I reach a hand up and rest it against the side of his neck. I brush my thumb over his lips. I made a promise to him once, that I could protect him from her. I intend to keep that promise. "We'll show our faces. Evaluate the situation. I know we can come up with some kind of story. I will get you out from under her thumb, Jaxon. I swear it. Things just might get a little…ugly."
From the look on his face, I can tell that Jaxon isn't so convinced.
"At the rate you're going, I think you can safely go back into the city in a few days," I move on. "We will play our part. We will act out the story we've already established. I will handle things from there. Do you trust me with this? Do you want to break ties?"
Jaxon reaches up and wraps his fingers around my wrist. I try to read what he's thinking from his eyes. But I don't know if even he knows what he feels about this. He knows his mother is not a good person. He's had to do terrible things because of her. His ex-girlfriend almost got killed once because of his family, because of her.
But she is his mother. This is his family. Is completely cutting ties what he really wants?
"I don't want to keep doing her bidding for the rest of my life," he confesses. "But when it comes to the rest…"
He doesn't know.
So I just nod, trying to reassure him. Whatever he wants, whatever he needs, I'm here for him. Somehow, I will make it happen. "We will cross all the bridges when we get to them. For now, we will stick to this plan. Maybe you should give your mom a call today. Tell her that we will be back in a few days. I know that she's anxious to see you."
"She's going to give you hell," Jaxon says as he raises one eyebrow. "If you really said to her what you said you did, well… You've now given her multiple days to plot her next move."
I shrug one shoulder. "I'm not afraid of Vivian Gray."
Jaxon chuckles and shakes his head. "I never stood a chance with you. You are exactly my kind of kryptonite, Serena."
With a smile, I lean forward, bracing both of my hands on his chest. Gently, I kiss his lips.
This kiss is different. It isn't desperate like the one we shared earlier. This one is…an understanding. It's the physical expression of the understanding that we have when it comes to one another. It's a promise that we will always be there for each other. No matter the dark roads we might have to go down, no matter the blood that might stain our hands because of it.
Jaxon's hands rest on either side of my face. They're the perfect, calm temperature. This is just him, a human, and just me, equally as human. "Glad we got all that figured out. You and I make a pretty decent team."
I smile and brush my nose against his. "Yeah, we do."
I slide off his lap, and we finish our sad excuse for a meal. When we’ve both eaten our fill, we clean it up together. And then I take his hand and lead him back to my bedroom. I don't close the door. As he said, we need to be very, very careful. We can't push this too far. So, I guess this is my escape route. It's lame. Literally just an open door.
But I watched the look in his eyes. I checked the temperature of his skin. But for now, this is just Jaxon, and there is no ultralight lingering just underneath his skin in this moment.
Relief washes through me for the first time in what feels like so long. Things are going to be okay. They’re going to work out. And it leaves me feeling exhausted.
I feel like I could sleep for an entire week.
So I pull Jaxon to the bed with me. I scoot over to the far side, my back against the wall. Cautiously, Jaxon lays on the bed with me, facing me.
I reach up and interlace my fingers with his. I just stare at them for a moment. There are multiple scars on his hand. Little white ones, angrier red ones. Each of them has a story. But I am not afraid of a single one of them.
My eyes rise to meet Jaxon's. He’s staring at me, studying my face, my hair, the slope of my shoulders. There's a serious look in his eyes.
"You're so beautiful," he says softly.
I don't expect it, but emotion constricts my throat. I shift into a monster with smoke and pinchers and multiple legs. Anyone from this verse that has seen me in my darkling form would never call me beautiful.
So that word, coming from Jaxon, who has seen me in every one of my elements, it means everything.
I lean forward and lace my fingers through his hair. I press my lips to his.
Jaxon rolls fully onto his back and pulls me on top of him. His hands come to my back, and already, they feel ten degrees hotter.
But I just smile. I know there will be black marks all over my body. I know I'll be scorched. And there are already dozens of those black lightning marks on his skin.
But as I deepen the kiss and lean into his touch, I really, really don't care.
Chapter Nine
As daybreak looms closer, Jaxon and I make our way back to the vault. The plan is to test this. He'll still be in the vault when everyone returns, but the door will be open, and I will be standing in the doorway. If he gets too out of control, if he can't handle an increased number of darklings in his presence, I'll do what it takes to get him back in the vault and get the door locked.
And we get our plan in motion just in the nick of time. Outside of the tunnel, I hear the shuffling of pinchers and the scrape of claws against sandstone. I glance back at Jaxon. He simply gives me a nod. He's ready.
I stand straight and keep my eyes fixed on him, instead of the arriving crew.
They’re laughing and talking as they head down the passageway in their human forms. The night must have gone well. First, I hear Renwick. Then Nisha. Next, I hear Davorian, immediately followed by Ascelin.
But I don't turn to watch them. I keep my gaze solely fixed on Jaxon.
He stands at the far back of the vault. His eyes are intensely fixed on the glass, on the farthest point of it, closest to where the others are. He curls his hands into fists. I see several cracks of light break out over his knuckles.
But for now, no flames lick along his skin, no heat rises from his body.
I know the exact moment when the others see what's going on. Instantly, their talking and laughter falls silent.
Still, I do not look away from Jaxon. My knees are bent, my hands are at the ready. My darkling waits just under the surface, in case I need a little extra muscle.
"What the hell is going on here?" Ascelin says sharply as he steps out in front of the others. His eyes are wild with adrenaline and rage.
Still, I don't look away from Jaxon.
He takes a deep breath in, slow and controlled. I watch as he lets his fingers uncurl, releasing his fists. But the light does not recede back into him.
"It's a test," I say simply. "He has spent the last five hours outside of this vault. But we wanted to be sure he can handle it when the rest of you returned."
"What?" Davorian barks loudly.
I simply nod, still not looking back at them. "Yeah, I was getting a little impatient. Things might not have gone perfectly, but not in any way that any of you need to be concerned about."
I shouldn't have said that part. Surely, if any of them thinks about it particularly hard, they will realize what I'm talking about.
Their eyes are probably already searching my skin, looking for the black burn marks only an ultralight can leave on me.