Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Even in the deep darkness of his room, Mason could easily watch the smoke of his cigarette twirl in the air in front of him. He had lost count of the days he had been laying on his bed, refusing to even acknowledge that there was a world at the other side of the door. What would be the point, had he argued, when she wasn’t waiting for him anymore? Meanwhile, in his quiet room, for just a fraction of a second, he could pretend that the glimpse of baby blue on the corner of his eye was Jade sitting beside him once again.

Of course, it wasn’t Jade. It was just the sweater she had forgotten long ago and he had promised he would give back eventually. Now, he will be forever late.

At times, he wished he could at least feel a drop of self pity and imagine Jade in his room, haunting him like a beautiful ghost, as he deserved for not stopping Anwir on time. If he only were a bit luckier, she would talk to him, she would ask the reason why he wasn’t there with her. At least, he would be able to hear her voice again. Instead, all he got was the memory of her last seconds, Jade dropping to the floor, and the feeling of blinding rage. For the first time since he could remember, he forgot about his teammates, about any mission, about the potential danger dangling over his neck. He was on his knees, muttering her name again and again and again, desperately hoping that her unusual existence gave her the chance to go back to him. After he failed, Mason locked himself up, and not even Felix’ pleas had managed to get him to open the door. Mason wouldn’t be able to stand the commiseration in their eyes, the softly spoken encouragements, the gentle pats on his back. He much rather preferred to pass the grief the best way he knew. Alone and in silence.

That hadn’t stopped Felix, of course. After all, he never expected an answer to his babbling when it was directed at Mason before so it wouldn’t be any different then. At first, he had wondered why he came to his door to basically talk to himself, but then he realised that both Felix and himself were making poor attempts at avoiding wisdom and sympathy. They would never go back to not knowing Jade and there was no way to fix that. Any attempt to tell them that time will make it better felt like an insult to her memory. Her absence would haunt Mason for eternity or, at least, that’s what he hoped. That way, in a twisted way, he would always have her with him. That was why he wouldn’t open the door. Felix wanted desperately to get rid of the pain, while Mason wished to revel in it.

For the first time in his new life, he had found someone who didn’t try to unravel the mystery that he was, even if her curiosity was palpable. Mason realised too late that he had lowered his guard, that he had let a door open for her. The only thing he could do then was missing what he never had, regretting the steps he didn’t take, wondering why he wasn’t able to cry her death. He allowed the grief to settle inside him and entangle itself with his unanswered questions.

Mason had expected that the Agency would send them far from Wayhaven right away. They didn’t want them wallowing in their misery, as they would probably see the attachment to Jade as a failure for the team. However, Felix had just announced that the transfer order had been given out a day prior, so Mason asked himself if they were actually allowing them some time to recover or they were running like headless chickens behind closed doors. As long as Mason was concerned, it could have been a week since Jade’s death, or a century, and the agency could drown in their senseless bureaucracy.

A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought. Mason wasn’t used to being startled, but he must have been too focused on his own sorrow. Felix waited as patiently as he could, like he had been doing as of late, but his nervous breathing and quick heartbeat were like a cat scratching at the door.

Mason got up from the bed and walked to the door, but didn’t open it. He could hear the sound of Adam’s pacing and the low hum of Nate’s voice somewhere in the vicinity. There was a decent distance from his room, but Mason wasn’t sure if he could risk it. While he was considering his options, Felix slipped a folded piece of paper under his door. In his round handwriting, it said “I found something about Jade”.

Opposite to Adam and Nate, who tried to coax him out with words of encouragement and support, Felix just sat in the hallway and talked away for hours, but he would never mention Jade. Mason cracked the door open just enough to frown at his friend.

“The others can’t know,” Felix whispered. Felix never whispered, vampire senses be damned, so there was a spark of urgency clinging to his hushed, secretive tone. Mason stepped aside and Felix scurried inside, closing the door behind him. Felix never bothered with that either, privacy was a foreign concept to him. He kept his voice low and seemed to keep track of the steps on the corridor outside.

“I’ve been reading,” he continued.

