Page 20

Chapter twenty

Raegan

“Wait.” Dane puts his hand between him and Cassandra before she can touch him.

“What’s in my arm? She did something.” He holds it out to her, and I see two pinpricks of red there.

“Is it poison? A tracker?”

Cassandra’s face pinches, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration with her hands wrapping his arm.

“You can heal poison, right?” Dane continues.

“Enough, Dane. Let her focus,” Aiden chides, his gaze locked on her expression.

I glance at Jackson on my left.

“Did you see what she did?”

He shakes his head.

Frowning, I watch Cassandra finish healing Dane before she releases him and opens her eyes.

“I don’t know what it was. All I can heal are injuries, and aside from the broken skin there, I couldn’t find anything else to fix. If it was poison, I can only heal the damage it causes, not remove it.”

Dane curses and rubs his arm .

“I highly doubt Vera poisoned you. They still want you alive. And the punctures were too small to insert a tracking device,” Aiden reasons.

“Then what the fuck—”

“I’ll take you to the infirmary. You can sleep off the healing there while we have monitors on you, just in case.”

“Did you get Tinsley?”

I whip my head around to Aiden.

“Tinsley was here?”

“Yes. And no, I didn’t get her,” he replies.

Dane grimaces and stands.

“So, she’s already one of them?”

Aiden looks toward the hallway that leads to the infirmary and Reid.

“No. When she was circling me, she told me she was putting on an act for the other agents. I tried to get her to stay for Reid’s sake.”

“Why the hell would she willingly go back with them?” Kellan demands.

“She said there was something she needed to do before she could come back. She just wanted me to pass a message on to Reid.”

“What’s the message?” I ask, and Aiden’s gaze finds mine.

“She’s safe. And to give her another week before he comes for her.”

“That’s it?” Dane mutters.

“And we’re supposed to trust that?”

“I’ll let Reid be the judge since he knows her best. As we’re going to the infirmary anyway, we’ll give him the message and see what he says.” Aiden scans the aftermath of the fight, his dark stare landing between Jackson and Kellan behind me.

“Recruit any members who are willing to help clean up.” He looks expectantly at me .

“I’m staying here to help,” I answer his unspoken question.

His forehead creases, his lips flattening, but he nods stiffly.

“I’ll come back once Dane is situated.”

I offer a short nod in return, then watch him, Dane, and Cassandra leave the room.

“You don’t have to help, beautiful.” Kellan crosses his arms over his chest as we look over the mess from the fight.

Dead agents. Blood. Broken tables and benches.

Glass. Bits of ripped plant life everywhere.

And water covering all of it.

“I’m part of the team, Kell,” I reply, suppressing a shiver as the cooler air clings to the water that soaked into my clothes, hair, and skin.

A soft breeze tickles my hair, and I look to Jack.

“Don’t dry me yet. I’m sure I’ll get wet again while cleaning up.”

He tilts his head.

“Then I’ll dry you again.”

Smiling, I take his hand in mine.

“No one else is getting dried off. I promise I’m fine. Now, how do you clean up so many…bodies?”

Jackson hums softly as if musing over the various options.

“Too many to burn without drawing attention. Or to throw in the sea.”

Kellan rubs his beard.

“It’ll be a hell of a hole to dig if we’re burying ’em.”

“A vat of acid…”

“Or me,” I chime in, and they both turn their faces to mine.

“Pile them up, and I’ll…make them go away. No muss, no fuss.”

Both men hold my stare as if waiting for me to crack.

Well, it’s not that I want to do it.

But what other choice do we have for so many?

They’re already dead and won’t feel it, is how I reason with myself.

If this is the way I can help, then this is what I’ll do.

I cross my arms, returning their stares with a firm look of my own.

“You sure you want to do this?” Kellan checks with me anyway.

“Yes. Let’s do it.” I push my sleeves up past my elbow.

“Start making a pile.”

Jackson nods once and immediately uses his gift to do what I said.

Kellan takes another second to watch me before he turns to do it.

He stops to direct any Guild members standing around to either help him or work on the rest of the room.

Evie’s pushing an oversized mop around one side of the room to soak up the water while a few others are mopping between tables or wiping them down.

Fabian’s abnormally long tongue zips out to snag some leaves, then whips it back.

He swallows it. The next time, his tongue sticks to shards of glass, and then it disappears into his mouth again.

I cringe at the thought of eating glass, touching my hand to my throat and then looking away.

Kneeling beside the growing pile, I call my gift to my hands, the heat spilling free from my gut and warming my skin.

It feels…good. I close my eyes and spread it to the rest of my body, letting its violent heat sizzle and scorch away the cold.

