Darkness. 

She was surrounded by darkness. A cold abyss that was unforgiving and silently lethal. Alone, frozen and aching; Blair sat up and opened her eyes to an empty space. She knew from the moment she opened her eyes, that she wasn't in some normal room or earthly world. Blair was in the realm of the dead.

"Smart move," she mumbled under her frosty breath, which was the only thing she could see in front of her.

"Do you think so?" asked a voice she thoroughly recognized. It was Tony's, but not his at all.

Blair rubbed the stinging ache, which was growing in her head. "Bringing me to the spirit realm gives you more power," she stated. "Instead of fighting me in my world, you brought me where you're stronger."

Tony snickered in the dark.

"Release Tony's body at once," she warned.

"I kind of like this body," he said. "He's young, strong and has a very handsome and kind face, unlike mine." Tony chuckled coldly as he continued to circle in the darkness around her. "And if you hadn't gotten in my way, I wouldn't have to go this far," he remarked.

Blair got to her feet and scoffed; "I don't let things like you roam in my world," she retorted.

The entity emerged from the darkness, but his true form was hidden behind Tony's gentle face. "I'm going to give you the cruelest of deaths, witch," he cursed. "But first, I shall have a lot of fun playing with you."

Blair was caught off guard when a hard fist slammed into her jaw. She stumbled onto the floor and spat out blood. Tony's face had twisted into something cruel and evil. He climbed over her and slapped her as hard as he could. Blair's cheek throbbed and she was sure a heinous bruise would fester over her face. He held her down with his weight, bringing his hand in front of her eyes, his nails grew into fierce claws.

"You witches never know when to back off," said Tony. "I'll just have to get rid of all of the witches. But once I get rid of you, that is." With a cold snicker, he took one of his claws and sliced across her stomach, tearing her open. Tony bent down to her and looked into her wet eyes. "Does it hurt?" he asked as his claw dug into the wound spilling more of her blood.

Blair's eyes blurred. Her shrieking cry echoed through the realm, but no one was here to save her. Tony abruptly pulled his claw out of her, she gasped and grabbed her wound that was hot and wet.

He brought his bloody hand in front of her. "Feels so good to kill again," he confessed. "And it was all possible because I convinced that old geezer to make a dying wish."

Blair's eyes snapped open. "You told Roman about the wish?"

Tony snickered as he shifted on top of her, putting all his weight near her wound giving her excruciating agony. "He was so desperate to see his kids-" the entity's foul stench burning Blair's eyes- "So, I told him that there was a way and he blindly followed."

Blair coughed up blood. "You're sick," she spat blood on him.

The entity's flaming red eyes, which were amused, turned furious. Laying in her own pool of blood, she turned to escape, but Tony's rough hands grabbed a hold of her hair. He mercilessly slammed her head onto the concrete floor, busting it open. Blair's head rang with tremendous pain. She blanked and wished for something or someone to help her.

In the darkness, Blair felt her palm tighten around a handle she was all too familiar with. A breath of relief escaped from her. She didn't wait for the entity to attack, but instead she went ahead full force. Blair seized the dagger and sliced across Tony's chest. Tony wouldn't feel anything or get any marks from the blade, but the entity would burn in agony.

Tony toppled back with a shrieking cry, he held onto his chest. "How did that dagger enter this realm?" he astonished.

Blair looked down at the blade. "It's a part of this realm," she said as she remembered that her grandma had made this blade with her sister-witches in the 'dream world' which was the spirit realm.

Tony's face twisted with anger and he lunged forward. His hands clawed away at Blair's arms as she fought him off of her. However, Blair was over-powered. Tony covered her with his weight and held her down. Tony's hands tried to retrain her arm with the dagger that she eagerly wanted to use to stab the life out of him.

Blair fought against the restraint, but there was no use. Tony's eyes grew malicious as he stared down at her. His hand inched closer to her neck and she knew at that moment she was in trouble. Tony's cold hand reached to collar her throat, when something peculiar occurred that they both weren't prepared for. Tony had been repelled from Blair when he reached to choke her. She wondered how in the world she had been saved, when it hit her. Blair reached her neck and grabbed the locket secured around it.

"I know now, how to kill you," she muttered. Her frozen hands grabbed the locket coating it with her warm blood. She wrapped the necklace around the dagger and her hand. She got onto her feet that had mustered their last ounce of strength. "It's good you brought me here," she said. "Now, I don't have to waste my time sending you back to hell you crawled out of."

The entity ran towards her with a crazed look in his flaming red eyes. And this time, Blair didn't even hesitate.

"When you need me, I shall show and fight," she repeated, "I conquer evil and protect the light-" Blair rammed the silver blade straight into Tony's chest, stopping the entity right in its tracks. Tony dropped to his knees and she didn't take the blade out until she knew that the darkness had been cleansed entirely. Bright white light flashed out of Tony's eyes and mouth, returning him back to normal.

A few moments passed when Tony's eyes cleared out and he opened them.