“Well, that’s new.” Mason slumped down into the bed again and he almost missed Felix’ grin. His smile was weaker than it used to be, but the remnants of his usual playfulness still shone in his eyes. Mason lit another cigarette.

“You are hilarious. Anyway, I’ve been in the library a lot lately, watching over Nate and the like.” He cleared his throat. Felix wasn’t a good liar. “So I was browsing some of his old books, when suddenly I felt a book calling me. Not in the way Nate says, but like physically pulling me closer. I know it sounds corny, but it was like I had to read it and you know I would never feel like that in that place. Those are boring books. Well, this one was boring too, but also special.”

“Get to the point, Felix.”

The younger man winced, but didn’t look like he was actually hurt by Mason’s barking. Felix wasn’t a stranger to rambling, but he seemed to struggle with his words as he continued.

“It was about a weird place. I didn’t quite get it, but there was a poem about a human man who went to… Uh… Wherever dead people go, to rescue his wife. I think. It was very pretentious, you would have hated it.”

Mason raised an eyebrow, hiding behind the smoke.

“After that poem, someone had written some strange notes. It wasn’t Nate’s handwriting, though, so I couldn’t ask much. I think they could open a portal like the one in the poem. A portal to bring back the dead.”

Mason put the cigarette aside. Something stirred inside of him, as if he was waking from a deep slumber.

“I thought it was impossible to do that. Death is death.”

“I mean,” Felix mumbled, “Nate always says we don’t know what’s out there. We find new types of supernaturals so often. Who’s to say there isn’t a portal like the one that brought me here? What if… it was just a secret?”

“Why would anyone keep that a secret?” There was only one thing in Mason’s mind, much stronger than those past days. Jade’s frown, Jade’s quiet laugh, Jade’s presence by his side. The ghost of the kiss they never got. Felix ignored his remark.

“If we can have Jade with us again… I want to try,” whispered Felix, avoiding Mason’s eyes. His first instinct was to hiss some rude remark at him for insinuating Mason wouldn’t do anything he had to do for Jade, but the initial anger simmered off when Felix spoke again. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, and I need someone to convince me. We have to try anything we can. For her. She would have done the same thing for any of us.”

Felix opened his colourful jacket to get out a thin, worn out book from an interior pocket. The covers must have been a rich brown colour back in the day, engraved in a golden design, but its gleam had faded with time.

“Nate will notice.”

“Maybe,” Felix shrugged, “but not in a while. I think we have some time, just not that much.”

Mason tried to dim the hope bubbling in his chest. It was just a stupid story, written down by some idiot a thousand years ago. But if there was a chance…

“That’s hardly the type of work any of us do,” he argued weakly. He ached to get his hands on the book.

“There’s always a first time.”

If there was a chance…

“Also,” Felix continued, “I might already know how to do it.”

If there was a chance, they had to take it.

Felix offered to do all the dirty work by himself. Granted, it would be quite striking to see Mason out and about again and he wouldn’t be able to take Nate’s worry. Some sparring with Adam might have helped to calm him down, but, again, Mason hadn’t been out in days. It was easier to slowly lose his patience confined in his room anyway. It wasn’t like Mason didn’t trust Felix, but, in this particular instance, he wished it could be him who got the job done.

Felix had worked hard on deciphering the strange writing on the margins, though. Not only was the handwriting messy and disorganised, but it was difficult to separate reality from intricate metaphors. That didn’t deter his friend, which made Mason realise just how much he must miss Jade. He had taken it for granted, since Felix was never shy of his feelings, but there was something deeper about it, something that couldn’t be fixed by crying until your face hurt. How much of this work was for Jade and how much it was to soothe his guilt, Mason never asked. It didn’t really matter. Mason wouldn’t know how to talk about her, even if he tried. Her name was painfully stuck in his throat. It frustrated him more than the wait, it made him restless. A want that couldn’t be spoken. He lit cigarette after cigarette pacing around his room, but it wasn’t enough.

Finally, Felix texted him. Even then, his vibrant joy was evident.

“Tonight at eight,” he simply wrote.

