17. Chapter 17
17
“ H old on to that feeling. Don’t release the power, just hold on to it,” Ginna advised her. “I’m going to come to you. Keep your eyes closed, and don’t let go of it.”
Kelly did as Ginna directed with little effort; it was like she’d ridden this bike before and everything came naturally.
Ginna spoke again. “Now you need to learn to shut it down. This is the first step to controlling your power. Feel the way it courses through you, the pull it has to the outside world. Grab on to it and pull it back into yourself.”
Picturing her body as if she were looking at a real-time MRI, Kelly willed her power away from her fingertips and toward her core.
A jolt hit her and knocked her flat on her ass, forcing her to open her eyes and come back to reality. She struggled to breathe, just like she had when she fell at the gym, except this time it wouldn’t go away. She couldn’t breathe.
Ginna was in front of her in a split second, her hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “Kelly, are you okay? Look at me. What do you feel?”
It was strange that Ginna used Kelly’s real name. She hadn’t done that at all since she’d taken the spot as mentor.
“I…” She tried to talk, but a weight settled on her chest.
“Fabian, Kade, up here now!” Ginna yelled, panic in her voice.
Kade was at her side instantly, and a burst of power surged through the room. It hit Kelly like a lightning bolt, and as quickly as the air had left her lungs, it entered them again, quenching her body’s thirst for oxygen.
“Kelly, are ye okay, lass?” Kade’s hand cupped her cheek, and he stared down at her with concerned amber eyes.
“Your eyes.” She barely got the words out before a coughing fit took her.
Fabian appeared in the doorway to the library, sword at the ready. “What is going on?” He asked, urgently.
“I honestly have no fucking clue,” Ginna answered, exasperated. “She got upset and her power was flowing from her in waves, so I coached her through feeling it out. Then I told her to bring it in, and she landed on the ground like she’d been hit by a truck.”
Fabian sheathed his sword and came into the library, standing at Kelly’s feet. “I felt Kade’s power. Why?”
Kade answered, his eyes remaining on Kelly, “I saw her on the ground and it just happened. I dinnae mean to release that much.”
What felt like a long silence followed, and it made Kelly’s skin itch. She hated awkward silence.
Forcing her arms to work, she pushed herself upright. “Y’all are overreacting. I’m fine,” she said, then downplayed the coughs that followed.
Kade scooped her up into his arms and placed her in one of the chairs. Kelly noticed he made it a point to keep his eyes from Fabian. “I’ll go get ye some water.”
She wanted to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he was gone before a single word made it from her lips. Leaning forward, she put her head in her hands and tried to breathe slowly so she wouldn’t cough any more. Her lungs didn’t feel fully functional yet.
Fabian knelt on one knee in front of her. “Look at me, Warrior.”
Kelly did as he asked, seeing his light eyes filled with worry.
His hand came to her neck, feeling her pulse. He took her hands and turned her palms up, his thumbs tracing her fingertips.
“Your pulse is strong, and for the first time, I do not feel any power coming from you at all. Tell me everything that happened.”
She did, being careful to explain the way she’d pictured and felt her power and how she’d reined it in. She told him about Kade’s power and how it seemed to reset her lungs. His eyes didn’t seem pertinent though, so she left that detail out.
Fabian stood and paced the room, deep in thought.
Ginna moved over to the other chair and sat, not bothering with any sort of grace.
More awkward silence ensued.
Kelly moved to get up and only made it about halfway to standing before she realized that wasn’t a good idea. A moment of imbalance hit, forcing her to maneuver back into the chair.
“Don’t push it, Rookie. We’re not sure what’s going on, and you’ve used quite a bit of energy. Remember, there is a cost to using your gift.”
Kade was back then, holding an open bottle of cold water in front of her face.
“Drink,” he ordered.
“I’m fine. I’m not coughing now.”
“Drink.” This time, he growled a little.
She took the water without further argument and sipped at it.
Fabian moved his questioning to Kade now. “When you came in, what did you see? What did you hear? Why would you have let that much power go?”
“What is this, twenty questions?” Kade asked in annoyance.
“No, I am simply trying to figure out why things played out the way they did.”
