Fae-tal Affections
Trying to let go of the person you gave everything to hurts so much. What makes it worse is drunkenly hooking up with a certain someone that unwittingly leads you further into a fatal Fae mess in need of sorting. But hey, what's life without a little lust and danger? (Rated M for reasons)
To my readers, followers, reviewers and favoriters (I know that's not a real word but it's okay, right?): There are no words for how incredibly thankful I am for the continued support of this! Seriously, you guys are like the absolute best! And those new to this are just as awesome!
Bulk Response to Reviews: Thank you so much for the comments you guys! Super sorry that I'm being lazy with responses; I'm currently at work, sneaking on to update for you all. The reviews for this chapter will be responded to properly in the next update though. Quick shoutout to Spyklv, sparks3933 and cheekymadom! (:
Longer A/N at the end of the chapter if you'd like to read.
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to review or message me. And without further ado, here it is!
Chapter 11: Love and Losses
Tamsin's POV
"So... what crawled up your ass, T?"
I closed my eyes, clenching my jaw as I swung at the punching bag again, harder this time. I went straight to the gym after whatever it was that happened between Lauren and I. I needed to work out the excess energy in my body and clear my mind the only way I knew how, well the only way that didn't violently include another body. I was so involved in my own thoughts that I had forgotten about Jazmine until she showed up around an hour ago. She didn't approach me and went to do sets with the different weights but I guess she got bored.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, taking a small break. My body was slick with sweat and I could feel a tenderness in my knuckles but couldn't get myself to care so much. Either way, I'd heal soon enough and the pain would be part of the past.
"Don't even try that. Aunt Lucy always said you liked to hit things when you get upset," she deadpanned. Her blue eyes were narrowed as she tossed a bottle of water to me. "More so than you usually do anyway."
"Yeah? Well, things change." Taking a quick swig of the drink, I capped off the bottle and set it aside, returning to my workout.
"Will you stop?" she growled out and just like that, my body froze. "Thank you."
"New power?" I slurred, barely able to move my mouth. I wasn't too upset because it was Jazmine but my irritation level was definitely rising.
"Yup, just found out about it recently, when I was with Gerard actually. He promised not to tell because he was certain that Vex guy would lose his limited shit." She shrugged, walking to my side and taking my hand in hers, tugging me so that I followed her unwillingly.
"It's like mesmer stuff," I said, then added, "and what have I said about the language?"
She looked at me curiously before letting out a huff and lifting whatever she had on me. "You seriously suck, Tammy," she sighed.
"Love you too kid."
We stood there for a little, me once again returning to my water and her watching me. It was nice, simple and peaceful between the two of us; something that wasn't regularly a part of my day not since...
"It's been a long time," she whispered once I finished drinking. I nodded stiffly, looking anywhere but her. "My dad missed you."
"I missed him too," I replied weakly. She pursed her lips and nodded, moving to hold the punching bag in place, motioning for me to return to it but I couldn't leave my focus from the crumpled up water bottle laying at my feet. Emotions made me weak, so weak.
"Not enough to stay or put enough effort and find us." Her voice was soft and sad. "I know it's not the same, but I missed you too."
"Jazz..." Unwanted memories began to whirlwind in my mind, lifetimes of pain, loneliness and love flashing behind my eyes.
"And you miss her. Dad did too. I do too." I hadn't realized she moved again until I felt her arms wrapped around my waist. "That's why you're here, isn't it? Because you still miss her? I saw it as soon as I recognized you."
I wanted to deny her claim, but found myself incapable of doing anything but closing my eyes and pressing my fists to my temples. My head began to throb.
"It's okay, you know? I get it." Her voice began to shake and she sounded like she was six all over again. "Do you remember what happened when she left?"
I gave a weak nod, cringing at the memories.
