Rowan grins at the squirrel, then sinks back against the bench, inhaling deeply. “Beautiful night, isn’t it? Especially since we no longer have to worry about some psycho vampire plotting to abduct us.”
“Amen to that, sister.” Mia laughs.
I can’t believe how relaxed the three of them are after all that’s happened. I still can’t get my head around most of it.
We sit silently for a few minutes as the sun sinks lower, dipping below the horizon. Until a familiar presence washes over me, making my skin tingle. I don’t need to look up to know Marcus is here – I can feel him, sense his energy. But I do look up, and my breath catches.
“Uh-oh. Here comes trouble,” Poppy twitters.
“Quiet, Poppy!” Rowan tells her off.
Silhouetted in the post-dusk light, he stands at the garden entrance, tall and imposing in a perfectly tailored black suit that screams formality. Something’s different about him – there’s a weight to his presence that wasn’t there before. Or maybe I’m just more attuned to him now.
Fairy lights are twinkling to life in the garden as Mom and Dad stop their stroll, turning to face him. Gran’s expression is unreadable as she studies him. Rowan and Mia exchange knowing looks that make me want to hex them both.
“Marcus.” Dad’s voice carries across the garden. “It’s good to see you.”
I resist the urge to fidget with my mug, keeping my hands steady despite the surge of emotions running through me. Within him, I catch fragments of…something. Determination. Uncertainty. Purpose.
The air feels charged, like the moment before a thunderstorm. Marcus’s eyes find mine, and that invisible thread between us pulls taut. A week’s worth of unspoken words hang in the space between us.
“I apologize for arriving unannounced,” Marcus says, his voice carrying that familiar quiet authority. “But there are matters we need to discuss.”
Mia moves closer to me, protective as always, while Rowan looks on with undisguised interest. The garden feels smaller somehow, as if Marcus’s presence has consumed all the available space.
“Kinda easy on the eye, huh?” Poppy has bounced onto the armrest of the bench, eyes bright as she twitches her whiskers at me.
My God, he’s gorgeous.
I force myself to take a slow breath, trying to ignore how good he looks in that suit. Something about his stiff bearing sets off warning bells. This isn’t a casual visit – he’s here for a reason.
Marcus steps forward, his posture even more formal than his usual soldier-like stance. “The Blood Assembly has nominated me as the new Grand Elder.”
My tea sloshes as I nearly drop the mug. “What?”
I don’t understand why he’s telling us this – tellingmethis. Sure, it’s important news, but hardly something that requires a personal visit to our garden straight after sunset. But I sense there’s more, something that’s making him…nervous?
That can’t be right. Marcus doesn’t do nervous.
He clasps his hands behind his back, his expression guarded, as if gathering his thoughts. The silence stretches, heavy with expectation. Mom and Dad exchange glances while Gran’s eyebrows lift slightly.
“I haven’t accepted yet,” Marcus continues, his eyes fixed on mine. “There are…conditions.”
Mia shifts beside me, and I catch Rowan leaning forward from the corner of my eye.
Marcus takes another step forward, and my heart begins to set a frenetic pace. There’s something in his expression I’ve never seen before – a vulnerability that makes my breath catch.
“Before I can accept the position,” he says, each word deliberate and weighted, “there’s something I need to ask.”
My mouth goes dry as he moves closer, his presence overwhelming my senses. I feel waves of emotion that don’t match his controlled exterior – hope, fear, determination, and something deeper that makes my hands tremble around my cooling tea.
I grip my mug tighter as Marcus takes another step toward me. My sisters edge away, giving us space, but I barely notice. All Ican focus on is him, the way his presence fills my senses, the determination rolling off him in waves.
“Kara.” His voice is low, intimate. “When I met you, I thought I had everything figured out. Power, position, purpose – my life was ordered exactly as I wanted it. Then you came along and turned everything upside down.”
My heart lurches, racing so fast it feels as if it’s trying to break free. Within his thoughts, I feel something so intense it steals my breath.
“I fought it at first,” he continues. “Told myself it was just the blood match. But that was a lie. What I feel for you – what I’ve felt since that first moment – has nothing to do with magic or destiny. I love you, Kara Blackwood. Simply, completely, without reservation.”
