Rise
By V.C. Turner
Bonnie drew in a deep breath as the air in the room seeped into her lungs. It didn't cool the burning in her chest, but it tamped it down long enough to allow her to get through the group counseling session.
She hoped bearing her soul would help. She hoped hearing the stories of other wayward witches who had lost control of their powers would make her feel better about her own deadly actions.
It was only barely working.
She wiped the tears that fell from her eyes, looking at her hands as if she expected to see blood rather than the clear fluid that was supposed to be there.
She didn't want to be in that room with those people, but she told herself it was better this way.
The institute was no sanctuary. It was no prison. She wasn't hiding or punishing herself. She was keeping the world safe from the most dangerous person she'd met in years…. herself.
Lucy had told her of this place: hell, she'd been here a few times herself. Bennett witches have always been powerful. Sometimes that power can be all consuming. Sometimes that power can be intoxicating.
Bonnie had felt that.
She became drunk of off it more often that she'd liked over the past several months.
She remembered those sensations and the heat within her rose again. Her skin tingled. Her breathing picked up. It was calling to her: her magic. Her palms began to sweat. She needed to leave. NOW.
Thankfully, Dr. Morris dismissed the group before Bonnie lost complete control again. She ran to her room, sliding through the corridors until she came to her door, ripped it open, then slammed it just as hard. Her eyes closed, she kept them that way as she pressed herself against the door.
She needed the silence.
She needed the solitude.
She wouldn't get it.
She wasn't alone.
From across the room, she could hear him.
In and out.
In and out.
He breathed for her. Damn it. Her heart raced again.
She flicked on the light to notice him sitting by her window in a metal chair.
Enzo.
She should have been surprised that he'd found her, but in truth, she wasn't.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"It's bad out there love," he said, "You can't hide away in here forever. You know that."
"I know, but I can't care about the rest of the world right now. I have to take care of me. If I don't control it…" she began.
He cut off her words, standing up and walking toward her for a kiss. She stopped him, placing her hand against his chest.
"I can't, Enzo. I just can't," she told him.
Their tryst several months ago had been brief, but intense. She didn't love him and he was fully aware of that, yet that knowledge didn't stop him from wanting to change her mind. It didn't stop him from attempting to seduce her, knowing that her increase in power was often accompanied by an increase in her libido. He'd succeeded in quenching that thirst a few times, but touching her body and touching her heart were two different things.
Enzo and her magic didn't mix well. He did his best to help her control it, but, in truth, there was no one alive that could help her. She had no access to Grams. She had no means to contact Emily or Tessa.
"I understand love, but there's something you need to know," he told her, placing his hand over hers and pressing it against his heart.
"What's that?"
"The Phoenix Stone – it's missing," he said, casting his eyes low – the sullen expression overcoming his handsome face.
She stroked his cheek, knowing she would regret displaying the intimate gesture later. He turned his lips toward the inside of her wrist, and kissed it.
"We'll get it back before The Mercury Coven brings back anyone else," she assured him.
Enzo turned his face toward the window. He didn't bother hiding it.
"They already have," he told her.
She clutched his chin and turned his face back toward her so she could look into his eyes.
"Who?" she asked knowing the answer.
Enzo chose that moment to scoop her up into his arms, clutching her as if his life depended on it. It truth: it probably did.
She felt him inhale her scent and allowed the vampire to hold her and caress her lower back. She missed the contact. She missed being touched.
Yet it wasn't enough. It wasn't the same.
"It's going to be alright, love. I promise," he whispered in Bonnie's ear.
Then a voice spoke up from behind her and they both froze.
"Oh, I wouldn't go making promises I couldn't keep," a cocky, yet velvet voice rumbled from the doorway.
Bonnie stopped breathing, removing herself from Enzo's arms and turning around.
Kai Parker stood in her doorway, leaning against the frame and chewing on a newly purchased bag of M&Ms. He looked her up and down with the most possessive expression she'd ever seen.
Bonnie was locked in place. Her mouth had gone dry. Her body swarmed with heat. Damn the evil bastard for turning her on without even touching her.
Enzo walked around Bonnie, standing protectively in front of her.
"You need to get out of here, mate," Enzo warned.