"I remember too. I remember losing someone. At that time I was too young to really understand she was killed but I knew she was gone and it felt like you were following her. The older I got, the more I realized how reckless you behaved, getting worse with each passing year." She paused, pressing her face to my shoulder before continuing. "Daddy eventually told me, about her abduction then… you know. He also told me he was sorry but that I had to know that you were looking for them and wanted revenge. He told me how dangerous they were, still are. He said he was sorry but if you left, we'd let you go then we'd disappear."
"Jazmine, I-" I felt her tears soak through my shirt, hot and painful against my skin.
"No. Let me finish."
"Okay," I nodded, finding the strength to finally hug her back.
"I spent years after that training with my dad and a whole bunch of other people. It was... brutal. The others named me 'the Little Valkyrie' because some of them knew you and compared us. They said I had your fire and that you should have been my biological aunt... It hurt and made me that much stronger during training. You know, they taught me numerous ways to kill different Fae and humans alike. They taught me so much on how to defend myself while not necessarily having any powers at the time. They were all so anxious to discover what I'd be able to do."
She paused and pulled back from me, looking up to meet my eyes before she continued.
"My dad and whatever group we were with always hid among humans and far from Fae. We moved every two to three months to random preapproved spots. During my dad's... final weeks, he noticed someone on our trail and sent you notice. Shortly after, he made certain preparations to have me taken care of until you found me. He knew he was going to die and didn't want to keep it from me so we had a talk and then three days later he said his final goodbye, making me swear I'd stay safe and alive, even if that meant leaving you."
"What?" I looked at her incredulously, doing my best to not curl my hands into fists.
"Don't you 'what' me!" she boomed. The added timbre to her voice made my stomach clench and sent shivers down my spine. "You were suicidal and reckless. You left us! Those were our last memories of you. That's what my dad remembered. That's what he worried about. He didn't know you've come this far. Don't you remember how bad you were?"
I looked down with shame, nodding. It was the worst period of any of my lives and I regretted nearly all of it, except the part that got me closer to the stupid human doctor. But there were no words for how awful I felt when I supposedly returned home only to find an empty house with seven words written on a small note and signed with a heart. You left, but we'll always love you.
"Tamsin, it's okay, we for-" before she could finish, her body seized.
I watched in paralyzed horror as she fell to the floor and flailed about, eyes rolling all the way back and head slamming against the floor. Never had I seen anything as terrifying as what was happening before my very eyes.
"J-Jazzy?" I stuttered. The moment my voice filled the air, she jolted up and let out a piercing scream.
"No!" she screamed over and over. After like the fifteenth time, I unfroze and surged forward, wrapping my arms around her and trying to hold her still.
"Shh, Jazmine, please, come back," I begged through tears I hadn't realized were falling. "What's wrong?"
"Skye!" she finally bellowed, going limp in my arms.
No no no no no no no no no no.
"Lucy, don't let her do this," I sobbed, clutching my niece's body close. "I can't lose her too."
I pressed my ear against her chest and cried harder when I didn't feel or hear her heartbeat. The last family I had, the very last connection I had to the happiest moments in all my memory could not die... she just couldn't.
"Come on, wake up. Be a stupid little shit and scare me into another life cycle. Say 'boo' and laugh and open your eyes. Breathe, just... don't leave me, Jazmine."
I clutched at her shirt, feeling my sanity slip through my fingers as my base instinct as a Valkyrie began to rise, urging me to collect her soul. I knew, in my heart of hearts that my little Jazmine was a warrior and deserved a warrior's resting place and her lack of a heartbeat meant I could give that to her.
"No, come on, you can't just randomly die, Jazmine! Gods, you can't do this! Jazmine, you need to know so much please, wake up!" My voice was hoarse and words were broken by my cries but still, I yelled and screamed. "This doesn't even make sense! Jazz, please, we kept secrets you need to know about!"
I began to shake her as my chest grew hot and hands got cold, signaling the use of my Valkyrie abilities.
