Chapter Thirty-Two
I was lying under my sheets, waiting for sleep to take ahold of me. The sun had already risen outside, so I should have drifted by now. But I found myself overwhelmed by this room; this bed. I ran my fingers over the fabric of the sheets, trying to wrap my head around the idea that it was mine and mine alone.
I rose from the bed, planting my feet on the cool flooring. And then I left my room to wander purposely through the hall. In a way, I wasn't officially in trouble any longer. I was a part of this family, if what Sebastian suggested was true. It meant if I got caught out and about, I wouldn't be scolded or punished for it, right?
I came to a crossing point where I needed to make a choice. I stood still, thinking over my options. Oliver would probably run if I went for him. Miles wasn't in his room. Levi was a good choice if I wanted the warmest comfort. But for now I wanted a cool touch; something soothing and painless like a breeze on a summer day.
I moved quietly over the floor, trying to not disturb anyone who may be resting. When I first arrived, my vampires would fall into a deep sleep the moment the sun was in the sky. But over time, their sleep became lighter, only taking them when they allowed it to. I hadn't addressed the subject before being that things like that rewarded me with strange looks.
When I found the room I aimed for, I entered without knocking. I saw Theo's form resting peacefully on his bed and I moved around to approach him. Without hesitation, I lifted the sheets and crawled into bed next to him. And then I shuffled closer to him, running my body along his and reaching out to grasp his arm.
Theo tensed sharply, startled awake by my sudden advances. His eyes glowed in the dark of his room, but I continued to tug on his arm which had become unmovable in his woken state. His gaze rolled down to my form almost coldly, but then he humored me and allowed me to pull his arm around me. Once I felt satisfied against him, I sighed contently and leaned my head back to look at him.
"Don't you have your own room now?" Theo asked me almost suspiciously.
"Yes, but I don't want to be alone," I replied quietly, wondering if perhaps now there was a certain etiquette I was supposed to be following now that I was no longer a pet. "Can I stay with you tonight, Theo?"
"Well, you've already made yourself comfortable," He replied emotionlessly, but a shine of what could have been amusement crossed his features. I lifted a hand to his face, petting his cool flesh pleasantly. His eyes closed in response; his body unmoving as if he could disappear any moment.
I placed a light kiss on his lips and buried my face into his chest before I was finally able to allow sleep to take me. I had wanted my own room and independence, but at the same time I wanted the embrace of those I loved. I didn't want isolation. It was my hope to find a balance.
When I woke, it was to the sound of conversation.
"My bedroom is not some common room where you all can come and go as you please," Theo muttered, most unhappily.
"Admit it, you love the company," Oliver replied humorously.
"Yeah, don't worry, Teddy. The next time I have trouble sleeping, I'll come snuggle up to you instead of Oliver," Miles teased as well.
"Clothed or naked?" Oliver asked.
"Naked of course," Miles answered, "Theo, tell me you don't want all this on you. I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice."
"You're repulsive," Theo stated without amusement.
"Excuse me," Levi suddenly chimed in, sounding offended.
"You, too."
"If you want the both of us naked in bed with you, I'm going to need some form of payment," Levi added to the teasing, inspiring responding laughter.
"I meant you're repulsive too-"
"Forget it, Theo. If you've got to explain yourself, then you've already lost," Oliver laughed with mirth. "Aw, you're too easy to pick on." I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before glancing to find Oliver, Miles, Levi, and Theo gathered near the fireplace with random snacks and drinks along the table in front of them. It looked as if everyone had decided Theo's room was a meeting place to hang out and this pleased me immensely.
Oliver turned to look at me first, causing me to gain the other's attention in response.
"Hey, little devil," He addressed me fondly. I abruptly pushed away any leftover drowsiness and instead moved from the bed, prancing across the floor and to his arms in quick progress. The warmth of his touch snaked over my skin as I eased into his lap and buried myself against him.
