Chapter Eight – Jade POV

I placed my hand on Marco’s head and took Kyler’s hand with the other. I gazed up at Kyler happily.

“That was amazing. And very, very brave. I’m so proud of you.”

He smiled nervously. “Thanks, but…” he held out his other hand, which was shaking terribly. “I hope I never have to do it again.”

I sighed, looking back at Marco. “Yeah, me either.” Marco’s eyes were closed, his expression was completely neutral. He didn’t seem to be in pain, but didn’t seem like he was happy the pain was gone.

“Marco, hey,” I said quietly, waking him up. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Mmmhhmm,” he groaned quietly.

“Here, Mom,” Kyler helped me lift Marco to his feet. “You tend to him, alright? Can Ethan and I order a pizza for us?”

I smiled. “That sounds great. Thank you.”

Kyler helped me lie Marco on his back and left the room. Marco scooted to the middle of the bed, his hand on his head as he winced.

“Kill me,” he mumbled. “I can’t take this anymore.”

I got onto the bed and straddled his legs, taking his hands away from his face. “Hey, don’t talk like that.”

He gazed up at me with barely open eyes. “It hurts. And you’re a blur. I feel sick. I feel like I’m dying. Just kill me.”

“Shhh,” I put my fingers on his temples, as I always did. He winced, but when he would usually relax, he didn’t. “Wow, this is a particularly strong one, huh?”

He shrugged his shoulders gently. “I don’t know anymore.”

I stopped and sighed, gazing at him with a worried expression. “Did it help at all?”

He opened his eyes and then quickly shut them. “No.”

“I’ll put a sleeping spell on you,” I said. “That should help.”

“Wait,” he said, taking my hand. “A darkness spell first. I want to test something. Then you can put me to sleep to rid the darkness.”

I was skeptical, but did it anyway. When I was finished, he opened his eyes much wider. He gazed at me as they flashed red. “No pain.”

I sat back. “That’s odd. Why?”

He furrowed his brow. “Something out there wants me to stay like this.” He stood up and paced. “Like the whole goddamn world wants me to be evil!” He growled. “I can’t catch a break! You can’t catch a break! We will never have a normal life! NEVER!!”

I walked over to him, calmly grabbing his arms. I wasn’t scared of him. I had seen him much worse than this. “Marco. Mi rey, please.”

He kissed me fiercely, wrapping his arms around me. “You, Kyler and Ethan are the only lights I have left,” he said quietly, resting his head on mine and closing his eyes. “If something happens…” he trailed off and furrowed his brow. “It’s so hard for me to fight against this, Jade. You know that. You’ve tried and failed to fight yours.” He opened his eyes. “If Kyler and Ethan protect and fight, but we still get consumed with darkness, what will we be capable of? We can’t stop it. Eventually we will be the end of the realm.” He closed his eyes again, tightly this time. His eyelashes glistened with tears. “If I ever can’t control this…. If I end up being him again, promise me something.”

“What?” I whispered, stroking his hair.

“You kill me. Okay?”

“No.”

“Jade.”

“No, Marco!” I stood back. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, there’s always a positive resolution to anything.”

He tilted his head. “Anything? Was there a positive resolution in our fight?”

“Ye-” I stopped and closed my mouth. I looked down at the floor, frustrated. “Marco, stop.” I stepped back a bit, distancing myself.

“There isn’t always a positive resolution,” he narrowed his eyes at me. “And if I’m ever going to act like that version of me, then I want you to kill me like a rabid animal.”

I continued gazing at the floor, tears in my eyes. “Let’s not talk about this.”

“Will you promise?”

“No!” I snapped, startling him. “I absolutely will never promise something like that. Ever.”

“I don’t want to be him, Jade!” He growled. “And when I reach that point, I certainly won’t do it. You had no problem doing it before because you knew how evil I was.”

“Shut up, Marco!” I shouted, my voice hoarse. “I didn’t love you then! We were on opposite sides! But now, if your darkness takes over, I know it’s not you! Do you even hear yourself?” I stepped closer. “Stop talking about it! We can fight it, and we will, okay?”

He pulled me into a kiss, and I let out a muffled yelp.

“If I ever hurt you, Jade, I’d never forgive myself.”

I growled. “I will not hurt you either! Not by request, not by accident. NEVER!!” As I shouted, I felt the shift. No. Oh no.

Marco stepped back, clearly having the same thought. “I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed. I didn’t mean to upset you. I should have stopped.”

I smiled at him. “Shut up. You talk too much.”

He pushed away. “Don’t seduce me, Jade.”

I grinned. “Temper, Marco. Wouldn’t it help us sleep?”

He started pacing. “God, we’ve lost control. Everything is falling apart. The realm is literally going to depend on our children while we sit here doing WHATEVER we are.” He put his hands on his head as I sat down, staring at my nails and watching him from.the corner of my eye.