"You can't be dead, no…"
Bo's POV
There are certain things in my life that have never and will never make sense, one of those being the way I've felt about Lauren Lewis since the moment I met her. No matter what she'd done, no matter what she'd said, I couldn't help but love her. I've wanted nothing more than to hold her and care for her. I've wanted to be there for her when she needs me.
The problem? I felt similarly for Dyson, the wolf who devoted all his love to me. How could I choose between a beautiful, smart doctor and a handsome, cunning warrior? But really, was that a problem anymore since I broke her heart and tore our relationship apart?
Shaking my head out of my thoughts, I got out of bed and made my way to Kenzi's room. If there was going to be one constant in my life, it'd be her, always Kenzi.
"Kenz!" I shouted up the stairs. Ever since I caught her in a particularly scarring and awkward position, I made sure to call up in warning a few minutes before actually stepping foot in her room. She told me I scarred her often enough for her to know that lesson already.
"Down in a sec!" came her muffled reply. Rolling my eyes with a smile, I went into the living room and plopped down. As expected, she ran down the stairs to the couch and jumped over the back to sit beside me.
"You're gonna break it one day," I chuckled.
"How's the jaw?" she asked, completely ignoring what I said.
After what happened at the Dal yesterday, Kenzi started to act a little differently and I wasn't sure why but I knew I didn't like it. She seemed... distant, quieter.
"It's not too bad. My ego hurts worse," I replied honestly. She hummed in understanding before getting up and looking around.
"Wanna play?" She tossed a controller my way, not bothering to wait for a reply. "I'm feeling like its zombie slaying time."
"Kenzi, wait," I interrupted, placing it to the side and looking at her.
"Come on, Bo, my hands are already warmed up and everything!" she pouted. "Are you gonna play or not?"
"I wanna talk about why you're being so weird with me first."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered, not looking at me. Uh oh, didn't know it was that serious.
"Kenz, it's me, talk to me yeah?"
"I love ya, Bo, you're my sister from another mister." She sighed, plopping back down beside me and playing with her fingers in her lap. "You're the first family I've really had and I owe you a lot. You've… you've kept me safe."
"Because you're my family too; I love you too." I felt off, not used to seeing or hearing Kenzi so… vulnerable.
"I know, I know but… there's a part of me that worries. You and the doc were in love or whatever but then you guys... you know, called it quits." She started to shake her head then, clenching her jaw and meeting my gaze. "No, I'm wrong. Bo, you, ended it. You never talked to me about it but Lauren said you used being human against her then dumped her for Dyson."
"Wait, I did what?" I gaped at my best friend.
"I know the doc isn't the closest friend I have but she knows how it feels to be human when everyone else is more. I know she wouldn't lie about that of all things." Tears. There were tears in Kenzi's eyes because of something I didn't even know I did. "What happens when me being a human starts to bother you? Or if you find a cool Fae sidekick instead?"
"Kenzi, I didn't even know I said that. Look, I didn't want to tell you but... something weird is going on with me, with a lot of the Fae, and it's been happening for a while. Something's going on, something's coming and it's like nothing anyone has seen in a long time, maybe not ever. Trick thinks whatever it is has gotten even worse with the murders happening lately." I looked away then, feeling my heart break because I had to admit what happened.
"Trick knows that we won't let each other go, where I go, you go no matter what. He also knows things between me and Lauren haven't been so great, so... he convinced me to break it off with her to try and keep her safe." I heard her gasp and felt her hand on my shoulder. "I'm so stupid. I didn't know how to end it then a voice... I heard a voice in my head that told me what to do, what to say. I let it take over and I had no idea what was going on but the next thing I knew I was draining Lauren and almost killed her."
The grip she had on my shoulder tightened and and pulled me back, forcing me to face her. "You need to tell her."
"I can't. Trick thinks she's being influenced too and I'm starting to agree. She punched me, Kenzi and then left with Tamsin of all people!" The pain that stabbed at my heart thinking of it made me want to puke and cry all at once.
"I think that Alymna barkeep had something to do with that," she argued. "Or her drink could have been spiked and that was her lashing out."