The warehouse was still. Mason didn’t ask Felix what he had done, but he guessed that with the transferring order hanging over their heads, it must have been relatively easy to give them something to do. The other vampire waited for him outside, stealing glances around in a very poor attempt to keep their secret. He didn’t even try to chat with Mason until they were in the car, when he sighed and started to worry out loud.

“I think I did everything the book said, but… You know, how can you tell all the candles are at the exact same distance in the woods? There are so many rocks and plants everywhere, and bugs. Ugh, the bugs…”

Mason let him talk without really listening, but he noticed Felix grasping at the handle on the door as if his life depended on it. As much as he was restraining himself from speeding even faster, he wasn’t a patient person. Even less so when Jade was so close to being brought back to him. He didn’t need the details about the candles or the offerings, the only thing he wanted to know was if the stairs were there and they wouldn’t know until the sun went down.

Felix almost jumped out of the car before they stopped and Mason gladly followed. The young vampire guided him like he could see a clear path amongst the trees. Felix mumbled to himself or maybe to someone else who could be listening. There was a certain weight to the air around them that had nothing to do with the heat of the summer or the humidity of the woods. It didn’t cling to Mason’s skin as much as it closed his throat. The birds had quieted down, which put Mason on edge. Even in the silence, there was something grating at his senses, something that he couldn’t identify. After all, they were alone for miles. A shiver went down his spine.

They walked for what felt like hours to Mason, who was trying to locate that something making his hair stand on end. Felix didn’t seem to feel the same way, walking forward as if the branches didn’t bother him, even when they left small, dark marks on his skin. Mason hoped that he could tell the time, because the tall, lush trees blocked any sight of the sky, aside from a few golden specks of sunlight cutting through the growing darkness. The greenery grew unrestrained, untouched by wandering creatures, a completely different scene of what Mason expected around Wayhaven. The ground was covered by grass and white wildflowers in such a way that less sharp eyes wouldn’t be able to see the loose rocks under their feet.

The vegetation came suddenly to an end to reveal a small descent to a rocky clearing, which seemed slightly out of place between the exuberant flora. While they carefully climbed down, Mason noticed some offerings placed in a semi-circle around a cave opening in the wall they were trying to go down. The presents went from some coins to flowers, with some empty recipients in between. They started the unsteady descent.

“How do you know this is the place?” asked Mason, to which Felix shrugged.

“It isn’t really a specific place. You just have to ask the door to appear and knock.”

“And they will just answer?”

“You don’t always pick up your phone, right?” Felix gracefully jumped to the floor from a sharp ledge on the rock.

Mason thought that he wasn’t responsible for the souls of the departed, so it was an unfair comparison, but, instead of replying, he jumped after Felix, who was already leaving some crumpled papers on a bowl. Mason could recognise Jade’s handwriting even from that distance.

“Give me your finger,” Felix ordered without looking at him. His eyes went around the circle slowly.

“What for?” Mason buried his hands deeper in his pockets.

“You need to identify yourself,” said Felix.

“What the h-” But before he could finish his cursing, Felix pulled his arm, positioning his hand above another empty bowl. Without giving Mason any time to object, he poked his index with something very sharp, drawing a few droplets of blood. By the time it dripped to the bowl, his wound was already closed. They both kept quiet, looking around in tense preparation for whatever it could happen.

“In theory, the portal should open today. You know, with your blood,” Felix explained and bit his lip, which didn’t reassure Mason in the slightest.

“And what if it doesn’t work?” asked Mason, rubbing his now healed finger on his jeans to clean up some of the blood.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Mason raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t know if we could invite in some horrible creature? Or a hoard of them?”

“How experienced do you think I am in necromancy?” Felix replied, matching Mason’s expression with a slight smile.

“Right. We’ll find out then,” Mason sighed.

If Felix had any objections to his apparent lack of faith, he didn’t say. He kept his eyes fixed on the entrance of the cave. It wasn’t easy to patiently wait for some unknown sign to the door to what mortals had called Hades. Mason didn’t even know what that could look like. Maybe there was some description of it in the book and maybe he should have asked, but something told him that Felix wasn’t sure either. If that was the case, Mason preferred to remain ignorant.

