Chapter 19 Kayla
Kayla
Everything inside me burned. I was trapped in hell with no relief and respite. Just heat and burning and a searing pain that never seemed to end. Occasionally, people moved like shadows in front of me, but were my eyes open or were they closed?
I could no longer tell what was a hallucination and what was real. There were too many voices, and they were all distorted as my muscles tensed and cramped, my body twisted all on its own.
It was my death by a thousand cuts, liquid fire that consumed me, and my head was heavy. So heavy that thoughts didn’t matter. I couldn’t grasp them. They were fleeting and didn’t make any sense.
But Sebastian existed. Knowledge of him was like a cool balm, easing the fire, and his proximity washed away the pain. I clutched that awareness of him, holding it to me in times where I would have been all alone.
He kept me tethered when I would have floated away. Somehow, he was my anchor.
There were more voices and figures. Nic and Leia.
Maybe.
Leia sat at my side and whispered like she knew all the secrets of my world. “I know it hurts. It hurt me too, but you have to hold on. I held on. Sebastian needs you to hold on.”
Her words didn’t make any sense. I was still here. Sebastian was holding me.
She took my hand and pressed it to her cool lips. “Keep holding on,” she said again.
My eyes flickered open and she smiled gently.
“Good girl,” she murmured. “Keep fighting the fire. You’ll come through. I did it. I know you can. Keep being strong.”
But I was so tired. I closed my eyes again as damp, cooling washcloths were laid over my forehead then removed again as they dried out when the inferno inside me burned hot again.
But I never lost myself completely in those moments. Sebastian was always there, keeping me from drifting away.
I was half awake, floating, when there was another presence. A female vampire who sat beside me. Sometimes next to Leia, sometimes opposite her, and the two of them spoke in low voices, an obvious familiarity between them.
I wanted to know more. But my eyes refused to stay open long enough, and my concentration wasn’t what I needed it to be to maintain focus. I couldn’t form the questions I wanted to ask. I didn’t even know if I wanted to know the answers or if I could process them.
Hours passed and turned into days before the fog in my head cleared and some of the heat receded. My throat was scratchy and raw, though, like something had climbed up it, digging barbed claws in all the way.
“Hello?” My voice was a thick whisper, and it cracked under the effort of the one word.
Right away, there was the rustle of fabric near me as Sebastian leaned into my field of view. “Kayla?” His forehead formed lines of concern, the creases unusual when they painted his face with worry.
I tried to smile but my lips were dry and they hurt. I licked them and Sebastian immediately dabbed at them with a washcloth he’d dipped in a bowl of water.
“How do you feel?” He touched the backs of his fingers to my cheek then to my forehead like he was taking my temperature.
I nodded while I considered his question. “I don’t feel bad…but I do feel different.” I plucked at the sheet covering me. “What happened?” I only had snippets of memory. The club…a fight…bleeding.
So much blood.
Sebastian closed his eyes briefly and swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Do you remember anything at all?”
“Blood.” As I spoke the word, my mouth watered and I lifted my hand to wipe actual drool from the corner of my lips.
He took my hand. “There’s no easy way to say this, Kayla.
I turned you to save you.” He caught his breath before he rushed on, words spilling from him.
“If I hadn’t done it, you would have died.
I was so close to losing you. I asked you…
you agreed. I mean, I think you agreed. You did agree, right?
” He squeezed my hand tighter and didn’t pause for me to answer his question.
“I thought I’d made you safe in my office, but there was a vampire I didn’t know about.
He surprised you and used a poisoned knife on you.
I couldn’t heal you. This was the only way.
” He looked at me, his blue eyes swirling with darker colors like the decision he’d made pained him.
As I listened to Sebastian speak, my mouth watered some more and I focused on the pulse in his neck. I touched it briefly with the tip of my finger. “I’m hungry,” I whispered.
Sebastian laughed and turned to the female vampire I didn’t recognize. She handed him a mug with a Venus fly trap on it and Sebastian helped me to sit up before nudging the thick rim against my lips.
“Drink,” he murmured. “Feed.”
I drew back. “Feed?” But the copper aroma of warmed blood drifted from the mug, and instead of turning my stomach, it made my hunger more.
