Chapter 39 ∣  Blessing

*Crossover*

The Omen's Key

(The Blood Magic Series)

The Omen's Key can be found on the account: @DarkR0se5

-Micah

I failed to attempt to understand the feelings of others in certain situations. I came off as a wise man, yes, but that was because I kept to myself and I put myself in their shoes only to see how I'd react. I was guilty of judging another's emotional breakdown as a cry for attention.

I was wrong.

I met her, I fell for her and I realized...I was very wrong.

The midday screams and cries while Cayden slept wasn't her way of trying to get Rayne to watch her.

No...her midday screams and cries, while she slept, was a reaction of her subconscious restlessly reminding her that the world hated her.

The missing ink on the inner part of Celestia's forearm was not missing because she tried to forget or ignore the wrongs she had done.

The missing ink on the inner part of Celestia's forearm is missing because her skin was already marked by the blades that laid on her nightstand. It was marked and still, though she did a fine job of hiding it, they continued to mark her on a daily basis because...she had been abused her entire life until she met Rayne. She cut because...it was a relief from the disgust and pain she felt inside; it was a substitute: physical pain for emotional pain.

The raging screams and violent outbursts that Everett unleashed in the deepest parts of the dungeon were not out of lack to control his emotions.

The raging screams and violent outbursts that Everett unleashed in the deepest parts of the dungeon were based on his wise decision not to go out and deal with the despicable craving we all carried inside.

The cries and anger of my little light are not out of a lack of attention or lack of love.

The cries and anger of my little light are out of deep pain and hard regret.

I understood her deep pain. I understood her hard regret. Her mother was killed, and...she never said goodbye. I wanted nothing more than to take her pain away and I'd admit, I did consider making her forget that she never said goodbye just as Rayne made Cayden forget what she'd done to save her from the pain ahead, but I couldn't do it. The thought of invading and messing with the mind of the one I love, alone, made me sick.

And after she fell into my arms and drifted away into a state of rest, a part of me wanted so much to know what she felt. I wanted to know what it was like to have lost my mother the way she had, not because of some sick desire to feel pain, but because I wanted to know how I could help her get through her loss. Unfortunately, there were just some things that I would never understand. My mother died, but she died because I wanted to see her dead.

No, I didn't feel any kind of...grief for her loss. I was happy that she was gone. My mother never did anything bad to me, I was just angry. I was angry because she didn't allow me to satisfy my cravings.

Now...I regretted everything.

She did the things that she had to in order to attempt to prevent me from becoming the monster that I am. Now, I knew she'd be devastated to know that I had become a prime symbol of everything she stood against.

A deep sigh passed my lips as my eyelids rose, and my eyes immediately landed on her.

Little light...

There was a pain in my heart that settled with the fear of the possibility that...perhaps what I had become may too be what my beloved stood against. Out of all things...knowing I was very much liable to fall into the most torturous pits of hell; I did not fear death. I feared losing her.

Another deep sigh passed my lips and just briefly, I glanced at the clock that rested on the nightstand positioned beside the bed my beloved and I laid on.

11:00PM

My own mind and body having fallen into a slumber itself, I hadn't realized how long it'd been since my beloved fell into her own slumber. I knew I'd eventually have to wake her. I only hoped that once I did so...she would've somehow found it in her while she was asleep to forgive herself for the way she abandoned her family and pushed her parents away.

Understanding that perhaps once she awoke the peaceful look that her features held may vanish, I stared at her and admired the sight of her for just a few more seconds before gently and carefully moving to position myself on top of her.

My intentions were clear: I only wanted to pull her out of her state of rest and put a smile on her face. And once I laid still over her, my lips found her neck and planted tender kisses. My lips trailed kisses up the side of her neck, each one growing just a bit rougher until they met the side of her face. Just as I moved to plant kisses closer to her mouth she shifted just slightly, and for a second, my heart stopped.

