More Than Starlight (Lady Midnight Julian + Emma)

Chapter 7 - Some Rules Must Be Broken

Julian had picked Emma up in his arms and was running back to the car with Livvy helping him get her back. The sun was just beginning to set and Emma's vision was a hazy blend of yellow, orange and blue. They had reached the car that was mostly hidden on an empty street and he sat her on the ground against the tire. His hand was on the back of her neck, angling her face up towards her as he examined her frantically. Flashbacks of the night with Julian in the back of this car came surging through her memory- her shaking hands trying to heal him, his hands on her back, his blood soaking through her clothes and in her hair. Livvy looked petrified as she stared at Emma, blood pulsing slowly from the cut across her neck. It wasn't deep and it wasn't normal for it to still be bleeding.

"Livvy, I- I need you- iratze," The words came out of Emma's mouth between panting breaths as Livvy's eyes widened in horror.

"No, Emma, Julian needs to, it'll be stronger. Emma, this isn't normal." Her voice was shaking as she kneeled to Emma's side.

"No, no- I need you to do it, please." She pressed a stele into Livvy's hand who took it cautiously and pulled off Emma's jacket, pulling her tank top strap down her shoulder to reveal her collarbone. Her shaky hands began sketching the iratze rune on her skin, but even before it was finished, it had faded into her skin.

"Emma, please- please let me," Julian pleaded, putting his hand on her shoulder but Emma cut him off.

"Again, Livvy. Try it again." Livvy nodded determinedly and began drawing the rune with more focus than before. Again, the black scrawls dissipated into the pale color of her skin. She tried again to the same effect.

"It's not working, Emma!" Livvy was beginning to panic, her hands shaking.

"Emma, let me do it!" Julian was all but screaming now.

"No, Julian!" Emma shouted back, turning back to Livvy, "Liv, I believe in you. Try again." But before she could start drawing again, Julian snatched the stele out of her hand and crawled over to straddle Emma's outstretched legs, "Julian, I said NO!" She screamed, her voice cracking as another wave of pain surged through her body.

"Goddammit, Em! You don't have a choice!" He was screaming, body shaking from rage as he set the tip of the stele to Emma's exposed collarbone.

"Julian- No-" She put her hands up to his shoulders to push him away but it was too late, he had channeled all of his rage and energy into the rune he began tracing onto her skin. A gasp escaped Emma's lips and she gripped his shoulders hard, her head falling back against the car as the rune began to take shape, not simply black but glowing a glorious silver. Unlike the dull burning runes usually gave, this was like a wave of pleasure flooding her body as it formed. Julian had placed one hand on the car beside Emma's head to steady himself as he moved the stele smoothly, sweat dripping from his brow as he put everything into the rune. All of his energy, all of his power, all of his rage, all of his love. Emma moaned lowly as her eyes fluttered shut and her hands moved up to the nape of his neck. When the rune was finished, the glowing began fading, but the black rune remained and the gash along her neck began closing up. Jules released the breath he was holding and hung his head, panting as if he had just run a marathon. Livvy looked astonished, her eyes flicking between the stele and the now completed rune. Emma opened her eyes and touched her hand to her throat to feel noting but dried blood. They all sat in stunned silence until Livvy broke it.

"What- What just happened?" She was staring at Julian incredulously, her voice practically a shout.

"I- I healed her with an iratze." Julian was still breathing heavily, his hands now hung by his sides as he sat back on his heels.

"Iratzes don't glow, Julian! Runes don't do that!" Livvy was shrieking now, looking at both of them in confusion. Emma couldn't help it as a blush spread across her cheeks, the sensation of the rune had passed, but she knew that it was the beginning of what Malcolm and Jem had both talked about.

"Just drop it, Livvy." Julian shot back, his voice sharp.

"No, Jules! Tell me what is going on!" Emma couldn't tell if she was angry or scared or confused, but she assumed it was a mixture of all of the above.

