“Aefre!” CK calls again and I can see that he has Vamped out and is ready to drag me to the floor by my ankles. As I get a metaphorical, red-hot poker stabbed into my head from temple to temple, I drop to the carpet, landing hard and without further ado, throw up the entire contents of my stomach. Which, luckily, is not that much, seeing as how I was in “transition” for a good portion of the day.
“Aefre,” CK says as he drops to his knees in front of me, but I scurry back from him, not sure if this is over. I don’t want him getting hurt in this internal battle.
“Stay there,” I croak and he does as I ask. I curl up on the floor, still quivering from the baby’s power and still bleeding from V.A.’s attack to my person. Man, these creatures are vicious. I blink as the quaking starts to ease off. My heavy breathing lightens and eventually I crawl to my knees, my sweaty, frizzy hair falling into my face.
“It’s too much,” I moan, but my attention is caught by the drip, drip, drip of CK’s blood as it hits the floor from his slow-healing, Dragon-inflicted wound. The scent of blood reaches my nose and my nostrils flare at the aroma. I look up at him and he rears back, probably from the horror that is currently me, but I reach for him.
“Blood,” I choke out of an obscenely dry mouth.
He peers at me hopefully, but it’s not what he thinks. I haven’t suddenly become a Vampire again. I am Aefre, back in control momentarily, and I need his blood to keep me here or I am going to be lost to him forever. I cannot endure another attack by V.A. and then She will win.
He hesitantly steps forward, but when I dive on him and start licking his palm, he flexes his fingers and more blood wells up. I clamp my mouth down on the wound and I can tell he is eagerly waiting for the sting of my fangs, but it doesn’t come. I am sucking for all I am worth to get as much of his blood into me as I can, all the while saying the Blood Magick ritual in my head. This ritual binds us together and when I wave my hand in his face it takes him a moment to get my meaning. He drops his fangs and bites into my wrist and I look up at him. He meets my eyes dead-on and I know that he, too, is saying the ritual in his head. I can feel the magick wind start to blow a breeze through the room. It’s not enough. We need to say it out loud. I pull away from him as he does to me and slaps my wrist to his palm, mingling our blood together as we both shout out the ritual at the tops of our voices to be heard over the tornado that is now sweeping through the room. It is whipping everything off the dresser, bottles are crashing, and the windows shatter under the power that is coursing out of the vortex of magick. The coverlet on the bed twists up into the air and the pillows scatter all over the floor. My hair is whipping into my face and mouth, but I ignore it as we continue to shout the ritual until the last word and the wind dies down and our wounds heal and we are still staring at each other in utter amazement at the force we both felt from this binding. If we only thought it was working before, it bloody well is now.
We are one.
A complete whole.
My other three personas have been locked back away in their respective little cages and I have complete control over them. They will come and go as I wish and right now, I do not wish it.
The only problem is I know that it is temporary. In order for Aefre to remain in control of the others, I am going to have to continue to drink his blood. Not that I find that a problem, of course.
“Jesus,” Devon mutters from behind me, breaking the spell.
I turn around and see him and Cade standing in the doorway where the door has been ripped clean off its hinges, staring at us like we are here from another planet.
“No, just me,” I say with a hysterical chuckle which no one else joins in on–not unexpectedly.
“You, are you?” CK asks breathlessly.
“For now,” I nod at him.
“
How did you know to do the ritual?” he asks.
“I don’t know, it just came to me,” I say with a shrug. I won’t admit to him that V.A. was this close to pushing me out.
“And before? What was that?” he asks, bewildered.
“V.A. trying to get out and expressing Her displeasure at being controlled,” I say, leaving out the bit about the baby counteracting the magick.
“How did you fight Her?” he presses.
“I had help,” I say, looking away and catching Devon’s eye. They widen in awe, but I beg him with mine to stay quiet. If what I suspect about the baby is true, no one is going to like it.
“Aeval,” CK states flatly.
“Yeah,” I lie and he is happy enough with the explanation that he lets it drop.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Peachy,” I say and peer over my shoulder to look at the damage. My robe is hanging open at the back, torn to shreds, but my back has healed and V.A. is sitting there in Her normal position, no longer glowing and no longer hurting me.
“How often do we need to do the ritual?” CK asks carefully.
I knew he would know it wasn’t a one-time deal.
“I’ll let you know,” I say and hold my hand out for him to help me up, which he does. “Right now, Dev, would you get me my mirror? I need Finn to sort this out.” I point over my shoulder and he nods and disappears into the bathroom to get the magick mirror.