The sky turned from greying blue to a light lavender and pink, to deep purple and fiery red clouds, almost as bright as his blood in the bowl. Just then, they heard a cracking sound coming from everywhere around them, a tremor that reached to their core. There was no visible change to their surroundings, but Mason could feel a tension pushing him towards the entering of the cave.

“I guess it did work,” whispered Felix. When Mason turned to him, Felix smiled, but couldn’t hide the fear on his features.

“What now?”

“Now you go down the cave.”

“Alone?”

Mason didn’t intend to sound so worried. It wasn’t a usual note to his voice. He didn’t even fear for his own safety, but for what he might find inside. What if Jade refused to go with him? Would he be able to take that rejection? Could he just turn around instead of breaking into pieces? Mason didn’t have experience in heartbreak. He never learned to let go.

“You asked to enter.” Felix pulled him from his dark thoughts. “I’ll wait here, I have some things for Jade once you two are back.”

Mason frowned at his friend, at the confidence in his voice. Felix never doubted Mason would succeed, that part had always been clear as day. He stepped forward. Nothing happened around him, but that tension pulling him to the cave grew stronger. With a last glance at Felix, he entered the cave.

Chapter Text

The already quiet forest was muffled behind him at the other side of the rocks. There was nothing quite as unnerving as the silence of nature. Mason looked in front of him trying to make out the end of the tunnel, but he could only see the sharp edges of the stone in front of him. No one had come in a long time. He started walking carefully, more concerned about a possible ambush than the natural obstacles around him. Every part of him told him he was being watched. 

It took him a while to reach the stairs Felix had promised him. They were carved into the stone and they got lost down the cave. When he set his foot on the first step, a voice froze him on the spot.

“Well met, traveller.”

The profound timber resonated inside his body, paralysing him like no one ever before could. It seemed to come from everywhere around him, echoing inside his bones, reverberating as if to crack his very existence. Mason managed to lean onto the wall. 

“If you want to descend, you shall follow me. Never a step before me, but don’t fall behind. I’ll be your guide towards whom you must plead.” 

Once the vibration rattling his bones settled, Mason could see a cloaked figure before him made of the same darkness surrounding him, like a breeze carrying dust, barely there. The figure carried some sort of rod to rest its inexistent weight on. Mason realised it was waiting for him to answer. He nodded.

“Sure,” Mason wheezed, struggling still to get some air into his lungs.

The figure turned around and walked down the stairs, which, luckily, were unused enough to have kept their shape through the centuries. They widened as he descended, as if the cave slowly gave up trying to keep him away. After a particularly closed curve, Mason found short candles fusing into the stone. The wall had been dulled at roughly the height of his hand. He wasn’t the first visitor, that was obvious, but those before him were infinitely more prepared for the journey. 

Through the cracks of the stone, small flowers had flourished and grew in size as he continued his path, even though they were only bathed by the dim light of the candles. They were starkly white, except for the single thin line of pink and red that went across every petal. By the end of the stairs the delicate flowers growing in cusps could reach his chest. 

Finally, they arrived at a wide and empty atrium. The darkness couldn’t be solely the expected lack of light, thought Mason, since his eyes weren’t able to cut through it. It was almost tangible, like it was gently caressing his skin. Surprised by his own comparison, he realised that this touch didn’t irk him. It was cold, and dense, but his senses were at peace. The knocking of the cane ahead of him was a light hum not too hard to follow. For the first time since Jade had left, he could breathe freely.

He followed the figure through the nothingness. From time to time, a loose pebble would resonate and echo through the cave, still hidden from him. Even if he couldn’t see the floor he was walking on, it felt like a proper construction, instead of eroded stone. There weren’t any walls or ceiling that he could see, but as they advanced, gargantuan columns rose before them. The same woman was replicated three times around each of them with a real torch in hand. She was crowned with a spiky tiara and different dogs laid by her feet. Even though the fire was in line with the statue’s dimension, it could barely cut through the dark. 

It was impossible to get a sense of time or direction. Mason was at his guide’s mercy. He wondered if they had crossed another frontier he wasn’t aware of. How could he tell this new world apart from what he already knew? Had he unknowingly accepted a deal to get to Jade?

