Chapter 456

456 Only Blood Binds Us(Part Two)

***CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE***

Tidas stood with his foot jutted out as Marco hit the ground. A massive wave of satisfaction swept over him before another made of worry overtook him. He’d hit his brother much harder than he had planned to, but his anger had made his control slip a tad.

As he went to extend his hand, Marco put his up, making Tidas stop mid-motion. He checked to make sure that his nose wasn’t broken, then got up onto his feet with a placid expression. After brushing off some non-existent dust, he reached for the door handle.

Sheri was standing right outside of the door, waiting to come in at Marco’s command. When he opened the door, her eyes jumped from one brother to the other. As she waited for orders that she didn’t really want to follow, Marco glanced to her side..

“Cloak the room. It seems that my little brother wants to challenge me.”

Sheri bent her knee; “Are you sure that he should, My Prince? Isn’t there a law stating-”

“I know the laws, Sheri. Have him cloak my office now, and knock twice when it’s done. Three is anyone approaches my office. And don’t ever question me again,” Marco replied with an icy gaze.

Sheri nodded in understanding, then closed the door. When Marco turned back to his youngest brother, he smirked as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose, then spoke in his usual monotone.

“If you wanted to fight me, Tidas: you should’ve just said so. I have a man cloaking this room as we speak. It won’t last long, but it should be enough time for me to put you in your place.”

.....

Tidas quirked an eyebrow at him; “What mage can cloak a room?! I’ve never heard of him.”

Marco scoffed as he took his over jacket off; “That’s because he’s not from Alcon.. There’s many mages in the world, brother. You just have to know where to look.”

Tidas returned his condescending tone as he said; “And what were you looking for when you found him?”

Marco grinned with darkness reflected in his eyes. There was something there that Tidas hadn’t seen before, and it sent an ominous chill up his spine. As they finished removing everything that usually wouldn’t be allowed in a fist fight, Sheri knocked on the door..

Bang.. Bang..

The two brothers locked eyes as Tidas said; “Powers or not?”

Marco outright laughed before replying; “It’s funny to hear you being so frank with me. I’ve always hated that prince charming act you do.. Your real nature is almost as dark as mine. Why you’ve kept it leashed up all of these years is beyond me.”

Tidas glared at his brother as they started to circle each other; “I am Nothing like you.. You don’t give two shits about anyone that you can’t benefit from. You ignore and abandon your children, and left your wife to the wolves. In the words of the Highland King: you’re a shit person.”

Marco chortled as he rolled up a sleeve; “At least I’m honest about who I am. You can’t say that, can you, little brother? If you were, Skye would be locked away in a tower somewhere. I wasn’t kidding about that possessive streak of yours.. What would our beautiful Skye say about the darkness growing in your heart?!”

As Marco had said the last word of the sentence, he charged at Tidas. He easily dodged, but Marco had half-flipped and spun around on his hands to kick his brother instead of toppling over. The move had taken Tidas by surprise since he had never seen Marco move so fluidly before.

If he wasn’t a war veteran, then his brother might’ve gotten the better of him. But Tidas had caught himself, and managed to jump right back up onto his feet. Marco was on his as well, putting the two nearly right back to where they had started.

As they started to circle each other again, Marco started to antagonize Tidas again..

“Just out of curiosity: why do you let Skye go wherever she wishes? A woman like that should be kept close: about leash-length away.. You know that she would’ve been much safer at Moonstone Castle instead of here. Especially since you supposedly knew of my ‘fixation’..”

Tidas clenched his fists as he looked for an opening, and replied; “Then Father would’ve thrown a fit. No doubt partially on your behalf.”

Marco flashed a cheshire grin; “Ah, that’s right. We did decide that Skye was better off here. Would you like to know why?”

Tidas had barely waited for Marco to finish his sentence before he was running at him. He was trying to keep his Tank trait in check, but even when it fluctuated: Marco was on par with him. As a sinking feeling filled his being, Tidas decided to test his theory, and prayed that he was wrong..

Marco was successfully blocking the majority of the barrage of punches his brother was throwing at him. The few that were getting through were body shots, and they wouldn’t leave a visible mark. As Tidas slowly increased his strength, Marco lagged a bit, but kept up with him.

As a sense of urgency surged through him as the thought crossed his mind; ‘Does Marco have a fucking Tank trait, too?!’

“That’s new.. When did you get another trait?” Tidas asked, deciding to confront him now.

