Chapter Six – Jade POV

Another seven years passed without any catastrophe happening. It was actually quite peaceful. I still saw Orion, but as he had said to Caleb, he’d never change. He’d only get worse. Morgyn had to cast a spell on him that disallowed him from entering the realm. He knew what Orion was. By extension, I knew he also knew what legend said Marco, Kyler and I were too. Of course, Marco and I would never allow that legend to become reality.

As for Marco and I, we adopted another son named Ethan. He was a born spellcaster and really spoke to us. Lilith and Kris had been looking into adoption, and when they told us about him, I knew we had to adopt him. No questions asked. He was a year older than Kyler, but Kyler loved teaching him all about the magic world. This often happened in play, but as they got older, it became training sessions in the realm. They would come by almost every day after school and play the roles of teacher and student. Simeon helped Kyler. Kyler was, of course, an untamed spellcaster. Having two untamed parents ensured that. Ethan was a practical magic caster. Simeon said he was happy to finally have a little one to teach. He joked that adults were annoying.

I mean, he wasn’t wrong.

Ethan was an incredibly fast learner, and now that he and Kyler had both surpassed their thirteenth birthdays, he was appointed next in line to be sage after Simeon. Marco and I were proud parents. It was like seeing a graduation.

Simeon and Marco had finally put their differences aside. Simeon realized that many, many years had passed without Marco being troublesome, and he saw how he interacted with our sons. He came to his senses and saw that Marco wasn’t a bad person.

We had completely forgotten about Danny, the little boy that jumpstarted Orion’s spiral into dark magic. Sadly, who started it didn’t matter. He had become comfortable and confident in his abilities and showed no signs of stopping.

Marco, Kyler, Ethan and I were outside at the farmhouse, tending to the animals, plants and yard. It was a nice day off.

Some dark clouds started to roll in, so we finished our chores and went inside just as it was about to rain.

I saw Marco pacing in the living room. I stopped him by standing in front of him, my arms folded playfully.

“What’s up?”

He stopped, wide eyed. “I uh, there was something I wanted to do out there this afternoon. Weather forecast said the weather would be great but…” he gestured outside. “It’s not.”

I gazed at him. “And anything you wanted to do could be put off until tomorrow. I mean, the animals are fed and happy, eggs can be collected in the morning, almost all of the weeding is done, and the plants won’t die overnight.” I put my hands on his arms as he fidgeted. “Are you even listening?”

He nodded quickly. “Yes.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t stress it, love. Whatever it is can wait.”

“But i-“

“Shh,” I leaned in close, putting my finger up to his lips. “It can wait.”

Before he could say another word, I kissed him. He calmed immediately and put his arms around me. As he pulled me closer, I felt his racing heart.

I looked at him, concerned. “Are you alright? You seem far too nervous to only be worried about some rain.”

Lightning struck just outside the window, causing us both to jump.

I caught my breath and put my hand on my chest. “And um, lightning too.”

He laughed softly, a nice change from how he had been acting. “I’ll be okay,” he tried to reassure me.”

I tilted my head, skeptical. I placed my hand on his chest. His heart was still racing. “See, that tells me otherwise.”

He kissed my forehead. “Hush.” He turned and walked away, laughing slyly.

I followed him. “Hey!”

As we stepped into the main room of the cottage, Kyler and Ethan stood, highly amused.

“You two act like teenagers,” Ethan grinned.

“And that’s coming from a teenager,” Kyler added, gesturing toward Ethan.

Marco put on a fake angry face. “Yeah? Well she started it!”

Kylee laughed. “I’m about to finish it. Dad, don’t stress it. Ethan and I can go play some video games or something.”

Marco shook his head with pleading eyes. I glanced between him and the boys.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” Marco glared at Kyler. “Absolutely nothing.”

Ethan nudged Kyler. “Let’s go.”

They bounded upstairs to play games together.

Marco sighed. “Okay, so, I had a plan to make your favorite dinner and eat outside by the candlelight. I told them so they could do whatever and let us be alone. The rain kind of ruined that.”

“Aww,” I hugged him. “You didn’t have to tell me. There’s a table in here and I still could have been surprised.”

He shrugged. “Well, I’ll make it, and we can eat it by candlelight. Surprise or no surprise, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

I smiled happily. “I do already, my hopeless romantic.”

“Okay, whoa, mi reina, you know I’m not the romantic type.”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” I laughed. “You still calling me “tu reina” after all this time proves that.”

He shrugged. “Okay, you got me.”

I giggled as he walked away to make dinner. Taco casserole. My absolute favorite.

When it was done, he turned off the lights, leaving just a set of three candles on the dining room table. We sat and he smiled at me.

“Okay, so not what I had planned, but certainly not bad, either.”

I laughed. “No. Not bad at all.” I took a bite. As always, it was amazing. This was a family favorite recipe passed down from my great grandmother. When I taught Marco how to make it, he was hooked.

“So what’s the occasion?” I asked, swallowing my food.

“Does there need to be one?” He laughed softly. Nervously? Maybe?

“No, but it’s not every day we get to share such an intimate moment without at least one of the boys coming down to tell us who won the racing game or what level they reached on whatever RPG they’re playing this week.” I grinned playfully.

He laughed again. “Okay, fair.” But he didn’t continue.

I gazed at him. “The occasion?”

He tilted his head. “There still isn’t one.”

He wasn’t very good at lying, but I wasn’t going to press. I smiled and continued eating, as did he.

When we were done, we just talked for a little bit. Finally, he got up and walked behind me. He massaged my shoulders a little, leaning down.

“So you want to know the occasion.”

