Chapter 17
The black SUV hummed beneath her, every vibration thrumming in her bones.
Her fingers knotted in her lap, the talisman Claudia had given her warm against her skin as if it could sense what awaited them.
Beside her, Gavin was all coiled strength, hands steady on the wheel, eyes locked on the looming shape of the mansion at the end of the drive.
Petunia’s house hadn’t changed. Of course it hadn’t.
The sprawling estate reared up like a beast from Marigold’s nightmares, the same immaculate hedges, the same tall windows reflecting the pale light of early evening.
She could still see herself standing behind one of those windows on the few occasions she’d been allowed upstairs, staring out at a world she couldn’t touch.
Her stomach twisted. This time was different. This time, she wasn’t alone.
Behind them, two more SUVs followed close, packed with Kinkaids. She’d been introduced to a few of them and told that they were mostly former Navy SEALs who had retired because it began to look suspicious to the humans when the shifters didn’t really age the same.
Most of the men she’d met looked a bit older than Gavin, but not by all that much.
Still, she got the distinct impression that they had decades of experience as warriors, which was both reassuring and a little disconcerting.
Just how long did shifters live? She wasn’t altogether sure.
Nobody had really seen any reason to give her lessons on how the other races lived, and since being around the Kinkaids, she had a lot of questions.
But they’d keep for another time. She only prayed she would have the chance to ask them after this encounter.
Marigold could feel the energy of the Kinkaids’ presence in the other vehicles, protective and fierce.
Sam and Claudia would be moving into position even now, circling toward the hidden escape entrance.
If all went as planned, Katrina would be out before Aunt Petty even realized anything was happening.
If all went as planned.
Her breath caught when the SUV slowed and rolled to a stop before the wide front steps. Gavin killed the engine. For a heartbeat, silence pressed down, thick and suffocating. Then the heavy double doors swung open.
A figure stepped out, tall and sharp in a tailored black dress. Petunia Rollins. Aunt Petty. Her nickname was fitting. The woman could be as petty about simple things as anyone Marigold had ever met.
Marigold’s pulse hammered in her ears. Her aunt hadn’t aged a day since the last time Marigold had seen her. Her red hair was still perfect, her smile razor-thin and false. The sight of her made Marigold’s throat close.
But it wasn’t just Petty. Three more figures emerged behind her.
Ash, Narcissus, and Fern stepped out of the house as Petty descended the steps to stand about halfway to the ground.
Narcissus and Fern settled about halfway between Petty and Ash, who remained at the top of the steps.
It was a calculated move to showcase his power.
Or, rather, their power. The triumvirate.
The sight of them together was a gut punch Marigold hadn’t expected.
Already their plan wasn’t going the way they’d expected.
Marigold stiffened, her breath hitching. “Gavin,” she whispered, warning, but he’d already seen them. His hand came down over hers, warm, steady, grounding.
“Stay with me, Goldie,” he murmured, his voice pitched for her ears alone.
The two SUVs pulled up behind them, doors opening as the other Kinkaids climbed out, boots hitting gravel in a synchronized rhythm that steadied her heart.
She drew in a breath, straightening her spine as Gavin opened her door and offered his hand.
For a moment, she almost couldn’t move. She very nearly slid back into the girl who had cowered in Petty’s shadow.
But Gavin’s steady gaze was on her, unwavering, and his hand didn’t tremble in the slightest. She stepped out, taking her place beside him, chin lifted though her knees wobbled.
Petunia’s smile widened. “Well, well. The prodigal niece returns. How thoughtful of you to deliver yourself right to my door.”
Ash’s dark eyes gleamed with cold amusement, Narcissus’s pale lips curved, and Fern tilted her head like a predator assessing prey.
Marigold’s fingers dug into Gavin’s hand. The talisman burned faintly against her skin, but it didn’t sear. It steadied. She could face them. Because this time, she wasn’t here to be their prisoner.
The air felt heavier here. The whole place felt oppressive and tainted with evil.
Marigold stood beside Gavin her back straight, her eyes meeting her aunt’s, though her insides trembled.
The talisman’s warmth thrummed against her chest, a steady reminder that she wasn’t helpless this time. That she had a purpose.