The atrium seemed to go on forever, which didn’t help with Mason’s suspicions, but suddenly, a sloshing sound in front of him made him stop and, with him, the figure came to a halt.

“The journey doesn’t end here,” they said, “you must cross the Acheron to beg for the life you seek.”

That name rang a bell, but Mason couldn’t get distracted. Not when his goal was just at the other side of a river.

“You already paid your fare when you conjured an ancient belief to serve you. You can continue or you can go back. Don’t stay still. I will lead the way, but I won’t stop the creatures waiting for you to hesitate. I am nothing more than your guide.”

As they finished their speech, Mason felt the weight of thousands of eyes on him and suddenly, the buzzing of restless whispers washed over him, making him hold his breath for a second. He wasn’t sure if the immensity of the atrium magnified the rustling of unmeasurable souls trapped in the journey or if he had lowered his guard thanks to the temporary relief of their walk. It took him a few minutes to regain control of his anxious heartbeat. His legs were trembling slightly when he walked towards his companion. Then, another apparition came to him. 

It was a small boat this time, suddenly illuminated by a rusty lantern hanging on one end. The water was as murky as everything around them, but small specks of light managed to dance on its surface. Unsure if it was eyes in the water hungrily glaring at him or the reflection of the lantern, Mason stepped onto the rowboat. He sat uncomfortably on the prow, trying to make out anything ahead. The boat didn’t swing when the cloaked figure climbed aboard. With a gentle push of his staff, they sailed away.

It wasn’t quite as silent of a trip as the walk had been. Even though the boat never titled, they kept finding obstacles under them, making the voices growl or hiss. Mason didn’t need to know what they were. He just wanted to tell his guide to go faster. By the time they got close to the other shore, Mason was ready to jump into the water to keep going by himself, but the dark silhouette stopped him with a gesture so they could go first. And then, finally, they encountered the stairs that led to a magnificent palace. 

There, the darkness wasn’t as stark, lit with torches at each side of the road, so Mason could see the blooming, crimson flowers hanging from luscious trees in the most beautiful garden, enclosed by a lustrous silver fence.

“He knows what missing your lover is,” the guide stated.

“Should I try the wounded lover angle then?” asked Mason, but his sarcasm was dulled by the strange beauty around him. Not even him was immune to the magnetism of the palace.

“You don’t understand the place you are about to enter.”

It wasn’t a rebuke or a chastisement. It was only the truth and Mason had to agree with them. He couldn’t understand why there were flowers growing underground or what kind of being would live in a palace built of what seemed black, shimmering glass. The intricate arcade over its door made Mason feel dizzy just from trying to decipher its engraved marks. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but they seemed to move and change every second. 

The silver gate door opened itself for them, but his guide didn’t make an attempt to enter and Mason didn’t ask them to. As he walked alone, he realised the path branched off here and there. Once again, the magic over the land was as soft as a lover’s kiss. He wondered for a split second how many people walked around the palace like expensive peacocks, and how many of them would have forgotten their purpose. He didn’t have time for them, though. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the sterling door opened, cold light bleeding into the garden, like moonlight over the forest above them. 

The room was beautifully decorated, with light silks and rich colours, but he didn’t stop to marvel at them. At the end of the hall, another door appeared, with images of what Mason assumed were forgotten tales. Again, the door opened on its own, to reveal an even more impressive room crowned by a majestic throne. On it sat an older man, tall and burly. He wasn’t what Mason had expected, sitting all too comfortable on his throne, but, after a couple of seconds of mutual consideration, the power of his host was more than evident. His hair was greying, curly and long like his bushy beard. His tunic seemed simple at first glance, draping over him, but paying more attention, the brooches holding the light fabric were intricate gold, contrasting with the bluish purple of the garment.

The lord of the palace didn’t get up from his seat and he didn’t need to. His presence commanded the whole room. Mason, however, wasn’t an easy person to impress or intimidate. 

“You know why I am here,” he said as he walked up closer to the throne. The man did nothing to stop him.