“You know, I should really get a new manicure,” I said, turning my hand from side to side.

“Are you even listening?” He snapped.

“Yes, yes, dear. I’m listening to your ramble. Let me know when you’re done and I’ll help you.” I continued turning my hand around.

He glared at me. “How do you do that?”

I put my hand down. “Do what, mi rey?”

He stepped closer. “Just…that? You switch and there’s no in between. My light side at least tries to fight the darkness.”

I stood up and grinned, wrapping my arms around him. “Your dark side is weak. Don’t worry, I’ll help you make it stronger.”

“No!” He shook his head furiously. “I don’t want that. I want our happy, normal, non-darkened life. The life we were supposed to live.”

“Then stop worrying about that stupid legend,” I shrugged, letting him go and turning around. “It’s just stressing you out. It’s not even real, right?” I turned and grinned at him. “Unless we make it real.”

“Ugh!” He walked to the other side of the room. I had to think of something. Marco was on the edge of a breakdown. I closed my eyes, channeling my energy on making them look normal. Making myself look normal. When I opened my eyes, I walked over to him. I pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry I upset you, mi rey.”

He sighed, resting his head on mine. “No, I’m sorry. This whole thing scares me. But now, I’m getting to the point of not having much fight left. I only had you cast that spell to test a theory about my headaches. It led to this.”

I gazed at him. “Shhh. Don’t think about it, okay?”

He smiled. “You’re back.”

I didn’t reply. I just caressed his cheek with a smile. “Let’s lie down. I’ll pull that darkness from you.”

“Wait, no.” He shook his head. “When it’s gone, the headaches return. They’re getting worse.”

“What do you need me to do?”

He sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Let’s lie down,” I offered.

He nodded and we did. I felt a pang of guilt, but pushed it from my mind.

As he laid down, I strengthened my darkness, bringing it to the forefront and kissing him. My brain screamed at me to stop, but I couldn’t.

He laughed softly as I kissed him, reaching his hand up and resting it on the back of my head. I opened my eyes, seeing a darkness surrounding him. It was working. I kept him occupied so he didn’t notice. I wanted him on my side. And hey, if shedding the darkness gave him pain, then I was doing him a favor, right?

He pulled me closer, clearly getting a bit more into this. I certainly didn’t mind. He pushed me down onto my back, pressing his hips against mine and pinning my arms above my head. As our kisses became more fierce, and I was certainly getting more into it, Marco seemed to pull away a little, then stopped completely. He moved back, sitting on his heels. I sat up and gazed at him.

“What is it?”

“I can’t do this right now.” He stood up and paced. “My mind is racing. I have so many questions.

I sighed, frustrated. “Marco, you’re only stressing yourself out.”

“What is causing these headaches if they go away with darkness?”

“Marco, please.”

“Why are the headaches getting increasingly worse?” He stopped and gazed out the window as I rolled my eyes. “Something must be coming. Something big.”

I slammed my fist onto the side of the bed. “Jesus, Marco! Shut up!”

He turned to face me. “What?”

I walked over to him, stepping close and glaring into his eyes. “You’re worrying so much about what happens when the darkness leaves you. Stop! You know the answers and just don’t want to accept them.” I took his hands. “You and I aren’t meant to be light casters. Just accept it.” I wrapped my arms around him. “Embrace it.”

As I moved in for a kiss, he shoved me back. “No, Jade!” He barked. “I’m going to figure this out.” He brushed past me and out of the bedroom. “With or without your help.”

I scowled and crossed my arms. What the fuck? How could I stop that side of him from being so inquisitive? My weak little light side didn’t even have the chance to fight back. I made sure of that. Why was Marco so damn difficult?

I followed him out onto the balcony. “You know, you can’t stop it.” I grinned. “It’ll consume you no matter what.”

He glared at me, then gazed back out over the water. “If you aren’t going to be of any help, Jade, you can leave me alone to figure it out.”

I walked up behind him and ran my nails up his back. “I can help.”

He sighed. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

I looped my arms under his, wrapping them around him and kissing his neck. “I know, but it would help.”

He closed his eyes, trying to fight the urge from the lust I was showing him. “It won’t help.”

“Aww, mi rey, you’re not being any fun.”

“Jade, please…”

I sighed and moved away. “Why are you trying to fight the darkness so much? It’s a part of you.” I stood in front of him. “It’s always been a part of you.”

“I don’t want to think of that,” he growled.

“You just got weaker.”

“What?”

I grinned and crossed my arms in front of me. “You heard me, Mr. Lew.”

He turned to face me, his eyes burning with fury. “Right now, you’re acting like I was then. You’re no better than I was then.” He stepped closer. “I refuse to be him. I told you this. But instead, you are?” He turned around again, heading back into the apartment. “Now I see how I was so intolerable back then.”

My eyes widened. “Wh-what?”