I let it fill me up like that sweet burn of alcohol that warms you from the inside out.

I’m supposed to be practicing with my gift turned on like this all the time, but I’ve still been too worried about repercussions.

I’ll start today , I tell myself, letting this moment be the beginning of my personal training .

“Whenever you’re ready, beautiful,” Kellan says from above.

I sneak a quick look at the pile, measuring the size and distance of it, then shut my eyes again.

I don’t want to watch it.

I’ll focus on my gift, on feeling that, instead of what I’m actually doing.

It’ll be just like the piles of concrete I’d worked tirelessly on.

Just…a bit more than that.

Using my gift on people has always been a greater drain, so I’m not sure how I’ll do with this scale.

“You need to work on your physical stamina.”

Right.

I lean forward until my hands land in the pile.

I don’t focus on the feeling beneath them or try to identify what I’m touching.

Once I make contact, I pour my gift out in a steady stream, as I had before so many times.

Stretching it out. Feeling the boundary with my gift rather than using my eyes, wrapping it around and over, through and under.

When I think I have it all, I trigger the rest of my gift.

It’s not as simple as concrete, which would collapse to dust from a single burst.

This is a slower process.

Apparently, bodies take more time and more of my gift to break down completely.

I keep going. On and on and on.

Until my arms shake and my body trembles from the effort.

More.

More.

Sweat clings to my brow and slides down my temple.

The heat that had once warmed me is now sweltering.

It burns beneath my skin like I’m being boiled from the inside .

I have to breathe through my mouth as the smell becomes unbearable, but even that can only help so much before it coats my throat.

My lungs. I choke on it, pushing harder with my gift in a desperate attempt to finish it.

Just…a little…more…

I’m down to the last one before me.

I don’t let myself breathe until it’s done, gritting my teeth and holding my breath until my hands finally meet the floor.

I draw a shuddering breath of air, the pain wracking my body like the world’s worst flu.

I fall back on my heels and slowly open my eyes.

They’re gone. Red fills my vision.

I raise my hands and stare at the deepest shade of crimson before a towel is suddenly there, covering my hands and forearms, and blocking them from view.

I lift my face slowly.

Every movement right now makes me scream in my head with pain.

Aiden kneels in front of me so I don’t have to keep craning my head back.

He places a hand over the towel.

“There’s no need to look at that.” His words sound like a distant echo.

His dark chocolate gaze searches mine, looking for something.

Then, his fingertips barely graze my face before they flinch away.

His frown deepens when he studies his hand.

“Is her gift still active?” Kellan inquires from somewhere close, but I’m too tired, too immobilized by the ache and overwhelming heat to seek him out.

“No.” Jack. He squats next to Aiden, his hand hovering close to my face without touching it.

Cool air brushes along heated skin .

Yes!

Instinct drives me into his hand without thinking, desperate for that coolness to save me from burning alive from the inside.

“Jack!” Aiden looks concerned, though I’m not sure why.

Jack’s face pinches slightly, but he doesn’t move away from me.

The coolness keeps flowing, spreading down my neck and arms. I close my eyes and exhale, leaning more heavily into his hand as the rest of my body caves, and I collapse into him.

Kellan curses. “Shit, Jack. Your hand.”

My stomach dips as I’m lifted from the ground.

So hot.

The cool breeze rolls down my body in waves.

It’s wonderful over my exposed skin, but it barely touches the feverish temperature beneath.

“She needs an ice bath,” Jackson rumbles against my ear.

Other voices pick up around us, but I can’t make them out.

I can feel Jack’s muscles tense, his hold on me tightening.

“We need to get her out of here,” Kellan growls.

“I’ll handle it,” Aiden says after a pause.

“Anyone who has a problem will answer to me or leave the Guild.”

“It’s not them. It’s the fighters from the Pits,” Jack murmurs.

“I’ll get them to knock that shit off, then.”

“Worry about them later. Jack, bring her to my room, and Kell, help me get ice from the kitchen.”

We start moving, but all I can focus on is the air he’s feeding me and clinging to that feeling like a lifeline.

My face and head feel like they’re going to implode from the temperature, and I wouldn’t be surprised if steam passed through my lips in the short pants I’m managing.

Something cold presses against my backside, bringing me back to semi-consciousness before I’m laid on my back, and the chill of whatever I’m on elicits a pleasurable shiver.

The air pets and strokes my skin from head to toe, sweeping over me.

It takes the edge off but still doesn’t reach the molten levels within.

I reach for it, desperate for relief in my head and face more than anything.

My hand closes over something and drags it to my face, gasping when the coolness is concentrated on my temple and cheek.

