Chapter 6: The Law Is Hard

                                    

                                          
Ember and Jonathan stopped walking as soon as they reached the red, two-story brick house surrounded by rosebushes. Jonathan's hand was warm and calloused in hers, no doubt roughened over the years by rigorous training and the endless task of battling the shadows found in the darkness. There was dried blood on the side of his hand, but Ember didn't care. He was okay now; that's all that mattered. 
                          
Ember turned to face him. Jonathan was staring intensely at his shoes. The conflicted look in his eyes hadn't disappeared. 
                          
"I guess this is goodnight," Ember said quietly. 
                          
Jonathan raised his gaze. His pale face was unlined and expressionless, his eyes blank. "I guess it is." 
                          
Knowing that there was nothing she could do to change his mind, Ember dug in the pocket of her coat and drew out her key to the house. She leaned in and planted a featherlight kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight, Jonathan." She unlocked the door as quietly as she could and opened it. Thankfully, it didn't creak. 
                          
She slid off her flats and started up the stairs, taking one step at a time, being careful enough to not step on the places she knew creaked. She reached her room and let out a sigh of relief. Sighing, she shrugged off her coat and looked in the mirror. Her feet were freezing, but her red high-waisted skirt, striped black and white long-sleeve shirt and patterned lace stockings looked perfect, and also seemed a little French. Jonathan didn't like many things, but she knew he loved Paris, and she chose the outfit based on that. 
                          
A shadow appeared in the window, and Jonathan's training awoke some hidden reflex inside of her. She instinctively reached for the baseball bat she kept near her bedside. Ember grasped it firmly in her hands, ready to swing. The shadow swung from a lamppost onto Ember's window effortlessly, gracefully. It opened her window and crept in soundlessly. Ember aimed for the shadow's head and swung. The figure ducked and its arm flew out and gripped her around the waist. 
                          
"Shh, it's me," the figure whispered, and Ember immediately recognized its deep voice. 
                          
Jonathan suddenly pulled her body against his, and Ember hugged him with an equal amount of force, perhaps even more. His mouth crashed against hers, his lips moving with an ardor and passion that he had never kissed her with before. She felt her breath hitch and her heart race inside her ribcage, and she moved her lips against his in a dance as old as time that all lovers knew. 
                          
Before long, they had somehow gotten closer to her bed and she felt the soft covers of her bed brush against the back of her knees. Jonathan broke away from her and lowered her gently onto the bed. His black eyes showed so many different emotions in such short bursts of time, and it made them unreadable. He pressed his forehead gently against Ember's, and they stayed like that for a while, their irregular breaths mingling in the cold darkness. 
                          
"I can't do this anymore," he murmured. "I can't hide how I feel about you. Not any longer."
                          
Ember pressed her lips to his forehead, allowing herself to feel the warm smoothness of his skin below her lips. "Jonathan." His name was barely a whisper, but it seemed to echo in the quiet room. 
                          
Jonathan rolled to his side and stared up at the ceiling. Ember rolled onto her stomach, propped herself onto her elbows and rested her head in her hands. Her eyes followed his movements attentively.  
                          
"All my life I've been taught that emotions cloud judgement and that to love is to destroy. I've been told that I'm nothing but a monster, that the only things I do well are kill and destroy. My mother hated me so much when I was a baby that she left. Maybe she was right to go. My father blamed me for her departure, and he hated me for it as well. Maybe my sister is right to hate me, too. I've done unforgivable things. I'm a monster. All I do is destroy, and destroy those who I care for." He turned his head. His onyx eyes burned into Ember's. "But not you. Not yet. I don't even know why I went to that park that day, and I don't know why I didn't kill you once I saw that you could see me. I have never hesitated to kill, but I couldn't kill you. Something in you caught my attention. I've been with mundanes, vampires, even a few faeries. No one ever cared how I felt. No one ever dared to ask. When you did, I was thrown off guard. I don't like many people, but I liked you, and I couldn't when we went our separate ways, I couldn't get you out of my head. I tried to forget you. I did everything in my power to try to, and nothing worked. It was all in vain. I barely knew you, Ember, but something in you called to me. Now I know why. You're nothing but goodness. We compliment each other perfectly. You soothe me. You suppress my demon nature."