Chapter Twenty Seven

Kayla held Kaelen's hand in the medic building blocking out the voice of the head medic talking to Lucas, Jacob and Acadia.  

"He hasn't so much as twitched a muscle," she was saying as she glanced toward the bed.

Kayla was focused on the dense fog that enveloped her brother's mind which she couldn't penetrate.

In deep concentration she didn't notice everyone had stopped talking or that her hand was being raised by the unconscious occupant on the bed. They watched in silence as Kaelen brought Kayla's hand up to his mouth and bit down on her wrist.  Blood trickled from the side of his mouth as he began to suck.

"Ah!"  Kayla whimpered and quickly snapped out of her daze as she looked down.  Pulling back she tried to break his grip but it held fast and the pull of the mouth on her wrist was painful and relentless. "Kae," she screamed as she tried to get him to release her.

Lucas was by Kayla's side in a flash looking down at his unconscious friend.  He grabbed the hands that held Kayla's wrist and pried them loose before he opened Kaelen's jaws to remove them from her tender flesh.

Kaelen's eyes fluttered open, his hazel green eyes were a pure gold as he stared angrily at Lucas and waved his hand. Everyone was surprised when Lucas was propelled backwards slamming against the wall.

"Kae," gasped Kayla as she stared horrified at her brother.

He blinked once and the golden light in his eyes dulled, he blinked twice and the green was starting to return, he blinked a third time and his hazel green eyes gazed questioningly at Kayla.  With an expression of horror he released the lock his mouth had on his sister's wrist then swiped at his lips and chin smearing blood.

Kayla gingerly cradled her wrist but she never took her eyes off her brother, as she frantically asked Dr. Hyung "What did you do to my brother?"  

Acadia and Jacob stared in complete silence as they'd watched and waited.  There was no mistaking what had just happened and they waited for Dr. Lesley Hyung to see if she was going to answer the question.

Lucas pushed off the wall glaring from Dr. Hyung to Kaelen.  "What in Hades was that?" he asked the room at large.  He ran his hand through his hair as he scowled at Kaelen.  "His power level shot up past 100%."

"Mia,” he said weakly. She walked over to him still cradling her wrist and sat on the bed.  "I don't feel so good."

She placed her uninjured arm around him and hugged him tight. "It's okay."

"I was so scared," everyone in the room was silent waiting to see if he'd attack his sister again. He hugged her back and frowned.  "I can't feel anything. What is wrong with me?" he asked worriedly. He squeezed her tighter and Kaelen finally felt their heart beats sync.  A warmth spread from her chest through his body and she saw when remorse started to eat at him.

He grabbed at her wrist, "Mia!  I'm so sorry.  I don't know what came over me."

Kayla looked to Acadia and Jacob who both watched with vague expressions that said they did.

Kayla ignored her uneasy feeling and smiled brightly and shook her curly head and placed a hand on his cheek. "Obviously they did something to you."

"Yeah okay," whispered Jacob to his mom.

Kaelen stared confused at his sister.  Taking her hand from his face he kissed the injured wrist and watched astonished as the wound healed right before everyone's eyes.  

Dr. Hyung was now very startled. Ah'Tarians could heal those they bite but not that fast or that completely.  She painfully grabbed Kayla's wrist to pull it closer to her face so she could examine it.

"Ow," cried Kayla as the medic twisted, pulled and prodded with dislocating strength towards her and her device.

The doctor immediately released the bruising grip when she heard Kaelen growl.  Turning she saw a dark looked aimed her way from Lucas.  "She's completely healed," she said as she pointed to the wrist that moments ago held a bleeding, gaping wound.  "I don't just mean it's closed up, I mean it's completed gone."

Lucas pushed the doctor out of the way and grabbed Kayla's wrist more gently and stared down at where the wound should have been.  He'd bitten her several times and it had taken hours for the wounds to heal.  He kept his face impassive as he stared harder for signs of the marks.

"I'd like to run more test on both them," said Dr. Hyung excitedly.

"No," said Acadia as she walked toward the doctor.

