Seraphine

  I didn’t feel numb anymore, and my stomach was growling. Talking to Jayden had helped more than I thought it was going to, and it felt good to have someone I could talk to about everything that had happened.

  “Hungry?” Jayden asked, smiling at me.

  “Famished,” I said, smiling back at him. Whatever Claire had made for lunch smelled delicious, and I realized how hungry I really was. I hadn’t eaten anything since the morning before Hector and Ty’s assault, when I had eggs and toast with Michael. Suddenly I wished Michael could be here with me, my thoughts clouding my good mood.

  Jayden laced his fingers through mine and stood up, pulling me toward the dining room. My heart rate increased, surprised by his sudden display of affection. I had just told him I was abused and raped, he was probably just trying to comfort me. I had never had any friends, though, it was strange to be in physical contact with someone. Was that what we were? Friends? I wondered if I would become friends with Claire too.

  “I made parmesan chicken over alfredo pasta,” Claire said proudly as we sat down at the table. Jayden squeezed my hand before releasing his hold on it to begin eating. I picked my fork up and popped a piece of chicken in my mouth, which immediately filled with flavors of cheese, meat, and spices. Damn, this girl could cook.

  “You’re left handed,” Jayden noted, cocking his head to one side.

  “Yes,” I replied between mouthfuls of chicken. “Is than an issue?”

  “The Elysium bearer’s genes are altered by the presence of Elysium’s power in the system. We can see some alterations in the form of your pale skin, black hair and turquoise eyes, and perhaps your left handedness,” he explained. I stared at him, amused.

  “Are you always going to be studying me?”

  “Probably,” he replied, laughing apologetically. “Sorry, Sera.” I laughed too, for the first time in what felt like weeks.

  “Hey lovebirds, shut up and eat,” Claire said from the seat across from Jayden. Lovebirds? Where had she gotten that idea? Jayden’s face flushed and he immersed himself in the task of eating his food. I glanced over at Claire, who had eaten over half of her food already. She looked to be almost as hungry as I was.

  “This is really good, Claire. Where did you learn to cook?”

  “My mom taught me,” Claire replied. “Cooking was the only thing she did for a while after my dad died.” She stopped suddenly, looking as though she had said more than she was planning to.

  “How long ago did your father die?” Jayden asked, his curiosity piqued.

  “About five years ago, he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. The doctors said he died instantly.” She ate another forkful of pasta and chicken. “He always was such a klutz, luckily he passed that trait down to my brother, not me.” We finished our lunch in silence after that, Claire and I clearing our plates quickly. As we gathered up our dishes, Joe walked through the front door with two shopping bags in hand.

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  “We’re in the kitchen, Joe,” Jayden called, still finishing his pasta.

  “I wasn’t sure what exactly to buy, so I just got a couple things, Sir,” Joe said as he came into the kitchen.

  “That’s fine, they can go buy their own clothes once they’ve gotten dressed in something less… worn,” Jayden replied, eyeing Claire and I. I was still wearing my black dress from last night, which was torn in a couple places. Claire was wearing a dirty red t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, with some laced tennis shoes.

  “Ooh, let me see what you got!” she squealed, yanking the bags from Joe’s hands. She reached into one bag and pulled out a black leather jacket, grey tank top, a pair of skin-tight denim pants, and two tall black boots.

  “Those are for miss Phoenix,” Joe explained, looking rather embarrassed. I arched my eyebrow, looking at the black collection of clothes as Claire pushed them into my hands.

  “It’s a bit dark and… tight, don’t you think?” I asked, smirking at Joe.

  “You do know there are colors other than black, right?” Claire asked, pulling out a soft black dress from the other bag. I could see Joe flushing, even through his dark skin tone.

  Jayden stood up, saying, “Joe, thank you, I’m sure they’ll look lovely in them. There’s a bit of leftover pasta on the stove, if you want it.” Jayden turned to us, eyeing my collection of black apparel. “Ladies, there’s a bathroom adjoining each bedroom. Feel free to take as long as you need.”

  “Which way to the bedrooms?” Claire asked, clutching her dress. I shook my head, laughing to myself. This was all a bit ridiculous, really. Jayden was trying so hard to keep it together, but it was obvious he was stressed from everything that was happening. He had the three most powerful people on the planet in his home, including himself, and one of them was a snarky eighteen-year-old thief while the other was an emotionally unstable murderer. I started walking toward the plum bedroom, away from all the insanity.

  “I’m gonna go shower,” I called behind me, interrupting their debate about room colors.

  The plum room’s bathroom was mostly white, as I’m sure all of the bathrooms were. I had been in here before; my curiosity got the better of me when Jayden left me in the room earlier today. The bathroom had a medium-sized shower, a toilet, and a sink set in a large counter. It was about the size of the bathroom we had at my house in Marxus--which we had shared between the four of us. My heart stopped for a moment as a thought came to me; were Mom and Dad still alive? I had no idea, and I hadn’t even thought about it until now.

  I stripped my dress off, feeling as though there was a layer of dirt on my skin. After turning on the shower, I glanced in the mirror. The mark of Elysium, traditionally an infinity symbol, had a thick black line around it while my powers were sealed. Now it seemed that the line had broken into an array of swirls and dots around the infinity symbol. Part of me wondered if my powers being sealed and unsealed had an effect on how much power I could tap into, or how much control I had over them. Something to talk to Jayden about, probably.

  The shower was hot and relaxing, exactly what I needed. I stayed in the hot water until the air was thick with steam, letting the water wash away everything that had happened in the past few days. I toweled off and wrapped the fluffy white fabric around me once I was done, then made my way to the plum room where my new outfit was waiting for me on the bed. It was rather assassin-esque, with every dark piece of clothing hugging my body. The black contrasted my pale complexion and brought out my eyes, though--I had always looked good in black.

  I rummaged through the drawers in the bathroom until I found a comb, which I promptly began to rake through my hair. Just as I was finishing up, there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to find Jayden, who took one look at me and flushed a crimson color. He’s cute when he’s being shy, I thought, smiling.