Pernicious | Kai Parker

Chapter 22

There was a moment of silence before Kai yelled out.

"NO!" he bellowed, watching as Bonnie slowly got up. "No— WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Amelia jumped between them. "Don't hurt her," she pleaded. "Please, don't hurt her— we'll fix the Ascendant and we'll get out tomorrow!"

Kai's jaw twitched. "Meli, do you realize what she did? She chose to let Damon out but she kept you here. Me, I understand. But seriously? You?"

The siphoner didn't want to think about that right now. "Let's get bcak to the house," she said, kneeling down to pick up the pieces of the Ascendant. "Tomorrow, we'll try again."

Kai was still quite unhappy when nightfall came. He'd been drinking Damon's bourbon, glaring at Bonnie each time she passed him. She refused to speak to him, which was fine by Amelia, because silence was better as she tried to put the Ascendant back together. After awhile, she realized she wasn't any good at this sort of thing, and awkwardly slid the pieces to Kai, who sighed, set his bottle down, and started working on it himself.

"I'm sorry, on her behalf," said Amelia quietly. "It took awhile for Bonnie to be okay with vampires, even if the rest of us adjusted quickly. I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow. After all, it's not like you're gonna speak to her once we're out there. I can talk to her, if you—"

"She betrayed you, too," he pointed out. "She could have gotten you out and she didn't, all because you sided with me. Does that really sound like a good friend to you?"

"We're just going through a rough patch right now. Bonnie and I have been best friends since we met. There have been times where we didn't get along, and we always push through."

Kai raised his eyebrows, but didn't respond. "You should sleep," he told her. "This isn't going to be fixed anytime soon."

"I don't want to leave you up by yourself," she said, smoothing her hands down her thighs. "I'm gonna go make myself some coffee, do you want some?"

"You... you don't have to make me anything."

"I want to."

Kai bit his lip. "What else is there to eat with the coffee?"

"Store-bought cookies and leftover pancakes from the morning."

"Then... yes."

She went to make them each a mug, even getting some extra for Bonnie. She went to take a tray of cookies and coffee to the door of her room before taking the rest down to where Kai was. He nodded at Amelia before taking his mug and drinking.

"This is good," he said, making a face like he hadn't expected it to taste like that. "This is almost exactly how I like my coffee."

Amelia raised her brows. "Really? That's how I like it, too. A bit of milk, a bit of creamer, a pinch of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract."

"How did you learn you liked it that way?"

"I was left alone at home once and my foster parents had a Keurig that I knew how to use, so I just experimented. Kinda cool we have the same taste buds."

"I don't know if you have this exact memory," said Kai, "but I once let you try my coffee. I wouldn't let you have alcohol, but I didn't think coffee would hurt. Maybe you found a familiar taste and stuck with it."

"Probably." She took a cookie from the tray. "I've been trying to sort through all the memories now that I have them. It's crazy... I always felt like something was missing, but it never made sense until now. I had a whole other life. I remember my mom teaching me how to walk. I remember my dad carrying me on his shoulders so I could touch the trees. I think I remember them dancing together... and him singing me to sleep after she would read me a story. Then, of course, I remember that they both had pretty bad tempers. I remember hearing them argue. Being slapped for getting in the way. I guess that's what my life was meant to become."