He wasn't wrong, she had never experience pain like that and he endured her screaming, her profanity and her clawing his chest as she struggled to get free of him, but he refused to let go, even when she cried and begged him to let her go.
He endured it all in stony silence, his eyes set on the distance and finally, after four long and terrible hours she felt the final snap inside her and she found herself looking around the room, the particles of dust and the grains of the wood clear to her vision as it had been before.
She breathed slowly, her pain and agony switching off like a blown-out candle.
He looked down at her and sucked in a breath, his pupils dilating as he took her in, and she smiled slyly at his sudden desire.
She slipped herself free of his arms and swept from the room, eyes opening to take her in as she wiped still wet blood from her lower face, her sweat keeping it liquid.
She made a soft sound and took Epharis by the front of his shirt, pulling him into the bathroom with her and ignored Jaia's fury.
Lifting up the lank mass of her hair, she showed him the complexity of the brassiere and he understood, immediately setting to work on the clasps and laces until the heavy metal came free.
She tossed it to him, and he caught it, almost dropping it as his eyes caught her bare chest as she hooked her thumbs in her undergarments and pushed them down, too focused on her bath to notice his burning behind her.
She ran the bath and stepped into it before it had managed to even fill the bottom of it, sitting down with her head under the stream and she moaned at the warmth washing away her sweat.
Her moan seemed to be too much for Jaia and the door burst in, his fury fizzling out as he took in the scene, the lich's face red and clutching the metallic garment and her sitting under the tap, the water steaming the room.
Her brow lifted as he looked first at her, then the lich and back again.
"Etani and I need to talk," the vampire said angrily and Epharis snorted his amusement.
"Good luck," the lich said as he left, taking her brassiere with him.
She was around knee deep in the water when she decided to add oil and a soapy substance that was new, she was immediately delighted to find a thick carpet of white bubbles forming and she grinned, ignoring the furious vampire as he approached the bath.
She looked up when she heard his boots hitting the marble and she stared at him in surprise as he stripped out of his jacket and he stepped into the bath, still mostly clothed.
"You're going to listen to me," he snarled, and she was immediately wary, not trusting him as he sat down across from her, refusing to leave and stubbornly set on staying in her bath, clothed.
She said nothing, instead scooping up a handful of bubbles and blowing it at him.
He jerked back, glaring at her and her stubborn refusal to speak.
The water was up around her ribs when he had joined her and it was up around her underarms when she finally turned off the water and looked at him, neither of them willing to be the first one to talk.
Deciding he was just as stubborn as she was, she crawled on her knees to the side of the bath and pulled down a few bottles, ignoring him until she felt the water moving and she felt him beside her.
He gripped her wrist painfully tight, and she went still, refusing to look at him.
"You made Kai upset," he breathed in her ear.
She frowned, giving her arm a little tug but it only made him grip her tighter. "You both made me upset when you left," she said finally and he growled softly, yanking her arm and forcing her around to look at him.
"You know why we had to leave," he hissed, his free arm going around her waist.
She didn't want to have to use her magic on him, but he was becoming aggressive, and she would if she needed to defend herself, though the thought of actually hurting him stung her
"You had no reason to stay once the bond was broken. I was not enough of a reason for you to stay," she hissed and pushed at his arm, trying to pry it off her.
"You have been an addiction to us both since the instant we laid eyes on you. We finally had a chance to be free and we took it," Jaia snarled, refusing to let her go.
"Yes, you did. You realised that there was nothing there for you except your addiction to me and you would rather take death over being around me when you don't have to be." She pressed her hand against his chest, trying to push herself back from him.
"Yes, we did. He is my brother and if I could rid him of that addiction that is you, I will always take it. But it only made us realise that your magic isn't the addiction. You are the addiction, and we had no way to get back to you."
She huffed when he refused to budge, and she glared up at him in anger.
"Talk in circles all you want, Jaia, it means nothing. Let me go." She dug her nails into his chest in warning but it only made him pull her closer.
He bared his teeth at her, and he pressed her back into the side of the tub, trapping her in place between him and the tiles.
His hand moved from her back to her throat, and he held her still, not enough to choke her but enough so that she was forced to pay attention to him.
Anger that he would dare touch her mounted and her hand flew, connecting with his face.