Without me having to do anything, the other side is given the same treatment.

“Take what you need, little one.”

I slip in and out of consciousness, unsure if I’m awake or if I’ve slipped away into a fever dream.

The sound of rushing water echoes around me, and then cold water drips over my scorched skin.

A groan slips from my throat, the feeling so good that my back arches, and the water slides down my side like chilled tears.

There’s a sharp intake of air above me before more water is painted across my skin, followed by a swift breeze.

It feels so good. So fucking good that I writhe in my desperate hunt for more, my breaths coming in needy pants.

Something wet circles my nipple, winding it to a pert point, and then air chills it in place.

“Aahhnngghh!” I cry, my hips jerking as the next one is drawn into a warm mouth, teased and tugged and shooting a livewire of need to my cunt.

My nipple is released and cooled before a tongue drags down my sternum, more water flicking over my flesh.

My skin eats it up. Sucks the coolness from the water and air still dancing across my body and lets it sink a little deeper.

The tongue circles my belly button, and then water fills it, leaking down my sides in cold trails.

“More,” I beg, though I don’t know what exactly I’m asking for.

More cold. More pleasure.

Air, like invisible hands, strokes my forehead and face.

Tickles down my neck and every curve of my body.

Cooling me. Teasing me.

It blows at the heat between my thighs, offering me minor relief in more ways than one.

Slick fingers glide up my center, so wet and slippery that my body jerks when they touch my clit.

I gasp and moan at once.

Everything feels so good, happening all at once, that I don’t know what’s better.

I just don’t want it to stop.

The smooth pressure around and over my clit builds, circling faster and harder with every lap.

My body feels like it’ll combust as the pleasure intensifies, gripping my muscles and straining for that release that’s getting so close.

I angle my hips deeper into it, frantically riding his hand rubbing me into a frenzy.

I claw around me and find only smooth tile.

Nothing to ground me, to hold me here as I chase ecstasy.

Then, fingers breach my entrance, sinking inside and caressing my inner wall.

Oh, fuck! Yes! Yes!

“Jackkkk…” I moan, my voice thick and heavy with desire.

I’m right there, oxygen suspended in my lungs for the last few thrusts.

And then I erupt, pleasure and heat cascading through my limbs and core in a flood that overwhelms my senses.

My screams echo around me in stereo, drowning out anything else until I collapse back to the floor.

“What happened?” a dangerous croon fills the room while I fight to catch my breath.

Another voice follows the first. “Goddammit, Jack. Look at you.”

The sound of something being dumped into water blocks whatever’s said next until the first voice is speaking again.

“Go to the infirmary and have Cassandra heal you. But wash the blood off before anyone sees you,” Aiden snaps.

I’m moving suddenly, held against something warm.

“She’s still hot as hell,” Kellan says.

Something touches my forehead for only a second, and then it’s gone.

“She’s a little better than before, but not by much. Get her in the water.”

The moment the freezing water touches my skin, I release a sigh of relief.

It seeps into my skin, down to my bones and muscle, and quenches the fire that had been raging inside.

The warm body is still wrapped around me in the water, keeping me still as we lie and rest in the cold, and exhaustion settles over me.

My arm is lifted from the water, and a washcloth runs over it even though I can feel two hands around my waist. Aiden.

I should stay awake.

Thank him and Kellan, but I can’t find the strength to open my eyes or move.

Later…I’ll thank them later…

Voices pierce through the fog of sleep, dragging me from what felt like a deep slumber.

I feel heavy and tired as if I’d run my body into the ground.

The memory of the attack on the Tower and then the clean-up returns to me, and I realize that maybe I had.

“—back in a few hours.”

“You know she’d want to be there.”

“She needs more rest. Jack told me what happened, and it’s going to take her more than a single night to recover.”

“How’s Dane?”

“Fine, as far as we can tell. Whatever she stuck him with, it hasn’t done anything. And there was nothing we could find on an X-ray or ultrasound. He and Reid are both in the infirmary.”

“…go,” I mumble, my voice scratchy and throat parched.

Footsteps. Then a large hand encompasses one side of my face.

“Morning, beautiful. How do you feel?” His hand shifts to my forehead.

“Can you open your eyes?”

That seems like an odd concern at first until I struggle to lift heavy eyelids.

It’s a fight to get them open, even after several blinks to convince them to stay that way.

Kellan’s face is close to mine, concern etched in his brow and pinching his dark eyebrows together.

“Help her sit up,” Aiden directs, returning to the bedside with a full cup of water.

Kellan gets me upright, settling my back to his chest with his arms resting on either side of me so I’m supported on three sides.

Aiden holds the cup out for me.

