Ascension

by Felicity Heaton

  She nodded. “I can feel it, you know, the barrier you’ve made. I couldn’t before. I don’t think it’s your upgrade. I think it’s close.”

  “The ascension?”

  She nodded again and wrapped her arms around herself. “Real close.”

  Taig sighed, placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her towards him until she shifted and leaned her head against his chest. He held her in silence, memorising the way it felt to have her in his arms and to have her relying on his strength again to comfort her. His thumb started a soft motion against her arm through the robe and he stroked it while he thought about what they were going to do. If Gregori was after her, he would want her gone before the ascension hit. He wouldn’t wait until afterwards, not even to see if she died during the process. Gregori wouldn’t risk her becoming stronger than he was.

  Lealandra was strong and just as stubborn as Taig. She wouldn’t give in to the ascension and would fight to master her magic. It wouldn’t defeat her. Taig wouldn’t let it. If Lealandra needed all of his power, all of his blood, then he would give it to her. He would give her everything to ensure that she survived.

  He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her head. She looked up at him with round fearful eyes, their grey depths as stormy as the ocean. Taig lowered his mouth to hers and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss, one that he hoped told her everything that he still couldn’t voice. He loved her and he wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to her.

  Lealandra was still a moment as his lips moved over hers and then she uncurled, her hands coming to rest on his waist and her mouth opening. She returned the kiss, as softly and slowly as he was, her lips barely meeting his. He frowned when her tongue traced his lower lip and then brushed over his teeth and groaned when he touched it with his. She slanted her head and thrust her tongue into his mouth. One hand slid around the back of his neck and pulled him closer as her kiss turned fierce and hungry.

  Their tongues duelled for dominance, drawing a quiet moan from her, and his brow furrowed. The hunger of her kiss was electrifying, shattering his restraint. It became a battle, a violent clashing of lips and tongues, full of desperation and need. Taig’s breathing turned as choppy as the kiss and he dug his fingers into Lealandra’s shoulders, clinging to her, holding her so she couldn’t break away from him. His whole body tightened at the delicious feel of her fingers running down his chest. He moaned to encourage her and then frowned when she raked nails down over his pectorals. He loosed a muffled ‘ouch’ into her mouth when she clawed him again. Literally.

  His tongue touched her teeth. Sharp. The taste of magic flooded his mouth, coppery in its scent, and then it felt as though it was crawling down his throat, infecting his body and sapping his strength.

  Taig shoved Lealandra off him. She smiled, wicked and seductive. Dilated pupils darkened her bright red eyes.

  He threw a cursory glance down at his chest. She had torn his black t-shirt to shreds. He went to touch it but Lealandra clicked her fingers and it disappeared. She was still smiling when he looked at her. Hunger flitted across her eyes as she stared at his body and she reached over and stroked her fingers lightly down his chest, following the marks she had made, and then took her hand away and licked each bloodied finger clean. She sucked them in turn, her eyes fixed on his, her moans making him breathless. He clawed back a little control over his libido and frowned at her.

  “We have to get you to your parents.” Those words didn’t go down well.

  She pouted at him and raised her hands. Red magic swirled around her fingers like ribbons in a breeze, her skin drained of colour and her eyes brightened, until the red began to bleed into the white.

  “We really have to get you to your parents,” Taig said, afraid that even his blood wouldn’t be able to stop whatever was happening to her. Her magic was strong, flooding the room with a heavy feeling that pressed down on him, as though gravity had suddenly doubled.

  “I refuse,” she said in a voice he didn’t recognise as hers and tilted her head to one side, her smile coy and seductive, and her eyes narrowing on him. He frowned when she reached out and ran her palms over his chest, trailing her fingers over his nipples and teasing them. His nostrils flared and his jaw tensed as he fought for control. Her magic seeped into him, stealing his senses and making his head feel light. Lustful thoughts filled it, urges so dark that they frightened him. His blood called for violence, for him to slake his thirst for Lealandra and have her, take her in ways he had only dreamed of. As a demon. “Everything I need is right here.”

