I rubbed my eyes. I hadn’t been sleeping well since the day I practically lost my mind. I was physically and mentally exhausted. However, our plan was fully coming into motion. I sent the invitations out and everyone was due to join us tonight. Including my sons.
I closed my eyes. God, I didn’t want to do this to them too, but what choice did I have? And I made the invitations sound like this get together was mandatory. Everyone would come. Then Orion would trap them.
I was still distant with Jade, ignoring her advances. I kept to myself, staying in my office most of the day, door locked with a sign saying to go to the queen with any issues. The incompetent king just locked himself away like the coward he was.
I rested my head on the desk, closing my eyes. “So tired,” I whispered.
I must have fallen asleep, because I awoke to a knock at the door.
“Consult the queen!” I shouted sleepily. “I’m trying to work on some-“
“It is your queen,” Jade called from the other side of the door.
I sighed and waved my hand. There was a click as the door unlocked.
She came in and shut the door, locking it again.
“We need to talk.”
I clenched my teeth. “No we don’t.”
She slammed her hand on my desk. “Yes, Marco. We do.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Yes ma’am. What is it?”
“I’m worried about you,” she said softly.
Wait, what? I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting more criticism. I looked up at her.
“You’re clearly not yourself anymore.”
“No,” I said quietly. “I’m not. I’m who everyone wants me to be. Robotic. A competent leader.” I growled. “Fucking perfect.”
She tilted my face up to hers and kissed me. It was slow and tender, unlike any other recent time. She wasn’t seducing me. She was reassuring me.
I stood up, facing her and caressing her cheek. “It’s been awhile since you’ve kissed me like that.”
She smiled at me. “I should do it more often.”
“Mhm, you should,” I agreed, leaning in for another.
She put her finger on my lips. “Perhaps I was a bit too hard on you. Yes, I’m frustrated that you seem conflicted. We know why we are doing this. We know it’s what’s right. We can’t have our own king going rogue.”
I nodded, understanding. “I would never.”
“Shhh,” she hushed me. “But I can’t stand another night of you sleeping on this couch in your office as opposed to being in the bed with me.” She leaned closer. “I miss your sweet words, your romantic whispers, your soft touches.” She sighed. “I miss us, mi rey.”
“I miss life not being so complicated,” I sighed. “I want our life back, with our sons, back in the city, or at the farmhouse with the animals.”
“Marco, stop trying to go back to a life that doesn’t belong to us. This is our life now.”
“And our sons?”
She scowled. “They chose the side they are on. We can’t change that. This is their life too. Without us.”
I stepped back. “Do you hear yourself?”
“Marco, please,” she said quietly, stepping toward me again. “I’m not trying to make you upset, but you sound absurd right now.”
“I’m done with this conversation,” I said angrily.
She approached me again, stroking my cheek. “No you’re not.”
She pulled me into a kiss, stirring that crazed lust within me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her onto the desk, running my fingertips down her neck.
“Mmm, yes,” she whispered against my lips. “That’s more like it. That’s the Marco I know.”
I kissed her again, but her words echoed in my head. No, this wasn’t the Marco she knew. This was the darker version of Marco. The version that seemed to value sex over love. I tried to fight my desires again, but I was getting sucked in further and further as she intoxicated me with each kiss. This was impossible. It was what my body wanted, but not what my head wanted. Not even what my heart wanted.
Once we undressed each other, I knew we were past the point of no return. I gave in. I teased her in the ways she craved, and she satisfied me in the ways I craved. Fine. Just this once. And only one time.
She moved to my neck, since I wasn’t doing it to her. It was like I was stiff. Frozen. A mechanism that needed oil to function, but had none. I just wasn’t myself anymore.
Was I becoming numb?
Finally, I entered her, and the world around us disappeared. No more conflict. No more confusion. No more self loathing and feelings of exhaustion. I grabbed her hands and pinned her to the desk, continuing our session with a fierceness I didn’t recognize. She was what I wanted. This was what I wanted.
We finished rather quickly, making it a point to make it quick so as not to attract attention to my office. We got dressed and Jade licked her lips.
“So,” she smirked, moving closer to me. “What are you thinking now?”
“That I was a fool until you walked in here.”
“Ah, there you go, mi rey.”
Spellcasters began to pour in for the fake ball we had organized. Of course, we had set it up, and they navigated to the ballroom, not realizing it was a trap. Orion, Jade and I watched as the last of them stepped through the portal. Kyler and Ethan were the last to join. Kyler had a woman with him. I recognized her. She often came over for homework help.
I shook off the memories. I didn’t need the distractions. I looked at Orion, then at Jade.
“Let the games begin.”
