by Emma Harley
“What happened?” Kalen demanded, nostrils flaring. Logan shrugged and Alicia looked confused as she backed away from the Fae males.
“Nothing happened, why are you freaking out?” he hissed, dumping the bags down on the chaise lounge.
Elias sniffed the air and scowled, “You two reek of blood.”
Raina’s eyes went wide as she tucked her bloodied hand into her pocket.
“Raina had a little accident at the farmhouse, nothing major,” Logan insisted, but was quickly ambushed with questions. Davin and JJ had appeared on the stairs to see what the commotion was.
Logan was quickly harassed with questions asking why he didn’t keep her calm, was she hurt, threats of death from Alicia. Like she was suddenly some sort of invalid that couldn’t look after herself. Izak and Nick had also appeared, the questions and muddling voices swirling in her brain as her ears pounded. Suddenly the lights became too bright, the voices too shrill. Every individual heartbeat was racing in her skull in scattered disharmony, Logan’s becoming louder as he came closer to her, the scent of rain mingling with cinnamon, juniper, cut grass and a medley of other smells she couldn’t focus her scrambling mind on.
A loud series of sharp pops followed by a piercing shattering brought the voices to a halt followed by a shriek and a roar as Davin and Alicia dived across the foyer to escape the shards of glass from lightbulbs that were exploding across the room. Raina clamped hands over her sensitive ears, attempting to drown out the unbearable cluster of noise.
Bunches of flowers in crystal vases began to wilt, igniting into bright orange flames, steam hissing where their water had once been. The mahogany sideboard was alight, wood crackling as the fire spat angrily. Raina once again found herself covered by Logan as he breathed in her ear with a panicked hush. She was detached from her body completely, seeing his lips moving with words she couldn’t quite understand as he grabbed arms she could not move.
His roaring became louder as a burning pain spread throughout her arm, bringing her red-hued eyes into focus and a shrill ringing in her ears.
Fire danced furiously in ribbons around her body, spurred on by an unnatural wind that swept through the room, carrying the flames around her like a vortex. Her heart pounded wildly, threatening to break through her chest as panic set in. Raina tried to breathe, but the unforgiving wind wouldn’t let her. It snatched the oxygen from her lungs as she dropped to her knees, eyes watering as she scrabbled desperately for air.
Something cold laced itself around her wrist, cooling the blistering burns on her skin. The relief was so welcoming that she forgot her panic for only a moment. That tiny moment was enough for the wind to die down, allowing her to take a life-saving gulp of air.
“You need to calm down! Take a breath Raina!” Kalen roared, gripping her wrist tightly. Hoarfrost was spreading through his arm and into hers, cooling her boiling blood and killing the flames that raged uncontrollably. She sucked in grateful mouthfuls of oxygen, counting her breaths as her eyesight began to dot and blur. The squall was nothing more than a breeze and the flames wreathing her body had died. Raina dropped back against Kalen’s muscled arms, a sweeping blackness taking over.
Ice clasped her forehead, forcing her eyes open in shock as Kalen slid his hand to her forehead, holding her closely against his freezing body. Loud gushing noises drew her attention to JJ and Elias, who had grabbed fire extinguishers from the kitchen to douse the last few flickers of embers that remained. Logan was on his knees at her feet, his arm crossed over Alicia as she tried to come closer, whispering that Kalen was helping her.
Raina sat up with a groan, Kalen’s cold hands resting on her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t in danger of cooking herself alive.
“I’m okay,” she muttered to him, looking around the room at the damage she had caused. JJ huffed a laugh as he set the extinguisher down with a clunk.
“Have to say Phoenix, you’re a woman of many surprises,” he chuckled, sweeping a hand through his tousled hair as he stepped past Logan to help her to her feet. She avoided his eyes as she stood, wobbling like a newborn fawn. Her energy was sapped, her eyesight blurring from the dizziness.
Logan, Kalen and Alicia were standing to the side, but made no move to come closer to her as she looked around at the mixture of panic, shock and fear on her friend’s faces. The once-magnificent chandelier was swinging gently, nothing more than a mess of wires and shredded glass pieces while the floor was glittering with broken shards of crystal.
