Page 13

~Kai~

I sat on the porch steps sipping at the strong, black coffee I’d conjured myself when I’d awoken at the crack of dawn this morning.

I’d hoped to get in some quality sleep to heal the bruises I’d sustained from the vicious attack by Cassius. When something of that nature was involved, rest was key.

Unfortunately, things hadn’t exactly played out like that.

Even with the coming together with Ari, Nyx, and V in that overwhelming yet soothing way in the hot springs pool last night.

There was too much on my mind.

As if the magnitude of the arrival of Cassius and the revelations about the Celestial bargain that had been struck with Ariana’s life hadn’t been enough, there was also being in this place.

Solumira.

That was what she called it.

Honestly, it fucking triggered me.

Last night I’d been able to tamper down the emotional weight that had come along with it through the four of us immersing ourselves in one another.

I’d been able to let go and revel in that, in them.

And Ari had been in such a state, so much so that she hadn’t wanted to even talk about what had happened when she’d been alone with Cassius after he’d taken her.

Harping on about my upset over this place and what it represented to me had been off the table because of that.

I’d refused to put that on her when she’d already been reeling.

In fact, because she’d been reeling, I’d even glamoured myself so she hadn’t been able to see the bruises all over my torso when I’d stripped naked in the pool room.

But now, in the harsh light of day, and waking up here as well… I was having a hard time letting it simply roll off my back.

Especially as I’d given myself an impromptu tour of the place when I’d first woken up.

We’d just crashed in the living room, exhausted and all sexed-out, so Nyx, V, and I hadn’t looked around the place at all.

I hadn’t even had the wherewithal to question why she’d led us to the living room to crash, instead of to a bedroom somewhere.

The tour I’d given myself had answered the question quickly.

The bedroom, which I’d found located up a winding metal staircase, was a tiny thing, a closet of a room, really, with just a single bed and a small desk taking up the very limited space.

Aside from a couple of fiction books about warrior princesses, and a candle or two, there’d been no other personal effects.

Even the bed had no personality, just covered in a bland, white blanket and a matching pillow.

The living room where we’d slept had consisted of mismatched furniture—a worn leather couch with velvet cushions, an oversized reading chair, the distressed dark hardwood floors possessing just a little splash of color with a couple of rugs in muted jewel tones laid out.

A fireplace was the main source of heat in the space, more functional than for comfort.

Honestly, the whole place was depressing.

More than that… it was giving up.

That was how she’d intended it when she’d acquired it. I fucking knew it.

When she’d turned away from me all those years ago and we’d remained estranged for a long while, I’d thought that had been bad enough. But this? This fucking place… it was far worse, because it hadn’t just been about her pulling away. She’d bought this place to disappear forever.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and then took a sip from the navy mug I’d conjured, because she literally only had one mug in her kitchen cabinet, along with one glass, one plate, and basically just one of everything.

I used the familiar taste of my favored strong coffee to kind of ground myself.

It didn’t sound like much, but sometimes it was the smallest things that served to comfort us.

I focused on the other side to all of this, to being here.

Her awful intention for this house had altered.

Because she’d brought us here. To a place that had been about solitude for her.

There was a profound statement in her taking that action.

One that cracked something open in me.

Because, in spite of what had happened last night with Cassius showing up, it suggested she didn’t want to run anymore.

Not from us.

Not from me.

“You’re more than meets the eye, after all, aren’t you? More than just a puppet whose strings are operated by everybody else. I thought you’d lost that ability long ago when we were kids.”

When I’d uttered those words to her at her party, I’d meant them as a challenge.

I’d hoped that she’d rise to them, that they would spark that fight in her that had somehow gotten buried over time and too much weight bearing down on her.

But it had also been a long shot.

And now here we were, here she was.

Solumira used to be her escape plan.

Now it looked like she was reforming it into something else.

Not a retreat. A refuge.

Not an ending. A fresh start. A new outlook.

And maybe just recognizing that fact, that change in her, for her, should be enough.