Together, we used magic to destroy the portal, trapping every spellcaster in the realm.
I grinned menacingly at Orion. “I suppose I’ll let you do the honors.”
We walked into the ballroom, making our way to the front.
“Attention, ladies and gentleman!” Orion shouted, waiting for the murmurs in the room to subside before continuing, “our family would love to welcome you to our first annual spellcaster’s ball. We thank you all for coming!”
There was applause from most of the unsuspecting group, including the girl who attended with Kyler. Kyler shot her a look and she stopped. I grinned.
“Before the party and dancing commences, I’d like to introduce our king and queen here, Jade and Marco. I, of course, is the realm’s prince.
Caleb scowled. I hadn’t seen him come in with Morgyn, but he and Ruby were both there with him. Morgyn looked surprised, as if he didn’t expect such a fine event to be held in the place he had found to be hell.
“Expect the unexpected,” I said quietly as the crowd applauded Orion’s words again.
“We have a special announcement!” He continued. “And that, of course, is that you can never leave.”
Everyone gasped, and some immediately exited the room. Orion stepped back to watch the sudden madness.
I clapped. “Ah, well done. Let the chaos unfold.”
And that it did. We quickly retreated to the balcony overlooking the foyer, where spellcasters ran frantically in and out of the doors, glancing back at the portal in disbelief.
Damien and Declan joined us, dressed in their formal suits.
“Well, Marco,” Declan laughed. “This is unexpected, coming from you.”
“You should know I enjoy mayhem all the same.” I shrugged. “Maybe I didn’t have a good way of showing it.”
“So now what?” Damien demanded.
“Patience,” I said. We can sort out the rest of the plan tomorrow. For tonight, let’s just enjoy this. They’re like roaches, scurrying about, looking for some kind of salvation.”
“One that will never come,” Orion agreed.
I saw Kyler step out into the foyer, and he looked right up at us, then marched up the stairs.
I greeted him, arms folded behind my back and standing tall. “Good of you to make it too.”
“Father, what have you done?!” He roared.
I looked back down over the disarray. “Surely you can see for yourself.”
He grabbed my suit jacket, yanking me toward him forcefully. “For a moment there, I actually thought you were on the right side. I thought you still had good somewhere in your heart. Suppose that was too much to expect from someone like you, huh?”
I grabbed his wrists. “If you want any chance of saving this place and seeing the light of another day, I suggest you don’t put your hands on me again.” I let him go roughly and walked back over to Jade and the others.
He followed. “I already know how I’m going to do it. And I know who I’ll choose to lose their life!” He stormed off, leaving me in complete shock. He knew about that? Was he implying he would kill his own father? I growled and started after him, but Jade stopped me.
“Marco,” she said quietly. When I looked at her, she simply shook her head.
I sighed and walked away. I had seen enough anyway.
And so it began, the true reign of terror by a demented royal family that wasn’t even royal. I didn’t care anymore about the backlash. I didn’t care about life or death. All I cared about was bringing this plan fully to life and raising as much hell as I could.
After all, this was my purpose.
We awoke the following morning to chaos. But it was verbal chaos.
I sat up, finally feeling well rested. Jade giggled and pulled me back down.
“Ah!” I yelped as I fell onto my back, cradled in her arms. I turned toward her. “And do you not here whatever the hell is going on down there?”
“Let them scream,” she said quietly, pulling me into a kiss. “Right now, I just want you.”
“You have me,” I said quietly, resting my head on her chest. I closed my eyes as she ran her fingers through my hair. “Mi Reina,” I said softly.
I listened to the tormented screams from downstairs, my curiousity getting stronger and stronger.
And, they seemed to be getting louder.
My eyes snapped open. “Wait, whoever that is, they’re coming to us.”
The door flew open. “Jade!” Ruby screamed.
Jade sat up straight. “Ruby! Good to see y-“
“Shut up!” She roared, coming into the room.
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, come right in…”
“How dare you!” Ruby shouted at Jade. “You of all people should have known how much this would hurt not just me, but Ambrosia too! Now she’s out there without either of her parents! How could you? Why would you do this, Jade?!”
Jade sighed. “She’s a full grown woman who surely doesn’t need mommy and daddy right now, Ruby. Get off your high horse and find something to do.” She laid back down, instinctively pulling me closer to defend her. “Besides, I didn’t plan for you to come to this gathering. Blame Morgyn. He dragged you along.”
Ruby grabbed the blankets and pulled them off of us. “No, Jade! You’re going to fix it, and fix it now!”
Jade shrugged, sitting up again. “No.”
“No?” Ruby stood back. “That’s all you have to say? No?!”