"Hi, Oliver," I muttered against him pleasantly. When I turned my head away, I spotted Levi sitting nearby watching with near-envy in his expression. I just as quickly left Oliver's arms and was suddenly in his, almost purring with delight in his grasp. When I looked up at Levi, he seemed startled and yet pleased to have me.
"You seem lively, darling," Levi admired, holding his hand over my forehead as if he could determine if I was ill. I laughed lightly, grasping his hand to tug away from my forehead and instead running my lips over his fingers lovingly.
"I'm just glad to see you," I answered quietly. I was suddenly pulled from Levi's lap and pinned to the floor. I yelped in surprise as Miles held my hands above my head and ran his body along mine teasingly.
"And what about me, hmm?" He asked, a mischievous look crossing his features. I squirmed under him, but nodded my head in response to his question. "You picked Theo last night. Who would you prefer now, Kat?" A deep blush rose in my cheeks in response to the question, true to Miles abilities.
"Get off of her, Miles," Theo demanded, unimpressed.
"I want each of you," I answered truthfully, "I want all of you."
Heat rose in the atmosphere around me. I could sense Oliver and Levi shifting around Miles and me, but I couldn't discern what crossed their mind. I could only see an image of myself on that large table with each of them biting into me hungrily. I squirmed with anticipation.
"Get off of her," Theo's voice darkened, a tone of warning entering it. Miles slowly turned his black eyes from my throbbing form beneath him to Theo's in the distance, obviously reluctant to follow his orders.
"Come on, Miles. Let go of her," Oliver coaxed, his own voice low with restraint. Miles turned his eyes on Oliver emotionlessly before he finally looked back to me. When his gaze reached mine, it warmed pleasantly and made me shift with desire under him.
"I was just saying hi," Miles teased, leaning forward to kiss me. His lips lowered over mine hungrily before moving along my jaw and then my neck. Theo growled threateningly over Miles, causing him to smile against the flesh of my neck.
"If you're done with... whatever it is you are doing," Jax's voice rang through the room firmly, his tone sharp and demanding. Everyone abruptly paused, looking at him as if caught stealing chocolate. His eyes moved over the others, landing on Miles before trailing to my form caught on the floor. "I need to see Katia."
"You've seen her, now get out of here," Miles responded bravely, still teasing but now with a new target.
"Seb has ordered me to mentor her on the artifacts," Jax replied, unmoved by his antics. "I can make you move, if you wish." Miles rolled his eyes, no doubt considering the challenge, but decided to release me before helping me to stand up. I ran my hands over my pajamas and looked at Jax shyly.
"May I get ready first?" I asked politely.
"I am not your Master. You may do as you wish," Jax answered simply, though his tone softened drastically in response. I looked at the others with reluctance, but at the same time I was excited. I wanted to know more, to be more, and to do more. I looked back to Jax.
"I'll only be a bit. You can come see my room," I told him most eagerly. It felt weird to say those words; my room. I reached out, grasping Jax's hand, and ignored his surprised expression as I began to pull him from the room determinedly.
~...~
I found myself in Jax's office. It was even more crowded but just as organized as his bedroom. There were files stacked neatly on his desk and the walls were lined with key-locked drawers. The labels on each drawer held only numbers and letters, just as the objects in his bedroom were labeled. I held my hands clasped together, my eyes wandering over my surrounding with great interest.
"My job is to identify as many aspects of an artifact as I can, determine the value, and record everything within its own file before presenting the file to Seb who then passes it on to Levi and Miles," Jax abruptly stated, seemingly uncomfortable with someone in his office space. I suspected the others rarely visited him here. It felt private.
"Levi told me an artifact was something of historical value or... magical objects. What does that mean exactly?" I didn't move from my position in the center of the room. Instead, I watched Jax as he stiffly moved to one of the drawers in response, opening it and removing a small box. He walked to his desk, pulling a rather thin file from the surface of the stack, and placed the two items neatly beside each other.
Jax opened the box gently, looking up at me before gesturing for me to come closer. I hesitated, but moved obediently. When I walked around the desk to stand beside him, I was able to see the object he presented. It was a small ring, almost delicate. There were gems lined in the center. And yet, it looked so solid and unbreakable.
