Kyle and Lucas returned to the apartment in high spirits after talking to Lilian and grabbing food. Lilian even gave Lucas a box of potions, some bread, and fruits to apologize for all the trouble. She also lent Kyle an old coffee machine so the guys could drink something early in the morning. Lucas felt it wasn't necessary, but he accepted it anyway. They offered to return the next day for training.
Once they were back inside, Lucas moved to the kitchen counter and opened the box, sighing softly as he examined the tiny jars. Meanwhile, Kyle organized the food they had in the fridge.
Kyle observed the curiosity gleaming in Lucas's eyes. He couldn't help but admire how Lucas was taking the magical aspects of their lives quite well. Kyle sighed considering If he had the right to meddle so much in Lucas's life. In the past, he told himself that a little influence to make Lucas's life happier and healthier wouldn't be a problem, a potion against heartbreak, another about giving him sensitivity to magic, being sweet with him to boost his morale, helping him to open a business, giving him his most precious treasure. ----giving him back his freedom. A knot formed in his stomach, "Jacob was so scared of me that he didn't deliver Lucas's divorce papers in person. I screwed up. Please forgive me, Lucas."
"Healing potions and strengthening potions," Lucas said wryly.
Kyle chuckled behind him. "What did you expect? Potions for invisibility or shapeshifting?"
Lucas shrugged. "Kind of."
"Magic doesn't work that way," Kyle replied, his tone warm. "It's tied to the caster's strength and personality. It can't create something out of nothing."
Kyle felt he owed Lucas some time to guide him through the magic, as he had held back so much information from Lucas. Kyle stepped up behind him, his arms encircling Lucas. He gently kissed the base of Lucas's neck, sending a shiver down his spine. "Breathe, Lucas," he whispered, his voice low and steady. "Focus on your breathing. I'll do that again, but let yourself feel it fully this time."
Lucas steadied his breath, and when Kyle's lips found his skin again, a pleasant wave of energy rippled down his spine, filling him with a deep, grounding warmth. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sensations that Kyle's touch stirred, the warmth radiating through his shoulders and down his back.
"That's... your magic," Lucas murmured, voice tinged with awe. "Your strength."
Kyle smiled. "Yes. Now, breathe in. Let it root you. When you exhale, let it set you free."
As Lucas obeyed, a golden warmth began to glow faintly around them, and he felt his energy responding, blending with Kyle's. He could feel their boundaries softening as if their connection went beyond touch. He relaxed, resting his head against Kyle's shoulder as the warmth intensified around them, humming with life. The energy crackled softly against his skin, warming him like sunlight on a brisk morning.
"Open your eyes," Kyle murmured gently.
When Lucas did, the room around them seemed transformed. The air shimmered softly, alive with warmth and light. Faint tendrils of energy curled around Kyle's hands, resting on Lucas's torso like delicate wisps of smoke, connecting them in a cocoon of shared energy. He glanced at Kyle, who gazed back with a depth that reflected the glow around them, his eyes softened and warm.
"Look at that," Lucas murmured, awestruck. "It's... us."
"Yes, Lucas. Just us." Kyle's voice was barely a whisper, filled with a quiet reverence. For perhaps the first time, he realized he'd found someone he could genuinely open up to beyond all his defenses. But as he caught sight of a familiar stack of papers partially hidden under the coffee table, the divorce papers, a pang of guilt struck him, threatening to pull him from the moment. What was he doing? Was he keeping this from Lucas?
Lucas, sensing the subtle shift, tilted his head slightly. "Are you okay?"
Kyle smiled, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. Just a little longer, he thought. "I am," he murmured, grounding himself in Lucas's steady presence. "How about a practical application?"
Lucas's brow lifted a playful gleam in his eyes. "Like what?"
Kyle chuckled, the heaviness easing. "Let's say... cleaning the living room?"
Lucas laughed, nodding as he turned his focus toward the room. This time, he felt the warmth pulsing from Kyle's hands through his shoulders, steady and grounding, like sunlight filtering through the air. "Let it anchor you," Kyle's voice was a soft guide in his ear. "Then let it move with you."
