Author's note: Good morning to everyone!
This chapter is very mysterious, since Marcus acts so weird. I know that you'll all think of one thing, while I prepared something no one will expect! But it'll be revealed in, maybe, 20 chapters :( I brought Marcus back, since I think his purpose isn't over in TIS. And, aren't you excited to read Adrian's finding out about this? :D
Hmm. Who to mention?
Sweden - HopperIvashkinator and TheHappyLol;
Belgium - Lilietje99;
UK- CherrySlushLover;
South Africa- MilankaLovesMetal and Bukwurm13;
USA - KeepCalmAndDream, damonforever86, Totalbooknerd13 and rose;
pixie's, that comes from somewhere too (and read the next paragraphs carefully, you crazy reviewer :D).
Guys, I love you and I love your continuous support. You make me so happy!
That's why I have good news. Since this is supposed to be The Fiery Heart, and not Jeddie+Sydrian+Zeil+Hoppy, I am going to make one-shots (it can be two, three, four-shots, how much you say) series that will be totally dedicated to the fluff, which I love to write, and you. Please, write what you want to read and in how many shots in your reviews, and hopefully the first will be updated today. I have to warn you that I won't always have time for both, but I'll try.
Love you all, Ehlimana :)
Now, let's see what Marcus wants!
Marcus was standing in front of me. Mexcico certainly did good for his tan - my skin was pale like a vampire's compared to his skin, and I actually found that ironic, but I didn't laugh. The indigo tattoo on Marcus' cheek seemed to be laughing at me and my golden lily. They could still claim me, it reminded me. They could still reinforce the spells and take control of me again. And if they knew, they would.
His blonde hair was a bit longer than when I last saw him, but nothing drastic; after all, I didn't see him for a week. What disturbed me was the look in those blue eyes of his. I didn't remember them misty, as if he was hiding something.
I shivered. I knew I was becoming paranoic, seeing enemies everywhere. Marcus was an ally and I had to treat him like that. The only problem was that he was alone. Where were Sabrina and the others? There was definitely something wrong, but I didn't know what.
"Marcus," I said and narrowed my eyes. Maybe I should've told Adrian about this meeting. Maybe I could've gotten him to promise me not to kill Marcus for almost taking me away from him.
He just nodded. I noticed how tired he looked. There were black areas under his eyes. His overall facial expression was too blank. He looked too vary. It reminded me of Eddie.
I also noticed that he was looking at me too. I couldn't deny that he was very, very handsome, but I couldn't help comparing him with Adrian all the time. And they looked quite the opposite - Marcus' hair was blonde, like the light, while Adrian's hair was dark brown, like the night. Marcus had blue eyes that reminded me of my mother, while Adrian's emerald reminded me of the love of my life. Adrian's skin was pale, while Marcus' was, in this moment, almost brown. Adrian had fangs, magic and the ability to compel people, while Marcus had only his fists. They were both in their earlier 20s, with those smirks and raised eyebrows and cheesy lines. Marcus ran away from mind control and sacrificed his cheek to break the spells forever, while Adrian ran away from the rich Moroi, trying to marry him, make him 'Lord Ivashkov' and like his father - cold and disgusting. They both loved the way they looked and their charms certainly worked on girls. But Marcus didn't make my heart beat faster. He didn't make me shiver, or feel like I had a fever, or want to sacrifice everything. He couldn't be my Adrian for me. No one could. But he could be my friend.
"Are we going to sit here and stare at each other for eternity?" I asked using a light tone, but in the inside I felt very different. Marcus coming back couldn't mean anything good. He wouldn't leave beaches and margaritas just to sit in a coffee shop and stare at me.
Marcus laughed, obviously trying to lighten the atmosphere, but it didn't help.
I raised my hands. "Well? Why are you here, and not in Mexico? And where are the others?"
He decided to answer the last question first, or he just couldn't memorise the rest. "They are in Mexico. Sabrina is making sure that everything goes all right. She probably would've returned with me if I didn't strictly order for her to stay."
That certainly confused me. "But why?" I spoke my thoughts aloud. "Why did you come back?"
He quickly averted his eyes. Yes, the edge of that table was suddenly very interesting to him. Something was very wrong. Did something happen? Did he come here to warn me or something? He was on the run, after all. Risking to be noticed for showing up in one place two times had to mean something serious was going on. And why wasn't he able to just tell me?