“How did I do that?” she whispered, a sob catching in her throat, “I thought I could only make lightning?” Kalen and Logan glanced between each other, as though mentally arguing which of them should explain anything to her. Logan sighed, rubbing his neck uncomfortably.
“If you want an explanation, we would have to discuss your parents. Preferably without you getting mad and trying to blow me up again,” he mumbled, earning himself a punch in the arm from Alicia. Raina shook her head feebly.
“Not tonight. I just want to sleep,” she huffed, glancing around to her team, keeping her eyes firmly planted on the ground at their feet, “You guys would be safer sleeping in a different room. I don’t want to hurt you if I have a weird dream or something.”
Before anyone could argue, she was striding up the stairs and to her room, desperate to be alone.
Raina locked her door behind her, leaning her forehead against the cool wood for a few moments before she dropped onto the edge of her bed. Even her thoughts were silent, refusing to acknowledge the lack of control she had over her own body. A body she hated, flowing with cursed blood that doomed her existence long before her birth.
The recent revelations of her heritage made her doubt everything about herself. As a human she had been sought after in the military for her unparalleled skill with a gun, her brutal fighting power and the fearless leadership that made her a General in command of thousands of troops. Raina had worked tirelessly for her future, suffering constant degradation from those around her, especially men with fragile egos who didn’t want such a small woman being held in higher regard than them.
Now everything seemed like it was down to the tiny little bit of Fae heritage that remained among the glamour spell her birth mother had cast on her. She had never been an equal to humans, and now she didn’t belong among them anymore. She didn’t fight harder than anyone else in her position, she had it easier being a monster in disguise.
Raina choked down her sobs as she wallowed in her existential crisis. She had always been a firm believer that the wars she fought made her who she was, and accepting that General Raina Phoenix no longer existed was not a truth she wanted to face.
Chapter 7
Logan’s back was achingly stiff from sitting on his desk chair for so long. He had dragged it down the hallway to Raina’s room on Kalen’s suggestion that they each keep watch outside her door. She hadn’t left her room in almost five days. In fact Logan had barely even heard her move except to use the bathroom, only to return to her bed and bury herself under the duvet. Her squad had taken turns bringing her food, but their efforts had gone to waste, instead simply replacing a tray of stale food with a fresh one to be ignored. Not even a bite or sip of water.
Logan knew damn well how much weight she was losing. He had seen her scrawny wrists and severe collarbone from weeks of malnutrition, a far cry from the gentle curves and soft flesh his mind forced him to skim over. JJ arrived with yet another tray of food and didn’t bother asking the question everyone else had asked when they came to check on her.
He already knew she hadn’t moved, but he went ahead and sat the fresh tray of food on her bedside table, carrying out the breakfast that had now gone stale and cold. Logan glanced at the uneaten food as JJ went past. Fae could go long times without eating, but Raina had been reborn from an already weakened body.
Logan sucked his teeth before jumping up and storming into her room. He ripped the duvet off her angrily and tossed it on the floor.
“I�
�ve had enough Raina, I’m not sitting here while you starve yourself,” he growled. Raina didn’t move, her feeble chest barely loosed a breath to acknowledge him. He strode over to her bag and pulled out jeans and a clean shirt, setting them neatly on the soft ottoman at the end of her bed. Izak peeked his head around the door, ready to swap watch.
“What’s going on?” he asked curiously, noting the clothes. Logan slid his arms under Raina, almost swearing at how frail she felt in his arms as he swept her against his chest. The thin pyjamas hung loosely from her, accentuating every sharp bone jutting from her pale flesh.
“I’m doing what I have to,” he mumbled, marching into the bathroom.
Raina could barely speak to argue as he stepped into the shower and blasted icy water onto them both. She gave a small squeak of shock, her voice hoarse from dehydration and lack of use.