Dr. Hyung stared around the room at the stone faces and pasted a smile on her face. "Of course not my lady."  Bowing her head slightly she pressed a few buttons on her handheld.  "I will take my leave so you can converse. I just now realized I have some pressing business to attend to." She quickly left. If the group didn't know better they would have thought she'd used the hikaru no sukudo. They each exchanged a look.

At that moment Acadia walked over to the bed and smiled gently, "What did you dream about Kaelen?"

Kaelen looked to Mia, "I dreamt of Mia."

Lucas looked like he was going to puke then grabbed Kayla off the bed and held her close to him. "I believe we should have tests run to make sure you two are siblings."

The laugh exploded out of Jacob's mouth as he gaped at Lucas, "Really?  You want to run tests?  To make sure they are siblings?"  

"He's my biological brother," Kayla whispered looking up at Lucas confused.  She walked back over toward Kaelen.  and leaned over him. With her hand on his chest she whispered something into his ear. A look crossed his face, his demeanor changed and his ashen skin started to regain color. Lucas frowned as she stood up looking proud of herself.

Acadia was amused. Sighing she watched silently as Kayla and Kaelen talked before she silenced the room with a question, "Can you both read ancient or just speak it?"

Two pair of eyes swung to Acadia and three pair stared back questioningly.

"Don't know what you are talking about," said Kayla and Kaelen in unison.

Her lips twitched as she cocked an eyebrow at them, "Really?  Maybe I was hearing things at the cafe." Walking toward both of them her smile because more devilish.

Ugh! Thought Kaelen sourly as he looked toward Jacob, I see where Jacob gets it from.  I guess this is her idea of not telling anyone.

Kaelen lifted his arm and removed the sensors that were monitoring him, "We don't read, write or speak any ancient language."  As he said this he removed the sensors from his chest and  waited for her to further question him or Kayla.

"Oh ho!" Amused Acadia stared at Kaelen as he stood up.  "I'm sure you do," laughing she looked at Kayla knowingly.  "We're all friends here."

Kayla went pale.

Lucas gently made her look at him, "Do you speak ancient?"  He watched as her eyes widened.

"No," she said looking confused.  "I don't and neither does Kaelen."

Acadia smiled at them both.  "Kevin Lawson was the only person in the family that could read, write and speak the ancient language.  No one considered this when he was disowned; now I know you are both descendants of his and I would like to know what you know."

Kayla shifted uncomfortably and looked to Kaelen for the answer.  She had no idea who Acadia was talking about.

"We are the children of Laurel Mace and Clarence Ward; neither of us know this Kevin Lawson or claim to be descendents. If we are related to the Lawson family it is through no fault of our own."  Kaelen said these words with finality as his hazel eyes crackled gold.

Smiling Acadia stared at him knowingly.  "Just because you say it doesn't make it true."

Lucas waved his hand through the air and said, "Look!  I don't care if you are a Lawson, Sinclair, Ward, Mace or whatever.  You woke up biting Kayla and you haven't thrown the blood up. As a matter of fact; you were stronger."  When he saw Kaelen was going to say something he continued, "You obviously have secrets that you are not trying to tell; we all do!  But I will not let you hurt Kayla with them."

"Hurt Kayla?"  Kaelen stared at Lucas with an expression of awe.  "Hurt Kayla you say?  How about we remove some of those blocks you have in there and see which one of us has hurt her the most."

Kayla looked between the two of them. She knew they were both keeping secrets. Lucas's stared flabbergasted at Kaelen's knowing face.  Lucas laughed uncomfortably he rolled his eyes, "Let's not."

"What blocks," she asked quietly.   When they both just stared at each other she said it again louder.  She looked toward Jacob to see he was standing off to the side in the corner with an expression that read I'm not here and Acadia was looking at her with something akin to pity again.  

Stepping away from Lucas and Kaelen she silently realized that secrets were being kept in her own mind from herself.  She thought to the old man in her dream, he'd shown her being told to forget by Lucas.  "How many times have you done that," she asked quietly as she stepped away from him.  "How many times have you hurt me and made me forget?"

Kaelen looked smugly at Lucas. Acadia glanced knowingly at Kaelen before walking out of the room.  "We'll talk later, Kae."

Lucas face flushed with indignation. "You are mine and I can do whatever I want to you," snapped Lucas glaring from Kaelen to Kayla.

