Flawless by Evans, Gabrielle (icecream ebook reader TXT) 📗

whispered in his ear. “Just find Thane.” A chaste kiss was dropped on Lynk’s lips before Kieran backed away, moving farther across the enormous, vacant field.

The rolling fog, dark shadows, and ghostly beams cast by the moon were starting to creep him out. It was far too silent, as though all noise in the universe had been muted before passing through the thick, gray clouds that hovered around them.

A large building suddenly appeared out of nowhere right behind him, rising up out of the ground as though sprouted from a seed. Lynk gasped and backed away, staring around him with his mouth hanging Flawless 111

open. More buildings appeared, along with bright lights as well as soft twinkling string lights. The volume inside their little world suddenly exploded into loud, thumping music, raucous laughter, and animated conversation.

There were people everywhere—some with drinks in their hands, others just standing together in small groups, smiling, chatting, and looking very pleased to be just where they were. Not one person appeared confused or suspicious about suddenly finding themselves thrown into a party where they hadn’t been just moments before. The power of dreams was a magical thing.

Lynk didn’t see any of his cohorts, though. They’d all dispersed into the crowd, leaving him very much on his own. A little quiver of panic worked its way up his spine, but he batted it away and prepared himself for what needed to be done. He didn’t know how long they’d have, so he needed to make the most of his allotted time.

Settling himself against the wall of the brick building behind him, he slid down to the concrete sidewalk and tried to appear as unassuming as possible. A bottle of cheap whiskey appeared in his right hand, the cap removed, and only half-full of its contents. Lynk stared at it for a moment before snorting and rolling his eyes. Bannon Murphy was just a barrel of laughs—the idiot.

Curling the bottle close to his chest, Lynk figured he might as well play the part of drunken vagabond. So, he splayed his legs out in front of him, let his head loll to the side so that his ear rested on his shoulder, and hiccupped a couple of times just for effect.

Internally, he emptied his mind of all thoughts, shut out the noise around him, and dropped his shields—opening himself to his lost brother. “Thane? Are you here?”

“Hello, brother.” Thane sounded weak, his voice muffled like he was speaking through a ball of cotton. “It’s been a long time.”

“We’re going to help you. We’ll get you out of there, but I need to know where you are. Is Leader Tuesday holding you in Snake River?

Are you locked away in a dungeon somewhere?” 112 Gabrielle

Evans

Lynk heard his brother snort at him through their mental bond. “A dungeon? Perhaps he has me guarded by a dragon as well? The lonely and frightened damsel, forced to lament the loss of her freedom until the white knight arrives on his valiant steed to scale the castle walls.”

“Okay, now you’re just being a dick.” Lynk rolled his eyes.

Thane had always been a bit theatrical and dramatic.

His rich, warm laughter traveled through their link, growing louder and more defined. “Sorry, Lynk. It’s just so much fun to tease you, though.”

“Yes, so you have all told me on numerous occasions. That’s not helpful right now, though. I need to know where you are if we’re going to get you out.”

“I’m right here, of course.”

“Thane!” It took a great deal of restraint for Lynk to remain seated and not throw himself at his twin. To outsiders, it would appear as though they weren’t even related, let alone had shared the same womb.

Where he was small and thin, Thane was over six feet with muscles for days. His hair was a golden blond like sunshine on a wheat field, a stark contrast to Lynk’s midnight locks. Thane’s hair was longer than when Lynk had last seen him, and he was in desperate need of a shave.

“You look like shit,” Thane commented with a wink as he settled on the ground beside Lynk. “Where are we anyway?”

“One of our Enforcers is a dream builder. And my appearance is a ruse. What’s your excuse?”

“I’ve been held hostage for the last two years? I spent the last few months of that captivity inside a well? Are those good enough excuses for you?” Thane didn’t sound bitter. In fact, there was a bit of amusement in his tone.

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Lynk was horrified, however. “Where? In Snake River? Did Leader Tuesday do it? Are there guards? Why can’t you use your magic to get out? What do they want with you?” Thane chuckled under his breath. “Calm down, Lynk.” The smile slid from his face, and he became serious. “You know exactly what they want, but I won’t tell them where the Book of the Banished is.

That’s why they dropped me in the well. They’re getting desperate and trying to crack me. I’m being held by vampires, but I don’t know their names or even where I am. Snake River? Where exactly is that?”

“In Wyoming,” Lynk supplied then shut his trap so that Thane could continue.

“Hmm.” Thane scratched at the scraggly beard on his jaw, the hairs a shade darker than the sandy locks that fell from his crown to brush over the tops of his shoulders. “I’m not sure how I got all the way to Wyoming. I was in Belgium when they took me.” Lynk didn’t know what to do with that bit of information, so he tucked it away to discuss with the others later. “How are they keeping you there?”

“They kept me sedated for the first few months. Now, they feed me only enough to keep me alive so that they can drink from me or syphon blood into vials. I think my magic is dying along