“Don’t lose control or you’ll fry us both in here,” he whispered into her ear. He turned the water over to warm and slid her trousers off over her too-thin hips, manoeuvring carefully so as not to drop her. He knew she couldn’t stand on her own for too long, in all likelihood she would probably collapse, so he kept her in his arms as he stripped off her clothing. She was so frail he could hold her in one arm as he gently lathered her with soap, purposely keeping his eyes on her head. He rinsed the fruity shampoo from her hair and stepped out, wrapping her in a large fluffy towel from the rail.
As he sat her on the bed, Alicia came storming in, obviously alerted by Izak who followed sheepishly behind.
“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed, a disgusted look crossing her features as she observed him rubbing a towel over Raina’s legs. He paused with a snarl.
“I’m making sure she doesn’t wither away into nothing,” he snapped, but his grip on Raina’s ankle remained soft, “she was barely eating for weeks before she turned back into Fae. Look at her she’s almost a damn skeleton, and I’m done waiting for her to come around.” He went back to drying her off as Alicia scoffed.
“So what, next you’re going to force feed her?”
Logan shrugged.
“If I have to, but there’s something Fae can do that might work a little better,” he grunted, “You might want to leave the room.” Logan unsheathed Raina’s dagger from her boot as Alicia and Izak leapt for him. He merely brushed his arm back, tossing them to the floor as though they were flies. Alicia bounced to her feet, palming a knife from her boot with a growl.
“It’s not for her,” he snarled, dragging the blade across his palm. Raina’s sunken eyes barely widened as he winced, blood pooling in his cupped hand before he shoved his palm to her lips. She struggled feebly, before clutching his hand with a weak grip and swallowing his blood as though it were a sweet nectar. Kalen appeared in the doorway in a flash, his canines flashing as he spotted Logan.
“What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?” he growled, storming towards Logan. He pulled his hand away from Raina’s lips and stood up.
“She’s fucking dying Kalen, and your idea to ‘just let her come around’ wasn’t working,” he snapped as Kalen shoved him away from Raina. Logan snarled as his brother slammed him against the balcony doors, two pairs of canines flashing as the tension became impenetrable between the siblings.
Alicia scrabbled over to her, but Raina’s attention was solely focused on Logan, staring at him so intensely as though he were the only person in the room. Like the sun after an eternity of darkness. Logan brushed Kalen aside, his face softening considerably as his golden eyes fell on her.
“Get dressed,” he ordered, pointing to the clothes he had laid out for her. Raina stood, leaving her towel to fall to the floor as she crossed the room to her clothes. Standing straight, it became clearer than ever how gaunt she had become. Izak and Kalen suddenly found the ceiling incredibly interesting.
“What did you do to her you freak?” Alicia screeched, rushing to cover her naked body from view. Raina didn’t even seem to be aware she was naked as she slipped on her underwear in a complete stupor.
“Relax it doesn’t harm her,” he strained, gritting his teeth as he took an inordinate amount of interest in Raina’s window.
Once dressed, she stood upright, swaying slightly on her feet. Logan swept her into his arms once more and set her on the bed, gently propped up with pillows as he sat the tray of food on her lap. “Eat.”
Raina tore into the food with surprising eagerness, devouring the tray within minutes. Logan sat down beside her as she stared at the tray, still lost in the fog he had put her under. He gripped her chin to face him before raising her hand to his mouth and sinking his canines into her palm. He swallowed the dribble of blood as the blank expression on Raina’s face turned to a wince of pain.
“What just happened?” she breathed, eyeing Alicia as the red-head stormed over to Logan.
“Get the hell away from her,” she growled, wrenching him by the arm as he allowed her to pull him away from Raina. Logan wiped the blood off his lip as Raina tucked her stinging palm under her arm.
“I made her eat since you lot were content enough to coddle her to starvation,” he snarled.
“She’s your fucking princess!” Kalen snarled, lounging at the male with a guttural roar. Logan dived out of the way, rolling over the bed to block Kalen’s attack.
“Yes she is, and I’m not letting her waste away in bed. Look at the state she’s in Kalen, she was a day away from dying. She went through a resurrection while she was weak, then her power started running rampant,” he panted, “Just bloody look at her! I did what I had to do!” Elias had appeared in the midst of the commotion to see Kalen lounge for Logan and was holding him back from fighting any further. Izak had slid his gun from its holster, holding aim at Logan.