“I do not pretend to understand mortal desires.” The man’s voice boomed in the room, and Mason had to fight the urge to flinch. “But I do have an interest in you. Such a strange heart you bring to me today. I will let you ask, because that is what the powerful do when small creatures come crawling to them.”

For a second, Mason wondered if there were any hidden servants that would tackle him if he tried to put that man in his place for the first time in a thousand years.

“I want her back,” Mason announced. The tired, angry, sad carcass he had become in the past few days must have shown on his face, because the man smiled.

“Of course. So many tried to do the same. Have you listened to the stories? Love is such a powerful tool.”

Mason knew what he had to say. He had tried to be ready for it, but he was about to choke on his own words once more. It was true and it was what could bring Jade back, but that only made it even more painful.

“You’ll get her eventually,” he muttered, defeated, “you’ll get every mortal on Earth. Why would you care about waiting a few decades more?”

The man hummed, as if considering Mason’s statement.

“You will lose her eventually. What are a few decades earlier?”

Mason tensed, but didn’t get the chance to reply.

“But I do understand. It has been a long time since the last man tried to convince me of something like this, so I will propose to you the same thing I proposed to him then. I will let you go, which is not a small achievement in itself, and she will follow you until the end. However, you must not turn around until both of you are standing outside. If you break this promise, she will return to me, as it was written.”

A deafening silence took over the room.

“That’s it? I can walk out with her?” Mason asked. The ritual to enter seemed far more complicated than the one to come out.

“Without turning around.”

Mason nodded, too confused to make any sort of remark. It had to be a trick, but he would take any chance to return with Jade.

“Start walking then,” his host whispered and Mason didn’t hesitate. 

He retraced his steps as fast as possible without running, knowing that the guide would stop him. They must have felt the urgency, because as soon as they saw him cross the first hall, they turned and headed to the boat. The travel across the water wasn’t dissimilar to the one before, although the waters were more agitated. This time, Mason let his companion sail without remarking the slow pace, even though his grip on the boat threatened to break a piece into splinters. Once they were back to the initial dock, the guide handed him the lantern.

“I am afraid I must remain here. I am not to interfere.”

Mason grabbed the lantern and left them behind. The darkness curled around the light on his hand like a thick fog, and his only company was the soft thud of his own steps. One foot after the other, in complete silence. Nothing changed around him, except for the gigantic statues that replaced one another. Then he heard it, and the whole world came down crumbling on him.

“Mason? What are you doing here?”

Mason then realised his mistake; how much of an impossible task that one would be. It shook him as if he had been struck by lightning. It took him all of his willpower to not turn around. If he would hug Jade or an apparition mocking him, he wasn’t sure. He wanted to respond, tell her he had crossed impossible borders to look for her, but as much as he tried, the air painfully escaped his lungs. He didn’t have time to curse the man for the bad faith agreement. He hadn’t asked about the obvious catch anyway, too hurried to get what he wanted, too fixated on having Jade back with him. He sighed and resigned to keep on walking, fighting to reach the top as soon as possible. If it was really Jade, she wouldn’t be able to follow him. 

“Mason, wait! Are you angry with me? Please, I’m sorry, but don’t leave.”

At least, Mason could hear her struggling to run behind him, so the chances of her being real, being with him, were higher and higher with every step. Her shoes echoed across the emptiness of the place. Was the atrium so vast before? Had he been so mesmerised by his surroundings that he hadn’t realised the tortuous path he walked? Or were Jade’s pleas enough to make any road ten times longer?

As they finally began to ascend, Jade begged him to talk to her and his heart broke all over again with each sentence. He took a moment to breathe deeply, reminding himself he was on a mission; at the end of the day, only ignoring Jade would bring both of them home. He could have sworn he could endure an eternity of torture, but that? His deepest desire was barely out of reach. Mason could see the mocking smile of the Lord of the Dead, proud of their distress. He dropped the lantern and continued walking, using the cracks on the walls to push him forward.

