The previous month, Jean had experienced a true nightmare. He hadn’t expected a break-in; his father’s estate was the safest in the city, with all the best alarm systems and protection. But it hadn’t been enough. They’d still gotten in.
Jean could remember all the blood, how Marco shielded him with his body, surrounded him with his wings, bullets pounding endlessly into his back. Jean had cried out his name so many times, but each time, Marco had given him that reassuring smile. “I’m your G.A.,” he’d said. “This is what I do.” And then he’d coughed up blood.
Jean escaped that night’s horror with nothing but a knife wound to the side, but Marco had been shot, stabbed, and finally tased. Jean could still remember how his body had spasmed, his wings convulsed. And in his final last-ditch attempt, Marco had saved him. “Cover your ears,” he’d managed to say, grabbing Jean’s hands and bringing them up to either side of his head. He obeyed, nodded, and when Marco opened his mouth next, it was to emit a frequency so awful, that the intruders on his other side fell to their knees, and Jean saw blood shoot from their ears and eyes. Even with his own covered, Jean suffered momentary deafness, and had a reeling headache for days. Marco never stopped apologizing, and Jean never stopped thanking him.