"What...what happened?" Tony rasped with his sore voice.

"Don't speak," she shushed him. "You're injured and need to be cleansed. So, just hold on." Tony had collapsed in her arms without a second warning.

Blair looked around her and noticed that she was still stuck in the spirit realm. The darkness hadn't subsided and she wasn't back home. This is bad, she thought to herself because if she didn't get them back to the living-realm, they'd soon become targets of the dead here. And she wasn't really in the condition to put up another fight, especially since the dagger and her locket had both disappeared.

"Blair," a familiar voice called out for her, she opened her eyes that had blood dripping down in them from the cut on the temple of her forehead. "Blair." She heard her name again and it was Maddox's voice.

"Great," she muttered hopelessly. "I'm hallucinating now." A burst of golden, amber light burned Blair's eyes blinding her. She looked away and protected Tony.

"Blair," the voice was much closer now.

Blair snapped her head around and couldn't believe her eyes. Maddox was standing in front of her. "What in the bloody Mary's name?" she astonished. "How did you-"

"I can travel through portals, remember?" He helped her carry Tony. "Nate and Anastasia are holding the portal open, so we need to hurry." Maddox anchored Tony's limp body as she followed behind him. The quickly jumped through the portal back to their world and ended up in the middle of Maddox's home.

Blair's head spun, and her eyes blacked out. The only thing she heard before she passed out was Melinda's alarmed voice and Maddox's arms around her.

A bright light stung through Blair's lids and forced her to awaken from her slumber, that wasn't at all refreshing. Her body ached from everywhere, she felt like her head had split into two and her gut was sweltering. Blair opened her eyes to a different ceiling than the one from her own bedroom. She slowly remembered that this was Maddox's room. She lifted her head and sat up on the bed, when the door suddenly opened.

"You're awake," said Maddox. He came to her side. "Are you okay? Do you need something, perhaps water? Or should I get Anastasia?"

"Just sit down," she said simply, "and some water would be nice."

Maddox handed her a cool glass of water. He didn't sit down until he saw her finish the entire glass. He grabbed the glass from her after she finished, and then, he sat on the stool next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore and like I need a bath," she yawned.

"You have quite a few injuries," he said. "Three broken ribs, you got over thirteen stitches on your stomach, almost four on your head and your body is covered in bruises."

Blair lifted the blanket and saw that she was in Maddox's t-shirt and shorts, but also bandaged like a mummy. "Well, now I see why I feel like crap," she chuckled, which hurt more than getting beat up by an old entity. "How's Tony?" she asked Maddox.

"He's holding up fine," he answered. "He doesn't understand what's happened, but your cousins explained it to him."

"Is he hurt badly?" she asked and Maddox shook his head giving her an answer.

Maddox raked his dark hair. "You scared the life out of me, Blair," he admitted. "What happened in that place? How'd you save Tony?"

"I stabbed the entity with the dagger, but not before, he did all of this to me," she gestured towards her battered body.

Maddox jaw tightened. "Damn, I should've helped you," he mumbled. "I should've went through that portal earlier."

Blair laughed with great difficulty again. "You saved both of us, Maddox," she said. "I had no way of getting out of the spirit realm, if you hadn't helped me." Maddox covered her view with his broad shoulders, he cupped her nape and brought her lips up to meet his. He kissed her long and hard.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," he scolded her.

Blair pushed off the duvet. "I'll try not to," she said teasingly. Blair swung her legs off the bed, but she moved too hastily.

"Be careful," Maddox caught her and he wrapped his arm around her waist. "What do you need?"

"Take me to Tony," she said. "I need to talk to him."

Maddox guided her out of the room and into the bright and sunny living-room, which was sadly a mess. All the mirrors, couches and lamps had been destroyed. A temporary set up had been placed, and that was where everyone had gathered.

Tony was sitting next to Nate as they chatted away. Melinda and Anastasia were in the kitchen making coffee. Eleanor was still asleep from the long, tiring night.

"Blair!" Anastasia's voice rang through the flat. Her cousin ran over and slammed right into Blair. "Why are you on your feet?" she astounded.

Melinda followed. "Blair, do you need anything?" she asked. "We could've brought it to the room."

"Everyone, just give her some space," Maddox pushed the girls away and helped Blair to the seat next to Tony.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Tony.

Tony smiled. "I should be asking you," he remarked. "But I'm fine."

Blair looked right through that mask of pretences. "You were possessed by an entity, you can't just be fine," she remarked. Tony's earnest gaze fell to his clasped, nervous hands. "It'll pass," she said. "The fear and weariness in your heart will pass, Tony."

Tony gazed into her eyes. "I wish for that too," he said. "I'm sorry Blair. I may have had no control, but I remember everything. I did this to you."

"No, it was the entity." Blair lifted her pale hand and put it right on top of his. "You will feel cleansed after this," she whispered for his ears. "Nothing will hinder your thoughts or consume your dreams. You'll beat this." Tony's foggy aura diminished and was once again he had been purified.