As Lucas concentrated, a faint hum of energy shimmered around them. He lifted a hand, and the air stirred in response, following his instincts. "It feels like it has a mind of its own," Lucas whispered in wonder as the currents drifted around the room, clearing dust from the couch.
Kyle kissed Lucas again with a grin, his connection deepening by the second, their heartbeat in total sync. But Kyle's gaze shifted back to the divorce papers, his gut tightening. This moment with Lucas was fragile and precious, and he knew the truth he was withholding could break it. He wanted to continue basking in this happy little moment, making Lucas enjoy their connection. However, how could he let this bond deepen without honesty?
Lucas, noticing Kyle's tension, tried to break the silence. "Kyle?" he whispered.
Kyle looked at him, his expression heavy with something Lucas couldn't quite read. "Lucas, there's something I need to tell you. It's about Jacob," Kyle said softly, almost inaudible.
Lucas reached out, a calm reassurance. "It's over, Kyle. I don't love him anymore."
They locked eyes, and both spoke at once, voices overlapping. "Listenâ"
"I forced Jacob to sign the divorce papers," Kyle confessed, his voice barely a whisper, but the weight of it was clear.
Lucas stared at him, a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but he stayed silent, waiting for Kyle to explain. The warmth that had just filled the room felt fragile, like a glass teetering on the edge of a table, and Lucas held his breath, watching it shatter with each of Kyle's words.
"Remember when we discussed Jacob when you and I started to plan the store?" Kyle begged.
Lucas just nodded, transfixed; his pulse was quickening. "We agreed to go together to see Jacob if he didn't sign the papers by the time our store opened."
Kyle gulped. "I looked into your papers, and there was an address in Segovia. I went there the next day. I tried to beg, to bargain with him for your freedom. It didn't work."
"Bargain? What did you offer to him?" Lucas asked, slightly confused.
"Money, connections, I thought about offering other things but decided not to," Kyle explained, his hands trembling. The guy was loaded and well-connected. He had designer clothes, much more expensive than mine."
"I tried to convince him you deserved happiness, that if he loved you long ago, he should let you go. He didn't want to hear a word about it." Kyle clenched his fists, his voice strained. "I tried to put a price on your freedom, but I... lost my patience and threatened him. I showed him who I am and what I'm capable of."
Kyle let those words linger momentarily, watching Lucas's expression shift from confusion to something darkerâworry, maybe fear.
"I didn't mean to," Kyle continued, his voice tight. "But when I saw how he was holding onto you, refusing to let you go... something in me snapped. I let my power slip and showed him the side of me that used to rule the Underworld."
Lucas's eyes widened, his breath hitching. "You... what?"
"I didn't hurt him," Kyle says quickly, reaching for Lucas's hand but stopping short. "But I let him feel my power. I made it clear that if he didn't leave you in peace if he didn't sign those papers and let you go, I would make his life a living hell. My control failed, Lucas. It was my protectiveness towards you. I terrified him, he ran away from me, and the next thing I knew, he had delivered the boxes with all your stuff and the papers."
There was a long pause, and then a wide range of emotions brewed in Lucas's eyesâanger, confusion, betrayal, and something more profound.
Finally, Lucas spoke, his voice low and steady. "You threatened him. You used your power to terrify him into leaving me?"
Kyle nodded, swallowing hard. "Yes. I know it wasn't right. I know it was... a mistake. But I did it because I couldn't stand to see him keep you trapped. I saw how he clung to you, not out of love but selfishness. And I lost control."
Lucas looked away, his jaw clenched. "So you're saying you forced him? Out of love for me?"
"Yes," Kyle admitted, his chest tight with guilt. "I know it was wrong. I know I should've trusted you to handle it in your way. But I couldn't watch you suffer any longer. And Jacob..."
Kyle paused, narrowing his eyes as a darker thought crossed his mind. "Jacob is connected to something else. I haven't figured it out yet. When you came back from meeting him, there were traces of blood magic in you, probably vampires. Maybe it was an accident, but maybe not."