"That's what's been happening to the Fae, Kenz and now it happened with her. It'd be too much of a coincidence for her to lash out when all this other shit is going on. I'm scared," I whispered. "She's been with the Fae longer than either of us and I don't know how all this'll affect her. I love her so much but being with me would be worse."
"But how do you know that?" Her nails were blunt but they still bit painfully into my shoulder as she dug her fingers into me. "Bo, you left the doc alone. You can't do that."
"Shit. Kenzi, what did I do?" I buried my face in my hands and let my tears fall, trying my best to not cry so much.
"Bo, honey, you're the unaligned succubus. You have some freaky powers that make people run the other way when you walk by. You gave the normal succubus rules the bird and stood by your human lover like a trooper. Okay, yeah, your wonder snatch had a few moments of weakness but you regret it, don't you?"
I nodded slowly, lifting my face and wiping at my cheeks. "You know I do."
"I know," she said gently. "But does Lauren? When did Trick talk you into breaking up?"
"While the whole Dyson thing started..."
"You didn't fix it because you thought it was the right thing?" Kenzi sounded sad, really sad and disappointed.
"She's under the protection of the Light and I'm unaligned. When things go bad I'm the one that gets screwed over first. I can't keep her and you safe. I love her, I do but she can be safe without me; you can't."
"Wait, what're you talking about?"
"They went to the Dal to warn me and Trick. They said that the Light won't be able to help if anything happens, that I'm on my own. That we're on our own." I felt my anger spike as I stood up, shrugging off her hand and turning to look at her. "They'd let us die to save themselves!"
"You dumped her because of me?" Her blue eyes were wide and she sounded shocked, completely ignoring my rage. "I'm the reason?"
"I had to choose and I chose you, Kenzi, I will always choose you."
"Oh my God." She stood up and began to pace, occasionally shaking her head at me. "I'm like the other woman!"
"What? Did you not just hear what I said?"
"Yeah, yeah, the Light is full of prime A asshats, that's old news. But really, Bo? You really broke up with the doc because of me?"
I looked at her and nodded, trying to understand what was going on inside her head. "And to keep her safe too."
"Bo-Bo, that's… you need to tell her that. If you love her that much, tell her and she'll understand. You don't need to be broken up or whatever. Talk to her, grovel and get your doctor back 'cause what you said really hurt her bad."
"How can I do that, Kenz? She punched me and left with Tamsin." I sounded pathetic and probably didn't look any better either. The sudden onslaught of mood swings I'd started to feel were a real bitch and not getting any better.
"I don't really know but you have to do it soon. Something's happening between those two and I think the new girl has something to do with it," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I don't like her. She has secrets, I can just tell."
"Well shit." I hated when Kenzi had that hard look in her eyes and hated it even more hearing that there might actually be something between my doctor and Tamsin. "Things are about to get really, really bad, aren't they?" I asked aloud.
"What would life with the Fae be like without it hitting the fan every weekend?"
With a groan, I ran my hand down my face and dropped back down onto the couch. "As if another Fae doomsday wasn't enough to worry about."
A/N: I love you all for reading this and apologize if it wasn't that great. While writing Bo, I don't think I did her justice? Tell me if I'm wrong, but parts feel really OOC but who knows. I just hope it wasn't too bad.
Also, this chapter was split between 2 POV because I needed to get some of the stuff out there before continuing with Lauren and her predicament. As you read, something is seriously went down with Jazmine and it just might have something to do with a certain doctor and mystical Fae.
I also want to tell you all and remind you that I will not give up on this fic, no matter how long it takes me, I will finish it. Sure my life gets in the way sometimes, most times, but I promise to finish this, someday. I try to write whenever I can but I also have other fics too.
Oh! And you guys are so cool and awesome! The amount of favorites this has is astounding and makes me smile like a goof.
Hope you're all doing well and having a great day or night or morning (: Until next time, bye!