“The resemblance is remarkable,” Nicolas said, his hand cupping Danika’s hair and letting it fall through his fingers.

“The resemblance to whom?” Danika Sinclair demanded, twisting away from the odd stranger. “Who do I look like?” She placed her hands on her hips, her eyes fixing him with a steely glare.

“Aye,” the older of the two men said.

“Ok. This is weird—even for me,” Danika said, stepping back from the first man’s scrutiny. “And I’ve done weird nearly all my life. I’m out of here.” She started to move past him, but he blocked her path. She locked her chestnut eyes with his brilliant blue ones, her arms akimbo. “Get out of my way,” she snarled.

The stranger stared at her, a crooked grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. The smug look on his face infuriated her. She tried to go around him, but he stepped easily with her. Frustrated, she raised her hand to strike him, but he blocked the blow, grabbing her arm and yanking her to him.

“Don’t. Test. Me.” He enunciated each word clearly and slowly, his voice low and terse.

She stared at him, her heart beating wildly as he held her against him. She could feel the sinewy hardness of his muscles as he effortlessly pinned her lithe body against his. His hair was brushed back in soft waves, the color in stark contrast to the crisp white of his freshly laundered, collared shirt. She had a sudden, uncontrollable urge to undo the buttons and push the soft fabric from his shoulders. Lost in her fantasy, she felt her face grow hot as he placed two fingers beneath her chin and brought her eyes back to his face. Her mouth made a tiny “oh” of surprise as she realized she’d been caught eyeing the goods.

The older man cleared his throat, reminding the two they weren’t the only ones in the room. Dani looked at the older man, glad for the momentary distraction yet acutely aware he’d also witnessed her shameless behavior. She’d never seen a man as large as the imposing warrior. Even the ranch hands who did most of the heavy labor around the hacienda couldn’t come close to this man’s bulk. He was all lines and muscles and damn intimidating. The younger man, in contrast, was lean and sculpted. His eyes were an arresting shade of blue that set off his jet-black hair. He excited her in a way no other man ever had and that was dangerous territory for her.

Dani pulled away from the younger man and placed her hands on her hips, her sloe-eyes throwing daggers. “I want answers or I will call my guards.”

Nicolas laughed softly. “Une feroce, it was your guards who brought us to you.” At the look of alarm on her face, Nicolas added, “Relax, ma belle. We are not the enemy. We are on the same side. We fight for the same freedoms.”

She tapped her foot impatiently, her anger growing more visible. “Who are you?” she demanded, cocking her head to one side, a scowl forming on her otherwise soft features.

“I’m a friend,” he said, his arms splayed wide in front of him.

“I don’t have any,” she growled. It was a lie. But she didn’t want to show any sign of weakness in front of this man. She needed reinforcements and someone to corroborate his story.

“Then you need one,” he said more softly this time, his voice deep and rich.

She arched one delicate eyebrow at him but otherwise said nothing. Her heart continued its erratic pace while her legs threatened to give out, but she was determined to hold her ground. “You both need to leave,” she said with more authority than she felt. “I don’t know why you’re here or why my guards would have let you pass, but until Grand Maester Martinez says differently, I will treat you both as the intruders you appear to be.” She gestured toward the door, but both men remained where they were.

Dani didn’t like where this was headed. She pushed past Nicolas and pulled the door open, intending to exit. He crossed the room in three easy strides and grabbed her arm but not before she screamed for her guards.

“Guardias, vienen aqui! Ven rapido!” Her command of the Spanish language was perfect, evident of one who’d spent years among the native Mexican people.

Nicolas pulled her back into the room and yanked her to him. She tried to pull away from him, but his hold was firm enough to bruise. She wasn’t going to win on strength alone. She screamed until his hand came up and covered her mouth, silencing her. She struggled against him, kicking and clawing, but her efforts were ineffective—like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

“Nicolas,” the older man stated sharply. “Dinna forget why we are here, lad,” he admonished him.

Nicolas pulled Dani tight against his body and said, “Enough. We are not here to hurt you.”

When she stopped struggling, he removed his hand from her mouth.

“Then what are you here for?” she demanded. “Where is the Grand Maester?”

“There will be plenty of time to answer all of your questions, mon coeur,” Nicolas replied, his fingers biting into her flesh. She twisted against him but he held her tight.

