The Vampire King's Wife

Advice From A Brother

The beginning was hard for Marco. He didn't know how to tell Alianna anything about it. 

Because in the beginning, it had been sweet.

 Innocent. 

Two friends who were just understanding that boy plus girl equals some kind of curious reaction. But they were still just a pair of kids. Binging on carbs and junk food, Alianna was Marco’s pearl he found on the beach. And Marco was her best friend. 

He put her on a pedestal from the moment he saw her, and because of her, staying in Russia while his father handled business, became a blessing. Marco stopped bitching and whining and spent the majority of his time wanting to be with Alianna. 

After her father found out that he was a visiting prince from Italy, he’d had him and Jim moved from the safe house. Suddenly they were in the palace with Delgado’s family, and Marco was right down the hall from Alianna. It was crazy, sneaking off in the middle of the night to catch fireflies, or sending each other notes with pixie dust. 

With her brothers in school abroad, the two preteens had the palace to themselves. Both Delgado and Athena were busy, so far almost a month the two ran wild. 

“I remember what it was like being around Ali then,” he told his brother softly, “It was like being around this constant warmth of light and love.” Javier grinned as Marco whispered, “I almost killed it.” 

Javier winced and urgently reminded his brother, “It wasn’t your fault, NO ONE thought it would happen and it's not like you hurt her." Marco laughed awkwardly, “I still...you know...did stuff." Snorting, Javier filled in those blanks tiredly, “You were a kid, a little pubescent virgin hyped up on blood lust who was starting to think boobs all the time. Dude we’ve both been there remember?” 

Laughing, Marco shook his head, “I don’t know why, but I keep wanting to see you as a kid. It’s like I keep waiting for ma to cuss me out for teaching you bad words.” Grinning at his big brother fondly, Javier taunted, “I learned every bad word under the sun because of my big brother. Thank you for that.” Marco rolled his eyes, “f**k off.” 

Watching Marco sulk, Javier noticed him playing with the old charm necklace and shook his head.  Over twelve years, and he still never took it off. “What are you scared of?” Javier questioned making Marco’s eyes snap up, “You have her here, and she’s not going anywhere. Might as well bust out the moves, and then tell her. As soon as possible.” 

It sounded simple, but fear was not one to be played with. “But what if I tell her, she remembers, and she hates me for what I did? What if I…scare her?” Javier grinned placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder kindly, “She’s already seen your face bro. Nothing about you should scare her away after that.” 

Smacking his brother’s head, Marco could admit the laugh helped. But it did nothing to stop the fear churning in his gut that if he wasn’t careful, history would repeat itself.