Veils of Storm

27. Jealousy

Kat hadn't expected to find Cage with Jinx, just talking and admiring the sea. She'd wanted him alone so that his full attention could be on her and the panic over what was happening. The flames still danced between her fingers.

Cage's dark blue eyes moved from her face to her hands, and the color left his cheeks. "Shit!"

No "Are you alright?", no rushing to her to stop the madness, to keep her safe. Just a curse word which she felt to the very core. But it was not what she wanted when her being was split in two. Between fear and relief. Disgust and excitement. The purest happiness and misery.

"Well, then," Jinx said, raising her eyebrows.

"Does it hurt?" He moved towards her, finally, and took her hands to have a better look.

"No," she whimpered, doing her best not to ask why he was with Jinx. It wasn't the first time, anyway. She was the one who taught him how to use magic.

"Damn it," Cage muttered, turning her hands over. "Damn this to the seventh circle of hell."

She couldn't agree more, but for different reasons. "Why are you so upset?"

"Because I did this to you." He raised mournful eyes to her. "I should've known, but I didn't, I was so selfish, I just..." His voice faded and he squeezed her hands.

She could feel that the fire was burning him, but he let him feel the pain, annoyed with how this entire situation was progressing.

He should be impressed. He gets to witness my power.

The power that he'd apparently unleashed. How, she wasn't sure yet.

"What do you mean?" Her voice came out stiff.

He noticed because he looked from the magic swirling between her fingers to her face, a small crease between his eyebrows.

"Magic amplifies magic, sweetheart," he said. "And what we did..."

"Look, it's not that big of a deal." Jinx decided to join the party, her voice breezy.

"Jinx, I don't think you should get into this," Cage said, his eyes fixed on Kat.

She ignored the obvious warning in his voice. "Look, we all knew she had some form of latent magic inside her. It's great that it's finally out and she can use it."

"I can't stop this," Kat snapped, wanting to shut her up. "How is that useful?"

"Of course you can stop it," Jinx said with an eyeroll. "You're just filled with energy right now after last night or this morning, or whenever you did it last. You should've seen Cage's magical load. He basically split the sky in two."

Kat blinked as the unease and pain inside her only grew. Then, she turned and glared at Cage as the meaning of Jinx's words finally sunk in.

"You told her?"

He winced the tiniest bit. "Not exactly--"

"It was the most intimate experience we've ever shared and you told her?"

The voices inside Kat's head hissed, but she let them because she felt like spewing venom herself. This was something so private, no one should've known. And even if Cage felt like sharing, maybe she wouldn't have minded that much if he'd talked to Jazz. But Jinx? Why did she have any business knowing about what happened between them? Jealousy burned like poison in her veins.

"Relax," Jinx said in the same bored voice, raising her hands to placate Kat. "So you and Cage fucked, big deal."

Cage winced noticeably this time.