“Who are you?” she asked again. She reached up and pulled her long chestnut hair from between their bodies where it had become trapped. Several loose tendrils fanned out around her, framing her heart-shaped face and accentuating the sun-kissed coloring of her skin.

As if on cue, two guards burst into the room followed by the Grand Maester. Nicolas released his hold on her, but remained where he was. She rubbed her arm where she knew pink spots would soon darken into bruises. She pushed her hair from her eyes and glared at her antagonist.

“We need to talk to ye, lass,” the older man said as the guards took up a silent sentry on either side of her.

“Gabe, que esta ocurriendo aqui?” she asked, her voice demanding and sure. She rushed over to the older Maester and took both his hands in hers and kissed each of his cheeks. She thought of Gabe Martinez, Grand Maester of Casa Naica, as her father. The man had mentored and befriended her when she came to Casa Naica in Mexico over 15 years ago. She had been a young woman then, frightened, alone, and unsure of her place in this world. But with his patience, kindness, and an uncanny ability to teach through parables, she quickly warmed to the older man.

“Mi niña, dulce,” he said in a thick Spanish accent. “En Englis para nuestros huespedes.” He nodded toward the two men. “These men have come a long way—from Scotland, in fact. May I introduce Captain Duncan MacKinnon, leader of the Knights Templar, and his second lieutenant, Nicolas LaFelle. They are warriors in our same fight, niña. I am honored that they visit us here in Mexico.” He bowed in the direction of the two men, placing his right hand over his heart as a sign of respect and reverence.

Danika nodded at the towering giant whose expression she couldn’t read. A slight tick above his left eye told her he was withholding something from her. She intended to find out what secrets he guarded beneath that cold exterior. Danika raked her eyes over Nicolas, locking brown eyes with blue. The smug expression he wore earlier was still firmly in place and it rankled her beyond belief. What an arrogant asshole, she thought.

Tearing her gaze away from Nicolas’ intensely blue eyes, she started to say something to her mentor and father figure when the door burst open and an arresting woman with hair like an autumn sunset stormed into the room. Her gaze grazed the room until she settled on the leader of the Knights Templar. Dani could see the fury in the woman’s eyes and her hands that were balled into fists at her side. The stunning woman strode across the room and slapped the giant hard across the face. He didn’t flinch. She started to strike him a second time, but this time he blocked the blow and grabbed her wrist.

The woman’s chest was heaving and her face was flushed. Dani felt as if she should know her but couldn’t quite place the memory…until the woman spoke. Two words and a flood of memories came rushing back to her. Danika stumbled back, not wanting to accept what she already knew in her heart was true. Her heartbeat hammered out a fast staccato and she felt her world grow dark before her. She probably would have passed out had it not been for the strong arms of the man who’d confronted her earlier. Staring at the woman who stood before her, Dani knew where she’d seen her before.

* * *

Caitriona burst into the room and stopped when she saw her sister. Her eyes swept the room and settled on Duncan. She strode toward him and slapped him hard. Her hand stung from the blow, but she raised her hand again, her fury masking the pain. This time Duncan stopped her from meeting her target.

“Get out,” she spat at the two men. She turned back to face her sister, her emotions visible like glass beneath the passion of unshed tears.

“Dani,” she whispered, as if by speaking her name any louder she would vanish like a ghostly apparition.

Danika’s mouth parted and she furrowed her brow. She swayed on her feet, but Nicolas wrapped his arm around her shoulders and steadied her. Caitriona could only stare as the older woman peered at her, realization settling across her stunning features.

“Catie?” she asked, unable to mask the tremor in her voice.

Caitriona nodded her head, her eyes never leaving her sister’s face. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as Dani wriggled free from Nicolas’ arms and engulfed her in a fierce embrace born of love and pain. Caitriona sobbed for several minutes, listening to the steady beat of her sister’s heart and the muffled sobs that mixed with her own. Caitriona was dimly aware that Nicolas, Duncan and the others had left the room, and relief washed over her. She wanted time alone with her sister…and time to decide their next move.

“They told me you were dead,” Danika finally choked, grief making the words barely audible.

