She flushed as his eyes raked down her, embarrassed by the thought of what he was seeing in that moment, naked and exposed, but her attempts to cover herself and close her legs were met with a growl.
He looked glorious kneeling over her, his pants hanging so far down his hips that it was his erection alone that was keeping them from falling to his knees, his tight muscles and anger giving him the look of a God.
He was triumphant at finally getting what he wanted, even if it wasn't to physically have her body. She belonged to him and he was almost vibrating with that knowledge, staring down at what was his.
Leaning down, he pulled her up into a sitting position and his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders, holding her to him and stroking her hair tenderly, his lips pressing hard against the top of her head as he clung to her.
When his fingers curled under her chin and tilted her head back, she met his lips without hesitation, the realisation that she and Jaia were... whatever it was they were, making her feel oddly warm regardless of how it had come about, but still she was scared of him and what he might expect from their relationship.
Without a word, they decided to finish bathing, but no real answer had come from their encounter and his actions only further confused her, but he seemed calmer now that he had her agreement. She didn't know what she was going to do about him and the threat he represented. Vampires were exceptionally possessive creatures, and she knew his claim on her would complicate things with Epharis, but that would have to wait until later.
She felt his eyes on her as she slipped from the bathroom, clean and dressed and he followed after her, his eyes alert to the other men around her but none seemed to pose any real threat to what was his. Glancing around, she noted that Daemon was gone along with Jagum, and she was very glad for that. What was she going to tell Daemon?
She felt her stomach clench at the thought, and she swallowed hard, realising that Daemon's response was going to be the worst part. She couldn't let him kill Jaia, but he would be fully within his right to kill the vampire for the threats.
She was lost in thought, trying to decide what to do when she noticed Kai watching her.
Kai had noticed the intense stare from his twin, and he tilted his head in confusion, unsure of their new tension, nor how she felt about either of them and she felt odd, as though Kai would be able to sense his twin's mark on her or what he had done.
Jaia was smug however, dropping onto the couch and lounging back as though all of his problems had been washed away in the instant he forced her down onto the tiles. But to her it had only made more problems, and these were bigger than the ones she had known before.
When Kai tried to speak to her, she fled the room, and she heard his turning on Jaia and demanding to know what had happened but Jaia only laughed in a low, growling sound that had shivers rolling down her spine.
Slipping into the lab, she looked over the dusty instruments and tools of her trade and made a mental note that she was going to have to get a lot of work done if she were going to replenish all the supplies that had been lost on their trip.
After a few minutes of her collecting a handful of things she would need, she looked up to see Versalis sliding into the room.
Her eyes immediately went to the warm crimson glow at his chest and that need to take it from him was enough to make her fingers twitch, but she kept her hands to herself.
"I don't want to fight, Versalis," she said in a tired voice.
"I'm not here to fight. I make no excuses for my leaving, only to beg for your forgiveness," he said, and her lips turned down into a frown as she studied him.
He was as handsome as ever, his pale lavender eyes boring into hers in a silent demand.
"Why should I forgive you?" she asked finally, the silence between them stretching on too long.
"Because you're angry right now but you still love us, Kai especially. And your punishing Jaia isn't going to end well. He is strong and as stubborn as you, one of you will get hurt."
She stayed silent as her mind went to the bathroom and his near loss of control.
"I could always just leave," she said, and she saw the flash of panic in his eyes before he controlled himself.
"You know full well no one would let you leave. Epharis, Alaric, the twins." His eyes were hard and the 'me' was a clear threat between them.
"You're assuming that you can contain me," she growled, and his grin was a flash of white.
"How's that bell going for you?"
Unconsciously shifting her foot, the bell tinkled into the silence. "None of you deserve forgiveness, you're deserters," she snapped and anger flashed over his face.
"Don't call us that," he growled, a warning in his voice.
Setting down the empty bottle she had been about to crush in her fist, she approached him and stood only a few inches from his face.
"You and the two of them are deserters. You abandoned the mission and fled. Like cowards."
His eyes flashed to crimson, and she moved on instinct, her hand landing on his chest before his hands had left his side and she pulled viciously on Faerie, forcing the energy into him and throwing him backwards. The door slammed to the floor as he struck it, landing hard on his back and rolling back to land on his feet.
She followed him out, ignoring both Kai and Jaia as they stood frozen in place, shocked by the projectile vampire.
Her skin tingled at the use of the magic, and she turned on the twins, both taking a step back from her in unison. Deciding they were not the threat, she turned back to Versalis only to have him slam into her and they both went down hard.
His fingers dug into her shoulders to try and hold her down, but her hand found his chest and she pushed energy into him. Throwing him up hard enough that he hit the repaired ceiling and landed back where she had been only a second before.
Rolling to her feet, she took advantage of him being down to drive her foot into his side and he grunted, hitting the wall under the force of the blow.
He was on his feet in a second and she bared her teeth at him.
She paused as a keening sound started up somewhere in the back of her mind and she tilted her head, listening to the sound.
Versalis hit her and landed hard on top of her, his fingers curling around her throat.
Hissing, she reached up and he froze as her fingers closed around the gem under his shirt and power rocked through her body, screaming inside her like the winds of a tornado.
Destruction and desire were her world, and she wanted it, but someone was grabbing her hands, and her fingers were pried off the gem, her arms forced down to the ground.
The power left her in an instant and she felt its loss like a physical blow, looking up into the crimson eyes of the vampire king.
Kai and Jaia had joined him in helping to hold her down and she glared up at them all.
"Get off me!" she snarled, her eye beginning to twitch as the keening grew louder. "What is that noise?"
They all looked confused by the question and Versalis' eyes dulled back to violet in his confusion.
The door burst open and Uzo froze at the scene, totally confused but his eyes found hers and she knew he could hear it too.
"It's happening!" he screamed. "The creators are here! Why are they here, Etani? You should have taken their magic!"
She could only stare up at him in confusion, having no idea why she might not have taken their powers back.
"But that doesn't make any sense," she said, not understanding it at all.
"You, boy, give her the gem," Uzo demanded and Versalis hesitated, unsure of if he should obey the order. Kai and Jaia let go of her arms and she shoved the vampire away from her.
Without a word, she held out her hand in a silent demand. "You don't get to control death anymore," she snapped but his eyes narrowed on her.
"You can have it only if you promise to return it after. You are too dangerous to be running around like that all the time," he demanded.
She didn't want to admit that he was right and so she bared her teeth at him in anger.
"Promise!" he yelled, and she jumped, finally nodding but he refused to hand it over.
"I promise. I promise, I promise," she finally snapped, and he lifted the chain over his head.
The gem was deliciously warm in her grip as she took it from him and the tornado of power filled her mind, screaming for release.
Slipping the gem over her head, it settled between her breasts, and she felt the brand on her wrist burning into life.
Looking at it, she smiled warmly at the sight of her weapon at her call once more.
Turning to the window, she saw that the day had become dark under the heavy clouds.
"Where are you..." she whispered, her voice taking on an eerie echo in her mind.
The sky suddenly stopped crying, and the suddenness of the change was jarring, like someone had turned off a tap and she looked out over the darkened field.
An enormous tear in reality had formed and the air itself warped as hundreds of figures stepped out, each figure causing light to flash like lightning.
She heard the others joining her and they stood in utter silence as they watched, terrified and enthralled by the sight of so many beings who had come to destroy their world.
"Well shit..." Uzo said, and she had to agree, that was the exact right thing to say.