I nodded. “Yeah. So there is one?”

“Yes.” He paused. “I want to ask you a serious question.”

“No, I’m not having any more kids,” I jokes, prompting a laugh from both of us.

He crouched down in front of me, taking my hands and gazing into my eyes. “I love you, Jade.”

I smiled. “I love you too.”

“Well,” he said quietly. “I have a gift for you, but I need to ask you a question.” He took a deep breath, sighing nervously. “And I’m not good at this sappy romance stuff, even after all these years, but I’ve made you wait long enough.”

I suddenly realized where this was going. “Marco…what are you doing?”

He smiled. “I’m so glad you asked, because I couldn’t find the words. Mi reina, I’m asking you to marry me.”

Yup, I was right. “Oh my-” I stopped. “Of course! I…I’m speechless!”

He slipped a ring onto my left ring finger, then raised his body and leaned in close to me. “No words are needed. You said yes.”

He kissed me slowly, and I wrapped my arms around him. This was a dream come true. I never expected it to be with Marco, but I was glad it was. We were perfect for each other, holding a connection that no one else in this world would ever know.

Because of the legend.

I mentally yelled at myself. This was a happy moment. That legend couldn’t just come back to haunt me right now.

We kept our kisses and flirts going for the rest of the evening, with the boys coming down to ask what the verdict was. They were overjoyed with my answer, finally seeing their parents take the next step in our journey.

Nothing could ruin this moment.

At around midnight, Marco and I shuffled to the bedroom, feeling very tired. We must have gotten our second wind, because as we laid down, we kissed yet again, allowing it to become more quickly. We undressed each other, and before I knew it, he was kissing down my body, parting my legs so he could be between them.

As he teased me, my mind raced with our life so far. From the way we met, and how we were polar opposites, Marco being the realm’s captor. I used death by overload to kill him, and I was happy when I did so.

But only a few months later, I needed him to help me work on a black magic counteraction spell. I revived him and he wanted to change. We became fast friends, then fell in love later, when Damien shook our worlds with his revival of Ruby and his alluring spell cast on Marco and I. My oldest son had to move out just to keep us safe, moving in with his father and family as a temporary measure to help him conquer his darkness. Of course, that failed, and he was stronger than ever.

But here we were, years down the road with two children of our own. And now we were engaged. It was surreal.

My thoughts were broken as I rapidly got closer to my release. Knowing this, he teased me a little faster, sending me over the edge. He came back up, kissing me and entering me slowly. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close to me. I never wanted to let him go. I couldn’t be happier. He was perfect.

As we released, he rested his head on mine.

“I love you,” he whispered.

I giggled. “You sap.” I nudged his head and kissed his nose. “I love you too.”

He laid down, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

The next day was much nicer than the previous evening. We were packing up to go back to the apartment when a boy, maybe Orion’s age showed up. I was bent over, picking some weeds when I looked up and saw him.

“Oh!” I jumped. “Uh, hi!”

He smiled. “Hi! I’m wondering if Orion is here.”

I tilted my head. “Orion? He lives with his father and has for several years now.”

“Could you call him over?”

“We are actually heading back to the city. I can take down your number and have him call you?”

He nodded. “Sure.” As I pulled out my phone, he recited his number.

“Great! What’s your name?”

“Daniel.”

My eyes darted up to him. “What?”

“You know, actually, it’s alright. I know you won’t give him my number anyway.” He walked away.

I stood up and chased him. “No! Wait!”

He stopped and turned, his blue eyes now red. “What is it?”

I stepped back. “Where did you go?”

He shrugged. “Took an extended vacation I guess.”

I furrowed my brow. “You need to leave my son alone. You’re the reason he even lives with his father!”

“Oh, so I taught him well, eh?”

I growled. “What the hell? Why would you do that?”

He laughed. “You were shielding him from what he was meant to be. My family just couldn’t allow that.”

“Your family?”

“Nah, you wouldn’t know them. Your little husband there might though.”

“But he met your mom. He didn’t recognize her.”

He laughed again. “Unlike Orion, I had both of my parents at home. Marco never met my dad. Again.”

Marco came out of the house, right on time.

“Who’s this?” He asked with a smile.

I spoke softly. “Danny.”

His eyes widened. “Where did you go? You just left!”

“My work was done.” He grinned. “I have someone you might want to meet.” He turned a little and called, “Dad?”

A man came out from behind a nearby barn. As he stepped closer, Marco’s face fell.

“Impossible.”

The man appeared in front of Marco in a flash. “Is it though? I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Declan,” he whispered, in shock.

“Oh, I’m so glad you remembered me.” Declan grabbed Marco’s cheeks. “Who was I?”

Marco stepped away from him. “Back up!”

Declan crossed his arms in front of him. “But do you truly remember? The realm has had two other generations of sages since you were sage.”

“Since we were,” Marco growled. “You were the sage of practical while Damien was of mischief and I was of untamed.”

“Never knew why they chose the weakest sage to hold the most power.” Declan grinned. “And as this one proved to you,” he gestured toward me, “you couldn’t even do evil correctly. And now look at you.”

Marco’s eyes flashed red. “Get out! You died all those years ago. It’s a real shame you didn’t stay that way.”

Declan laughed. “Not that it matters. My son helped to create the destroyer as he was meant to be in the legend.”

Marco narrowed his now fully red eyes. “I said go.”

Declan put his hands up. “Fine then! We’re leaving.” He shot one last grin at Marco. “Oh, and your eyes are red. You might want to get that checked out.”

Laughing, he and Daniel left.

Chapter Seven (click here)