 At least, while trying to keep up with him, Jade couldn’t speak as often, so it was only slightly easier to keep on walking. Mason knew she was still following him by her soft panting and hurried steps. It couldn’t be long until they reached the top, but who could know what kind of tricks the Realm of Death would play for him. Mason was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It wasn’t easy, but only an idiot would disobey such clear rules. Even if patience wasn’t Mason’s strong suit, he wouldn’t sacrifice a life with Jade over some rushed gratification. Nate’s words resonated in his memory, telling him there could be a great reward for his waiting. He was right. Forget about kissing her, he just wanted to hold her tight and feel the warmth of her body, alive again, her muffled laugh against his ear, her arms pulling him impossibly closer. All those fantasies he had dreamed of while she was gone. 

The melting candles became fewer and fewer to make way to a more natural darkness. Not quite their usual one, but a promise of an end. It could be his imagination, but he could feel a chill breeze too that smelled like the forest he had left who knows how long ago. They were almost there. Mason picked up the pace, almost running up the steps. Weak sunlight creeped into the cave. Had he noticed the bleeding sunset light when he got in? Was his mind playing tricks with him? Were those really the woods around Wayhaven, bathed in the soft light of dawn? 

They were. Even if Felix was nowhere to be found, he knew they were close. Only a few steps more. He never had been so grateful for the warmth of the sun or the chirping of the waking birds. He had taken for granted the world around him, despising its oppressive hold on him, but there it was, waiting for them. Mason finally felt the grass and mud under his feet when he heard a gasp behind him and Jade hissing in pain. 

He couldn’t help it. It was instinct. She was hurt, so he instantly turned around.

Jade, as beautiful as ever, with those big, bright eyes, looking at him as if he had hung the moon in the sky. Jade, smiling at him, as if he hadn’t condemned her to die again. 

She was on one knee, having slipped on the eroded step. She had cut her hand trying to stop her fall. But, most importantly, she was still in the cave, covered by the shadow of the rocks of the walls.

She was cradling her hand, pressing her thumb where the wall had cut her palm, but she had no time for the wound. She held up her bleeding hand for him and brought him down with her. For the few seconds they were allowed to look at each other, she never stopped smiling. She kissed his knuckles and opened her mouth to speak, but, as she reached for his cheek, Jade slowly became less and less present. Seeing he couldn’t hear her, she leaned in while he clutched her arms in a foolish attempt to restrain her just a little longer. As the last specks of her were carried down the stairs, he felt her lips hovering over his, but the underworld wouldn’t allow them such grace.

And then, she was gone. Again.

Chapter Text

Mason was laying on his bed. Very few things were different from the week before, except that, that afternoon, his bedroom door was wide open. No one needed to stand watch in the hallway; in fact, Felix had taken the habit of quietly spending time in Mason’s room with him.

Neither Adam or Nate said anything when they found them in the woods. Felix had called them, unable to make Mason move from his kneeling position in front of the cave entrance. Mason had the marks of Jade’s bloody fingers on his hand.

He hadn’t spoken a word since. It took him a few days, but Felix ended up telling the rest of the unit about their plan. He probably expected a lecture from Adam, but he just nodded and squeezed his shoulder. 

Nate had also been understanding, although he had more to say.

“I wished you had told me,” he sighed. They were in the kitchen, and Nate had made hot chocolate for the both of them. 

“You would have stopped us,” argued Felix, “Maybe we needed to be stopped, but-”

“I would have helped,” Nate interrupted him.

Felix had confessed all of that to Mason in one of his visits.

“I think I didn’t give Nate enough credit. I missed Jade so much, that… That I forgot how much Nate feels too.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Mason mumbled. His voice came out raspy, barely audible. Felix curled up even further into himself.

“It’s my fault,” Felix sobbed quietly, “I’m so sorry, Mason.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Mason whispered, “It was me who turned around.”

“But you wouldn’t have gone if I had thought for one second what I was doing.”

“It was our idea. I didn’t stop you, and I failed to do what I was supposed to do.”

Felix didn’t reply. He got up and approached Mason’s bed carefully, as if he expected to be kicked out of the room entirely. But Mason didn’t say anything, so the young vampire slowly sat and then laid down on the bed next to him. He took Mason’s hand, who squeezed it back. 