But there was still a pressure building in my chest, an unsettling uncertainty, like I was waiting for the world to shift once more.

Waiting to be left behind. Again.

Waiting for all of this to overwhelm her.

Maybe this initial resistance of hers to allowing others to take control of her life and who she was had been rooted more in indignation than fight.

If that was the case, when it petered out, all that could be left in its ashes might just be defeat… and retreat. All over again.

Actually, it would be far worse this time.

With the formidable forces of the True Celestials after her, there would be no returning to the world at all.

If she ran, she’d never be able to return.

We’d lose her truly, in every sense.

Ariana Martel would essentially cease to exist.

Fuck.

My fingers tightened around the mug.

I was so close to shattering it to pieces under the pressure that I was exerting, but then the creak of the door behind me jarred me, making me loosen my grip involuntarily.

I swung my head as Ariana walked out.

She was wearing what I considered her go-to pajamas— a pair of silver and black plaid pants with a white tank. Her feet were nestled in a pair of white bunny slippers of all things.

“Those are new,” I commented.

Oh, great opener, Kai.

I really was off my game.

The corner of her mouth turned up and her electric-blue eyes sparkled with amusement. “They are. I felt like conjuring something cozy.”

She joined me on the top porch step, settling in right beside me, her legs brushing mine in my black slacks.

They were all I had on. I hadn’t bothered to conjure a shirt or even any shoes. Coffee and getting out here away from everyone before they woke up in order to clear my head had been my focus. Everything else had fallen to the wayside.

“Shit,” she uttered, and then I saw her staring at my chest.

Fuck, the bruises.

I’d forgotten to glamour them again. I hadn’t seen the need to continue the spell throughout the night while everyone had been asleep. And, truthfully, doing so would have impacted my healing ability.

“It’s nothing.”

“This is the damage Cassius inflicted upon you?”

I lifted a shoulder. “They’ll be gone within another few hours.”

“Cassius assured me that the three of you were okay.”

“We are, sweetheart.”

There was no way I was going to tell her about what had befallen Nyx then.

She had enough to deal with without taking that on. And he wouldn’t want her to hurt from knowing that either.

We were all well now. That was what mattered.

And figuring out how to deal with that fucking bastard, Cassius, too.

“Kai…”

“Seriously,” I assured her. I reached out and stroked her soft hair. “I felt it last night, you know?”

She nodded, knowing well what I was getting at. “My full power.”

“Not just the greater power itself. It was sweeping around us, but not impacting any of us at all. Like a blanket of reassurance and protectiveness. Perhaps a subconscious act due to the threat of Cassius and all of it?”

Her smile faded slightly. “Not... entirely subconscious.”

I cocked my head, studying her more closely.

“When I was with Cassius, I was strained after everything he revealed to me. My power started sparking out of control.” She looked down at our legs brushing, like she needed to register the physical connection.

And then she revealed, “He did something to calm it. To soothe it.” She took a breath, then went on, “I think that’s what helped me settle enough to even make it through last night with the additional weight of everything.

But then, being with the three of you, I wasn’t actually drawing on that soothing aspect he’d provided me with.

When that protective energy rose, it was all me.

And I wasn’t feeling that soothing energy of his working on my power.

I mean, it didn’t matter when we were all immersed in one another.

It wasn’t a factor. It’s because I… I saw you all get hurt like that.

And the idea of it happening at all, let alone again, made me sick to my stomach.

And I guess it came out that way last night, my power reacting and encircling the three of you protectively. ”

“You didn’t ask me to employ my spell to tame your energy.

I just quietly countered Nyx’s allure as usual.

But from what you’re telling me, I don’t think you being able to handle it without that assistance from me was because of what Cassius did.

You were holding it at bay on your own more than you realized, without the relief that he provided you.

It sounds like you were transcending his influence—that soothing spell he employed.

And, what you had encircling us in the pool, that was your energy, not your silver magic.

It wasn’t perceptible by sight, just by feeling.

Do your realize how special that is? How truly powerful and capable that you are to be able to do that just with your natural energy? ”