Chapter Thirty-Four
I gasped and jerked awake sharply, sitting up in a panic. My breath was sharp in my lungs as I took in my surroundings, my eyes skating over my familiar bedroom that I had yet to properly make mine. For a moment, nothing made sense. And then I felt the sting of unhealed wounds along my body and aches of bruises.
I looked down to find my clothing tattered with tears and blood, my hands still spotted with drying blood. Jax's blood.
"Don't worry," Sebastian's voice spoke from beside me, startling me immensely. My bed frame trembled and I gasped before quickly looking around, a whisper of fear crawling through me. I have done my duty. "Calm down, Katia. Look at me."
Lights flickered around me as I turned to him, caught by his dark gaze. Sebastian reached for me and I jerked away with fear; afraid I would hurt him. He tilted his head forward pointedly, frowning as if confused.
"There's something wrong with me," I whimpered, hugging myself as a random glass of water shattered nearby. I squeaked with fear, lifting my knees to my chest. It was as if my power was disconnected from me, lashing out as its own entity.
Sebastian moved forward, crawling towards me onto the bed.
"Stay away from me," I screeched as a rush of wind slipped past me and swiped at him. A sudden shock of blood skated across Sebastian's features, causing him to turn his face to the side in response to the attack. I lost my breath, widening my eyes in horror as he turned his gaze back to me with guarded eyes. A long, thin gash was sliced across his cheek as if I had cut him with a knife.
Sebastian continued towards me and for a moment I wondered if this meant he would end me after all. I froze as he reached for me. And then he pulled me to him, holding me in his arms purposely. I couldn't breathe. I feared even a breath would warrant another attack on Sebastian. I preferred death.
"Your powers are on the surface," Sebastian said to me, lowering his face so that his words blanketed me comfortably. He moved his hands over the flesh of my arm, drawing a light so vibrant that it startled me to see. "Don't be afraid, Katia. It will settle soon. It's as if you've overcharged yourself. The power will act out, but it will find balance again."
I felt tears begin to fill my eyes.
"I hurt Jax," I cried mournfully, the guilt burning at me. "I hurt you. I didn't think that was possible. Why did this happen?" I clung to Sebastian fearfully, feeling my power whip out with my tears, biting at random objects nearby. I stifled my cries, afraid of my own abilities.
"You touched the heart of a Phoenix," Sebastian told me honestly, tightening his grip on me protectively. "I'm sorry. It was a long deactivated object. I didn't think it would do anything to you or else I would have ordered Jax to get rid of it."
I sniffled, calming as Sebastian stroked my arm soothingly.
"The heart of a Phoenix?" I asked uncertainty. It didn't look like a heart, but then I could see the image of the man pulling a similar orb from his own chest.
"When a Phoenix is... sacrificed, for lack of a better word, they don't completely die," Sebastian explained carefully, "Most powerful magic comes with a price. The last incantation leaves behind an artifact; a piece of the Phoenix. While the last incantation is used to preserve information and further the life of future witches, the heart of the Phoenix can do the opposite. It can destroy entire covens." I listened quietly, trying to make the connection that I was a part of this cycle. The idea that I could have been used for the Exodus coven and all that would have been left was an orb; my heart; something that could destroy lives... it felt unreal.
"When I touched it, I saw the Phoenix," I admitted quietly. I lifted my hand to my chest, choking back the fear at the memory. "He tried to put his heart in my chest. And I just knew... if he did... I just knew it would hurt me..."
Sebastian remained quiet at my confession for a moment.
"I won't let anything hurt you," He said, his voice low with determination. He continued to stroke my skin and I began to notice the responding glow was slowly dimming towards a more usual vibrancy. "When you touched the heart, I think the melding of two Phoenixes threw your power off. Because that Phoenix came from Leviticus, it allowed you to use your powers against us of Genesis. I'm not sure if that is permanent or not."
My heart pulsed painfully in my throat at the thought. I continued to cling to Sebastian, willing my power to calm. I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that before my magic settled softly around me. When I looked up at Sebastian, the cut on his face was still open, making me frown momentarily. He lifted a hand to touch it, reacting to my frown.
"It doesn't hurt," He told me reassuringly. I looked away guiltily.