Maddox suddenly got wind of what just happened. "Did you just use magic again?" he asked Blair. "You're still weak-" he glared at her- "damn, this woman."

Blair shrugged. "I can't help myself," she said. "So, stop pestering and take me back to the room. I need a long bath and some food."

Maddox growled at her, but he still helped her off the chair and took her back to the bedroom. "You can't use magic until you fully heal," he reprimanded.

Blair used the counter in the bathroom for support. But her head was still light and she didn't have a lot of strength. Maddox grumbled something under his breath and grabbed her hips by force.

"What are you-" Blair shut her mouth after Maddox angrily glared at her. He lifted her high enough and positioned her to take a seat on the counter-top. Maddox worked to take off her bandages and clothes. "Maddox," she called out his name and tried to grab a hold of his gaze, but he wouldn't let in. His eyes just focused on the task on hand. "I feel fine," she lied, but it didn't work. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Maddox froze and lifted his face to meet hers. "You don't need to apologize," he sighed.

"If you're not upset with me, then what are you thinking so hard about?" she asked.

Maddox leaned on the counter pushing her back. "I'm just thinking how I finally got myself a girlfriend, but she also happens to be a very troublesome witch," he believed.

Blair crossed her arms. "I don't know why you're talking when you're a witch too," she said.

Maddox gaped at her. "What?"

"Your grandma, Sienna Steele was a witch," she told him. "That's why you can travel through portals and see ghosts."

Maddox threw the last pieces of her bandages in the trash-bin. "That makes sense," he nodded. "So, was that the reason why you wanted to date me?"

Blair shook her head. "I only found out a couple of days ago," she said. "I had no idea that you had Wicca blood running in your veins."

Maddox moved to open her hair. "I guess it makes sense now," he mumbled. "I was attracted to you because we both shared that very intimate thing."

Blair held back her smile. "I think I found you even more hotter when I found out you have Wicca blood," she confessed.

Maddox raised a brow. "Oh really?" he smirked.

"Uh huh," she chuckled, but then, the mood shattered and she grabbed her sore ribs. "You need to get away from me."

Maddox was caught off guard when she pushed him back. "But why?" he sounded almost disappointed.

"Because when you're close to me, I just want to jump you," she said frankly. "And you keep trying to make me laugh and smile. And it hurts to do anything-" Maddox snickered at her condition- "It's not funny. Everything hurts."

Maddox forcefully pulled her into his embrace. "I'm sorry," he shushed her tantrum. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Blair got into the large tub of warm water that Maddox prepared for her. Anastasia had brought some healing oils and flowers for her to use as well.

"I still have to fix my shop," she muttered.

Maddox sat outside the tub right next to her. "I have to redo my apartment all over again too," he added after her.

"That's not even that bad," she remarked. "You only had like one couch and a lamp there. I think you should take this as an opportunity to add some colour in the place."

Maddox grinned. "I had this really great interior designer, but she's injured and somewhat occupied," he remarked hotly.

Blair splashed water on his white shirt. "I'll fix your suite right up," she promised.

Maddox dipped his hand under the water and laid it flat onto her stomach. "I think you should worry about your shop and health first," he suggested.

Blair blushed wildly. "G-good idea," she muttered and looked away. Her hand unconsciously moved towards her neck, but it was vacant and a piece inside of her broke. Blair closed her eyes and rested her head back on the ledge of the tub.

"Your locket," said Maddox as he witnessed her stiffen. "It wasn't with you when we came back."

"I used it to kill the entity," she said.

Maddox titled his head. "How?"

"My locket repelled the entity away from it's pure energy," she told him.

Maddox nodded. "I found something else strange too," he said. "None of the spirits attacked me or my family."

"It was because of this," she took her hand out of the water and skimmed his pinky where the ring she gave him rested. "My gifts protected all of you," she said.

Maddox's eyes widened. "You gave my mom the bracelet and Melinda the necklace," he added up.

Blair met Maddox's deep, amber gaze that always seemed to comfort her in a way nothing else ever could. She was surrounded by him and she didn't know what she felt that it was so strong.

"What's that look for?" he asked, amused.

"Thank you for saving me," she said softly. "You came into my life like a storm, but damn did you make it turn into something I never thought possible."

Maddox leaned forward and kissed the wound on her forehead. "I love you, Blair," he said softly with a voice so hot, it melted her.

Although it pained her body, she still fought against it and reached over to him. She wrapped her arms around Maddox and held him close. "I'm in love with you too," she replied. "And I never thought it was possible for someone like me to find it."

Maddox had opened her heart in a way no had ever done. She never knew that something like this was possible when all she faced in her life was rejection from people she trusted or tried to love. But Maddox didn't even compare to her parents or past boyfriends. She had given herself to Maddox, without hiding a single piece of herself and he accepted her, all of her. He was just as rare as the golden aura that surrounded him.