Kayla stared at him angrily before snapping back, "Can you?"  As she stared into those cold midnight blue eyes a memory came to her.  She was in her room pressing frantically at her handheld when a hand grabbed her by the neck.  Fear coursed through her as she'd said, 'Please don't hurt me' and a cold familiar voice replied, 'I will.'   She gasped and stared at Lucas horrified.

Lucas met her brown eyes and smirked, "What?"  His cold facade was well in place. He watched dispassionately as some of her memories seemed to flood her.  He couldn't help the wave of interest as he silently saw her eyes burned with unshed tears.  "Would you like to remember all of it?" he asked in a sadistic voice.

Shaking her head anxiously, Kayla stepped away from Lucas.  She felt sick as she looked at him, she needed to get away from him. He's a monster and Jacob is a monster. She vaguely remembered that night, when she closed her eyes she saw Ebony on the floor telling her to run, she felt her terror and panic but she couldn’t remember everything that happened.  Her eyes landed on her brother she remembered him staring at her telling her to forget something, Is Kaelen a monster too?  He stood there smirking at Lucas as she remembered bits and pieces.

"I feel sick," she said as she stared at the wall behind Kaelen's head.  When he walked toward her she shook her head and held up her hand.  "I'll go back to the palace with Acadia," she mumbled as she ran from the room.

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Lucas watched her walk out and sighed, "Really?"  Walking toward Kaelen determinedly he glared, "You couldn't leave that alone."

Jacob intervened, "He just got out of his death bed and was grasping to turn the conversation.  I’m sure he didn’t know that she’d have an attack of remembrance"

Lucas glared at both of them before pushing Jacob from in front of Kaelen, "You could have mentioned anything.” He threw his hands in the air, “But that's what you use to move a conversation off of you.  Did you like the hurt you caused her?"

Kaelen replied feeling a ping of regret, "I was grasping. Plus you should have made those a little stronger so they wouldn't leak."

Jacob laughed as he felt Lucas tension ease, "Any stronger and she'd be drooling and not able to form a sentence."  He turned to Kaelen and questioned, “Shouldn't you be mad or something?”

Kaelen shrugged off the question and looked down at his wrist.  It was starting to feel  sore and frowned as marks appeared on his wrist.  Lucas and Jacob looked at his wrist.  

"What in Hades,” asked Jacob.

The bruising from Kayla's bite was on his wrist and looked painful.  

"Okay!  Now even I want to test that," said Jacob as he pointed to the bruise.

Kaelen stared at him unamused as he cocked an eyebrow at them and asked a question neither were expecting, "Can you experience love?"

Jacob stopped mid-laugh. "Love," he said the word as if it were foreign to him.  "Let me get back to you on that," said Jacob as he quickly left the room.  "Damnation why’d he ask something like that?" he said to himself as he went searching for that doctor.

Back in the room Lucas stared at him not sure if he was angry at the discord he'd caused between him and Kayla. He shrugged and decided he'd push her to forget. "Ah'Tarians don't feel love."  He stared thoughtfully at Kaelen, "We feel loyalty and family devotion.  On rare occasions there have been instances where someone has experienced love.  Kevin Lawson is an example, he threw everything away for it."  Smirking he joked, “And if he hadn’t you and Kayla wouldn’t be here?”

Kaelen stared at him expectantly, "So you don't love Mia."

Lucas looked floored by this question. "I won't deny I feel something for her but I'm not sure it's love. I know I want her more than I've ever wanted anything."

Sighing Kaelen tugged on his ear as he tried not to laugh, "That's called being in lust."

Lucas smiled a charming smile and said, "I’d destroy the universe for want of her and remove anything that is in my way of having her."  Pausing he quickly added, "I also like the way she smiles at me when she's happy."

Kaelen stared at him not sure if he was horrified, bemused or amused at what Lucas had just said. He waved his hand and the ugly gown he wore was replaced by pants and a shirt. Turning in the same direction Jacob had went he walked away and left Lucas to ponder what he'd just said.  Laughing to himself he thought, I’m fairly sure he’s in love.  

Lucas walked after him. "I can't give up everything for her; so I would assume I'm not in love."  With that he caught up with Jacob and Kaelen.