My heart stopped until my lips met her own and a giggle emitting from the back of her throat, a smile breaking upon her once still lips. I lifted my chin just slightly, my lips moving away from her own and my eyes falling on her brightened features.

When I raised my hand up to the side of her face, cupping her cheek, her eyelids fluttered open and her beautiful blue eyes captured my gray ones in a moment of pure anxiety for me. It was when I heard her say, "How about one more?" that I felt relief on my chest, and a small smirk broke upon my own lips.

I did as she asked, my lips capturing hers in a long, sweet, loving kiss. There was a murmur of satisfaction that emitted from the back of her throat and when I lifted my chin, moving my lips away from hers, an even bigger smile spread across her face and she whispered, "Thank you."

In just a couple of seconds of silence, the glimpse of sadness that slowly rose in her eyes didn't go unnoticed and the emotion in my own features shifted to almost match hers.

"How are you feeling?" I asked softly.

I knew the pain was far from gone, but I also understood that the state of rest she had gone into had allowed her to regain control of her emotions.

Her eyes scanned me briefly, more than likely noticing what I was feeling. She sighed, "I'm okay..."

At her response, I wasn't sure whether to question her or leave her be. My fear was not that she'd tell me she wasn't okay. I knew that she wasn't, but my fear was that if I pried, she'd dwell on the thought even longer and the pain in her heart would become unbearable.

Ultimately, I decided to leave the subject to rest and I lightly nodded, moving my thumb to caress her cheek.

The silence that followed gave the opportunity for her and me to lose ourselves in our own thoughts. Mine never left the thought of her, whereas hers seemed to dwell on something entirely different from what I considered.

"Micah..." her voice trailed off. "Please tell me what happened."

My eyebrows furrowed at her and remained as such for a couple of seconds. At first, I wasn't entirely sure what she meant, not until the memory of why we came here in the first place surfaced. I knew she referred to my encounter with Eris...or better yet why it was that I reacted the way that I did and how I collapsed afterward.

Though I had never taken such a large entity down on my own, I was far from proud of what I had done. I was far from proud of myself because...I tortured it and enjoyed doing it. And, not only did I enjoy it, but I did it in the presence of my beloved and at that moment, I didn't care that she had seen me as I was.

My eyes fell away from hers, the fear of her rejecting me and resenting me for what it was that I had become creating a sense of deep regret all over again.

She noticed it. I knew that she did because in the next moment, one of her hands reached up and gently touched the side of my face. I knew her intentions were to get me to bring my focus back to her, but even as I tried...I couldn't do it.

I couldn't do it because...I knew then I'd be forced to tell her what happened, and I was terrified that this warmth...the warmth of her touch would fade and so would the loving look in her eyes.

I continued to resist looking at her until I heard her say, "I love you...please, tell me. I want to understand what I saw."

I couldn't hide from her for long and hesitantly, my eyes shifted to look into hers.

I didn't want to tell her the truth...despite how badly she wanted to know, but I knew that keeping it from her wasn't good for our relationship. I had to trust that she would love me as I was, but the feeling of uncertainty still lingered and I held back as I explained shortly, "It hurt you...I got revenge. I enjoyed torturing it. I fed off of it."

There was a brief pause between my words, my eyes searching her features and finally, I added, "That's all."

I lied.

The truth was far from what I had told her, but I hoped she'd accept the only thing that I wanted her to know for now.

As I eyed her, she eyed me in return with the same look of uncertainty I held when she claimed that she was okay. I could see it in her face...she knew I wasn't being completely honest. However, just as I hoped, she didn't pry but accepted the fact that she knew that I'd never lie to her unless I truly had to, especially when I promised her that I wouldn't.

"Alright..." she spoke lowly. "Just remember what you promised to me, no more secrets."

The feeling of guilt had settled in my chest the moment she acknowledged what we had promised to each other just a couple of months prior. It bothered me. It bothered me so much so that I could no longer bear to look at her and my gaze fell away from her.