Lucas snapped his head back to Kyle, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Blood magic? Jacob? You think he's involved in something like that?"
Kyle nodded, though there was uncertainty in his gaze. "It wouldn't be so surprising; my boss at the supermarket was a vampire too; many rich people are actually very old vampires."
The room fell silent again, and Kyle could feel the weight of Lucas's stare. He was bracing himself for anger, for Lucas to walk out, or worse, for Lucas to reject him altogether.
Lucas's mind was in turmoil. "Kyle gave me potions, okay? I did the same, but why did he have to meddle with Jacob and me?"Â Returning two steps back, he staggered and looked at Kyle's sorrowful golden orbs. The answer was simple: a warped sense of protecting his loved ones. Lucas shoved his hair back, trying to calm down. Kyle had been through so much pain that now his default mode was to be overprotective. "You idiot. I can fight my own battles."
Lucas raised his hand to reach Kyle's cheek but decided against it. Instead, Lucas inhaled deeply, his voice strained but calm. "You should've told me. It would be best if you trusted me to handle my life, Kyle. What you did... it was wrong."
Kyle nodded, his chest tightening. "I know. And I'm ready to face whatever consequences come from this. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. If you want to punish me, I'm all yours. I love you, Lucas, and I can't change what I did. But I'm telling you now because I don't want any more secrets between us."
Lucas looked down, his hands gripping the counter's edge as if grounding himself. "I know now that you love me; that's why I am trying to understand. So... you threatened him. You crossed that line for me?"
Kyle's breath caught, and he looked down, his shoulders curling inward. "I never meant to... I never wanted to hurt you."
Lucas started to pace back and forth. "Why? It is my life, my ex. There are things you don't know about us. You had no right to interfere with it back then. Now, maybe. But just as support. Support."
Kyle lowered his gaze, "I am sorry, Lucas, I lost control."
Lucas crossed his arms, "But you had an intention back then, right? You intended to meddle to get my freedom." Lucas voice became hoarse, "You said your dad meddled with you and me meeting in Puerta del Sol, right?"
Kyle nodded.
Lucas's hands were moving as if he was in courtroom drama, "Without it, we might have never met or become this close, and you can say whatever about him, but his manipulations put us together. His meddling got us sharing this apartment, and yeah, he is an asshole, but guess who also manipulated the stage that led us to be together? You!!"
Lucas's voice trembled, but he didn't yell. He didn't need to. His words cut like glass. "You complain about your dad, about how he controlled you and everyone else, but here you are... doing the same thing. You know, I wouldn't say this lightly, but... You are just like your dad, Kyle. Whether you like it or not."
The words sliced through Kyle's chest, leaving a raw, aching hollowness in their wake. He stared at Lucas, stunned, unable to speak. Kyle's eyes widened as the weight of Lucas's words sank in, more profound than any blade could. The truth burned through him, sharper than anything he'd felt in control and manipulation. But in his love for Lucas, he had done the one thing he swore he'd never doâbecome like the one he despised most.
"I'm sorry," Kyle whispered, his voice barely audible, but it was all he could say, realizing that for all his power, he might be powerless to fix this.
Lucas didn't respond right away. He just looked at Kyle, his expression unreadable, and Kyle felt the weight of everything he'd just confessedâthe fear that this might be the moment that broke them.
Lucas ran a hand over his face, the weight of Kyle's confession sinking in. He looked at Kyle, eyes torn but softened with a hint of lingering affection. "I just... don't know what to think right now. But walking away isn't what I want either."
Kyle felt the knot in his chest ease, just barely, as Lucas's words lingered. He would wait, no matter what.
"I feel tired. I need to sleep," Lucas said, his chest constricted. He raised his hand to reach Kyle but decided against it. Lucas walked towards his room, and before disappearing into the darkness, he said, "Good night, Kyle."
A hollow "Good night, Lucas" was the last thing he heard before closing the door.