But as I uttered that word, the door slammed. He had walked back into the building. I stood there, hurt and dumbfounded. Did he really mean that? I was intolerable? Did I just ruin us?

I sat down on the bench with my head in my hands. That hardened shell just melted off of me. I felt like myself. But I was still hurt.

I stayed out there for a long time in silence. As the sun went down and the pizza Kyler ordered got cold, I just listened to the hum of the traffic below while staring at the stars above. I wanted to be alone, so I was glad I was. Yet, I wanted to talk to Marco. He was so angry that I didn’t want to seek him out.

I closed my eyes. I must have fallen asleep, because it only felt like seconds until I was jolted awake by the sound of the door closing.

I saw Marco gazing down at me with a neutral expression. His eyes were a mixture of brown and red, like he had almost succeeded in ridding himself of darkness.

I reached up and touched his face, closing my eyes. When I opened them and gazed at him, his eyes were brown again. I had fully removed his darkness.

I sat up to let him sit, but didn’t say a word. He put his arm around me.

“Coming to bed?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I shook my head.

He moved closer and put his arms around me. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

“Don’t.” I put my hand up. “You were right. I strengthened your darkness. Part of it was to prevent headaches. The other part was because I was selfish.”

“Jade, neither of us think clearly in that state.”

“You think a hell of a lot clearer than I do.”

He sighed. “I guess I can control it better because I was like that for a long time before someone with a big heart gave me a second chance.” He gave me a cheeky grin and nudged me. “And now, I’m madly in love with her and can’t imagine my life without her.”

I couldn’t help but smile as well. I was sure I was blushing. “Damn, she sounds pretty lucky then.”

He kissed my cheek and gave me a bright smile when I looked at him. “I think she knows that I’m truly the lucky one.”

“With sweet talk like that, I’d say she is too.”

“Even when her fiance is a bit of a dick?”

I laughed softly. “I think maybe he had his reasons for saying what he said.”

He kissed me softly. “Well, he’s very sorry, regardless.” He gazed into my eyes. “And I truly love you and appreciate you. But I want this darkness to stop. If we aren’t careful, it’ll also tear us apart.”

I nodded. “I can’t control what I say or do when I’m in darkness. I really try, but you’re so much stronger than I am.”

“I’m not,” he laughed softly. “It’s why it’s so easy for you to take my mind off of fighting.”

“Yeah,” I wrung my hands together. “By seducing you.”

He shrugged. “Neither of us can control that while in that state.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hey.” He tilted my head toward his. “Stop it. We will figure it out, alright?”

I nodded again, gazing into his eyes.

He kissed me softly, and I wrapped my arms around him. It was refreshing. Though, I still felt bad for my behavior. I vowed to myself that I would try my hardest to fight from now on.

We laid down on the bench, and I laughed softly. “I’m sure there’s a more comfortable place for where this might be going.”

He laughed as well. “There’s a hot tub right there that we never use.”

We had gotten a hot tub awhile ago, but he was right. It didn’t get much use. I grinned. “I could use a good heated dip.”

Of course, we didn’t have bathing suits handy right then, so we opted to keep our clothes dry and skinny dip.

“I can’t help but think this is like an addiction for us,” I grinned flirtatiously. “Even after all if these years, we’re still…”

He laughed. “Active?”

I nodded. “Yes. Active.”

“Well, we don’t age, so we are forever stuck in this little phase we have going on.”

I slid my hand against the side of his neck to the back. “Well I certainly hope we don’t outgrow it”

“Mmm,” he smiled, closing his eyes. “Me either, mi reina.”

We kissed and moved further into the heated water. Kisses turned to teasing, and we easily made each other breathless, craving more. He sat on the bench seat built into the side of the tub, and I climbed on him, straddling his legs as we kissed again.

The feeling, as always, was perfect and romantic. We really were each other’s drug, and we loved every second of our fix.

He gently pushed me into the corner of the tub, kissing my neck as he continued. I gripped his back with my nails, moaning. All of the bad things that had ever happened to us just melted away. Right now, there was just us. No darkness, so destroyer, no uncertainty. Just us.

After we reached our releases, Marco sat in the corner with one leg stretched across the bench and the other hanging over. I laid across him, resting my head on his chest as I wrapped my arms around him. He stroked my hair softly, kissing my forehead, but we didn’t say a word.

I must have fallen asleep again because I awoke as I was being laid on the bed. I had a towel covering me, and I wrapped it around myself and turned to face him as he finished putting on his shorts. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the pillow, and he laid down beside me, holding me close.

“Tired?”

I nodded. “I’m really tired for some reason.”

“That darkness takes a lot out of you. I just know how to manage it.”

I sighed. “I hope it never happens again.”

“It will,” he said, closing his eyes. “But if we can just learn to keep it under control, there may be hope.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “I don’t know anymore.”

“Shhh,” he kissed me. “Everything will be alright.”

I sure hoped it would.

Chapter Nine (click here)