Julian's voice dropped to a whisper as he stood up, "Please, Livvy. I'm begging you, just don't say anything about this, okay? What matters is Emma is okay." Emma slowly stood up, refusing the hand Julian offered. Livvy's anger faded into a pale face of worry as she stood up silently and nodded.

They had stood up and leaned against the car, Emma checking her phone. 6 missed calls. She redialed and called Cristina back, telling them where they were parked. Cristina and Mark came around the corner jogging, Diego nowhere in sight.

"There you all are, sorry it took so long, we had to walk to g-" Cristina cut off as she saw the blood spattered on the concrete and the blood staining all of their clothes, "What happened?!"

The three of them exchanged looks before Emma responded, "We ran into some issues, but everything is okay now. We're just exhausted and want to get back. We can talk about what we found when we get back." The sun had completely set by now, the sky the indigo color of twilight as they all climbed into the car. Cristina had offered to drive and Mark sat in the passenger seat, Emma, Julian and Livvy getting in the back. The traffic on the way home was worse, making the car ride seem immensely longer. The car was dark, Livvy looking out the window at the passing lights. Julian had his body half turned to rest in the corner of the door while he was watching Emma. She was exhausted, failing to keep her eyes open. She was lying back on the seat with one hand in her lap and the other to her side. Subtly in the darkness, Julian moved his hand over hers and began stroking her fingers comfortingly. Then he began forming letters in their secret language. I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U-E-M-I-C-A-N-T-L-O-S-E-Y-O-U. She turned her head slightly to look at him, his blue-green eyes reflecting the small bits of light that slipped through the window. She smiled remorsefully as her heavy eyelids fell closed as she drifted off into sleep.

The car pulled up the pebble road to the institute, the bumpiness rousing Emma from her light sleep. Julian must have fallen asleep at some point during the drive too because he woke up with a start and pulled his hand quickly away from Emma's. The car stopped and they got out, all but Livvy who was still asleep against the door despite the inside light coming on. Livvy was always the one who slept through anything and this was no exception. This day must have worn her out.

"I got her, you guys go on inside," Julian said sleepily as opened the door on her side but she simply rolled back towards the inside of the car, "Let's get you inside, Liv." Emma watched from the top of the steps as Julian picked her up in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder as it did many times when she was younger. She seemed much younger than 15 now and Julian seemed much older than 17. He met Emma's eyes and nodded up toward the window of his studio. She simply nodded in response and went inside. Julian went up to Livvy's room and laid her down on the bed, setting her gear jacket and weapons on her dresser. He pulled a blanket up over her shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead before turning off the light and closing the door. He went to all the kid's rooms to make sure they were there. Dru was sleeping with Tavvy in his tent and Kit was sitting in Ty's room talking to him. A sense of relief ran through him as he realized that for one more day, everyone was okay. Mark and Cristina crossed paths with him in the hallway and she looked at him with worried eyes.

"Is everything alright? Livvy and Emma both seem exhausted."

"Yeah, everything is fine now, we saw the body. It was a faerie boy about our age this time, and there were more letters. N-L-K. It wasn't an acronym, it's just only part of the message. But there are no vowels, it doesn't make sense," He looked down, shaking his head, "I feel like we should be able to figure this out. Maybe it's scrambled? But we don't know how many more letters we need and we can't just wait around for more people to be killed. I don't know. But I do know that everyone is exhausted, how about we meet in the library tomorrow morning after everyone has gotten sleep and try to figure things out?"

"Good idea, get some sleep. And let me know if you need anything. Be smart, Julian." Mark put his hand on his brother's shoulder sympathetically, but gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, indicating that his words had more than one meaning. Julian nodded and walked away from them until they were out of sight when he headed down the hall to his studio. Be smart, Julian. He knew exactly what he was referring to, get sleep and stay rested but also don't get caught with Emma. But he vowed that he wouldn't; they had been too caught up in their excitement this morning and he was not going to let this slip through his fingers because of his carelessness. He took a deep breath and opened the door to the studio.