I took a sip then a gulp, and Sebastian laughed as he urged caution. But as I drank deeper, he and the female vampire both smiled.
As I was finishing the remaining drops, Leia entered the room.
I hadn’t taken much interest in my surroundings, but I was propped up in Sebastian’s massive bed and there were chairs arranged around me like people had held vigils over me or at least visited in shifts.
Leia sat in the chair next to Sebastian and took my hand as he lifted the empty cup away.
“Welcome to the family, Kayla.” Her smile was beautiful as she spoke, and her skin was radiant. She looked almost superhuman. Like she was an advanced version of a person, somehow. Like I could suddenly see her differently.
Nic entered the room, and all chatter stopped as everyone looked toward the Baton Rouge king.
“Look who’s awake,” the unfamiliar female gestured toward me. “Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes, finally.”
“Aimée.” Nic’s voice was chiding. “You haven’t even met Kayla properly yet. That seems a very inappropriate way to talk about her.”
“I feel like I know all about her.” The woman sat in one of the chairs.
“How many humans are you boys going to turn for me to keep watch over? You’re exhausting me with all of this worry.
” She scrubbed her hands over her face then looked between Sebastian and Nic, and Sebastian rested his hand on my shoulder.
“Kayla, this is our sister, Aimée. She’s a bit undiplomatic when she speaks sometimes, but her heart’s always in the right place.”
Aimée snorted. “Whatever. Whenever you need me, you always know I’m right here.”
Nic nodded, his eyes glinting with sudden amusement. “And I thank you for that, Aimée.”
She preened a little and Sebastian suddenly clapped his hands.
“Right. Kayla and I need to talk.”
As if he’d issued an actual declaration, everyone else stood and left the room, tossing a chorus of goodbyes and see you laters over their shoulders.
As soon as the door closed behind his family, Sebastian sat back down and took my hand between his. “So…”
“Am I a fully turned vampire now?” My voice came out very small.
He nodded. “Your body accepted the blood, so…” He shrugged like he’d just explained everything.
“But what about being a witch? Am I still that?” I couldn’t lose my whole identity. Not like this. “Am I a hybrid? Do I still have my powers?” I asked questions faster than Sebastian could answer them.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But we can find out together, if you like? You’ve got plenty of time now. We can discover everything about you, about each other, about us.”
“Can I start with something simple?” I flicked my fingers to see if I could still call the same energy I’d always been able to manipulate.
Sebastian nodded. “Sure. What are you thinking of?”
“Maybe just lighting your candles?” It was a flame spell. Pretty simple, and one of the first we were taught.
Even better, it didn’t require any prep. Just knowing the right words. I pointed at the gothic-looking candelabra in the corner of the room.
“A little mood lighting? I could live with that.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him, although the grin playing on his lips seemed like one of challenge.
I nodded. I could meet that challenge. The old energy had raced back through my body more quickly than I’d ever called it to me before. “Okay.” I centered myself, muttered my incantation, and spread my fingers towards the candles.
Fire roared to life, engulfing the entire candelabra, and creating an inferno of flames with tips that licked the ceiling. The burning column swayed, dancing dangerously close to Sebastian’s curtains.
He leapt from his seat before I even saw him move and then there was a large plume of white furling gas as he aimed a fire extinguisher at the fire I’d created.
I pressed my hand to my mouth. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean… I had no idea…”
But he tossed a grin over his shoulder, and his eyes twinkled. “No harm done.” He chuckled, and I laughed wryly.
“Yeah. Thanks to you.” Then I laughed again. “Looks like my powers have leveled up, though?” I rubbed my hands together.
“Just remember we don’t generally like fire…” His voice held caution, but his eyes still sparkled. “So maybe be careful with that particular parlor trick.”
“Oh, shit.” I covered my mouth. “I didn’t even think. Could I have killed us?”
He lifted one lazy shoulder. “I keep fire extinguishers on hand to minimize the risk of death by witch fire.” His grin widened. “And any other fire in my bedroom.”
I stared at the slightly ash-blemished wall, my guilt slowly being overtaken by delight. “Wow… Imagine what else I might be able to do. Finding out is going to be so much fun!”
“And what is it you’d like to be able to do?” He sounded curious.