“I was told the same about you,” Caitriona replied, stepping out of her sister’s embrace to get a good look at her. Caitriona brushed her sister’s long chestnut hair away from her face and stared into the brown eyes she remembered as a child. Her sister, now 32, had taken on the generous curves of a grown woman. She was taller than Caitriona by about an inch, but the added height merely added to her beauty and allure. Her beautiful olive skin was made more pronounced by the sun, which had also streaked her chestnut hair with shades of blonde. Her long legs showed delicate calves that were well toned. She wore a simple cotton dress that hung just above the knees in vibrant colors suggestive of the Mexican people and culture. Long lashes framed her dark eyes that were now red from crying.

“Let me look at you,” her sister croaked. “You’re absolutely beautiful. What happened to the little squirt that used to follow me around?” She grinned and pulled Caitriona tight against her again, nearly squeezing the breath from her.

After several more minutes of holding each other, Caitriona released her sister and motioned for her to sit with her on the comfortable settee. Danika pulled her sister’s hands into her own and asked quietly, “Mom?”

Caitriona shook her head, not giving voice to the memory that was still too painfully close to the surface of her emotions. “At least it’s what I was told,” she said harshly, wondering if Duncan had lied to her about her mother as well. She made a mental note to ask about her when she saw him again. Not that she was convinced he’d tell her the truth.

Danika gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “The important thing is that we are together now and I won’t let anyone—or anything—separate us again,” she said, the strength of her conviction feeding her emotions.

Caitriona nodded, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She knew all too well the single-minded focus Duncan had when it came to fighting his war. “Dani, what can you tell me about your abductors? Do you know why they brought you here? Have you been able to find a way home? How long have you been here? Have …”

“Whoa, little sister,” Dani interrupted her. “You have this all wrong. I’m not a prisoner here. It might have started out that way, but I’ve been here nearly 15 years, Catie. This is my home now. I’m happy here.”

“But they brought you here against your will. Surely you must still think of them as the enemy?” Catie questioned her sister, disappointment evidenced in her tone.

Dani chuckled and squeezed Catie’s hand. “I think of these people as my family, Catie. I love them and I know they feel the same for me. I have no intention of leaving.”

“But …”

“There is no ‘but,’ Catie. Don’t ask me to choose between you and them.” She pulled Caitriona to her feet. “Come, let me show you something. I think it will help answer your questions.” Lacing her fingers through her sister’s, Dani pulled her across the room and out into the spacious hallway.

The open-air hacienda held 200 occupants, mostly Dwellers, but also some Genetics who were instrumental in the Templars’ fight for freedom. The open space design allowed the inhabitants to take meals together and enjoy common living spaces while los dormitorios were contained on lower levels that also connected to an elaborate tunnel system. Originally built in 1891 for the miners who worked in the nearby Crystal Cave system, the underground areas of the hacienda became a fortified place of hiding when the New World Order began eliminating vast numbers of the population nearly 200 years ago. Those who were hunted and persecuted by the Order for their genetic inferiorities and differences, took to the caves and underground chambers, thereby earning the name, Dweller. In contrast, the Order’s prized Genetics, named for their genetically engineered attributes, were given every advantage and taught to hate their genetically different brothers and sisters.

Caitriona barely noticed the woven rugs and colorful pottery as she followed her sister into the large, open-space great room. At the far end of the room, Dani swept aside a tapestry to reveal a hidden door. Releasing the latch, she pushed the door open and gestured for Caitriona to follow her. Caitriona hesitated, her memories of her time in the Scotland caves giving rise to the growing panic she felt as she peered at the narrow confines of the tunnel walls and imagined them pressing in around her. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and then followed her sister. Dani led her down a steeply declining tunnel, reminiscent of the caves Caitriona had encountered in Scotland. The dirt below her was hard packed and smooth. This tunnel gets used a lot, she thought, making a mental note to ask her sister about the Dwellers in this area.

They walked in comfortable silence for several minutes, Dani lighting the sconces that stood like sentries along their path. As they went deeper into the earth, the tunnels grew warm and the air became fetid and humid. Caitriona found it difficult to draw a deep breath.

“We’re almost there,” Dani said putting her arm around her sister’s waist and allowing her to catch her breath. “I forget that to outsiders, the change in air can be uncomfortable.”

“Where are we going?” Caitriona asked, winded by the short trek.

“It’s a special place,” Dani said with an air of secrecy. “I promise it’s not much further and it’s something that has to be experienced, not explained.” The sparkle in her eye was unmistakable, even in the dim light of the caves, and Caitriona was reminded of a younger Danika who often took on that same mischievous expression before she found herself—and anyone else who happened to be along for the ride—in trouble.