Kai chuckled, insulted by the generic threat.
"What's with the accent?" he frowned, sizing up Enzo in less than three seconds, "That shit's gotta be fake?"
"Oh, trust me little man: nothing about me is fake," Enzo retorted.
Kai straightened his stance, his long black coat making him look taller than his 6-foot frame. His expression hardened.
"Trust me, Euro Trash, nothing about me is little," he glared at Enzo.
Kai then tilted his head sideways to address Bonnie:
"But Bon-Bon already knows that. Don't you…. Love?"
Enzo's eyes turned red, his vampire veins snaking around his eyes as he lunged at Kai, pinning him to the wall with enough force to make a man-sized indentation in the drywall.
Kai simply laughed at his adversary, placing his hands on Enzo's forearms and squeezing, as bones began to crack under the pressure.
"You know, I really do like this coat. It would be a shame to get blood all over it, so I'm just going to give you a warning rather than rip out your fucking heart: Stay away from Bonnie or I will end you no matter how nice my outfit is," he said in a voice that shook the room.
Bonnie had spent so much time combating the magic surging within her, but she was fresh out of options. She needed to touch it. She needed to make it her own; to tame it before she succumbed to it.
She held up her hand, using magic to force them apart. She shook from the inside out, but she was determined to keep them from killing one another.
The heat of her magic stayed in her belly as she silently pleaded with it to obey. The light bulbs in the room shattered, one by one. The florescent lights in the hallway flickered. The bed shook. Bonnie still controlled it the best she could.
"Boys," she said calmly, "Don't make me put you in time out."
Enzo appeared frightened, but stood still.
Kai smiled at her with admiration and crossed the room to take the hand that was raised. He grabbed it and kissed her palm.
"Good job, beautiful," he cooed, stroking her short hair. His touch made her shake again for an entirely different reason.
"What makes you think I won't set you on fire?" she threatened, but knew he didn't believe it.
"Well, don't we usually get naked for that?" he smirked.
Her cheeks flooded with color, making her cinnamon brown skin turn fuchsia.
She wanted to back away from him – maybe slap him, but she couldn't. The spell he'd cast on her had nothing to do with magic. His blue-grey eyes hypnotized her. His smile weakened her inhibitions. She was tired of fighting it; fighting her magic, his magic, and the bond they shared.
Bonnie looked up in his eyes.
"Kai, I need to be here," she told him.
He leaned into her ear, letting his lips brush her earlobe.
"No, you need to be with me," he said quietly, his voice genuinely soothing and frustratingly erotic.
Enzo spoke, bringing Bonnie out of Kai's trance.
"The last time she went with you, her magic nearly killed her," Enzo asserted.
Kai rolled his eyes.
"God, are you still here, Euro?"
"The name's, Enzo, friend."
"I'm not your fucking friend," Kai spat back.
"No, but I'm Bonnie's friend," Enzo added, "Of course, we've been a bit more than that, right Bonnie?"
"Ouch," Kai mocked, clutching his chest, "Was that supposed to hurt, because - it didn't."
Kai walked around Bonnie, but still held onto her hand when he began speaking again.
"See, you're a symptom. I'm the cure," Kai stated.
"Cure? You think you can fix her?" asked Enzo.
"She's not broken," Kai said.
Silence fell between them as they stared each other down.
Bonnie couldn't help but be fascinated by their exchange. They both wanted her. They both would kill to protect her. It was a thrill. It was erotic. It was magic.
The decision made itself.
She strolled over to her dresser, stuffing her things into a red duffel bag. Once she was done, she stood in the doorway and faced both Kai and Enzo.
She refused to fight it anymore.
"Well?" she said to both of them, "You coming or what?"
Kai and Enzo looked at each other with a puzzled look on their faces.
"Which one?" they asked in unison.
Bonnie smiled.
"Both!" she said, and then headed out the door.
Kai and Enzo looked at each other for a moment as they followed her, realizing that whatever decision they would make needed to happen in the next few seconds.
"That's bloody insane," Enzo stated.
Kai watched Bonnie walk in front of them in appreciation.
"True. Bloody and insane," Kai said, smacking Enzo hard on the back, "Sounds fun."