"Where's Jax?" I asked with concern, looking around as if he would be here. As I glanced around my room, the realization of what I did to him and his room shook me. I jerked away from Sebastian with anxiety. "Oh my... I destroyed his room. He must hate me!" I panicked momentarily.
Sebastian's features sparked with amusement. "He's been cleaning up the mess. He's probably already gone back to work or hunting with one of the others. I don't think he hates you, but you did mess up his new suit..." Sebastian paused as if determining the chances that Jax did hate me, though something about his tone seemed playful. I frowned unhappily.
"I'm only teasing, Katia. Don't look so concerned. How are you feeling now?"
I touched myself absently, wincing at my own self-inflicted injuries. But besides that, I felt more stable inside; less fearful. It was as if I had been on a small boat, trapped in the thunderous waves of an ocean. Only now it was calm, flat water. I nearly sighed with relief.
"I feel... dirty. But better," I said honestly, wiping the drying blood on my torn clothes. Sebastian appeared relieved, though. He reached forward to grasp my hands warmly.
"I'll leave you alone, then. But if you become afraid or need anything, you can call on me. Do you understand?" He inquired sincerely. I blinked with surprise. I had expected him to distrust me; especially with a wound I had inflicted marking his face so clearly in front of me. A heat of a blush painted my skin, but I nodded quickly.
"I understand," I replied.
I took a slow shower, wincing as the water tapped against my skin. I refused to look at myself in the mirror, but I knew bruises and scratches were aching my flesh no doubt as an effect from the shattering debris of Jax's room. It was as if I had stepped through a tornado and survived. As I washed myself, my fingers touched over more serious cuts, though none were even close to the gash I had given myself across my chest so long ago. I knew these cuts were from my power directly; backlash from uncontrolled use. The bruises and scratches would heal quickly. The deeper cuts would take longer, being that they were laced with the poison of my own abilities. I wondered how long Sebastian's cut would take to heal.
When I finished drying myself, I looked for loose clothing that wouldn't irritate my small injuries. And then I began to travel through the halls with determination. I had to find Jax and I had to apologize to him.
I knew he was in his office; probably offended by the shape of what remained unharmed in his bedroom. I got images of him wrapping his body around mine, guarding me from serious injuries that I could have gotten under my chaotic unintentional casting. I recalled the feel of his blood dripping onto my skin and my heart ached painfully in my chest.
I approached his office and knocked sweetly, opening it without waiting for an answer. Jax sat at his desk scrawling words determinedly onto a clipboard with another artifact in front of him. Sebastian had been right. Jax took no time getting back to working. It was so... Jax. He probably had a system he followed that not even a situation such as a Phoenix meltdown would be able to interrupt.
Besides that, there was something unlike Jax in the moment. His shirt was a dirty white, blood staining the fabric in some places. I paled at the sight, horrified by the idea that he hadn't even bandaged what wounds he had received from me. All pretenses of being polite, of announcing myself and trying not to disturb him while I apologized, were lost on me.
I immediately moved towards him, an injured sound strangled in my throat as I approached. He lifted his head as I came, lowering his paperwork with concern. I moved around his desk, lowering myself beside him as if my legs had failed me.
"Katia," Jax said, his voice tense and focused. He reached for me, pulling me from the floor and onto his lap gently. I extended my hands forward, touching the fabric of his shirt with a pained expression as he ran his own fingers over the parts of my skin where bruises and cuts were visible. I couldn't feel the pain in his touch; I could only see the pain I caused.
"I'm sorry," I whimpered, tears spilling onto my cheek. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
"I will be fine," He growled with a strained expression. I ran my fingers over his jaw briefly as if I couldn't stop myself from touching him; as if I had almost lost him and now refused to part from him even momentarily. His own hands trailed over my skin as though he feared the same. I watched his guarded face fight against that wall he kept up around him and I recognized the hunger in his eyes.
"You're injured and you haven't fed?" I asked him with disbelief. Before he could answer, I leaned forward to clasp his lips with mine. My fingers brushed against one of his wounds on his arm and I winced against him, tears continuing to build behind my eyelids. I pulled away mournfully. "I'm sorry."
"I wouldn't dare leave without knowing you were okay," Jax stated darkly, gripping my face determinedly. His other hand reached under my shirt, inspecting purposely and heating my skin all at once. I whimpered when his touch brushed the worse of the wounds. "I apologize. I should have ripped that artifact from your hand far quicker than I did. I was mesmerized by the light of your skin. You were like the sun. I was careless."