Jade nodded with a smile. “Yep. There’s nothing I can do about it now. Shouldn’t have come with Morgyn, I guess.” She furrowed her brow. “Now, if you’d excuse me, I’d like to spend time alone with my husband. I really don’t want to have to call the guards and have them see me in my bedroom attire.”
Ruby glared at her, then at me. Then she stormed off, slamming the door.
I bit my lip, trying to hold back laughter. It didn’t work, and we both laughed.
“I mean, you’re not wrong,” I shrugged. “I rather like it when you’re sadistic like me.”
She pulled me closer. “Oh do you?”
“Mhm.”
We kissed again and there was a knock at the door.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Jade grumbled, getting up. She put on her robe and opened the door. “What now?”
Caleb stood before her. “I need to speak with you. Alone.” He glared at me.
I motioned for them to go with my hand, my face showing a faux innocent look. Caleb furrowed his brow as the door closed.
I got up and showered, coming out in a casual outfit. Jade still wasn’t back. I towel dried and brushed my hair, then headed out to find them.
“It’s not my fault that Morgyn dragged you two here, Caleb!” Jade shouted from the other end of the hall. “I don’t know how many times I need to repeat that! I’d you want to find a way out so bad, then go find one. I wish you luck! But I can’t fix the damn portal, and I want all of you to quit talking about it!”
“Oh,” I said under my breath. I approached them. She now had Caleb, Ruby and Morgyn arguing with her.
“I do believe the queen has spoken?” I crossed my arms.
Caleb stepped toward me. “Do you really want to go back down this road, Marco?” He glared at me angrily. “I assure you, I will end you, right here, right now.”
“No you won’t, father,” Orion said as he came up behind them. “You can’t hurt a fly. It’s not in your nature. “And besides, if you hurt him, I’ll just have to hurt you.”
“Is that a threat?” Caleb shouted.
Orion put his fingers up to his lips. “It absolutely is, and not one you want to challenge.”
Caleb furrowed his brow. “I don’t care what the consequences are, Orion. I have no issue fighting you.”
“Even if you kill your precious son?” Orion gave a faux pouting expression.
Caleb growled and walked away. Morgyn and Ruby followed.
“Well, it shut them up for now,” Orion shrugged. “We’ll see how long that lasts.” He turned to me. “So, what’s the plan?”
I glanced around. “I think we should start today. They are all pretty distraught and don’t know what’s going on. So, let’s show them.”
Jade lightly grabbed my arm. “You know what this means right? We’re trapped here. If we destroy this place, that means us as well.”
We would all die.
I swallowed hard. “I hadn’t thought of that. We should have kept the portal intact.”
Orion got defensive. “Our sacrifices are for the greater good!”
There it was. Something in me snapped, and it snapped hard. The “Greater Good” was a code name I used for the Elite team I had envisioned when I took over the realm. The reminder of that past awakened the lightness I had been suppressing.
“The Greater good?” I asked quietly. I looked into his eyes as mine shifted to a red color. “The Greater good, Orion?!”
Jade stepped back, shocked. Frankly, I was shocked too, but something took me over, and I couldn’t control it. “You know none of this is for any good at all!” I stepped closer to him. “You’re simply an angsty teenager following some legend that makes no sense in the first place! How is any of that for any greater good?”
“M-Marco,” Jade said quietly.
I held my hand up. “No! You too!” I turned to face her. “What happened to the Jade I fell in love with? Before all of this nonsense! The one who changed me for the better? You were the reason I changed! You became my everything! Now we are just lusty, darkened shells. Where is Jade? Because you aren’t her!”
Before I could say anything else, I felt a stabbing pain in my neck as I got pulled down to the floor. My vision blurred and faded in and out. I had no idea what was happening. I heard Jade call to Orion to stop, but nothing stopped. When it did, I saw a very blurry struggle around me before I passed out.
I awoke in my bed a day or so later. I was alone, but I expected that.
I rubbed my neck, which was still throbbing. This hurt a hell of a lot more than Lilith’s bite. Or maybe it had just been that long since then. Maybe I didn’t remember.
I sat up, glancing around before finally getting up. After a quick shower, I went out to see what I had missed.
I was immediately met by Kyler, who had been approaching my door.
“You’re awake!” He exclaimed, pulling me into a hug.
“Ah! Yeah,” I laughed softly, patting his back. “I am.”
“Listen, you need to stay away from everyone in your court. Mom, Orion, Damien, Declan.”
I growled in frustration. “What did they do now?”
“It’s not what they did, but what they’re going to do.”
“Which is?” I asked, my hand moving back up to the bite on my neck.
“I spied on Orion, and he wants to kill you, Dad.”
