Kit woke up the next morning with a mild headache and the warm body of Ty pressed tightly against his, breathing shallowly. Taking a moment, Kit looked down at his boyfriend, curled with his knees up to his chin and his arm draped lazily over Kit's side. Kit couldn't see his face over the thick mop of black hair, but he could picture the way his lips quirked up slightly while he slept. Kit nuzzled the top of Ty's head until he murmured awake.
'Morning handsome,' Kit said as Ty blinked up at Kit.
'What's the time?'
Kit twisted his head to look at the clock on the wall.
'Half eight, why? Got somewhere to be?' Kit said it in a joking way, but Ty suddenly untangled himself from Kit and pushed himself out of the bed.
'Hey, what's the matter?' Kit followed him out of the bed, standing at the foot watching him change into clean clothes until he was sitting on the bed to tie up his shoes.
'We came here for a reason, Kit, we can't spend the whole time doting around like the Seelie queen isn't hot on your trail and your magic isn't killing you.' Ty said without looking up from his task.
'Hold on, killing?! Who said anything about killing? Ty wait.' Kit rushed to take Ty by the shoulder before he could leave the room.
'What's wrong?'
Ty turned around and leant his back against the wall; for the first time this morning Kit could see just how tired Ty looked. It was clear that he hasn't slept fitfully in a long time, and it hurt to know that Kit was the leading cause of this.
"You know what's wrong, and I'm worried that whatever is happening is going to become more frequent. What happens if you're found out and you can't defend yourself. Or we take too long figuring out whatever this is and it gets worse and..."
"Okay, okay, calm down." Kit took Ty by the shoulders and drew him into his chest. Ty instantly reciprocated, wrapping his arms around his frame.
"I'm just tired of all of this. You're always in danger and I know that's part of our lives but if we can get this under control then everything else will be easier to handle." Ty muffled into Kit's shirt.
Kit pressed a soft kiss to the top of Ty's head.
"it's gonna be fine, alright? We're gonna go downstairs, eat a shit ton of breakfast and then Jem and Tessa will help us figure out what's going on, okay sweetheart?"
Ty nodded and pulled back slightly so Kit could see his face. Kit tipped his head up and kissed Ty quickly, trying to reassure him as best as he knows how.
Breakfast was incredible and Kit wasn't sure if British people ate entire three-course meals for breakfast all the time, but if they did, he was seriously going to consider moving in with Tessa. The silence at the table would have been weird back in LA with the massive Blackthorn family, but here, just the four of them, it was comfortable and homely. But Ty's leg bounced sporadically under the table as he pushed around his scrambled eggs.
"...So what we're thinking is we'll get you in your gear and test out your magic in the training room to see what's going on and test the waters a little bit," Jem said.
"The last time I tried to test the waters I nearly injured everyone in the vicinity, so I'm not too thrilled about that." Kit said anxiously, casting a nervous glance over to Ty, who had put his headphones on, his knee bouncing to the beat of whatever classical album he was listening to.
"It's okay Christopher. My time as a silent brother allowed me to learn a copious amount of the downworld, so I have a decent grasp on Faerie magic. Enough, I think, to help you control your magic in a healthy way."
"Right." Kit trusted Jem, he did, but he didn't trust himself.
Kit finished his massive breakfast quickly, eager to get into the training room and get this over with. Ty hadn't eaten much of anything, save for a couple of pieces of plain toast. He had taken his headphones off, ut they were still wrapped around his neck protectively.
"Are you okay, Ty?" Kit asked on their way up to their room so Kit could change. Ty had been antsy all morning, and Kit knew it came from a place of worry.
"Yes," Ty replied tersely.
"Jem won't let anything bad happen, it'll be fine."
"I know."
Ty sat on the bed and stared into the middle distance as Kit changed into gear. He got a strange feeling of de Ja Vu, like the two of them, were gearing up for a big fight. Ty handed him a blade, but Kit refused it.
"We won't be needing weapons. We aren't fighting." Kit said. Ty looked down at the weapon. Kit took it from him gently and placed it on the bed, then took Ty's hand and kissing his knuckles tenderly. Ty looked up at Kit's face with a small smile on his face.
The training room was not as large as the one in the LA institute, but it still felt massive. Weapons hung up on every wall, as well as foam mats that must have been used during training sessions. Jem was wrapping gauze around his hands. He was dressed in full tactical gear, every part of him covered. Kit couldn't help the sinking feeling in his stomach; Jem was protecting himself from him.
He smiled welcoming Kit and Ty. Kit let go of Ty's hand and watched him traipse over to the sidewall, leaning against it and watching Kit.
"How's this gonna go then?" Kit asked, clapping his hands together.
"I want you to come and stand in front of me."
Kit complied. Jem was almost a head taller than him, so he had to crane his neck up to look at him. Jem rested his hands on both of Kit's shoulders and looked into his eyes.
"Now I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on the magic inside you. Feel it, try and grasp onto it."
"But what if—"
"I'm right here," Jem reassured. Kit nodded and closed his eyes. He thought of that heat, the warm ball of fire that rested in the pits of his stomach, lying dormant. He frowned, squeezing his eyes shut harder. The flaming ball grew closer within him and he felt himself reaching out to grasp the heat. It took a couple of goes, but then he had a tight grasp on it. The heat wasn't painful, but he gasped as a shock burst up his arms and the temperature rose considerably.
"What now?" Kit breathed.
"Bring forth that power. Let it sit in the palms of your hands. Manifest it into existence."
He took hold of a small piece of that fire, felt it move around up his arms, across his chest, into his throat. The warmth almost tickled, that tingling sensation akin to pins and needles. Kit grunted as he pulled the magic back, trying to will it into existence. The strain caused a dull throbbing to start in his head. He almost gave up when he heard Jem's voice again.
"Don't give up. Push through it."
With a burst of energy, Kit yanked the magic through him and opened his eyes wide. Everything around him was white and bright, a blinding light that looked as if Kit had walked into the centre of the sun. He looked down at his hands and saw they were glowing. The light was coming from him. Kit gasped.
"Magic." He whispered. The light dimmed down so that he could see Jem in front of him, smiling.
"Very good, Kit."
Kit couldn't stop himself: he beamed up at Jem. He turned and saw Ty watching him, a look on his face Kit couldn't decipher. He grinned at him, and Ty quirked the corner of his lip up.
Kit clasped his hands together and pulled them apart, watching his magic form and fuse together like putty. It was fascinating, that he had managed to do this. His headache had receded and he felt incredible. As light as a feather and powerful. So powerful.
"What does it do?" He asked.
Jem stepped backwards and produced an arrow board, used for target practice with bows and arrows.
"Throw it at this," Jem instructed.
Kit formed the magic into a ball and with one hand, he hurled it at the target. The bright glow dissipated, leaving behind a charred hole in the centre of the target.
"Holy shit!" Kit exclaimed. He whipped around to see Ty, his smile broadening. Ty pushed himself off the wall and walked over to him and Jem.
"Did it hurt you?" Ty asked.
Kit's smile faltered. "No. Well, I felt a headache startup when I was concentrating so hard, but it went away quickly. I feel... Incredible. Ty, this is amazing!" Kit exclaimed. Ty still didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything else.
"From what I can gather, your random bouts of illness and fainting came from the build-up of electricity within you that had no release. If you practise like that every day, It'll become easier for you to bring forth and control. But it's dangerous for you and everyone else for you to keep it locked down for so long." Jem explained.
Kit spent the rest of the morning summoning his magic and hurling it at different things, juggling it, trying to impress a blank-faced Ty, until they were called for dinner.