When the crimson fire faded from around them, they were dropped into a noisy room that fell silent only a second later, and she looked around at all the faces, the anger and the confusion.
"Get out," Daemon snarled, but no one moved, everyone looking first at him and then at her while she looked back at them all blankly. She really had no idea what to say to any of them.
Letari was on them in a second, her face furious until she saw Etani, and then her eyes widened, her face going slightly grey and her eyes sliding down the length of her body to her stomach.
"Destroy it," she said immediately, alarm written all over her face.
It took a long moment for anyone to figure out what she meant, and then the room was in an uproar.
"Kai…!" she pleaded, and he looked down at her and then up at Dirdos, who moved to step in front of the two of them. He backed quickly out of the room, his arms tight around her as he headed down the hall and then another, bursting down into the basement.
Someone swore, and she looked around to find Hunter sitting on the couch with a book in his hand, alarmed at their appearance but then wary.
"What happened?" the hybrid asked, and she stared at him, completely stumped on why he was still there in Ayathian, and allowed to wander freely around the castle. They were two very valid questions that needed answering.
"Why are you out of the box?" she asked, her fingers reflexively curling in Kai's shirt as he set her down on the couch and tried to get away from her.
"Etani, let go, love. I can't help you if you don't let go."
Her fingers refused to respond to command, and she looked around at him, alarm filling her that he was trying to leave her there.
"Where are you going?" she sounded panicked, even to herself, and he frowned as he tried to pry her fingers free of his shirt. When that didn't work, he simply ducked out of it and she swiped for him, missing him by an inch.
"Kai!" she cried, panic flooding through her body as he backed away. "Don't leave me!"
His face went ashen at her words, her terrified face as she clutched his shirt, reaching for him.
"I'm just going to my room, I'm still right here," he said soothingly, but she watched as he backed away from her and her mind went to the worst possible place.
He hated her, was repulsed by her, and her hand dropped. He knew what she was carrying and was trying to get as far away from her as possible while he still could.
"Kai…" she pleaded, unable to stop the tears. "I'm sorry Kai… come back... don't go…"
She was crying, her voice broken as she curled up on the couch, his shirt clutched to her chest as his tense, anguished face turned away from her and he fled into his room.
Hunter forced himself into her vision and she looked up at him, broken and small before him.
"I didn't mean to…" she pleaded, needing someone to understand.
"What happened, darling?" he asked, his fingers gentle on her arm, but she couldn't go to him, not when Kai had just abandoned her.
"I couldn't make him stop. He was so much stronger than me and the lightning…" She knew she wasn't making any sense and she struggled to find ways to make him understand, so she grabbed his hand and pressed it against her abdomen.
His face went slightly green as he touched her, his fingers pressing experimentally against the firm swelling.
"I'm sorry…" she whimpered, needing someone to forgive her, anyone. "I tried to fight… but he melted the knife… and it didn't kill him… I was so sure I got his heart… and then the lightning made everything numb…"
He had drawn back from her, looking queasy, and she felt a thrill of panic at his turning away from her.
"No, Hunter please… I'm sorry!" He couldn't leave her too; she didn't even know him, and he was revolted by her as well. "I'm sorry…" she said again, repeating it over and over as her eyes clenched shut and she buried her face in her knees, clutching them to her chest as hard as she could.
It felt like an eternity before someone spoke, and the voice made her want to vomit, her whimpered pleas for everyone to forgive her and her crying breaking off at his voice.
"What happened?" Jaia asked, coming up the last few steps from the sub-basement.
"I don't know, not really," Hunter said gently. "She's pregnant. I don't know who did it, but she said something about lightning and melting knives and not being able to stop him…"
Jaia's scent washed over her, and she trembled, a warning growl coming from Hunter.
"I don't think you are the right person to be touching her," the hybrid hissed.
"No one else is," Jaia snapped back, and she whimpered as his fingers found her arm.
"No… please…" she pleaded, begging him not to do anything to her. "Not again, Jaia… please, not again…"
His breath froze in his chest and he coaxed her closer to him and she settled on his lap with her chest pressed against his, her knees on either side of his hips. She didn't try to fight him; it was easier when she didn't fight them. They hurt her less if she didn't struggle.
