Set In Sparks (Morningstars Book 2) (17 page)

“We’re here, who needs help?” a booming voice came from the door and Maya shook her head with a smile. Devon stood there, obviously ready to heal the world with his bare hands only. Behind him Lara stood next to Red like a Viking goddess, her blonde hair bound back into a French braid that trailed down the back of her light blue dress. The Hellraise in comparison looked terrible, but Maya knew exactly how to keep him active.

“Cia, kitchen,” Maya said towards Kaden and then wanted to leave, but he pulled her back, kissing her hard and quick.

“Take care of that before you do anything else,” he ordered and she groaned.

“We have so much to do, I don’t…”

“A quick bite will be enough, cupcake.” Maya’s heart jumped. She had missed hearing that nickname from Jaden’s lips and she found his eyes over her shoulder. “Take his blood, I’m gonna bring that guy here into a bathroom and get him cleaned up so we can tend to his wounds.”

A human teen, as tall as Jaden, hung over Jaden’s shoulder. He was obviously hurt and not yet changed. “You sure?” she asked and he nodded.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna nibble on my neck right now. I stink like a pig,” Jaden assured her and Maya cocked her head, glad that he was trying to lighten the mood a little.

“Cia, go ahead, he’ll be there in a minute,” Maya promised, hating to have that exact woman as an audience.

“I need to see that,” Cia gave back, stubbornness furrowing her brow.

To Maya’s surprise, Kaden just gave her a smug smile, drawing her in for a long, possessive kiss, before he bent his neck and Maya felt her heart go crazy. She couldn’t believe that amidst the chaos the world could slow down until it almost stopped, but that was what happened when she took Kaden’s blood. Three strong pulls later, she moved away, licking his wound close, breathing hard. The fire in Kaden’s eyes turned her insides to liquid, yet she felt his blood instantly working inside of her.

“Kitchen, food, Cia,” she reminded again and then finally left, or they’d never get anywhere. Funnily enough, with the fresh shot of blood in her she felt as if she could change the world and she sure as hell hoped that it would work.

Cany stood in the sitting room, her eyes going from the blood that stuck to almost every surface to the humans huddled together in front of the fireplace, while couples held onto each other. There was so much hopelessness in the room, Cany wanted to cry.

She’d heard a lot of stories so far: broken down houses, rooms collapsing, people caught underneath them, trees crashing through roofs and destroying everything, houses flooded and unusable and it was all because she had let her feelings get the best of her.

“What did I do?” she whispered, thinking that this night had been like a rollercoaster ride.

“I tried to tell Maya to calm you down. I hadn’t realized how serious it could get though.” Kaden showed up by her side, carrying a tray of food.

“How did you know anyway?” she asked while taking fruits and sandwiches from the trey, placing them on the only table in the room.

“Matt and I were supposed to look into the future courtier. Despite Colbin disliking Maya’s ways and attitude, he still wants her safe. We checked a lot possible courtiers, but it was only when I was hunting on the streets to forget about Maya that I came across a stupid group. Seems they used to be in school with you and knew things. They were humans, not yet turned. Buzzed up, they basically don’t know how to keep a secret.”

Cany tried hard to go through all the possibilities, but they were endless. People always had been afraid of her and the few girlfriends she thought she had suddenly didn’t even bother talking to her anymore.

“Kady, hey. Cany,” Cia said joining them. Even though Cany was not mated to Kaden, she couldn’t help but be bothered by the intimate way Cia used the nickname she had given Kaden. No wonder that Maya had been ready to explode once she had heard it. “What else do you need?” Cia asked and Cany looked around, figuring that she was in no position to make a comment about who called whom what.

“We just need to get people their own room. The beds are for two people each, so maybe you can get the couples settled in before we deal with the rest?” she asked and looked at Kaden for confirmation.

“Actually, maybe it’s better if Cia finds bandages and helps set some bones. The vampires will be okay as soon as you straightened that out. Maya is taking care of the humans,” he explained and Cany shrugged.

“Why doesn’t Maya take care of her own people?” Cia asked and Cany realized that this seriously was hard for Cia. She couldn’t even start to imagine how it would feel if she had to go and watch Ryder interact with someone else, and they were neither mated, nor had they even come close to the one-word-bridge. It was freaky how warm and secure Cany felt just knowing that they’d get there eventually and that the immense attraction she had felt for him had not been another way for the Creator to show her that she was a misfit. She fit. Hell, she fit perfectly. That was, unless she let her emotions reign free.

“Because they’re all my people,” came Maya’s voice from the door. Cany turned to her Queen and noticed how tired she looked. “Cia, can you come and help me take care of the younger ones, please? Your mother said you were a kindergartener and I can’t get my hands to stop shaking enough to clean a wound. The kid doesn’t stop moving.” It wasn’t a request like Cany had expected, but a plea. Maya was reaching her breaking point, which didn’t surprise Cany at all.

“Little star,” Kaden mumbled, but she just shook her head, leading Cia out of the room.

“I hate to say it,” Kaden said towards Cany after his mate had left, “but you need to do something about that power of yours.”