  Taig growled and moved backwards, sending the stool toppling. He stumbled over it, regained his footing and growled at her again. Her eyes became dark red slits of anger and she stood. He swallowed when she shrugged out of the white robe, revealing the enticing curves of her bare body, and then snapped her fingers, ridding him of his jeans.

  This wasn’t going to happen.

  He stalked towards the bedroom, intent on getting dressed again and getting Lealandra over to her parents. There was no way on Earth he was going to do what her magic wanted him to. He wasn’t going to have sex with her like that. Lealandra was in there somewhere and he was as sure as Hell was hot that she didn’t want it that way.

  Lealandra snapped her fingers again.

  His bedroom door slammed shut right in front of him. He tried the handle. It wouldn’t give. The door didn’t even have a lock. He threw a glare over his shoulder at Lealandra. She was still smiling, red-eyed and sharp-teethed. That wasn’t Lealandra. That was her magic. The voice she had spoken to him with, her appearance, it was all her magic. It had taken control.

  Taig stalked back to her and stared hard into her eyes.

  A flicker of grey surfaced, pushing the red back for a moment and showing him nothing but pure fear. It laced her aura and sent a sickening wave through him that made him reach out to comfort her. He touched her cheek and the red began to seep back into her eyes.

  Lealandra.

  He had said he would do anything to help her survive the ascension.

  He meant that.

  Her lips moved, silently speaking what he could already see in her eyes.

  Help me.

  Red shot back into her irises.

  White light engulfed the room.

  CHAPTER 20

  Lealandra’s heartbeat shot off the scale as the world brightened so much that it hurt. She squinted and raised her hand to protect her eyes, afraid of what was happening. Was someone attacking them? Was it Gregori?

  Her hand fell back down to her side when she realised that it wasn’t an attack. It was her. Her power was doing it.

  She swallowed, her heart fluttering in her throat, a frightened little beat that made her tremble. Too late. She had wanted to regain control and go to her parents so they could help her but her time was up. No one could help her now. Her mother’s words came back to her. The symbol for blood in her ascension mark was about Taig. She had to be unafraid of taking what she needed from him, what her magic demanded, because she wouldn’t survive the ascension unless she did.

  Pain rushed through her, followed by the most incredible feeling of unrestrained power as every tether holding it snapped. She flung her arms out at her side, screaming at the ceiling as she lost all control. Her feet left the floor and threads of magic swept over her, weaving around her legs and arms, supporting her. Her eyes half closed and then snapped open again when something moved.

  Taig.

  The power sparked through her when she reached out to him, wracking her body and making her want to curl up in agony. Lealandra gritted her teeth and stretched her hand out to Taig again, desperate to reach him and regain control. She needed balance. Without it, the magic would completely take control and destroy her.

  She screamed and bent over backwards when it surged through her, the pain so intense that she lost her senses and all awareness of herself. Her body melted away, becoming one with the light engulfing her, and she struggled to focus. It
felt as though she was spreading outwards, losing herself to the very air in the room, and it frightened her. She had to hold on and hold herself together. She had to maintain her form if she was going to survive this. Her magic was one with the elements but she couldn’t follow it into that ethereal state. She had to focus through the agony beating in her essence and hold on until she could reach Taig and save herself.

  “Lea!” Taig called from somewhere within the white emptiness.

  Her heart ached and she silently called out to him, unable to speak through the incredible hurt.

  There was a sense of him being close and then the sound of something smashing.

  “Son of a bitch.” It must have been Taig.

  Lealandra tried to speak, wanted to tell him that the magic wouldn’t let him near her. She wanted to tell him to run and save himself. Forget about her. She couldn’t control it. Her body trembled, weak and on the verge of collapse. Fighting her power in order to question the demon and then using it to battle Gregori had taken too much of her strength. Even with her borrowed power from Taig, she still hadn’t been strong enough to hold the ascension at bay.