I laughed. “That’s nothing new. We’ve been at each other’s throats since we were put in this goddamn position.”
“No, I mean, he’s Conjuring a plan. I think Damien and Declan might be helping.” He glanced around nervously.
“And your mom?”
He shook his head. “No, but I don’t trust her. Right now, she’s just been acting like she’s reading, but she’s been on the same page for an hour. I know she’s just really upset.”
I sighed, hanging my head. “I snapped. I said a lot of hurtful things.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “I know. I came up just as you were saying them. I was the one that brought you in here. Mom pushed Orion away, then I jumped in to protect you. He planned to drain and kill you.” He lowered his voice. “Who’s side are you on?”
I looked away. “I don’t know. It seems to change every day. I think your mom put a spell on me to force the darkness to the front. Orion broke that when he said something from my past.”
He nodded.
“So, if I need to stay away from them, where am I supposed to go?” I asked, confused.
He sighed. “I really don’t know.”
I looked past him. I need to talk to your mother. I need to apologize.”
“Don’t go down there,” he said, blocking my path. “Stay here. I’ll bring her.”
I nodded, stepping back.
“Lock the door,” he instructed, to which I nodded again. He left in a hurry, on a mission to find Jade.
I sat on the bed. So that’s how it was? I was a prisoner in my room because my stepson wanted to murder me, eh?
“Great,” I grumbled, resting my elbow on my leg and my hand on my head.
“Marco?” I heard. I looked up and saw Jade, standing timidly, arms folded in front of her. “You wanted to see me?”
Kyler stood in the doorway, and I have him a smile, standing up. He left and I put my arms around Jade.
“Of course I wanted to see you, mi Reina.”
“I thought you didn’t love me.”
“Wait wh-” I stopped. “Oh god, no Jade. I love you more than anything on this planet.” I sighed. “What I said back there…Jade, I’m going mad. I don’t know what side I’m on. Dark and light, it’s like they switch. And the light side is very angry. I said things I didn’t mean.”
She pulled away from me. “You don’t know what side you’re on?” She glared.
I stared blankly at her. Was that really what she took away from that? Everything I said, and she focused on just that bit? I felt an anger growing inside of me.
“We need to be on the same side, Marco,” she growled. “If you aren’t on my side, then I will have to rectify that situation. We can’t have a traitor on our side.”
“Tr- Jade, what the hell?” I stood up. “A traitor? Aren’t we both traitors? Didn’t we both betray our former selves?”
She stood up as well. “We became better. Why is it so hard for you to see that?”
I put my hands on my head. “I’m not going through this again!”
“Then walk away.”
“I can’t.” I sighed. “I’m not allowed to leave this room because your son apparently can’t wait to kill me.”
“After what you said to me, do you blame him?”
I glared at her. “Great, you want me dead too?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you’re justifying it.” I looked at the floor. “Would you even protect me?!”
“What side are you on?”
“My life depends on what side I’m on?” I roared. My head started to throb and my hand rushed up to it as I tightly shut my eyes. “God dammit! Not this again too!”
When I opened my eyes again, Jade was gone. I looked at the door just as she was walking out. Burying my face in my hands, I growled loudly, turning into a painful groan. Before I knew it, I had lost my balance and was on the floor.
Kyler rushed over. “Dad! Hey, hey, get up. I’ll lead you to the bed.”
I shook my head. “Just leave me alone, Kyler.” I closed my eyes. “I’m just too tired. I can’t do this anymore.”
Kyler sat back on his heels, just staring at me. “Y-you don’t mean that.”
I looked back at him, my eyes narrow and vision blurry. “I don’t want to die, Kyler,” I said, placing my hand on his. “But I’m tired of this song and dance. I’m mentally exhausted. I’m at my breaking point.”
He sighed. “Come on. Just get into bed. I’ll leave you alone and talk to Mom.”
“Don’t bother,” I mumbled, getting up with his help. He sat me down on the bed and I put my head in my hands again. “God, it hurts so bad.” I sighed. “She won’t listen. No one will. This will never end.”
“Join me,” he said quietly. “This will end, because I’ll be the one to end it. But if you join me, we’ll be even stronger.”
“No,” I said quietly. “I’m going to be neutral. Not good, not bad. Just…there.” I looked at him, concern in my eyes. “They’re going to start any day now. I gave them the signal. Orion doesn’t care if he sacrifices himself to destroy everyone here.”
“How are they going to do it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t give that order.”
He nodded and stared off, in thought. “We have to save everyone here.”
I thought for a moment. “Let me rest. Meet me at the portal at midnight sharp.”
He nodded again. “Okay. Take care. And if you need anything.”
I smiled. “I know.”
I laid down, falling asleep almost instantly.
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