Kade glared at Fabian, and Kelly felt them take on the similar yet distinctly different roles of protector and lover. It seemed stupid to think of Kade that way, but both men had clear interests in that moment. Kade wanted to care for her and protect her in the way only a lover would, with emotion influencing and sometimes overriding the mind. Fabian had only her well-being in mind and did not consider anything other than her survival. Together, the two men would fight to the death for her; they just might not always agree on the best course of action.
“I rushed in and saw Kelly on the floor. I dinnae hear her heartbeat, and that’s what made my power slip. Then her heart was beating and she was coughing. I dinnae ken if her heart really did stop or if I rushed to judgment.”
Fabian began pacing again, and Kelly wanted to yell at him to stop. Repetitive sounds were even more annoying than awkward silence, and Fabian’s steps were so calculated and even that she could have used them as a measure of time.
“I think she pulled her power in too quickly and shocked herself with it,” Ginna said. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“I was thinking the same, but that should be impossible for a potential. She should not have that much power or the ability to control it in such an acute way.”
“You’re supposed to be the one with insight here, Fabian. Don’t look at me,” Ginna shot back at him in her usual smart way.
“That is not how it works.”
Ginna shrugged at him.
“Say she did shock herself and stop her heart. Why would Kade’s power restart it? If anything, a vampire’s power should hurt a mage.”
Fabian looked at Kelly intently.
“Don’t look at me,” she echoed Ginna. “I don’t even know what the fuck I did.”
“There isn’t anything I am missing here?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “You have two witnesses, and my heart was apparently stopped. I seem to be the one with the least to offer you in the way of an explanation.”
Fabian shook his head in the way he did when he didn’t approve of someone’s words or actions.
Kelly looked at Kade, silently asking if she’d done the right thing. He hung his head, not seeming to have an answer. Then, his shoulders squared, and he gained an air of confidence.
“I will tell ye the piece yer missing, but ye must give me yer word ye willnae come between us.”
Fabian just stared at Kade, eyebrows slightly raised.
“Yer word.”
“I cannot give my word. Her life is mine to protect.”
“Jesus, guys, you’re taking me back to high school with all the testosterone and macho protective bullshit. Fabian, you’re only allowed to come between us if Kade is actively hurting me or trying to kill me.” Realizing she left out a part, she quickly added, “Hurting me physically, not emotionally.”
Fabian agreed faster than she thought he would. “I give my word.”
“And Ginna, this doesnae leave the house. That goes for the rest of ye that can hear this conversation as well. If this leaves the house, I’ll kill ye myself.”
“Out with it already, vampire.” That was as close as Kade would get to an agreement with Ginna.
Kade told them what happened the night before, including the details about his eyes and the bloodlust. “Kelly said they changed again just now, so it must have something to do with my power jump-starting her heart. That is the only thing missing from her account, and I’m not convinced it makes an ounce of difference.”
Fabian was silent then, and Kelly was sure there was an internal battle being fought over her well-being.
“There’s something to all that, and I have no doubt it’s the reason your power saved her, but let’s save it for another day. The child needs rest.” Ginna stood then, making her way from the library. She turned to Kelly before she left. “You did well. We’re all going to work on this again tomorrow, but you need rest now.” Her gaze moved to Kade. “Take her to her room and make sure she is comfortable. No hanky-panky—she needs rest. Keep it in your pants.”
Kelly laughed. Ginna was like that cool Southern mom who always had your back but embarrassed the hell out of you at every turn.
Kade wasn’t fazed at all, though. “Aye, I’ll take her there now.”
Fabian shook his head at Ginna, then said to Kade, “Her room is across from mine. Second floor at the end of the south hall.”
Kade nodded, then gently picked her up and carried her to her room. She didn’t have the energy to walk, so she let her independence slide for once, laying her head on his shoulder and enjoying the feel of his embrace.
The door creaked as Kade pushed it open. The room was dark, but he navigated the space just fine with his enhanced vision.
“I’m going to set ye down so I can pull the sheets back and help ye undress.”
“Mmhmm” was all she managed.
Kade set her down gently, making sure her feet hit the floor before he straightened and loosened his hold on her. He kept his arm behind her back to steady her.
After he pulled the covers back, he helped her sit at the edge of the bed. She shrugged her shirt off and all but fell over onto the pillow. Blindly, she reached for the covers, but Kade’s hand caught hers.
