To Claim A Crown Book One: The Half-Blood King (Complete)

18.

"Morning sunshine."

Sarah turns to Jackson who has just stepped out of the bathroom. He has a towel secured across his waist and water is dripping from his hair onto his chest. Sarah's heart jumps at the sight of him and she groans.

"Had a good sleep?"

Sarah rolls her eyes at him and turns back to making a cup of coffee. The night before she somehow managed to finish a bottle of wine on her own and she practiced spells from the grimoire with the help of Jackson. It felt good to have the magick coursing through her and she felt as if she couldn't stop. She ignored Jackson's warnings about burning out and lived to regret it this morning.

She eventually collapsed onto the couch, tipsy and exhausted. In her semi-sober state she grilled Jackson on being a vampire, how he became a vampire and further why he vampired. Yes, why he vampired. She eventually tired herself out and fell asleep on the couch. Jackson carried her to bed.

"I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of using this bathroom. Oh also do you have class today?"

"Class? Oh shit! Class! Yes...but no actually my lecturer told me not to come to class if I smell like a brewery. Do I smell like a brewery?"

"I can smell the wine from here but I think I have an unfair supernatural advantage. Get ready I'll drop you off."

'Oh my knight in shining armour. Maybe I don't want to go?"

"Do you want to stay home?"

Sarah is pensive a moment and then her fear of failure kicks in and she mutters "shit" under her breath.

"Okay give me ten minutes. Can you be ready in ten minutes? Doesn't matter. Be ready in ten."

Jackson watches on as she rushes down the passage and into her bedroom then a few seconds later from her bedroom into the bathroom. He had set up camp on the couch after he took Sarah to bed. He didn't want to invade Naomi's privacy but left his travel bag in her room.

He pushes the door gently open and walks into Naomi's room. It's neat, incredibly neat. Definitely neater than Sarah's. He pushes the door gently and it closes but not fully. He zips open his travel bag and pulls out a stack of neatly folded clothes. He changes quickly, although still wet, a bad habit he had since his youth. The excitement of the day being too great for him, always being too great.

He walks into the kitchen and can hear Sarah singing in the shower. The singing is loud and off but it tugs at his heart and he smiles, a large hand open across his chest. He listens for a few moments then sets to work making Sarah a coffee in her travel mug. He opens the fridge and finds enough to make a smoked turkey sandwich for Sarah to carry with her for breakfast. He cuts the sandwich in half and after looking through the cupboard finds a container to house his handy work.

His phone vibrates in his back pocket and he pulls it out of the pocket. There's an incoming call from Raurlin and he slides the green button. He puts the phone on loudspeaker and sets it down on the counter as he moves onto making a cup of coffee for himself.

"Hey Raur, what's up?"

"Morning Jax" Naomi says brightly and Jackson can't help but smile.

"I take it this means things went well last night?"

"Or maybe I knocked Raurlin out and stole his phone and keys."

Raurlin laughs loudly in the background and Jackson can hear the start of an engine.

"We just wanted to check in, make sure you two are okay. Naomi's been trying to get a hold of Sarah."

"Yeah she's in the shower. We had a bit of a late night..."

"Was she drinking?" Naomi asks, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. She said because it was wine technically it counted as Earth magick. I couldn't argue with that."

Naomi laughs then responds "just as well you didn't try and fight it. Can you please tell her to check her phone? We'll catch up with you two later."

The call ends with a click and Jackson slides his phone back into his pocket. The bathroom door opens and there's an overwhelming smell of flowery bath soap that causes Jackson to sneeze. He lifts his coffee off the counter and settles onto the couch. He turns the TV on to catch a bit of the morning news.

Sarah's bedroom door flings open and she rushes into the lounge in a flowery dress with pretty sandals. Her long red locks are cascading over her shoulders and the ends are still dripping water onto the floor and her dress.

"What are you wearing?"

"A dress?"

"It's a bit chilly. I think you should carry a jacket."

"I feel fine and I intend on enjoying the last few days of summer. Winter will be rolling in soon, I can feel it."

"I can feel it too."

Sarah pulls her bag over her shoulder. She lifts the coffee and container then turns to Jackson.

"You made me lunch?"

Jackson nods with a small smile.

"Thank you. Hey I have a question, do vampires get cold?"

"Yeah we do. We're cold-blooded I guess. After we die. Come on, we got to get you to class. Also Naomi says to tell you to check your phone. Are you ready?"

Jackson ushers Sarah out the door and locks the door behind them while Sarah taps at her phone quickly. They trot downstairs in silence and once on the outside they walk to Jackson's truck. Jackson pulls the keys out his pocket and unlocks the car. Sarah hops inside then Jackson follows suit starting the car and pulling the gear into reverse.

"Hey do you wanna play a game?"

"Sure, witch. What do you suggest?"

"It's kind of like twenty one questions...No it's basically twenty one questions."

Jackson chuckles "alright. You go first."

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Green. Do you feel a moral obligation to do something to correct the upset balance with the creation of my kind?"

"Damn Jackson. I meant to play an actual game, not psychoanalyze you."

"I'm sorry..."

There's an awkward silence and Sarah eventually responds "I don't feel any moral obligation to do anything..Not yet anyway. But I also don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I don't even know how I feel about you."

Jackson pulls into a parking space on the outside of Sarah's campus. There's quite a few cars already lined up. Students are pooling around the entrance in small groups chatting loudly. There's a cold breeze rustling through the trees. Sarah remains sitting for a few moments then when the silence is too much she pushes the door open. She hops out the car and shivers.

"Sarah?" Jackson pulls a hoodie off the backseat and hands it to her. "I don't know how I feel about you either. But I hope you have a good day. Call me when you're done?"

"Thanks for the ride...and for lunch."

Sarah waits for Jackson to drive off before pulling his hoodie over her head. He was right of course...it is chilly. Sarah decides that autumn will roll in earlier than expected. She pulls the sleeves over her hands and blows warm air into her hands. The hoodie smells like him.