I stared down at her chest and as I did, I remembered how I almost lost her once before. I almost killed her because I refused to speak to her, and as the thought flooded my mind, I realized how easily I could lose her if I chose to behave the way that I had once before. I realized how easily I could lose her and my child if I chose that I couldn't trust her enough to speak to her with the truth.

With that fear buried deep inside me, I muttered, "I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you..."

"Micah," she brushed her thumb against my cheek, "why would you think you'd lose me? I'm right here, I always will be," she paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before releasing it and saying, "we're going to have a baby together...you'll never lose me."

Then, I looked into her eyes. Hearing those words from her lifted so much weight off of my shoulders and that relief being clear on my face, I asked lowly, knowing the answer to my question, "Did you see my soul?"

"Yes, we all did," she replied, nodding, and stating, "the demon...she let go of her hold over it."

I nodded slowly at her response, my eyes shifting briefly as I replied, "Little light, I tapped into a darkness that I couldn't get away from...I allowed it to consume me."

"What do you mean?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows, "I thought possibly you were just using my gift with your own abilities to move as you did."

"I did...but using my power that way...getting high on torturing that demon..." I sighed, "I created my own demon."

A look of uneasiness flashed in her eyes, her features shifting just slightly. She asked, "Wait, like what happened with Eris? Did it take control of you?"

She had gone quiet for a moment, and just before I could respond, she added, "What does this mean then...?"

She was ignorant, I knew that. I hadn't intended on laughing as...there was nothing amusing about the situation, I simply couldn't help the silly question and the fact that she thought I had actually been possessed myself.

I shook my head, a light chuckle emitting from the back of my throat. "No, little light," I said to her. "I'm not possessed." I paused briefly, my eyes quickly scanning her before adding, "At least not by anyone other than you."

There was a giggle that emitted from the back of her throat and just as it did, she stuck her tongue out at me. When the amusement finally died down though, she thoughtfully remembered, adding, "The demon, it said you were becoming something..."

I went silent for a few seconds, the fear edging on once again. I knew I had to eventually tell her....

...or perhaps I didn't have to. She'd just eventually see it if I ever did lose control again. Understanding this, I muttered, "A devil. I became a devil."

A nervous laugh escaped her mouth, her lips curling up into a smile, "There's already a devil."

She honestly believed I was joking, or at least she wanted to and that only made me feel that much more anxious over the situation.

I sighed, "Little light, there is more than one devil and anyone strong enough to endure the transition, strong enough to hold onto themselves while they're being consumed can become a devil."

Again, silence fell over us and it remained as such for a while. That was until she stared me dead in the eye and retorted, "Again...why would you lose me?"

She offered me a soft smile and all the while I felt my own features brighten as she continued, "I'll never leave your side, Micah, no matter what happens. However, I don't know what this really means now for us, if anything changes, but I'm here...I'm here for you."

I couldn't understand what she thought my transition meant, not until I thought it over for a couple of seconds and I realized...the possibility that she believed my transition meant I'd have to let her go more than likely crossed her mind at least once.

...it bothered me.

Greatly.

I furrowed my eyebrows, my possessive instinct taking control for just a moment. I gripped onto her hip roughly, hearing her gasp and flinching as I stated, "This changes nothing. You're still mine."

I hadn't realized I was hurting her, my newfound strength being something that I had yet to accustom to. I was quick to loosen my grip and just before I could apologize, she stated, completely ignoring the bruise I knew all too well I had created, "Oh good, for a second I thought that might be the reason you said you'll lose me. Then don't worry about it, okay?"

For a moment, I considered that maybe the reason she ignored what I had done to her was that...she was slowly growing fear of me. I wanted to acknowledge it, perhaps make her understand that...I'd never hurt her with the intention of doing so.

"Tamsin..." my voice trailed off.

"Yea..." she looked away from me, saying, "I know. Do you want me to go now and apologize?"

She didn't seem at all bothered or in any way did it appear as if she was dwelling on the incident. Maybe...she truly didn't think much of it.