“There’s nothing I can do. If I feel, it’s happening. I try hard not to get affected, but I can’t help it,” she explained, following Kaden back to the kitchen where the kitchen help almost tripped over her own feet trying to get food finished that basically vanished the moment she had set it aside.

“I’m sure if you practice, you’ll be able to control it,” Kaden insisted and she felt like slapping her hand down on the tabletop just to prove to him that she was getting angry again.

“It’s not that easy,” she snapped and Kaden lifted a brow, obviously ready to annoy her.

“It is. I heard that you actually made it rain inside the rooms, but this time you didn’t,” he remarked and she slowly nodded.

“I was mad at the world for being unfair, not sad for myself. There’s a difference,” she explained and Kaden nodded, as if saying ‘see?’ She didn’t see anything though.

“You can influence it,” he helped out, lowering the knife he had taken at some point. They both were preparing sandwiches now and Cany actually enjoyed the mindless task because it gave her the chance to think.

“Kaden,” Cany started, noticing how he paused to look at her. “Is it scary?”

He was taken aback by the question, that much was obvious, but he just shrugged. “Everything is scary, nothing is scary. It all depends on the view. What exactly do you mean?”

She focused back on her fingers, folding two halves of bread together before setting it down on a plate. “Dedicating your life to one person and one person only. Is it hard taking the leap of faith?”

He looked still startled. “I hadn’t realized there was a choice. I saw her, liked her, got to know her, loved her, and then never thought back. What’s scary is the fact that I have no idea where to go from here, but loving her and giving her all I have never once was a choice. It happened and then the deal was sealed. You’d never ask Jaden if it was hard,” he explained and Cany rolled her eyes.

“Duh, we know he struggled with the decision,” she gave back and he shook his head.

“Not really. The moment I walked in on them, he stood in front of her. He would have fought me for her. I’m his brother and he wouldn’t have hesitated.”

“I wanted to tear you apart because she trusted you.” The brother in question walked in, looking at the food. “We settled everyone in and now we just need to spread clothes and blankets, towels and whatever else they need. The food too, of course. Make sure you all get something into your stomachs,” Jaden ordered and then left with two plates.

“He’s a different person,” Cany said in awe and saw how his brother nodded.

“Love will do that to you. Plus, Maya needs someone like him by her side or she’ll break with being too nice. Jaden doesn’t mind being the ass he knows is necessary sometimes,” Kaden agreed and Cany sighed.

“They all will hate me if they realize this is my fault,” she whispered, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. Kaden actually pulled her in his arms.

“In case you didn’t notice, Maya’s pretty forgiving, and Jaden doesn’t care about anything as long as Maya is okay. Anybody else doesn’t matter. We just won’t tell them. But don’t
ever
let that happen again, Cany, okay?” he asked and she nodded against his shoulder.

“What, my sister is no longer enough and you need my girl now, too?” Ryder asked and Cany instantly left Kaden’s arms, blushing a deep scarlet. She could hear the angry tone underlying the teasing.

“Don’t go there, Ryder. I’m neither in the mood, nor have the patience to deal with that right now. I’m not here to fight with you, but to calm her down,” Kaden gave back curtly, and then, towards her, “tell him.” With that he was out of the door and Cany left with Ryder and … turning, she realized no one else was there any longer.

“I was joking,” Ryder mumbled apologetically, looking unsure of how close he should actually come to her. She cocked her head, turning so he could easily embrace her. It was weird how shy she suddenly felt when only some hours prior she had been ready to undress him on the spot.

“We both knew you weren’t. In fact, Kaden knew too. I don’t think though you should tease him like that with everything going on between the three,” she scolded and he had the decency to look embarrassed. By the Creator, he was beautiful.

“I think they sorted that out, but yeah, I guess you’re right,” he admitted, scratching his head. She couldn’t believe that after the hectic of the last hours she had a few minutes of silence right there.

“Ryder –” She didn’t get further because he was kissing her again. It was different than earlier, a lot tenderer. He had cupped the back of her neck, brushing her cheek with his free hand.

“I couldn’t wait to taste you again. It grounded me out there,” he murmured against her lips, both hands farming her face now. She loved it.

“How many did come in total?”

“Fifty,” he said. “Lex and Matt tried to find the little girl’s parents, but there was nothing left of them.”

“The one with Cia?” He nodded and Cany shook her head, realizing what this meant. She needed to find Maya and talk to her. She needed to find Maya and explain it all to her. She would never be able to forgive her for everything she had done to those people. In fact, she was sure Ryder would hate her if he found out.

The thought made her swallow and step back. If you looked at it the right way, then Cany had committed assault and murder. She had killed a little girl’s parents. Her mother had been right after all: Cany was something to be feared, something that didn’t deserve to be alive.

Maya closed the last door on the long hallway, being glad that the last two people were taken care of. She had no idea how late it was, but she knew that the shutters had been closed hours ago. There was a hushed silence in the house, making her feel as if she were deaf after the frenzy of the last minutes and hours.