I reach to take it, but he holds it in his grip.

“I’ll do it. Just open your mouth for me like a good girl, and I’ll give you what you need,” he purrs, and I involuntarily clench my thighs.

The combination of praise and command freezes me in place, locking my muscles with indecision.

Aiden’s thumb swipes my lips, then drags the lower one down.

I slowly open for him, too tired for information processing in my head yet to do anything else.

He perches the edge of the cup on my lower lip and angles it up.

Water fills my mouth, and I greedily gulp it, feeling like I’d been lost in a desert for days with how dry everything feels.

He tilts the cup the perfect amount, giving me the seconds I need to breathe before I take more and more until I’ve drained it all.

He pulls the cup away and then puts a hand to my forehead as Kellan had.

“What’s going on?”

Aiden retracts his hand, then studies me.

“How much do you remember from yesterday?”

I sink heavily against Kellan behind me unintentionally, the comfort of his body wrapped around mine something that calls to me.

It feels nice being able to relax into him instead of trying to hold myself upright.

Everything right now feels like a lot of work, even something as small as that.

“I remember the attack on the Tower. Tinsley. Vera and Dane. And then…cleaning up.”

“And after that? ”

I try to recall finishing the pile.

Or anything that happened after.

Had Kellan wished me a good morning?

As if it’s the next day already?

I drop my head into my hand, trying to remember something.

“It’s okay if you don’t. Jack can explain it better, but the simplest way to put it is that you overdid it with your gift,” Aiden says, his velvety voice something I could easily fall back asleep to.

I force my eyes open before I do exactly that.

“Did I hurt anyone?” Kellan’s arms tense, and I can feel his head shift up to look at Aiden behind me.

My heart sinks like weights in my chest to the pit of my stomach.

“I did?”

“Everyone is fine. I was just heading to the infirmary to meet Dane, Jackson, and Reid before we visit Harvey. Do you feel well enough to come or do you want to rest more?”

“Why is Jackson there?”

“He’s just meeting us there.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“I want to go.”

He nods, looking to Kellan over my head before holding a hand out for me.

I’m still feeling pretty weak, so I take it without a word while Kellan keeps supporting me from behind until I’m standing on two feet.

My legs quiver.

“Hold on to me, beautiful. I won’t let you fall.”

I shift my feet until the tremble begins to subside.

“I’ve got it.” I release his arm and Aiden’s hand to test that claim.

Even though exhaustion still weighs me down, I can stand.

I can move.

There’ll be time to sleep more later.

Aiden and Kellan keep close to me the entire elevator ride and walk to the infirmary, but I’m proud to say I make it walking on my own.

Once we’re in the infirmary, where the three we’re meeting with are each sitting on top of beds due to lack of chairs, I pick a bed for myself to sit on and catch my breath.

Jackson moves next to me anyway, pushing my hair out of the way and touching his forehead to mine.

“What is everyone’s fascination with my forehead this morning?” I mumble under my breath, and Jackson smirks.

“She’s still a bit warm,” Aiden comments from where he stands at the foot of the bed.

Jackson hums in what sounds like agreement.

“Mind filling me in on the details?” I ask him, still confused as fuck about what they’re so concerned over.

I’ve used my gift a lot before and drained myself to the point of passing out.

Gordon pushed me to that point on several occasions.

Maybe because this is the first time they’re witnessing it, they’re making it to be a bigger deal?

Or am I missing something?

Jack nods, sliding his hand over mine and splitting my fingers with his.

“Remember what I said about breaking past limits?”

I remember him mentioning it, so I nod.

“You did that beyond what your body could handle. You didn’t build up the stamina first, and when your body tried to shut down your gift to protect itself, you overrode that instinct and pushed through it.”

Oh.

“You sound like you’re familiar with it,” I murmur.

“I am.” He’s smiling at me when I turn to look at him.

“I’ve done it a couple of times. It’s a fast way to strengthen your gift, but it comes at a high cost. Thorne told me he’d seen a few gifted people kill themselves when pushing themselves too hard like that.”

Dane curses from the bed across from us, his eyes wide and fearful when they look me over.

“You mean she could have died?”

“Mm,” Jack confirms, lifting my hand in his to press his lips to it.

“You need to learn where your limit is, little one. Know when you need to pull back.”

I frown at him.

“But you just said you’ve done it. Twice.”

“I wouldn’t do it again or recommend it to anyone. It’s not worth the risk. Since you did break your limit, I’m sure your gift has grown. But your body isn’t ready for it. You’ll need to focus in the weight room for some time before you try testing its full strength.”

“Okay,” I reply, trusting him implicitly.

“I’ll start today—”

“In two days,” Aiden cuts in.