“She was like your damn puppet, what did you do to her?” Izak hissed, shoving the desk chair out of his way. Logan sighed.
“Yes, I put her under my control to make her eat something. Unless you genuinely planned on force feeding her at some point?” he snapped bitterly, narrowing his eyes at Alicia as she scoffed.
“So you just had to strip her naked and shower her? You couldn’t have commanded her to do that because you wanted a peek you creep.” Logan’s answering snarl had her flinching.
“She can’t stand up, she would have passed out and hit her head or something because she’s starving to death. And since her healing abilities are probably weak as hell too, I didn’t want her hurting herself.”
“I didn’t want to eat,” Raina finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper, “I thought if I died, the necklace would make me human again, and I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Alicia choked back a silent sob before swiftly leaving the room. Izak chose to follow her after a hesitating glance between the males and Raina.
“That’s not how it works Raina,” Kalen said sternly, “That necklace is only supposed to work once, then the spell is used and it’s just a trinket. If you die as a Fae, you die for real, there’s no changing back to being a human.” Raina’s tears trailed silently down her cheek.
“If I can do that much damage in this world, what is the point of me going to a world where I’ll do even more harm? What if I kill someone close to me because I lost control?” Logan sat precariously on the edge of her bed, keeping a distance between them.
“You can’t stay here now that your powers are breaking through. It will be impossible for you to stay hidden from the world and we can’t make you human again.” Raina startled and cocked her head at Kalen.
“You used magic,” she muttered inquisitively. Logan’s head jerked as though he had completely forgotten that little anecdote himself.
“Oh that’s right, how did you manage that?” Kalen shrugged and examined his hands.
“I have no idea, I was panicking and trying to calm her down and thought I needed to cool her down, to be honest I had no control over it at all. Magic feels so different here, I didn’t even realise I was using it. I couldn’t make it go away it was ju
st like a small trickle made its way through.”
“What exactly did you do to me with your blood?” she frowned. Her pathetically frail arms were crossed, but she was too gaunt to come across as intimidating in any way. Logan gulped slightly as his eyes quickly skimmed over Kalen’s ‘explain yourself’ expression.
“I put you under temporary control,” he mumbled sheepishly, avoiding her eyes, “some Fae can use their blood to put others into a trance-like state, enough that they’ll follow basic orders. I didn’t want to have to pin you down and force feed you.”
Raina’s Fae ears prickled at a whispered commotion outside, followed by a flurry of thudding footsteps and Alicia storming into the bedroom, JJ and Izak following gingerly behind.
“I know you’re going through shit right now Phoenix, but I’m not sugar-coating this for you,” Alicia snapped shrilly, “we have sat outside your door for almost a week while you lay in here. Davin is currently off burying his sister so he can fake his death with us and follow you into a damn portal. We’re all giving up what little lives we have to be by your side, because we’re a family. You are all I have right now, and if you die our team gets separated, I lose my family. So suck it up, get your gear together and get ready to go through that damn portal because in three days our deaths will be irreversible and we’ll be on the run for the rest of our lives if we stay here.”
Raina couldn’t find the words to answer her, instead whispering a weak apology. JJ stroked Alicia’s shoulder as she sat down away from Raina, refusing to look at her. He rubbed his neck as he counted his breaths through gritted teeth.
“We make our decisions together Phoenix, you and I already had a pact on this. If you want to die, I’ll kill you myself, but I’m not letting you go out like this. You’re better than that.”
“You had a pact to kill our princess if she asked you to?” Logan snarled, staring daggers at JJ who merely shrugged.
“It’s not like we knew she was a princess. And that changes nothing, the whole team has the pact. If at any point we become a liability, go rogue, or become a danger to ourselves and others then we have a pact. I drew Raina’s name. She got lucky and picked Izak though,” he explained casually as though he were simply talking about the weather. Izak nipped him at the insult, not appreciating the insinuation that his team members fought to be the one who got to shoot him.