Aunt Petty’s smile was all polished venom. “You’ve saved me the trouble of fetching you. I’ll admit, I didn’t think you had the backbone to leave your cage on your own.”
Marigold gathered her courage to talk back. They couldn’t hurt her this time. Not yet, at least. She had to stand up to them and buy time for Sam and Claudia to get inside and save Katrina.
“You never understood me, Aunt Petty. You never tried,” Marigold said in a soft, accusing tone.
Ash’s low chuckle rumbled across the steps. He was tall, his eyes dark with the arrogance of someone who’d never been denied anything in their life. “She has spirit. Though I wonder, how long will it last once she’s back where she belongs?”
Not long enough, she thought bitterly, but she didn’t let it show. Instead, she willed her voice to remain steady. “I don’t belong to you. I never did. You stole me. Used me. That’s not family. It’s slavery.”
Fern’s eyes narrowed, her pale features pinched as though the word itself offended her. “Such an ungrateful little girl. After all we gave you. Education. Shelter. A place in the Rollins legacy—”
“Bruises. Chains. And the constant reminder that I wasn’t good enough, even for your disgusting Venifucus tattoo,” Marigold shot back before she could think better of it. Her voice cracked, but she didn’t care. “I was just a tool. You only kept me alive because I had power you could steal.”
Narcissus’s laugh was a silken blade. “And now you’ve traded one cage for another, I see. How fitting.” Her gaze slid to Gavin, sharp and sly. “The Kinkaids always did collect strays. Tell me, lion, how long before you tire of her?”
Marigold felt Gavin stiffen beside her, his inner beast bristling under the insult. She pressed her fingers tighter into his palm, silently begging him not to take the bait. Not yet. Every second they delayed was another second closer to Katrina’s freedom.
She swallowed, turning her words into weapons instead. “You’re afraid, aren’t you? That’s why you want me back. Because without me, your grip is slipping. Jeremiah is gone. The dynasty is crumbling.”
For just an instant, silence cut sharp as glass. She’d struck home. Ash’s eyes flared, Fern hissed softly, and Narcissus’s smile faltered before twisting into a scowl.
Petunia’s veneer cracked first. Her voice lashed out, brittle and sharp. “Enough games. You’ve wasted our time long enough.” She raised her hand, magic sparking faintly in the air. “You’ll come inside, niece, or you’ll watch your little Kinkaid friends bleed on my doorstep.”
Marigold’s heart pounded, her mouth dry. She had stalled as long as she dared. She only hoped she’d given Claudia and Sam, and the others who’d been on their strike team, enough time to get to the girl.
Marigold gripped Gavin’s hand like a lifeline, praying she’d done enough.
Ash’s lip curled, his dark eyes glittering as he lifted one hand in a lazy, almost careless gesture. He was giving a signal, she realized, almost as if her mind were stuck in slow motion.
Shadows moved in the trees, and men in black combat gear stepped forward, rifles at the ready.
A half dozen, at least, were closing fast in a coordinated sweep.
The air split with the sound of safeties clicking off, and she spotted other familiar faces from her own family among the hired guns. Other Rollins mages.
Closest to her were Sebastian and his wife, Letitia, and the looks on their faces were horrible to behold.
They’d been extra violent when she’d been a guest at their home.
Fear wanted to roll down her spine, but Gavin’s strong presence beside her made her stand tall in the face of those who had taken delight in torturing her.
She met Letitia’s gaze as she never had before and saw the woman’s step falter, just the tiniest bit.
“Now!” Ash said, his voice low and triumphant.
The Kinkaids moved as one. A few of the lions who’d come as backup shapeshifted in a heartbeat, clothing tearing as golden and tawny fur rippled into place. Roars shook the air, joined by the crack of gunfire. Bullets whined past, smacking into stone and wood.
Marigold flinched as the first volley erupted, but Gavin’s body blocked hers, his arm sweeping her behind him as he pulled his sidearm in one fluid motion. “Stay low!”
Her ears rang as chaos exploded. Fire bloomed suddenly.
Petty and Fern were both flinging globes of burning magic toward the Kinkaids.