“You still need to recover. Think of this as your one break from the Loft.”

“Am I the only one confused about how hot she was?” Kellan asks the room.

“I mean, I know we’re all superpowered, but you caused second-degree burns, beautiful. And last I checked, that wasn’t your gift.”

I’m sorry, I did what?

“Because of her mom,” Reid suddenly pipes in from a few beds away.

I’d forgotten he was in here.

“She could cause explosions from her body, which would then heat to extremely high temperatures. Anything that touched her would melt instantly.”

That’s right.

She could walk out of an exploded and destroyed building without a scratch .

He leans his head against his fist, his tone almost bored.

“Gifts typically follow the maternal genes, so it makes sense if Raegan has a higher resistance to heat. And the ability to produce it, too.” His blue eyes slide to mine.

“I’d bet it’s a part of your gift you just didn’t realize you had.”

Frowning, I look at my available hand.

Has there been a time when I could have noticed being resistant to heat?

Nothing comes to mind except…

the heat that always came with my gift.

It had always burned me on the inside.

I thought it was just the way my gift felt, but was there more to it?

Would someone feel the heat when I touched them with it?

Then those times on the island with Gordon when I’d felt like lava flowed in my veins.

..I thought it was a combination of my gift and Holt’s lightning.

The water pod had always been there after rigorous training for his mind control, but had Gordon known I’d passed my limit and needed to cool down, too?

It had felt much cooler on some days.

How many times had I exceeded my limit in those two months with him without realizing it?

“How do you know all of that?” Aiden directs to Reid, who looks back at him.

“You think my dad doesn’t have the smartest scientists researching gifts? That was why he would pick certain women to create his offspring. Manufactured gifts based on their mothers. And if they happened to be born with his blood type, even better.”

“What would that matter?” Aiden follows up with another question while I’m still stuck on the new piece of information that he manufactured gifts by breeding women .

Can this guy get any worse?

Reid answers Aiden matter-of-factly, “Because he can only steal gifts from others who share his same blood type.”

The room falls silent.

So…he used Harvey’s mom to create a bunch of invisible spies.

He used Reid’s mom and was able to copy Reid’s gift because of his blood type?

And Kellan’s?

As for me…

does this mean I lucked out on both accounts?

Dane, as expected, blows up at Reid first, jumping to his feet with a shaking fist. “Why are we just finding out about that now?! That’s important fucking information! What else are you keeping from us?”

Reid’s stoic expression doesn’t falter.

He just watches Dane and answers without missing a beat.

“I’ve lived with the guy for my entire life. If you think I can tell you every detail of what I know about him in an hour, then you’re the crazy one.”

Aiden has his phone to his ear; his back slightly turned away from the two still talking.

“Yes. A record of every member’s blood type. And the Pits fighters, too.” He glances to Reid.

“What is Charles’s blood type?”

“B.”

Back to the phone, and most likely Cibrina, he adds, “Send me a list of everyone with the B blood type and their gift. As soon as possible. Thank you.” He looks at the rest of us.

“Aside from Reid and Kellan, does anyone else have the B blood type? Does positive or negative matter?”

“No. ”

“I have A,” I answer, remembering that from my time on the island.

“A,” Jackson says.

“O.” Dane frowns.

“This isn’t like donating blood where O can be used for other types, is it?”

Kellan snorts.

“If he could have, he would already have your gift. He had plenty of opportunities to get your blood when you’d been fighting him.”

Jackson shrugs.

“He might not want to be the lab rat.”

We all look to Reid, who also shrugs.

“It could be a few things. What Jackson said because he would always choose to have someone else suffer or the fact that his body can only handle five to seven gifts at a time depending on their strength. I doubt he wants to purge one of his current gifts for it. Or he may not trust his blood with the other gifts in there to work right.” He pauses, pondering.

“His copies are also mere imitations of the original gift. They aren’t as strong as the original and have their own flaws. There’d be a high risk his gift might not be compatible or work right when synthesized. He would want the original.”

“What happens if he gets the wrong blood type?” I wonder aloud.

“It makes him sick,” Reid supplies.

“I saw it once. The scientist got the paperwork mixed up, and when he tried the blood, he immediately retched it back up.”

“That’s a weakness,” Jackson points out, but Reid is unconvinced.

“I’d hardly call a minute or two of him getting sick a weakness. You won’t kill him in that time. Not with his gift,” he points to Kell .

Jack shrugs. “It’s something.”

“I agree,” Aiden adds.

“You’ve listed a few limitations to his gift that we’ll keep note of in case they can be of any use. If we’re ready, let’s get to Harvey. There’s a text waiting for his response.”