CARLYLE

Jai’s kiss had pulled me back from the edge of pain, only to shove me right off the edge of pleasure. Holy hell, that kiss had been like a flash fire in my system.

When his fang pierced my lip, my core had flooded with heat. Even now that he was gone, my body was aching for him, and the ghost of that brief kiss was haunting my lips like someone tracing a feather over my skin.

I could also feel the itchy tingle of what must be healing - my body was already knitting itself back together with the strands of Jai’s powerful magic. I wasn’t even focusing, but it knew what to do. Lifting my head, I braced myself to take stock of the mess I’d made.

I was alive, but my siphoning had really fucked things up. I was stuck halfway in the mattress, and I could feel the threads tugging me down, laced all the way through my skin. Not to mention, I was covered in enough blood that it looked like a whole coven of vampires had been here.

The pain was receding to a dull pulse, though, thanks to the combination of magic flowing through my veins.

As my skin healed, one of my arms broke free from the mattress. I held it up to the light, my muscles shaking. I heard someone gasp as I saw the problem with what they’d started. My skin was healing, sure. Right over top of the goddamn strings.

My forearm was a gnarly web of fabric and blood.

“Fuck,” someone muttered, and I sighed in agreement. I couldn’t heal like this. I had to get myself out of the mattress, then heal.

Dair would be able to siphon me out, but I’d heard enough while slipping in and out of consciousness to know he wasn’t coming - not soon enough, anyway. I gritted my teeth.

This mess was my problem - I’d created this fucked-up situation. Now, I needed to fix it. I just had to dig deep, find the magic and the motivation, and make it happen.

Closing my eyes again, I sank deep inside my mind and examined my stores of energy like a traveler gathering provisions for the journey ahead. I rounded up all the wispy tendrils of magic floating aimlessly around my limbs, separating and bundling them by color behind my eyelids.

Sol’s magic was a soft, glowy orange, and Dair’s was like yellow lightning, so bright it was hard to look at. Jai’s was dark and swirled, like the intense deep purple of the sky just before daybreak.

I wasn’t completely sure, but I thought I had enough to siphon one last time, as long as it was somewhere close. Like the floor.

My body couldn’t be allowed to heal around a fucking mattress. I needed out.

“Shortcake?” Sol said, breaking my focus. I heard him take a hesitant step forward as my other arm finally healed enough to break free.

“I’ve got this,” I managed, slitting my eyes open to stare at the wooden floor of Killian’s room. That was my goal - just a few feet south. I could do it. Before any of them could stop me, I shoved my fingers into formation and whispered the words to siphon myself onto the floor.

The remaining threads of the mattress ripped through my skin, and I choked on a scream. My sides were on fire, and my legs felt like they were being forced through a mesh screen of blades. For the love of everything sugar, I had to keep going.

Floor. Floor. Motherfucking floor, I screamed inside my head, desperate to keep my intent focused like a laser.

It was probably only seconds, but it felt like I was inside the siphon for a lifetime. Finally, I landed in a quivering pile of pain on the floor, my body whole again. Heaving, I slumped against the bed, my head lolling back to stare up at the guys.

Sol fell to his knees and cradled me tightly in his arms, tugging my chin up and meeting my lips with his. His kiss was careful - sweet and gentle as a butterfly landing on my skin. I felt my strength flicker a tiny bit, and I reached deep inside me to pull on Jai’s healing magic one last time before it dissipated completely.

This hadn’t been how I’d imagined tasting the vampire’s powers, but hell if I was going to let him off the hook now.

The echo of that kiss was still with me, shadowing Sol’s caresses. It almost felt like Jai was hovering inside my mind, both intimately inside me and watching from a distance.

Thank you, I said inside my head, testing my theory, and the magic seemed to flare and boost my healing one last time.

Maybe my brain was too addled with pain and the stress of the afternoon, though, because the presence quickly faded away, leaving me feeling nothing but Sol again.

Which was cool, too. I wasn’t about to complain about Sol’s kisses.

“The threads are coming out,” Kana said, breaking through my touch-drunk thoughts. I forced my eyes open and held up my arm to see. Sure enough, the threads from the mattress were dangling farther out of my skin. Some had fallen off, and when I tugged on another, it felt a little like peeling off an old scab.

Kana sat cross-legged on the floor next to us and took my arm in her cool fingers. She scratched and tugged at each thread, as Sol continued to kiss me deeply and feather his fingers across my skin.

I felt incredibly weak, but finally the pain was gone. I didn’t seem to have any lasting injury. Killian’s keys glinted near us on the floor, and I allowed a half-grin.

I’d fucking done it.

Yeah, I’d messed up a bit. Who doesn’t when they’re learning? The important part was that I’d done something I wanted to do. I’d wanted to help Killian, and I’d wanted to put my new magic to the test.

I would be stronger because of this, no matter how stupid everyone might think it was.

“What were you thinking?” Sol murmured against my lips. “You could have died, shortcake.”

“Yeah, trying to siphon without Dair was pretty stupid,” Kana chimed in, bouncing to her feet again.

I groaned, pushing out of Sol’s lap and hauling myself up against the bed. I wasn’t going to let them bring me down. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I nearly toppled back onto the mattress. Seeing the shredded fabric and stains of reddish-brown blood, I felt sick all over again.

“I’m cool,” I slurred, bracing my hands on the edge of the mattress and squeezing my eyes shut against the wreckage. I batted away Sol’s hands. I was fine - just weak.

“I should probably check on Jai,” Kana said with a bone-weary sigh. I snorted. I didn’t envy her that job - he’d seemed pretty pissed at everyone. If anyone could take his wrath, though, I thought it would be another vampire.

“Thank you,” I managed, sliding my eyes to her. She shrugged and winked, then stalked out of the room.

I straightened and glanced between Sol and Killian. Killian was still on the bed, and I noticed he was almost as covered in blood as I was. I winced. “Sorry,” I said, gesturing to his ruined bed.

“What the fuck did ya do?” he repeated.

I looked down at the floor, locating his keys. Bending to snag them, I tossed them at him. He caught them, never breaking our stare.

“I went for your car,” I said, feeling my skin heat. They really were going to be pissed that I’d done all this for something like a car. My stomach churned again, but with anxiety this time.

No. I didn’t care what they thought - not about this. They didn’t own me or my actions.

“My car?” he said, confusion scrunching his eyebrows together.

“I siphoned back to the old safe house and moved your car to a new spot. It’s in a parking garage, waiting for when you have a chance to get it.”

Behind me, Sol cursed and stomped out of the room, slamming the door so hard the frame cracked a little.

I tilted my head back and stared at the ceiling. Damn, I needed a bath.

“I just wanted you to have it back,” I said, groaning as I hobbled toward the door. “I thought I could handle the magic.”

I was almost to the broken door when Killian stepped down from the bed. He crossed the room in two quick strides and grasped my arm gently. I glanced back at him, and his eyes flashed golden.

“Ya did handle it. That was fuckin’ savage,” he said, a tiny note of respect creeping into his voice before he shut down again and glared. “Stupid, but savage,” he repeated.