Marcus/Rocco
By the third tear, I was starting to understand why
Seraphina had looked exhausted.
The city was breaking. Not dramatically. Not all at
once too. But steadily. Like a crack spreading through glass.
One fracture that led to another. Then another. Then
another.
You fixed one and two more appeared somewhere else. It
was like trying to empty a ship with a bucket. And the worst part? Nobody else
knew.
People walked past tears every day without realizing
they were standing a few feet away from a hole leading somewhere they
definitely didn't want to visit.
"You look miserable, Rocky."
I pressed a hand against a chain-link fence while
catching my breath.
"It's been six hours."
"Six very entertaining hours."
"Glad someone is enjoying this."
Valen smiled. "As always."
Naturally.
The first tear had been easy.
A narrow crack hidden between two abandoned buildings.
No demons. No complications. Just strange pressure in the air and a faint red
glow.
And me standing in front of it while Seraphina watched
closely.
"Focus on the bracelet," she'd instructed.
"That's not helpful."
"It worked last time."
"Also, not helpful."
Eventually I'd managed it. The bracelet had reacted.
Blue light spread across the crack. The tear sealed itself.
Seraphina had started writing notes. Which kinda felt
rude.
The second tear had been worse. Not because of the
tear, but because something had already crossed through.
A lesser demon. Smaller than the rest but still fast.
Callie's whip snapped through the darkness. The demon
dodged.
I stepped forward. My body moving before I even
thought about it. A quick sidestep, then a low kick.
The demon stumbled. I followed with an elbow then a
knee. The creature hit the pavement hard.
Dual sword slash. The fight ended. Fast. Clean and
efficient. Almost too efficient.
Callie had noticed. "You've gotten way better."
That was all she'd said afterward.
But she'd noticed. Everyone had. Including me.
The movements felt smoother now. Way more natural.
Valen claimed it was because I was finally learning. I
suspected he was leaving out important details. As usual.
The third tear nearly took my arm off. Not literally.
But close enough.
The fracture had formed beneath an old bridge.
Half-hidden by shadows.
I was reaching toward it when something clawed its way
through. The strike caught my forearm. Not deep. Just enough.
A thin line of red appeared. Callie cursed.
I stepped back. The demon didn't get a second chance.
A few moments later it was gone.
The cut, however… was already fading.
Callie looked at it, "wasn't that deeper a minute
ago?"
"No."
"Rocco."
"No."
She looked entirely unconvinced. I wisely changed the
subject.
By sunset, we'd closed five tears. By nightfall,
eight.
And things still felt worse. Because every time
Seraphina checked her equipment, another marker appeared on the map.
Another tear. Another location.
At one point Callie finally snapped. "We've closed
eight!"
Seraphina didn't look up from her tablet. "Four just
opened."
The silence that followed wasn't encouraging.
Our final stop was an abandoned construction site near
the edge of the city. The tear was small. Unstable. Easy enough to close.
By the time it vanished, I was exhausted. Callie
looked exhausted. Even Seraphina looked tired.
Which was impressive. We headed back toward the
apartment sometime after ten.
Nobody talked much. The city lights blurred past the
windows. For once even Valen remained mostly quiet.
A miracle. Maybe he was finally running out of
commentary. Probably not.
When we arrived at Seraphina's apartment, all I wanted
was sleep. Or food.
Preferably both. I climbed out of the car. Callie
followed. Seraphina was already gathering her notes.
Then I spotted two familiar figured leaning against
the railing near the entrance.
I slowed slightly. Noah and Riley.
Neither looked particularly happy.
Well, this was going to be fun.
Noah pushed himself off the railing first. "Took you
guys long enough."
I shoved my hands into my pockets.
"We've been busy."
"Clearly." The answer came out a little sharper than
it should have. The tension settled immediately. Noe enough for an argument.
Enough to be noticed.
Riley glanced between us. "You weren't answering
messages."
"I saw them."
Noah let out a dry laugh. "That's somehow worse."
Fair. I didn't have a response to that. For a while,
nobody spoke.
The awkwardness settled over the group. Callie looked
like she wanted absolutely no part of this conversation.
Smart. Very smart. Then Riley sighed.
"We weren't even sure you'd let us show up."
That caught me off guard. I looked toward her. "What
do you mean?"
Riley exchanged a look with Noah. One of those silent
conversations people somehow had.
Noah rubbed the back of his neck. "You left grad
pissed."
The words landed harder than I expected. Well, he
wasn't wrong about that.
I looked away and sighed.
"We didn't handle that great, I'll admit."
That surprised me. Noah wasn't exactly famous for
admitting things. Riley nodded.
"We get why you were upset." I stayed quiet. Because
part of me still was. Not as much as before. But enough.
"We've been by your side for years," Noah continued.
"We've all had each other's back when things got bad."
"I know."
"Then act like it." The words weren't angry. Which
made them hit harder.
"We didn't refuse because we didn't care," Riley
stepped forward. "We refused because we couldn't just leave grad, Marcus."
"I know."
"Do you?"
The question hung there. Because honestly? I wasn't
sure. I'd only seen it from my side.
Cassian was back. People could die. Everything felt
urgent. But for them? It had been
graduation. Their families where there. A day they'd only get once.
And I'd asked them to walk away from it. The
realization wasn't exactly pleasant.
Noah sighed. "We're still here, man."
Simple. Direct. Very Noah.
The knot in my chest loosened. I smiled slightly at
him.
Beside me, Valen watched the exchange with mild
interest. Like he was observing a particularly strange species. Which, knowing
him, he probably was.
Finally Noah glanced toward the building. Then toward
Seraphina. Then back at me.
"So" I didn't like that tone.
"So?" I asked. Riley folded her arms.
"Are you going to tell us why you look like you spent
the last twelve hours fighting reality itself?"
I froze. Callie laughed. Actually laughed. Even
Seraphina looked slightly amused.
Traitors.
Noah pointed at me, stunned. "See? That face."
"What face?"
"The one that says we're right."
"We're right?" Riley asked, wide eyed.
I sighed deeply. Slowly. And finally, since graduation
the tension eased.
Not completely gone. But better. A start.