The sound of her hand meeting his cheek was loud in the silent room and his eyes flashed a dangerous red that sent a thrill of terror down her spine
His grin was feral as he leant over her, his fingertips leaving bruises in the delicate skin of her throat, and she was torn between the need to fight and her need to never hurt him. She didn't know what to do.
Keeping her pinned there, his free hand rose between them, and she watched with a certain fascination as the buttons of his soaked shirt slipped free and he jerked her forward until she was pressed into his bare chest.
All of her instincts were telling her to run or to fight and yet she struggled with it, her need to protect the twins burning out her anger and leaving her feeling hopelessly confused.
She could feel in him that his anger was setting him off and the part of him that was rational Jaia was being lost under his own fear and grief at losing her, but she wanted him to release her and finally she pressed her hand against his chest.
Tapping into Winter, she sent a pulse of cold into him that made him freeze in place, his eyes wide that she would dare.
"Let me go," she whispered, her eyes meeting his and she felt that thrill of terror. Jaia was no longer in control, it was the vampire who had taken over and her fear made him smile slowly.
It was not often that the vampire in any of them managed to gain control and she knew that while it was not him, it was still him in a way.
His fingers crushed her throat, and she whimpered, her hand finding his chest once more but he retaliated.
Slamming her against the wall of the bath, she hissed in a breath and the connection to Faerie was lost in her distraction, his teeth bared and eyes flaming crimson.
"You are mine," he growled, and she shivered at the words, shaking her head as much as she could with his grip on her throat.
"Jaia stop," she gasped, struggling with him but his grip only tightened and his fury mounted.
Without a word, he dragged her out of the water and onto the tiles, following after her and he settled atop her with his free hand going to her thigh and prying her leg away for him to settle between them.
"Stop!" she cried as she felt his hand moving between them, her cry cut off as his grip around her throat released her only to cover her mouth and he squeezed her face, leaving her mostly silenced.
"No Etani, you aren't allowed to leave me," he whispered, staring down at her and his fingers clenched on her inner thigh, terrifying her all the more. "You belong to me, you are mine."
Shaking her head, she whimpered as he considered her face, then smiled faintly, his eyes going down her body.
"You can be mine willingly, or I can simply make you mine," he hissed, jerking at her and forcing her leg further apart to allow him to grind his groin against hers.
Her mind went blank as she stared up into his eyes, trying to wrap her mind around what he was saying. Was he threatening her? Threatening to force himself on her?
Fear flooded her system, and she shook her head quickly, her eyes wide as she stared up into his, a new feeling beginning to grow inside her that she couldn't understand.
"You can deny it all you like, my precious love. But you have belonged to me for a long time, and I'm not going to let you go. I will not allow you to leave me, you are my mate."
What could she do? She could only stare up at him, torn on what to do.
Part of her was terrified of him, but a new part of herself was revelling in his dominance, in his demands that she remain his and she contemplated that part of herself, contemplated what Mara had said.
Finally, she gave a slow, barely there hint of a nod and Jaia's tension began to ease, his lips parting as he stared down at her and slowly his hand left her mouth, uncertain.
When she didn't immediately scream, his face showed his dark joy, and his mouth came down on hers in a hard, demanding kiss that she returned somewhat hesitantly at first.
They had both hurt her terribly, had left her broken and bleeding, but Jaia was not going to let go of her and his demand for her to remain his was doing all sorts of things to her body and mind.
Returning the kiss as roughly as he gave it, she shivered as his hand left her to move to himself, his lips moving with wild abandon against hers and she realised belatedly what he was intending as she felt him tugging the ties of his pants free.
Breaking the kiss, she shook her head, his eyes immediately narrowing on her.
"We can't..." she whispered, fear swelling as he seemed intent on ignoring her refusal.
"Why not?" he demanded, the hiss of the ties coming free leaving her trembling at the thought of his simply taking what he wanted whether she wanted it or not.
"Epharis will kill us both. He'll kill Kai and everyone," she whispered urgently, trying to think of how best to disengage herself from him.
"Then we kill him," he said, slowing in his attempt to get his pants down.
"Yes, we have to kill him first," she agreed, trying to hide her relief when he stopped trying to undress himself.
His forehead rested against hers and she bit her lip gently, staring up into those hungry, glowing crimson eyes.
"You are mine," he growled, his possessive stare feeling heavy on her.
"I'm yours," she whispered, trembling under the feeling of his eyes on her.
Finally, he released her and straightened up, kneeling between her legs and staring down at her.