A couple of hours after Felix fell asleep on his bed, Mason got up and left the room. He had been avoiding the place, but he didn’t want to disturb his friend’s sleep with his smoking. The walk to the roof felt as long as the descent to the underworld, but he was finally there. No sign of Jade’s ghost waiting to punish him. Unfortunately, he was alone all night. 

It was alright there, though, less painful that he had imagined it would be. Mason could breathe freely, so much so that he didn’t light his cigarette. He played with it for hours between his fingers, just watching the changing world around him. Mason had never considered the rooftop beautiful until Jade remarked how different it all was up there. He didn’t stop to think about that kind of thing, too busy hiding from the overwhelming pressure of it. But then, he understood the beauty that Jade had seen on being a part of the scene. If the sun didn’t rise, if it all remained so quiet, if Jade was still there…

It didn’t happen often that someone managed to startle Mason. Even if Nate opened the door gently, Mason’s guard still went up, his body taut with tension. But it was just Nate, smiling softly. Despite his efforts, he still looked tired, defeated. He walked closer.

“May I?” Nate asked, nodding to the place on the ledge next to Mason, who shrugged.

Mason relaxed a smidge as Nate took a seat. He couldn’t remember a time when his friend sat out there with him. 

“No smoking tonight?” said Nate. Mason shrugged again.

“Don’t feel like it.”

Nate hummed as a response. They remained in comfortable silence for a good while.

“I don’t think I ever met someone brave enough to take the great myths so seriously,” whispered Nate.

“I wouldn’t say brave. More like stupid. Or foolish. That seems something like what you would say.”

Nate let out a hollow chuckle.

“I’m not here to lecture you, Mason. What you did was dangerous, but I admire that in you.”

Mason turned slightly to look at his friend. He was still smiling, but seemed miles away.

“As if it isn’t something you would do,” replied Mason.

“But I didn’t do it, did I? I accepted the defeat. I have read every book in that library, but I wasn’t strong enough to think there could be any other way. I couldn’t…”

Nate stopped himself and looked down to their dangling legs. 

“You couldn’t what? If anyone would know how to charm the Lord of the Dead, that would be you.”

This time, Nate didn’t laugh. He sighed and closed his eyes, as if not looking at Mason would make it easier to talk.

“I wouldn’t be able to carry on if I failed. I wouldn’t be able to live an eternity with that guilt.”

It took Mason by surprise. Nate was the one amongst them that could be the enchanting prince in the fairytale. He was the one in love with love itself. As much as he wanted to ask about all of those things, he waited for the other man to continue. 

“I don’t remember a time when I loved someone enough to take such a risk. I don’t know how it must feel to lose something so precious.”

“It’s ripping me apart,” Mason choked on the words, but he finally said it. It was like his chest was wide open to the world. The first wound he was unable to heal at will and, like everything else, it burned him. 

“I won’t tell you that you can know love like Jade’s again,” Nate promised, “because it’s rare enough to have found it once. But I can tell you that it will stop hurting one day.”

“What if I don’t want it to stop?” Nate looked at him, frowning, but let him explain himself. “This is the last thing of Jade’s that I have. It hurts, but it’s hers. And don’t tell me she wouldn’t want me in pain my whole life. I don’t care about what she would have wanted, because she isn’t here.”

There wasn’t any real rage in his last words, only the frustration of not finding the way to explain his pain. Both love and loss were so new to him. How could he put into words all those feelings he had discovered so recently? Why did he have to uncover such troubling emotions when he never cared about them? Mason didn’t know if he was happier before, but he certainly felt safer.

“Eternity is a long time to grieve, Mason, but you are not alone.”

“I know,” Mason admitted, “I’m stuck with you forever.”

For the first time in many weeks, Mason smiled. It was weak, like it resisted its place on his face, but it was the first crack on the wall of sadness around him. Eternity was indeed a long time to grieve, so he wasn’t in a hurry. He would feel the loss, the tragedy, the melancholy for as long as he wanted. And then… Then he would still remember Jade. He would miss her for all eternity, which meant that he would love her for just as long.