"Just… make it fast…" she murmured, her fingers finding the hem of the jacket and drawing it out of the way, her mind already beginning to detach as she dug through herself for a happy memory to focus on while he used her.
"Etani stop," his voice was anguished, and he pulled her hands away from the jacket, trapping them behind her while his other arm went around her middle, holding her to him.
"Gods…" Hunter whispered, horrified.
She leant against his chest, her cheek against his shoulder as she stared at the wall, burning that the only one who had stayed with her was Jaia. At least he still wanted her, even if it hurt her to think about what he had done. It was one person who still wanted to be close to her.
"Stop…" Hunter said, but Jaia shook his head.
"She needs contact. Just sit down and shut up. Take her hand."
Hunter hesitated, but then moved to do as he was told and his hand was warm in hers, her eyes going to him.
He looked horrified, repulsed even by the sight of her, but he clutched her hand in his, stroking the backs of her fingers as he had done once before.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered to him, and he closed his eyes.
She saw the revulsion on his face, the sight of it stinging her, but she knew she deserved it. She had been too weak, and he hated her for it. She was a weak, frightened little girl trying to play in the world of adults who liked to kick her when she was down, but she still had Jaia. If nothing else, she still had him.
Turning her head to bury her face in Jaia's neck, she closed her eyes and listened to his breathing, slow and even as he held her to him and somewhere else in the room a door opened, a low growl sounding that had Jaia shifting against her.
"What happened?" Jaia asked, but he got no response and Jaia tensed. "What are you doing?"
Looking around, she found Kai sitting on the couch and she whimpered, pain ripping through her at his tense face.
"Come here, sweetheart…" Kai murmured, and she reached for him, Jaia letting go of her and she was whole again, his arms wrapped painfully tight around her.
"Kai… I'm sorry," she whispered, needing him to forgive her.
"Etani, listen to me," he was using his serious voice, but she couldn't focus.
"Kai… please forgive me…"
"Etani…" he repeated, but she shook her head, hurting that she couldn't make him understand.
"I tried… I tried to stop it… don't hate me… I can fix it…" she wasn't sure if she was pleading with him or herself, her mind racing. "We can… what Letari said…?"
Kai shook his head, and she turned, panicked, to look at Jaia.
"Jaia will…. Jaia will help me…"
The vampire stared at her, confused, and wanting to help.
"You can make it go away, right, Jaia?" she asked, reaching for him, but Kai only tightened his grip on her.
"What is she talking about?" Jaia asked, his fingers locking with hers as she tried to get to him.
"She wants you to kill it," Hunter said, and Jaia stood immediately, his face hard and set.
"See Kai? Jaia will help, and you won't hate me. Jaia can fix it."
Kai looked horrified by her words, and she recoiled from his expression, her grip on Jaia tightening.
"I'll do it," Jaia said, and she looked up at him desperately, not wanting to let go of his hand and the promise of his saving her from her situation.
"No… No!" Kai snarled, and she looked back at him, his face agonised. "Etani, stop. Please just stop."
"But I need to fix this... you'll stay if I fix it," she couldn't understand why he was so upset.
Looking down, she was surprised to see a long, slender knife in his hand, his grip on it so tight his fingers were trembling.
"Kai?" Jaia asked slowly, wary.
"No… Etani, listen to me. I promised to keep you safe, and I couldn't do that," Kai whimpered, forcing her face up to look at him. "I couldn't protect you at all, not from Zeus, not from Epharis, and not from Jaia."
Hunter hissed, and Jaia jerked back a step, face pale and torn at the words.
"I couldn't do anything for you… But I can do this for you…" He was shaking, and she stared at him, searching his face.
"You don't hate me?" she whispered and when he shook his head, relief washed through her.
"Don't leave me…" she pleaded with him and she took his hand in both of hers, lifting it so that the point of the knife was resting just between her breasts, angled upwards.
"I never will…" he promised, and she jerked as the knife slid into her, her breath sucking in sharply and she looked up into his eyes, her fingers light on his cheek as she wiped away his tears.
"Don't cry…" she breathed, her voice tiny, and she felt it as the knife slid higher, her heart hiccupping as the blade pierced it. "Don't cry…" she whispered again and then again, her fingers moving against his in the motion he needed to make, and her body stiffened as he twisted the knife in her chest and his anguished sob was the last thing she heard.