My flesh throbbed at his caresses, the heat pooling low within me. I lifted his shirt, touching his wounds as well as though my touch would heal him. I lowered my lips onto his again, as if my kiss would take away his pain. I felt the deep cuts, so magnificently worse than any injury on my body, and whimpered against his mouth. I pulled away.
"Feed from me," I requested quietly, feeling him tense further under me.
"You're hurt," Jax growled with frustration.
"You're worse."
"I'm a vampire."
I looked at him, my face reddened with a combination of tears and desire. He brushed his fingers over my cheeks, wiping away the tears with a dark hunger in his gaze. I would win this argument. He was injured and injured vampires had to feed.
"Please," I asked him, as if I were asking to feed from him. "I'm the one... I hurt you. Please, just let me do this." Jax grasped my face in his hands, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he thought over my request. He pulled me to him, claiming my lips greedily. And then he abruptly pulled away and struck for my throat.
I cried out as his fangs pierced my flesh, a burst of light flowing over my skin under his bite. He held me tight against him, his fingers digging into my body roughly. I couldn't feel the pain of my injuries as he fed from me. I could only feel that addicting warmth and ecstasy within his bite.
He released his fangs from my flesh aggressively before running his tongue over the trail of blood spilling from the wound. I immediately reached for him, running my hands over his chest where the wound I had left was now fading at a miraculous rate. I moved my hands lower, tugging at the belt of his pants lustfully. Jax growled and began to kiss me hungrily, nearly ripping my shirt from me before running his hands over me dominantly.
Jax abruptly lifted me, causing a surprised yelped to escape me. He swiped at his desk without concern, knocking artifacts and files wildly onto the floor before planting me atop unceremoniously. Before I could reach for him, he pinned me down onto the surface of the desk. He pulled my bottoms from me, leaving me only in panties below him.
"Don't move," Jax ordered authoritatively, his voice thick with danger. He stood back, lifting his shirt from his form before absently throwing it to the floor. He ran his hands over my body, teasing my breasts before trailing his touch lower over my stomach appreciatively. I squirmed under him and he lowered his lips to my leg, biting the meat of my inner thigh so abruptly that I arched my back with a sharp gasp.
"I said don't move," He growled dominantly, though something in his tone sounded pleased that I had moved. I struggled not to squirm under his dark look, my heart thundering in my chest with anticipation. He pulled my panties down my legs easily before lowering his lips over the apex of my thighs. I inhaled sharply as his tongue delved into my core, my muscles tense from restraint. I wanted to move against him, but I liked this game.
I moaned as he continued expertly. I struggled not to move until the heat of his assault was too much. I felt that flame building in me rapidly and it was as if every muscle in my body spasmed in the heat. Jax released his kiss and turned to bite my other thigh roughly, sending me over completely. I cried out in surprised ecstasy.
As I was blinded by the overwhelming passion, Jax turned me onto my stomach over the desk before growling appreciatively. His hands trailed over my flesh greedily as I squirmed below him. He hovered over my bottom before delivering a sharp smack over one cheek. I yelped at the sudden attack, blushing deeply as I froze under him.
Jax pushed into me luxuriously and all thoughts of obeying his order left me. I twisted against him with deep desire, gasping as he delivered another sharp smack onto my flesh. He firmly grasped my hips before thrusting into me roughly. I gripped at the wood of the desk, crying out with euphoria.
I couldn't feel the wood digging into the meat of my hips. I could only feel Jax and the flame he coaxed within me. He pulled my hips to him roughly, his desire so fierce that it brought me to the edge easily. Even after spilling me over the edge, he only claimed me again and again, his hunger deep and demanding.
We ended up collapsed on the floor, my heart throbbing dangerously in my chest as I lied next to Jax. I turned to him, lining my body against his comfortably despite the hard floor. He wrapped his arm around me, holding me to him with satisfaction.
"I messed up your room and your office," I whispered into his lips sheepishly, blushing as his intense gaze watched my features so carefully.
"You're far worth the consequences," He declared determinedly, closing the distance between us to claim my lips as his. My skin sang of bliss and my heart fluttered with joy in his embrace. My fear and pain was long forgotten.
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Gasp, two updates in one day! Surprise.
Music: Never Be Like You by Flume
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