"Many witches create artifacts of several kinds," Jax explained carefully. "Some are infused with simple magic in order to provide small favors such as protection, health, luck even. Others are cursed objects meant to cause harm. Some are just objects created for décor that were owned by powerful historical figures. And some are weapons."
Jax picked up the ring carefully, raising it eye level to inspect it slowly.
"I have to discern which of these the object is. Sometimes, with text and item logs, I can determine based on what someone else already knows about the object. Other times, I can discern based on what items are infused into the object. Otherwise, I have to meet with witches who can then attempt to detect the item themselves," Jax lectured, his face set into one of such seriousness. He glanced at me pointedly. "Usually with a hefty price attached."
"Do you think I could learn to detect them?" I asked curiously before hesitating, "When you need me, I mean."
"I expect Seb means to cut our connection with all outside witches now that he has you. It would save us money, time, and help us maximize our privacy within our family," Jax confirmed with certainty before placing the ring on the desktop surface carefully. He moved away from me to run his fingers through another set of files in a separate drawer. "Sometimes I come across an artifact that has been deactivated. In those cases, I have to determine if the artifact is worth the price of activation. If paying a witch to activate the item wouldn't increase its value enough to break even, much less higher, then many times we'll sell the item as is."
I was watching the ring curiously, a gem catching my eye in the small light. Jax's words were ringing through my head, but separate words were whispering across my thoughts as I inspected the ring almost fondly. I stared at it as if the longer I watched the sparkle of its metal, the better I could understand the whispers in my mind.
"You would null that entire debate, considering you would be able to activate the artifacts after a bit of practice. With your help, we could increase the value of many deactivated items, including that ring," Jax had paused, noticing my frozen form. "Katia?"
I reached forward carefully, my fingertips tingling as they moved closer to the ring. I brushed my fingers over the small object lightly and a memory of it resting on my middle finger crossed my mind. It was as if this object had belonged to me in a previous life; a life I had been unable to recall until now.
I lifted the ring delicately from the desk and slid it over my middle finger, feeling the metal suddenly shift around my flesh in order to fit me properly. I followed the flicker of memories in my thoughts, placing my palms together with ease. And then I tightened my left hand into a fist before arching my right fingers into hooks. I straightened my arm swiftly, pulling back with my right.
Abruptly, a bright light snaked through the air around my grip. In place of what was nothing was instead a glowing beam in the shape of a bow and arrow, which I aimed at the wall behind Jax determinedly. I could see hunts in my head; vampires being pierced by the magic and severely injured if not killed. I instantly moved my hands back, clasping them together and dissipating the light around me immediately.
"I'm sorry," I whispered with sudden fear, pulling the ring from my finger none-too-gently and dropping it on the desk as though it burned to the touch. Jax was suddenly there, grasping my hands in his firmly. I tensed in fear, afraid I had angered him, but when I looked into his face it held only concern. He inspected my hands quickly as if fearing I had injured myself.
"You must be more careful. Some artifacts are dangerous. You can't tamper with them without inspecting them first. You could harm or kill yourself," Jax scolded me. He continued to hold my trembling hands in his, clasping them together in order to warm them in his glowing grasp.
"I'm sorry," I repeated, looking away with a frown. I didn't know how to explain that I had felt as if I had seen the ring before without just repeating what I had already told him previously about my strange memories.
"I will admit that you're a natural at activating artifacts. You did well," Jax's voice softened which allowed me to brave another look into his face. I gave him a small smile, glad to have impressed him at least.
My eyes turned back to the ring; something so small and delicate and yet so dangerous and powerful. I could still feel the memory of it on my finger, like a sweet taste on my tongue. As my eyes wandered over the drawers within the office, I wondered how many artifacts held those images or similar images in my mind. I wondered how Sebastian came into possession of them. And I wondered about the curious black crimson orb that remained like an omen in Jax's bedroom, calling to me in the night.
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Music: Heathens by Twenty One Pilots (Can't wait for Suicide Squad!)
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