“Ye hardly wear jeans, much less sleep in them. Unbutton them and I’ll take them off.”
“It’s fine, Kade. Just let me sleep.”
“Nae, it’ll take ye a few seconds and ye will sleep better.”
Out of arguments and the energy to carry them out, she did as he asked. Kade somehow managed to get the tight jeans off her without his fingers so much as brushing across her skin. Ginna’s words hadn’t fazed him, she knew. He was just one of those rare men who knew the time and place for things.
He pulled the covers up over her and placed a light kiss at her temple. “Sleep well, lass.”
Amber eyes shone down on her through the darkness for just a moment, and then sleep took her from consciousness.
Kade
Fabian was standing guard as he exited Kelly’s room.
“Ye dinnae have to stand over her like a lost puppy. She is safe in this house.”
Fabian fell into step behind him as he made his way down the stairs. “I would not call what happened tonight safe, despite the fact that she caused her own demise.”
There wasn’t much arguing with him there.
“Connor! My office, now,” he said, just loud enough to be heard. The edge in his voice was enough to let Connor know it was urgent.
When they made it to the office, Connor was waiting for them in one of the chairs across from the desk. Kade took his seat, and Fabian sat next to Connor.
“I need ye to find out all ye can about the history of vampires and timekeepers. If that doesnae turn up anything, look into vampires and mages—unusual relationships or power exchanges. It appears Kelly and I have some sort of reaction to each other’s power, and it isnae the typical negative one.”
“You are leaving out an important detail,” Fabian chimed in.
It was pointless to try and hide the sigh that escaped him. “Look for anything about a vampire having amber eyes.”
Connor didn’t question at all, but simply nodded. The man was a priceless ally. “Anything else, sir?”
Fabian answered for him. “The information you are looking for will not be public. This is something that would have been hidden at all costs.”
“No problem. I’m on it.”
“Thanks, Connor. Be discreet, will ye?”
“Always.” He cocked a smile and stood, heading out to get started on his task.
Fabian wasted no time in taking on his Guardian role as Connor exited the office. “Do you really think you should be around her right now? You are nearing 300 years old, and you are bloodlusting over her. That should not be possible, but since it is happening, you need to know that your age will only make the urge to feed on her that much stronger.”
“I’ll remind ye, I also saved her less than an hour ago. So what will it be, Guardian? Would ye have me keep my distance or stay close in case she stops her own fucking heart again?”
He turned and grabbed a blood bag out of the mini-fridge. After he’d torn it open and taken a few gulps, he felt calm enough to speak again. “What gives ye the idea that I dinnae understand the dangers of bloodlust in an older vampire? I’ve been around long enough, and I ken my peoples’ history just as well as my own. I willnae hurt her.”
“Very well, then.”
The man was so calm that Kade wanted to hit him. Only a fae could control his emotions all the time; no other race could come close to their mild nature.
Kade’s business side took over, and he started planning things in his mind. “Right. Well, her dad is coming for dinner on Christmas. I dinnae think we should all go to his place. That gives us a day to work on understanding what happened and helping her control her power.”
“Bright and early in the training room, then.”
“Nae, after she wakes up and has a good breakfast. I willnae cut her sleep short just for her to exhaust herself further.”
Fabian smiled at him. “You know, we may actually get along through all of this.”
“Don’t get yer hopes up, blondie.”
“I changed my mind. The nickname ruined it.”
Kade chuckled, easing the tension between the two of them. “I’ll see ye tomorrow.”
Fabian simply nodded and left. His footsteps echoed through the house as he made his way up to the bedroom opposite Kelly’s.
Kade wanted nothing more than to follow the fae upstairs and curl up with Kelly in her room, but he was honestly afraid of what he could do to her. He’d been able to maintain his gentlemanly ways the night prior, but that was before his power had restarted her heart. Could it stop it, too? Did he have the ability to do as much harm as good? He wasn’t ready to find out.
Hopefully, a few hours’ sleep and some time in the training room before Kelly woke up would calm his nerves.
As his heart made its way up to her room, his mind led him to his own, away from her warm body and precious lips. Tonight was not the night to tempt fate.