Assuming so, I chose not to pry on the situation and disregarded it, "Yes...but that isn't what I was going to say."

"Okay...what were you going to say then?" Her gaze returned to me, shooting me a questioning look.

A smirk played on my lips, my intentions changing as I stated, "Don't worry about it." I moved to plant a tender kiss on her forehead and lifted myself off of her. I laid beside her, still as she huffed and rolled her eyes at me.

She shifted off of the bed and walked to the closet where she found a pair of dark jeans along with a dark red long-sleeve shirt.

I watched as she pulled the tank top she wore off of her body, drawing the bra that laid atop of her dresser and clipping it on. All the while she slid into her jeans, I stared at the hardly noticeable baby bump.

I felt...proud. Our child was in there and...I couldn't wait to be a father.

I couldn't bring myself to move my attention away from her, not until she pulled the loose shirt on and she averted her gaze to meet mine, "What are you going to do? Enjoy being in a mansion full of vampires?"

I chuckled lightly, shifting off of the bed as well. I reached for my t-shirt resting on the nightstand and turned to glance at her before stating, "Perhaps."

"Don't try to be mean to others on purpose," she sighed.

Another smirk played on my lips as I pulled my shirt on, saying, "I don't try to be mean, little light."

When I turned to look at her, I noticed that she had already slid into her shoes and it appeared that her mind was already thinking of how she was going to apologize to Evicka. In the next moment, her features shifted. She remembered why it was that she had to apologize in the first place and again...she was in pain.

Noticing this, I moved to her and wrapped my arms around her, planting a kiss on the side of her head in an attempt to comfort her. "Everything is going to be alright," I said to her softly.

"I was horrible to her..." her voice trailed off. "I'm only alive because of her." She lifted her chin and sighed again, hugging me back briefly before saying, "I better go find Evie."

There was nothing I said to her in return. Instead, when I released my hold on her she turned to the door while I slid into my shoes. When I reverted my gaze to her, I saw that she had opened it and right outside stood her father, ready to knock.

I took but a couple of steps closer to her, watching as Tamsin furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Dad?"

Once I had moved to stand beside my beloved, it seemed that Killian had been taken aback and said, "Hey sweetheart, I wanted to check and see how you are doing. You've been out for quite a while."

Tamsin was quick to reply, "I'm doing alright. Just..." it seemed as if she thought of exactly what to say so that her father wouldn't pry further, "...processing. I wanted to apologize to Evie, do you know where she is?"

Killian shot her a look of uncertainty before just slightly nodding and responding, "Oh...yes, she was in the library the last time I saw her."

In the next moment, Tamsin stepped away from me, moving to her dad and quickly wrapping her arms around him, embracing him in a hug as she whispered, "I love you daddy. I didn't get to tell mom that, but I don't want to make the same mistake twice."

She calls me daddy too.

It was a sweet moment, but I couldn't help it.

I'm going to hell...

"It's alright sweetheart," Killian replied softly. His hand lightly caressed her back before he slightly pulled away, furrowing his brows at her for a moment. It seemed that perhaps he had considered something, but quickly shook his head, disregarding whatever was in his mind and he added, "I'll talk to you a bit later."

Tamsin was quick to shoot him a smile then moved to head down the hallway.

It was only after the next few passing seconds until Killian and I stood alone, eyeing one another. I wasn't sure whether I should attempt to speak to him or not as...I had never been the type to socialize.

Fortunately, I didn't have to make that decision as Killian was the one to do so, stating, "Thank you for being there for her. I can already see that she loves you very much."

I wasn't sure whether his intentions were to do so or not, but I was offended by his gratitude as...I wasn't here just because I enjoyed the few moments I had away from what my reality was or because I felt obligated to. I was here because I really do love my beloved.

Remembering what my little light asked of me, I refrained from saying anything mean, as she'd call it, and instead explained, "I'm here for her because I love her, not because I feel obligated to."

Killian eyed me for just a second longer then nodded as he