"Marcus," I said slowly and carefully, touching his hand that was on the table. There was nothing romantic in that gesture, and I was right - he immediately looked at me. I looked him in the eyes and asked in a low voice, "What is wrong?"
Marcus, Adrian's rival in self-confidence, swallowed and kept silent for another second. I was beginning to feel angry. Where did his self-confidence go now? He knew that I was restless now, but he still wouldn't say anything!
I prepared to show that anger, but then Marcus seemed to make a decision. Something changed in his eyes and then he pulled his hand away, his mouth beginning to form a smile. "I thought about what you said and realised you were right. My reasons aren't..." he paused, trying to find a word. "romantic, but I am loyal. And I am not a coward." While he was saying that, his hands formed fists.
"So I am going to help you," Marcus continued. "For another three weeks it'll be just me, but after that Sabrina and the rest will come. You aren't alone." He smiled. "You are going to let me help you, right?"
I nodded and put my hands on my mouth. There had to be more. "You just realised that you didn't want to hide anymore? Nothing else?" I asked, thrown back by this realisation.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "What, only falling in love with a Moroi is a valid reason?"
His tone was light, but I froze. "Where did you get that from?" I asked in a strained voice.
Marcus laughed. "I didn't know you considered me a fool, Sydney." He leaned closer, the look in his eyes contradicting his tone. "That spirit user... He seemed awfully protective of you. And awfully jealous. And when you said that your love was in front of you all the time, I knew you were speaking about him. Anyone else could go with you in Mexico, or follow you into hiding afterwards. But you, leaving the Alchemists forever, would mean..."
"Leaving him forever," I finished for him. I just hoped he could understand, even though he was a human. He was Marcus Finch, the scandalous ex-Alchemist. And he already figured it out; there was no use of denying it. So I continued. "I won't deny it. Yes, I stayed because of Adrian. And yes, he is a vampire and we are in love."
Marcus nodded. "Okay. So now that we know the reasons we stayed, we need to start planning."
At that I raised my eyebrow, but I kept silent. "Before we left, Sabrina managed to find out that there is going to be an action, soon, concerning the Moroi princess. The first thing you need to do is make sure she is well-protected."
"Three dhampir guardians. I am going to alter their schedules so that someone is with her at all times." We both nodded.
Marcus continued. "We still don't know their exact plans, but they surely want to kidnap or kill her and cause a civil war among the Moroi." I shuddered, remembering how Sonya almost got killed. And little, kind Jill, what would they do to her if they could? They were monsters. And we had to stop them.
"Since they keep their records well-protected," Marcus continued, oblivious to my thoughts, "we will need a repeat of St. Louis. Yes, now we know that the Alchemists work with the vampire hunters, but it's not enough. We need plans, blueprints, we need someone close to them. Yes, we have you, but you are not introduced to all their plans."
I swallowed. I needed to see and seduce Ian again? Adrian was going to go crazy. "We don't have a lot time, judging from Sabrina's reports. But I won't be able to go to St. Louis. I came back weeks ago. They'd immediately know something is wrong."
Marcus shook his head. "We need someone from the inside."
Someone from the inside. Ian, Jared, Zoe, Stanton... Nobody. There were no Alchemist headquarters here, so no one I knew from Palm Springs would be useful. And after all, who did I know? The gang - Jill, Adrian, Eddie, Angeline, Neil and the humans - Ms. T., Kristen, Julia, Brayden, Trey...
Trey.
"Trey Juarez," I quickly said, too excited to think any further. "We lost Sabrina as a source of information, but he is an ex-vampire hunter."
Marcus' face lightened. "If we knew the time and the place..." Then he stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Can we trust him?"
I grinned. "He is flirting with a dhampir. Yes, we can trust him. He knows that we'd do something very bad to him if he lied. And he is my friend, Marcus." I said and rolled my eyes.
His tone wasn't light when he spoke again. "And I?"
I met his eyes again. What was in them? Hope? Curiosity? What did he expect from me?
I nodded. "You are a friend too, Marcus. You proved and deserved it."
He didn't change his expression, but his voice came out as a near-whisper. "They can still control you," he said. "They can still reinforce the spells. From everyone here, you are risking the worthest thing."
"What?" I asked.
"Your mind," he said and left.
I suddenly felt cold. Marcus was right. If they caught him, they wouldn't have any use because of the indigo spell. If they caught Adrian, they'd just be shocked and disgusted. But if I was caught...
I knew what would happen. I would be sent to a place from every Alchemist's worst nightmares.
I'd be sent to Re-education.