"That was reckless, Serena," Ascelin says through gritted teeth. "You had no backup…"
At the sound of his voice, with the protective, slightly possessive tone of Ascelin's words, light splinters further up into Jaxon's arms.
But Ascelin’s plan is still working. I watch as Jaxon takes another calming breath. He lets his eyes slide closed as he focuses. And little by little, the light recedes back into his body.
As the others step into view of the vault, a smile curls on my lips. "Thanks for your help, but it looks like we've got things handled. Your little charade worked, Ascelin."
Jaxon's eyes flash open at that. They go straight to me. "What?" he growls.
I shrug. "Ascelin's good at his job. He's very observant. He noticed that whenever he got a little too close to me, that you tried extra hard to get control. So we made an agreement. He flirted with me in front of you, and it seems to have worked. It only took you a couple of days to finally get control."
From the look of fury and annoyance that comes into his eyes, I don't know that Jaxon approves of our methods.
"You're welcome," Ascelin says coldly. "I was getting a little sick of Serena moping around here. For some inexplicable reason, you seem to be what makes her happy."
Jaxon's nostrils flare, and once again, I see his hands curl into fists. It isn't too hard to figure out what is going on in Jaxon's head right now. And I have to wonder, now that Jaxon has manifested, who would win in this fight? Ascelin is the best fighter among us, but Jaxon is an absolute savage with his fists.
Not that I ever, ever want to find out who the victor would be.
"I guess I have to say thank you?" Jaxon grits between clenched teeth.
Ascelin shrugs. "A little gratitude never killed anyone. You're welcome. Looks like the two of you have had quite the reunion."
Apparently, it is obvious where Jaxon has touched me today.
"This was reckless, Serena," Davorian says as he steps forward. "But… I am glad to see things finally progressing. We need you at the gate, gatekeeper. We need to signal the other side. There has to be someone watching that gate. You think you have enough control right now to do that?"
Jaxon is obviously still annoyed about the Ascelin situation. His eyes are dark and there's tension in every bit of his body language. And I don't think it's solely because he’s trying to control his ultralight form. But finally, his eyes slide from Ascelin over to Davorian. "I think so. Don't freak out if some of the light comes through. It just happens."
The others don't quite know what to think of that. They haven't seen what's happened over the last few hours, how, even though Jaxon fought against the light, he never lost control completely.
He looks over at me, and I give him an encouraging nod.
I step out of the doorway, placing myself between him and the others. Cautiously, Jaxon takes a step forward. When he doesn't burst into flames, he takes another. When still the light doesn't take him over, he walks fully out of the vault.
He's deliberately not looking at the others right now. I can see his entire body trembling. This was our big question mark. First, could he handle being around me, a single darkling? Second, just how many darklings could he handle being around without trying to kill any of them?
The answer is six.
Jaxon turns and walks toward the gate, never pausing even once.
I look back at the others and give them a smug smile. Then I turn, and follow Jaxon to the gate.
The other darklings follow us. They hang back, watching as Jaxon kneels at the opening of the railing that surrounds the gate. He reaches down and down. The swirling black and gray smoke that hovers above the gate instantly changes color and flashes with light when his hand connects with it.
My heart races at the sight of it. For over a century and a half I have waited to see what I'm seeing right now. Honestly, it doesn't even feel real. At this point, the idea of returning to the DarkVerse feels like a fairytale. Something that was told to me at bedtime when I was a little girl.
It hits me then. The DarkVerse. That's where I belong. It's where I was born. It's the world that I miss.
But my eyes rise up to the man that is triggering the gate.
Jaxon is from the LightVerse. This is where he belongs.
And suddenly, my chest is filled with dread.
What is going to happen to us when someday, that gate reacts, and then it opens?
Davorian takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. His loud, uncertain thoughts are a welcome distraction from the uncertain ones in my own head. I turn to look at him.
"Well, I knew it had to happen eventually," Davorian says as he places his hands on his hips. "But it's a little bit hard to have faith, considering how long it took to get to this point. I'm not sure how well any of us are going to sleep today with you outside of that vault for the first time."
"He'll be staying in my room with me," I say instantly.
But Jaxon stands and shakes his head. "Not tonight, Serena." Every bit of hope in me sinks. The look in his eyes is complex right now. "It's getting better. I feel stronger," he continues. "But tonight hasn't exactly been easy. I'm kind of exhausted. I think it's smarter if I stay in the vault for now and we all actually get some rest tonight. We can take this in baby steps."
No.
Once again, emotion makes my throat tight. I'm fighting the urge to race forward and throw my arms around him.
I just got him back. I just had the best night of my life.
I can't stand the thought of him going back into that vault today and not holding him in my arms as I sleep.
It must all be showing on my face. Because cautiously, Jaxon takes a step forward, closing the distance between us.
He raises both of his hands to the sides of my face. He tilts my face up to look at him. "It's just a few hours," he says softly. "We have to be so careful, Serena. But I promise, after we all get some sleep, after we get some rest, I'll be back out here again. And I'll be better at this tomorrow."
I hate it, but I can't fight it. The emotions surging through me well in my eyes. They don't fall. I have just enough control left to keep them at bay.
I can see how my emotion affects Jaxon, but he doesn't say anything different. He simply tilts his face down, and gently presses a kiss to my lips.
I feel the energy in the space shift. For the first time, all of them are seeing literal proof of what Jaxon and I mean to each other. For the first time, they are seeing a darkling and ultralight share physical touch.
But I breathe in every moment of this kiss, I store it in my chest, where I can draw upon it to get through the next few hours.
Jaxon breaks the kiss and looks down at me. Taking in a deep breath, I nod.
I have to let him call the shots right now. I have to support him in whatever way he needs during this critical time. Even if it's hard. "Okay," I breathe.
We turn back toward the others. They all stand there, in stunned silence.
It's part of the plan. I told Jaxon that I didn't care what the others thought. I don't. This is my show of that. I'm not going to be ashamed. Jaxon and I, we are a package deal now.
So, neither of us offers any extra explanation. I slip my hand into Jaxon's, and together, we step around them. I walk Jaxon back to the vault. He steps inside and I wait at the entry.