As were the mages who’d been hiding in the woods with the soldiers.
Sebastian lobbed a volley as spells crackled and sizzled all around her, centering on her location, sparks scattering across the gravel.
Narcissus chanted, her voice oily and sharp, weaving a net of binding magic that crawled over the air toward Marigold like a swarm of wasps.
“No,” Gavin snarled.
A moment later, his lion burst free. One minute, he was a man—fierce, deadly, his gun barking fire—the next, he was a massive golden lion, gleaming in the firelight like a war-god of old.
The sight stole Marigold’s breath, even as terror surged, because the mages weren’t aiming for him. They were aiming for her.
Ash lunged forward, his arm snaking out like a striking viper.
He made a mad grab for her, but Gavin interceded.
His jaws clamped down with terrifying force, the crunch of bone sharp and wet in the air.
Ash screamed, staggering back as Gavin tore into him, shaking his whole body by his ruined arm.
Blood spattered across the steps, the triumvirate shrieking in fury.
“Get her!” Petty yelled. Her blade flashed, an athame of silver so pure it gleamed white against the sun. She moved with shocking speed, darting past her brother’s collapse.
Marigold stumbled back, the heat of spells blistering her skin. Her talisman flared, deflecting a lash of Fern’s dark magic. She barely had time to register it before Gavin lunged again, interposing his massive body between her and the blade.
But the strike landed. The silver athame sank deep into Gavin’s side, just beneath his ribs. The lion that was Gavin roared, the sound a mix of fury and pain that shook Marigold to her bones. The acrid scent of burning flesh filled the air as the silver poison sizzled against his shifted body.
“No!” Marigold screamed, rushing forward as Gavin staggered, blood spilling hot and bright into his golden fur.
The world tilted into chaos. Gunfire, magic, roaring lions, and screaming mercenaries blurred, but all she could see was Gavin, still fighting, still shielding her, even as poison ate at him from within.
Her heart pounded with terror and rage. She couldn’t lose him.
Not now. Not when he’d become the one person who had ever made her feel safe.
Not when she loved him.
The realization hit like lightning, searing through her, even as she dropped to her knees beside Gavin. Not when she loved him. The truth shuddered through every part of her, terrifying and undeniable.
Her hands pressed to his golden fur, slick with blood. Heat pulsed under her palms—not just his life slipping away, but something buried deep inside her. The wall that had always kept her magic locked down trembled, cracked, then shattered under the force of her love for Gavin.
The power surged upward, white-hot and unrelenting, a volcano roaring to life. It clawed for escape, begging to be unleashed, and she didn’t hold back. She clutched Gavin tighter, bowing over him, as if her body alone could shield him from everything.
“Yes,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes. “Take me. Take everything. Just save him.”
The explosion came from inside her. Light tore through her chest, blazing outward in a rush of Light so pure it silenced the battlefield for a breathless instant.
The fireballs that had been streaking toward her fizzled into nothing.
Narcissus’s binding net shattered like spun glass, the shards scattering harmlessly on the wind.
The ground shook beneath her, the air humming with an impossible resonance.
The mercenaries staggered back, shielding their eyes.
Fern screamed as her spell rebounded, snapping her head back with visible force.
Petunia snarled and slashed with the athame again, but the silver blade sparked and hissed against the barrier of light encasing Marigold and Gavin.
Marigold’s power howled outward, no longer stolen, no longer restrained. It was hers, and it answered the call of her soul. It rolled outward from her, cleansing all in its path.
Gavin’s lion rumbled as the glow wrapped around him.
She didn’t understand what she was doing, she only knew that she wanted him to live.
The white heat poured into him, searing away the poison where it clung to his body.
The silver burn hissed, then dulled, his wound still terrible but no longer spreading death through his blood.
Her vision blurred, her body trembling with the force of it all. She felt like she was burning alive, but she didn’t care. He was still breathing. Still with her.
The triumvirate shouted over the din, their fury twisting the air into another storm of spells, but none of them reached her. The power rising from her core refused them, batting every curse, every strike aside like nothing more than dust in the wind.
Marigold was no longer prey.
She was fire.
She was Light.
She was free.