Consumed » Kai Parker

Twenty One

"I think my father is trying to kill you."

I look up at Kai incredulously, my hand pressed over the wound etched into my stomach in the shape of his coven's symbol.

"He's-"

A pang of sharp pain rips through my abdomen and I cry out, squeezing my eyes shut and bending over. Kai curses under his breath, getting off of the couch and moving to stand over me.

"Lay out across the couch," He tells me.

With considerable struggle due to the searing pain from Joshua's wound, I stretch myself out across the couch and lean back against the arm rest, gasping. He leans down, eyes scanning my wound with furrowed brows and glances back up at me.

"Charlie, I wish I were saying this under different circumstances, but take off your shirt."

I blink, glaring at him. "Stop being a-"

"It's the most convenient way for me to try and heal you, so shut up and take off your shirt," Kai demands, "or you'll bleed out all over this couch. And I really like this couch, so," He gestures toward my torso.

"I hate you," I mumble, sitting up slightly and gasping out at the uncomfortable sensation. I grip the hem of my tee shirt and carefully pull it over my head, throwing it on to the floor. He sucks in his lips, hiding his irritating smirk.

"Don't be immature," I snap, the pain worsening and causing me to lose my temper quickly, "Hurry up and do something."

After giving my bloody wound a quick once over, Kai turns around and walks out of the room. My jaw drops and I pound my fist against the top of the couch, grunting through gritted teeth with anger and the pain inflicted by the Gemini symbol.

"Kai, what the hell," I shout after him, throwing my head back onto the armrest, tears forming in my eyes with the intensity of the pain, "Kai!"

My eyes squeeze shut and I inhale a lungful of air, releasing it shakily. A sob rises in my throat as the thought dawns on me that the breath I just took could be one of the last I ever take. Reluctantly, I open my eyes and to my surprise, Kai is standing over me.

"I thought you left," I say, my voice a weak whisper. Relief floods through me at the sight of him, giving me hope that I might not be spending the last moments of my life on this prison world couch after all.

"I did leave," He replies, "to get this."

My eyes widen when he holds up a knife, but the nerves twisting my stomach dissipate quickly when I recognize it as the knife that holds Jo's magic. He holds the handle in both of his hands, closing his eyes and inhaling through his nose as he siphoned a bit of the magic inside it. A small smile shapes his lips as the power begins to run through him and slowly, his blue eyes reveal themselves.

I watch him carefully as he kneels down beside me, cocking his head as he looks over the symbol of his coven written on my skin. Kai lifts his hand to my stomach, pressing it gently over the wound. I hiss through clenched teeth at the sharp pain inflicted from the pressure of his hand.

"I've seen him do this spell before," He tells me, "And, lucky for you, I think I can counteract it."

"Then do that," I gasp, the pain growing greater with every second that dragged on, "Please."

Kai places both of his hands on my abdomen over the bloody Gemini symbol and his eyes fall shut. He's silent for a few moments before his lips begin to form the Latin words of the spell that will hopefully save me.

The pain is still strong, but I try to focus on Kai. My eyes land on his pink lips as they chant the same foreign words repeatedly.

"Geminis de maledicto libera eam sana vulnera, non hostium."