  The world around her began to grey, fading slowly to black.

  There was another spark and again the sound of Taig being thrown and smashing into something. She smiled at his persistence and wished she could find her voice to tell him to leave her while he still could. The magic was building inside her and she didn’t know how much longer she could contain it. It felt as though it was going to tear her apart, rip through her to escape the physical prison of her body.

  “Lea!” he shouted again and she screwed her eyes shut, her heart warming but breaking at the same time.

  With a scream, she arched her back and flung her legs and arms outwards. A bright white shockwave rent the darkness and she could hear everything in the apartment smash and crumble beneath its power.

  “Taig,” Lealandra whispered, desperate to hear that she hadn’t killed him.

  She couldn’t bear the thought of hurting him. She never should have asked him to help. She had known how dangerous it would be to be around her now when she was going through the ascension. Without her Counter-Balance, she had no way of fighting the power and getting it back under her command.

  Another blast of power rocked her body and she frowned when it found resistance within the room. Whatever it was, it was powerful. Could it be Taig? Tears streaked her cheeks. Taig. How could she have turned her back on him all those years ago? How could she have left the man she loved? She should have fought him and told him that she loved every part of him, even his demon side. Seeing him as a demon hadn’t frightened her. He had still been Taig, willing to sacrifice himself to protect her, doing whatever it took to make sure that she was safe. She had still been able to see him within his demonic appearance. She had been able to sense it was him and that he would never do anything to hurt her.

  She screamed again when power ripped through her and blacked out.

  Was this the end of her?

  When she woke, would her magic be in command? Would it force her to do things that went against her will, her very principles, and make her suffer before she died? She didn’t want that. She would sooner die now than succumb to the dark will of her magic.

  When she came back, strong arms held her. More tears cascaded down towards her ears, drawn from her by the comforting feel of the embrace rather than the pain spiralling through every inch of her body. The arms pulled her close, cradling her gently and filling her with a sense of safety that made her want to give up the fight.

  “Taig,” she mumbled, her cheek pressed against his chest. She wanted to hold him but couldn’t find the energy to raise her arms. Her power was a constant ebb and flow of pain through her tired body, stealing all her remaining strength.

  Soon she would lose control completely and would cease to be herself. The power would take over and use her body as a vessel, a puppet to wreak havoc with before destroying her. She couldn’t let that happen.

  “Kill me,” Lealandra whispered and opened her eyes. His face was hazy and blurred but she could make out the bright red of his eyes and his heavy frown.

  “No.” A flat refusal. Nothing short of what she had expected. He held her tighter. “Tell me what you need. Tell me how to help you. I’m not letting you go, Lea. Not again. I won’t lose you. I… I can’t… I can’t lose you, Lea. Please… tell me what to do.”

  She smiled. Stubborn mule. Why couldn’t he have been this stubborn all those years ago? The thought that they could have been together all this time broke her heart now that death was looming in front of her, ready to snatch her life and the beautiful dream that seeing Taig had brought into existence.

  “Speak to me, Lea. Tell me what the fuck I need to do to stop this.” Desperation laced his voice. It hurt her to hear it. She didn’t want him to suffer like this because of her. Her resolve to fight came back, a desire to survive the ascension and be with Taig fuelling her. She raised her hand and grabbed his shoulder with it, followed by her other. Dragging herself up, she licked his neck and worked her naked body against his, silently telling him exactly what her magic needed.

  His blood.

  His body.

  It was the only way for her to get enough power to control the magic and regain command.

  He instantly moved her in his arms, shifting her onto his lap so she was straddling him. Her eyes widened when he bit into his wrist and then narrowed on the wound when he released his arm. Blood ran down his forearm, the crimson trail making her hunger rise and suppressing the fluctuations in her power.

