou’re starting to see them.” The knowing look in Rose’s eyes years ago, when Eden was just a child, caught Eden by surprise. “I know you are,” the beautiful and ageless olive-skinned Rose had said, taking hold of Eden’s hands in hers. “You don’t have to tell me. I know what you see.”
    â€œWho are they, MyRose? Are they aliens?”
    She laughed. “They are just different, Eden. And only very special people are allowed to see them.”
    That’s how Rose spun things to her that couldn’t be explained. She called Eden special. Rose did the best she could under the circumstances. Eden didn’t always tell her how much she loved her. She wasn’t Eden’s birth mother, but she had raised her, taken care of her, and loved her.
    When Eden was a child, Rose was her refuge and her teacher. As Eden grew older, Rose became her anchor in a life that seemed to become more confusing with each passing year. Rose had tried to make Eden understand what was happening to her. She’d hoped that Eden would somehow embrace her so-called destiny, but she might as well have asked Eden to take a running leap over the moon.
    *   *   *
    They only wanted the pretty ones. This one was pretty. Very pretty. Tall and shapely; she wore her hair long. Both of them liked long hair on a woman. She wore her jeans tight. Nice. She was young too, with smooth skin, soft-looking and brown. And she had a beautiful mouth. It was hard not to be impressed by the shape of it, with lips that looked pillow-soft. One of them liked to kiss and would kiss her. The other didn’t care for kissing at all, but still … she had a nice mouth.
    All the girls were careless. That’s one of the things they all had in common. They felt safe in their own skin, believed that nothing or no one could hurt them. It was obvious in how they walked and carried themselves, confidently and without concern or worry. They all knew how beautiful they were, but none of them believed that their beauty could be that thing that trapped them and condemned them.
    Neither man—brothers—ever had to talk about the things they did. They never had to plan or discuss their intentions with the women. They were twins, after all, and knew each other’s thoughts and needs intimately. When they spotted a woman, if they were together, they’d both fall into their roles quite naturally to make the magic happen.
    This woman caught the train at three o’clock in the morning into Brooklyn after leaving the bar where she worked. She walked the same path to the same subway station and stood in the same spot on the platform waiting for the same train, and when it came, she’d get on and sit in the same seat. One of the brothers followed her down into that train station; the other was already there, waiting. Except for the three of them, the platform was empty.
    The anticipation was nearly as gratifying as the act itself. It was about more than just the sex. It was about the element of surprise, of catching the cocky bitch off guard and proving to her once and for all that she wasn’t invincible or too damn beautiful to be touched. It was as much about the power, the control of taking what they wanted without having to wait for permission. It was about the adrenaline coursing through the three of them, the woman in fighting for her virtue