Marco chuckled; “So you noticed, hmm? Probably around the same time that you got that handy Shaman trait..”

Tidas kept his face unchanging, but inside he was irritated.. ‘I knew there was a high chance that he’d notice, but I didn’t think the bastard would catch on to which type of trait I’d gotten..’

“How did you figure out that it was Shaman?”

Marco shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes bespoke a devil’s will as he replied; “I’ve been watching Skye closely enough to know..”

Right as Tidas felt his rage skyrocket, Marco’s face stretched into a smile that matched his eyes. He held up his hand, and Tidas felt his darkness stir..

A sudden need to kill Marco sent him stumbling towards him, but Tidas stopped mid-way. He remembered Skye telling him that the chemical effects of the magic on his brain were similar to when she had drank. She tried to explain regulating his hormones and metabolism to get rid of the effects of the magic, but he couldn’t remember it all.

As frustrating panic began to rise up in his chest, Tidas’ body reacted to the threat like it had in the Highlands..

Once his mind had mostly cleared, Tidas glared at his brother as he said; “You just tried to use your Ether..”

Marco’s eyes widened for a moment as he replied; “Impressive control, little brother! I’m not very good with my Tank yet, but as you know: I’m a fast learner. By the way, how do you not break all of your tea cup handles? It’s becoming an issue for me.”

Tidas straightened up and readied to jump again as he retorted; “Don’t drink it then!”

Marco turned his body slightly and side-stepped him, but Tidas was ready for it. They had moved over to where the couches and large coffee table were, and Marco was between him, and the table. With a quick spin, Tidas kicked his brother; with the tip of his boot going right into Marco’s gut.

As he cried out from the sudden pain, Marco landed on the coffee table, and broke it into several pieces. Tidas then picked up his dazed brother, spun him around as fast as he could, then launched him at the painting of Skye. As he hit it and crashed to the ground, the ripped portrait came with him.

Marco had been shocked by his brother’s lack of restraint, but their meeting was still working out quite well for him. Tidas had already warned him that they would have a chat, but he had shown up far earlier than Marco thought he would’ve. Without Norvis, he couldn’t have the exact ‘proof’ that he’d hoped for, but the damage and wounds would be enough for what he needed...

************

Sheri stood outside the door listening to the ruckus coming from inside with a sour expression. She didn’t like what Marco was doing, but there was nothing she could do. Even just thinking about warning Skye sent massive tremors of pain throughout her body.. ‘I’d most likely die before I could warn them anyways.. No point in worrying now..’

Right as the thought crossed her mind, Sheri got a familiar pinging feeling coming from her shard of Marco’s amulet. He was calling to her, just like he said that he would. The plan was altered, but she had instructions for multiple possibilities and outcomes.

As she rushed into the room, Ahriman dropped the cloak, and disappeared into the shadows of the palace. As Sheri started to help a battered Marco to his feet, several guards filed into the room, and immediately pointed their weapons at Tidas. As he stood there unflinching, Marco held up his hand..

“This was a fight between two brothers. No need to treat the Commander of the RMC like a criminal. Call for servants to come clean and repair this room..”

Marco stared at Tidas for a few lingering moments, then added; “And send for Mr. Picario: tell him I need a new painting done of Princess Skye.”

Tidas huffed testily, told Marco that they would finish their ‘lively debate’ later, then left. Marco acted far more injured than he was; playing his part of his script well. When it came time for Sheri’s lines, she hesitated, earning her another searing wave of pain. With that and a stern look from her King: Sheri played along..

Speaking loud enough for all of the known-to-gossip guards to hear, Sheri said; “Pardon me My Prince, but may I speak frankly?”

After he nodded, Sheri continued; “Why do you tolerate him?! This isn’t the first time that he has tried to kill you! I know that he’s your younger brother, and everyone Thinks he’s a hero, but they’ve never seen how he treats you! Or how Skye runs to you for safety and real lov-”

“That’s enough, Sheri,” Marco barked; “He is my brother, and she is his wife. No matter anyone’s feelings on the matter, like he said before: he essentially owns her.. He’s too smart to let Father catch him doing anything nefarious. All I can do is protect her the best that I can.. If that means taking His punches for her, then I’ll do it,” Marco replied with all of the fake sincerity he had in him.

As the guards immediately started to talk about what they had witnessed, Sheri ‘helped’ Marco out of the room, and down the hall. She felt disgusting, and wanted to take a searing-hot shower after her shift. Marco, however, couldn’t keep the smile off of his face..