  He brought his wrist to her mouth and she moaned low in her throat when it pressed against her lips. She parted them and wrapped them around the wound. Pain tore through her when she sucked and the magic rebelled against the calming effect of his blood but she fought back, unwilling to surrender now. This was her body and her life. Her magic wouldn’t defeat her. She sucked harder, swallowing down the cool metallic-tasting liquid and melting into his arms. She turned her head and pressed it against his chest, still suckling from his wrist, as he raised her up on his lap. A sigh escaped her when his hard length eased into her, making her ache for him and giving her back a fraction more control.

  She went to move but his other hand tightened against her waist.

  “I’ve got you,” he whispered into her hair and then kissed it.

  He moved her on his cock, a slow torturous rhythm. She wanted to writhe against him but she didn’t have the energy. It was taking everything she had left just to keep drinking from him. She closed her eyes and swallowed down the next mouthful of his blood, regaining a little more control when its power radiated through her.

  This wasn’t exactly how she had imagined her ascension going. Charlie should have been here to absorb the excess magic and the coven should have used their magic to suppress hers. That was all she would have needed from them. Taig had to give her everything. His body, his power, and his blood. She needed it all. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if she had been alone when the ascension had hit. Either Gregori would have killed her or the magic would have.

  She whimpered when new pain throbbed deep in her chest and began spreading outwards along every nerve.

  Taig’s arm encircled her, pressing her against him, moving her body against his.

  “I’m here with you, Lea. I’m not going anywhere. Hold on.”

  Her eyes shot wide when he moved her so she was lying on the floor with him on top, his wrist still pressed to her lips, feeding his blood to her. His other hand pressed into the floor between her arm and her side, supporting his weight. She groaned when he thrust into her, filling her body with his own. The new pain grew more intense, white-hot and searing her body. It felt different though. Her power began to ebb away and she frowned when she realised that she could finally shut it down and restrain it again. She drank down another mouthful of Taig’s blood and then released his wrist.

 
His face came into focus.

  “You back with me?” He smiled but she saw right through it.

  Lealandra had never seen him so worried before. She was going to answer him when he plunged deep into her core again and her reply became a breathy moan of pleasure. With renewed strength, she grasped his shoulders and dragged him down to her. He collapsed onto his elbows, his body sliding against hers, teasing her sensitised flesh and making her shiver with arousal.

  His mouth covered hers and she rolled her eyes closed when he kissed her hard. His movements became as desperate and searching as that kiss, telling her without words how much she had frightened him and how much he needed her. Her fingers danced across his shoulders and he shuddered against her.

  “Tickles,” he muttered against her mouth a moment before his tongue tackled hers, tearing a moan from her throat.

  Lealandra cracked one eye open and watched her fingers. They left glowing red trails in their wake as she stroked his skin. She smiled, her eyelids at half-mast, and Taig moaned and kissed along her jaw, hungry nips and sucks that spoke of his desire and need. Her eyes closed again and she leaned her head back, arching her chest into his. He slid one arm beneath her back, grasping her tight to him, and her body hummed with the feeling of his against it, moulding perfectly skin to skin, filling her with each long stroke. A groan rumbled in her throat and her lips parted as it came out as a sigh. Taig kissed her neck, devouring it while she traced patterns on his back and shoulders, lost in a warm sea of bliss and tranquillity. How did he do this to her? How did his blood and a physical connection to him give her control? There had to be a reason. She had never experienced anything like it with anyone else. Not even Charlie’s presence had given her this much control over her power. It couldn’t just be because he was a demon. She wanted it to be more than that.

  She kissed Taig’s cheek and then craned her neck so she could lick and tease the sensitive flesh of his throat. He moaned into hers and lightly bit down on it. His breath tickled her ear when he whispered words into it. Her cheeks flushed and her heart warmed. They were tender words, soothing ones that drew a wide smile from her. She really had worried him if she had reduced him to whispering sweet nothings.