SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 57- Uncomfortable Questions

The sounds of the birds singing outside pierce through my ears like knives as I fail to try to fall back asleep. When I open my eyes, I immediately have to squint as the beams of sunlight burn my eyes. There's no denying it; I'm hungover. Suddenly, I realize that Desire is standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee.

"Good morning, sunshine. You had a rough night, huh?" she laughs as I sit up.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad," I state as I take the cup of coffee, blowing on it to cool it off.

"Yes, you were," she states bluntly, starting to chuckle.

"Oh yea, well... whatever, I can't remember." I sigh as I take a sip of the dark, rich coffee. Jasper always makes the best.

"One thing I remember from last night," I suddenly hear Phoenix, but can't tell where his voice is coming from "I that Magnus admitted to spending a night with you not too long ago. You wanna tell us about it?" Phoenix suddenly slides himself out from under my bed. Startled, Desire and I nearly spit our coffee.

"What the fuck?" Desire says as she tilts her head sideways to look down "What the hell were you doing down there?"

"Hiding from the sun," he states as he hops onto the bed, taking my coffee "Hangovers only sucks if you don't know how to treat them. Step one, darkness. Step two, caffeine," he explains.

"You're really something else, you know that?" I state, ripping my cup out of his hands.

"Who gives a shit about him, did you really spend a night with Magnus?" Desire asks excitedly as she pushes her brother further across the bed, making room.

"Um, yeah, I did." I state nervously as I look over both of their faces "Why are you looking at me like that, what do you want me to say?" I ask.

"Details, bitch!" Phoenix says as he starts clapping "I'm so proud of you." he states happily.

"I don't know what there is to say, we just... had sex." I say, hoping his curiosity would die down, but I am sorely mistaken "Why do you need details?" I ask frustratedly.

"Was it good?" Desire asks.

"Was it big?" Phoenix asks louder.

"Guys, chill," I say as I glance between the two of them. "I had fun, that's what matters," I laugh as I slouch back, sipping on my coffee. Desire seems to chuckle to herself, smiling warmly as she looks out the window.

"I love love." she laughs.

"Maybe one day I'll meet the guy of my dreams too." Phoenix says sarcastically "But who wants a gay old man." he laughs.

"Don't sell yourself, your immortal and can bend fire, so at least you have something going for you." I laugh as I brush my hair back with my fingers.

"You got that right, you're a catch." I suddenly hear Magnus from the hallway.

"Well, good morning to you too, sweetie." I smile as he walks in, kissing me on the forehead. "Before you get too in-depth with our sex life, Eli says there's someone downstairs that wants to see you."

"Really?" I ask curiously "Did he say who?"

"I'm not sure, but he was giving him funny looks," he explains. Concerned, I set my coffee on the windowsill and follow Magnus downstairs. When I reach the bottom, I feel practically speechless as I see who he had been referring to.

"Kai?" I ask, and Kai flips his hood back.

"Hey," he says nervously, looking over at Eli who appears to be on the defensive. After a moment, I realize that it's because of the hex on his forehead.

"He's not Gael, I promise it's okay," I say reassuringly, but Eli doesn't seem any more convinced.

"Then why does he look like him?" he asks nervously.

"It's... complicated." I sigh "What are you doing here?" I ask worriedly as I make my way to one of the tables.

"Then uncomplicate it," I say as I motion to the seat across from me. He looks wary of Eli and Magnus as he sits down.

"Can we... can we talk alone?" he asks, and I look at the others and nod. Eli goes hesitantly while Magnus shakes his head.

"Not until you tell me who this is," Magnus says sternly as he glares at Kai.

"This, um, this is Malakai, he's..." I hesitate, unsure if I should answer.

"I'm her brother," Kai states nervously as he glances at Magnus, who at this point looks absolutely dumbfounded.

"You're her... what?" Magnus asks, his eyes widening "I didn't know that Veronika had another kid,"

"Neither did I until a week ago," I sigh, looking sympathetically at Kai "And my mother still doesn't know."

"What- how?" Magnus asks, utterly confused.

"It's a long story." Kai sighs.

"How is that even-" Magnus tries to ask.

"It's a really long story," I state exhaustedly. Kai seems like something is troubling him as he rests his elbows on the table "We can talk about that later. First, what are you doing here?" I ask worriedly.

"I wanted to talk, I just don't really know what to do." he explains "There's a lot that I still want to know, and I'm worried about what's going to happen if our families fight. The results could be catastrophic."

"I understand," I sigh, suddenly coming to a frightening realization "Wait, do they know you're here?" I ask nervously.

"No, they trust me, so they aren't keeping tabs on me," he explains.

"Who?" Magnus asks worriedly.

"...The Ancient Ones." I sigh, quickly covering his mouth before he has a chance to say anything "He's not one of them, I promise you. He's ...different." I explain, removing my hand.

"How did you end up with them?" Magnus asks, seeming terrified.

"It's part of the long story, we don't have time for that right now." I sigh "What did you want to talk about?" I ask curiously.

"Well, to be honest," he begins "I want to know more about my mother, and, I guess the rest of my family. If it wasn't for what my father had done, I would have been one of you. I just can't help but wonder how different that would have been, y' know?" he explains.

"I can understand that," I start as I lean back "I don't really know where to start."

"Well, how about you start from the beginning."