Caitriona nodded to her sister and once again they continued their descent, the caves growing more unbearable with each passing step. Dani soon stopped and pushed against another opening in the cave wall. There was no handle, no discerning marker that identified the passage as another entrance. When Caitriona followed her sister inside, her mouth fell open. Huge crystals in varying sizes girded the room in a masonic pattern of color and shape.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dani asked, a smile lighting her face.

Caitriona nodded. “Where are we?”

“They’re called the Crystal Caves,” Dani told her. “Only, we’re not actually in the Crystal Caves. Those are much deeper below us and still several miles away. The entrance can only be accessed on Naica Mountain. But the crystals there can grow to nearly 36 feet. It’s amazing, awe-inspiring, and magical. I’ve only been there once. It’s too hot for anyone to be down there for longer than a few minutes without protective gear, but they had to see if it would make a difference.”

“If what would make a difference?” Caitriona asked, not liking the turn of events this was taking.

“Come, I’ll show you.” Dani motioned to the back of the cave.

Hesitating for only a brief second, Caitriona followed her sister farther into the cave. Caitriona touched one of the crystals and felt a small electrical current run through her. She pulled her hand away and shivered at the contact. The current wasn’t painful, but the contact with the rock was uncomfortable, and she rubbed her hand against the ache that had developed. Her sister stopped in front of what appeared to be a small natural stone altar that had been set with various sized crystals, an athame, and a pestle and mortar. On the floor surrounding the altar, a large Eye of Ra had been painted in vibrant blues and silver. Caitriona knelt and ran her hand over the symbol. She could feel energy radiating from the ancient Celtic symbol. She looked up at her sister, arching one eyebrow in question.

Dani said nothing but took a short, slender candle from her dress pocket and set it on the altar. She pulled her hair away from her face and stared at the candle, her eyes taking on a far-away look. After several seconds, Caitriona saw smoke emanating from the candle wick. She started to say something to her sister when a tiny flame suddenly burst from the wick. Dani clapped her hands together and squealed in delight. She turned to face her sister. “I can manipulate the elements, Catie!” she exclaimed. “I can do two other elements as well, air and water,” she said proudly. “I haven’t been able to master earth yet.”

Caitriona stared at her sister, an incredulous look splayed across her face, the pieces of the puzzle once again falling into place. Caitriona knew—with equal clarity—that she had to find a way to get them both home. Pulling her sister away from the table, Caitriona took both her sister’s hands in hers. “Dani, we need to leave this place,” Caitriona said. “I think they want to use your…gifts to fight their war.”

“Of course they do,” Dani said, looking hurt. “That’s why I was brought here. I can only assume that you were brought here because you have power they need as well.”

Caitriona swayed on her feet as the room started to close around her. The light grew dim and the air became even more pungent and stale. “I don’t understand,” Caitriona whispered. “Surely you must see that…” She swayed again. This time, her sister slipped her arm around her waist to steady her.

“I know you felt the energy when you entered the room, sis. I told you it was magical,” she said, dropping her arm and spinning. “We are the magic,” she said, emphasizing the first word. “The crystals enhance our power. Give it a try.”

Caitriona stared at her sister in disbelief. Her sister’s spinning brought forward ribbons of color that swirled with her. The effect was intoxicating and within seconds, Caitriona felt the familiar pulse that signaled the onset of a vision. Putting her hand out to brace herself against a large crystal, her entire body arched as the crystal’s energy raced through her body. She tried to disengage her hand but it was as if a powerful force held her firmly in place. She could only stare helplessly at the ceiling of the cave as the energy continued to assault her body.

She closed her eyes against the visual assault only to be attacked by a plethora of voices coming at her from all directions. She tried to pull away and put her hands over her ears, but the crystal wouldn’t release her. The noise intensified while sharp images swam crazily across her inner mind. She struggled to find one central point to bring into focus, hoping the dizzying merry-go-round would stop. The distortions and glut of stimulation made her nauseous. Suddenly, the noise receded, the ribbons retracted, and she was left with one startling image: her sister and Duncan naked and entangled in each other’s arms. As the room swam before her and her world went black, she had only one thought: Duncan would betray her.