Chapter 21
Gavin’s words hung in the air like a challenge. Marigold’s breath caught. Trust him to ask the question she hadn’t dared ask.
Rowan’s eyes flicked to her brother, then back to Gavin. Her expression softened for an instant as if she might actually answer, but Robert’s sharp glance checked her. Marigold saw the silent conversation between them, the weight of something unsaid.
Robert’s voice, when it came, was controlled, low and measured. “The dynasty is broken. You shattered the triumvirate. The Patriarch is gone. What remains is just fragments.”
“That’s not an answer,” Gavin pressed.
Marigold’s heart pounded. She glanced at Rowan, searching her face, desperate to know what she really thought and felt.
Marigold didn’t like the wariness, but she understood it.
These two had survived decades in the Rollins family.
Even though things had changed drastically in recent days, she suspected it would be really hard for them to give up their secretive ways.
Rowan tilted her head, her gaze steady on Marigold as she gave in, just a little. “We don’t want to resume the old ways,” she said finally, and the faintest tension eased from Marigold’s shoulders. But then Rowan added, “What comes next depends on who survives, and who earns the right to lead.”
Marigold drew a breath, carefully measured. “And you? Do you want to lead?”
Rowan’s lips curved in a faint, enigmatic smile. “Want has little to do with it. We’ll do what’s necessary.”
Robert shifted, his gaze hardening. “We have no intention of bowing to anyone—patriarch, triumvirate, or otherwise. If there is a future for the Rollins dynasty, it will not be built on the same foundations.”
Marigold’s pulse raced, but she forced herself to meet his eyes.
She felt the truth in his words and drew her own conclusions.
Robert and Rowan were neither enemies nor friends.
They were something more dangerous and more unpredictable.
They were power players in a game she barely understood, but ones who had chosen, at least once before, to protect rather than destroy.
She held that thought close, the memory of their mercy on her so many years ago, and let it guide her next words.
“Then maybe,” she said quietly, “it’s time to build something new together.”
The silence that followed was sharp-edged, filled with the weight of possibility. Marigold’s words hung in the air, fragile and trembling, like glass waiting to shatter.
Robert and Rowan gave nothing away. They didn’t try to make promises, or denials. They just kept that same measured watchfulness, as if every syllable spoken here would be weighed and banked for use later. After all, that’s what they were used to from the dynasty.
Before the silence grew unbearable, Gavin moved, catching everyone’s attention. His calm presence at Marigold’s side steadied her, and when Gavin spoke, his voice cut through the tension with quiet authority.
“Maybe we start small,” he said. “Words will only take us so far. Actions definitely carry more weight. So, let’s put that to the test.”
Marigold glanced at him, her pulse quickening. Gavin didn’t look her way, though. His attention was locked firmly on the Rollins siblings.
“There are matters left unsettled in the wake of the Patriarch’s death, and now with the fall of the triumvirate led by Ash,” Gavin continued.
“There are assets without clear title, and family members and their followers who don’t know where to turn.
The risk of chaos is real, and it threatens all of us, not just the Rollins dynasty.
If you want a future that isn’t full of more blood feuds and grasping for power, then prove it.
Work with us to stabilize what remains. We’re here to support your efforts quietly and discreetly.
What you need to do is show us where your loyalties lie, not in theory, but in practice. ”
Gavin paused to let that sink in for a moment before continuing.
“As I’m sure you know, Kinkaid Industries has a far reach.
If you want to guide the Rollins family into the Light, we can help you do that with or without direct connections.
I’ve spoken to the Alpha, and he is most concerned about the stability of our home turf first, then the wider world, in general.
For example, do you plan to pursue the so-called Demon War Jeremiah was set on?
If so, we can do nothing but oppose you.
If not, we might be able to help. The thing is, the Rollins dynasty can no longer be set on a course of pure evil.
You’ll have to make solid moves to bring what remains of the family into the Light. ”
Robert’s jaw flexed. Marigold caught the faintest tightening in his shoulders, but he didn’t speak.
Rowan leaned back, her gaze sliding once to Marigold before returning to Gavin. “And if we agree to your terms?” she asked, her tone as smooth as silk.
“Then you’ll have a place at the table when the dust settles. If not, it’s war,” Gavin replied, not mincing his words.
Marigold’s stomach twisted, waiting. She could almost feel the decision teetering on the edge of a blade. Rowan’s lips curved faintly, enigmatic as ever. Robert exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing with thought. For one suspended moment, they were unreadable.
The silence stretched, long enough that Marigold’s pulse began to drum in her ears.
Robert’s gaze was fixed on Gavin, his jaw tight, his eyes shadowed with thoughts he didn’t voice.
She could almost see the weight of calculation behind them.
The same cool, ruthless mind that had survived in a family where showing mercy was considered a weakness.
Finally, he spoke. “Ro and I never wanted any part of demon summoning, so we won’t be doing, or condoning, any more of that.”
Marigold let out a breath of relief she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
Rowan spoke next, all pretext of cunning having left her face. “If our world falls to evil, we all suffer. If the name Rollins continues to equate with evil, then everything my brother and I, and Marigold, have endured will have been for nothing.”
Her gaze flicked to Marigold, and there was something in it—something unspoken but warm enough to kindle a spark deep inside Marigold’s chest. Recognition.
Connection. Maybe even respect and a bit of caring.
She hadn’t had a Rollins look at her that way since her father had been murdered by his own family.
Marigold’s breath caught. She felt a small thread of hope winding through her mind.
They weren’t enemies. Robert and Rowan weren’t bound to the Patriarch’s legacy the way she’d feared they might be.
And if they really were as powerful as they seemed, then maybe the dynasty’s future really didn’t have to be built on blood and cruelty.
Claudia inclined her head, her expression as calm and unreadable as ever. “That’s a good start.”
Marigold sat back slowly, her shoulders easing, though her pulse still raced. She had hope now that the Rollins line might yet find a different path forward.
“It’s also part of what I needed to hear,” Gavin said, leaning back in his chair a fraction.
“As long as you agree to stop the demon summoning, Kinkaid Industries is willing to lend you some help from our legal department, if you so desire, to help untangle all the mundane legal matters surrounding the recent deaths in your family. We’ve gotten pretty good, over the years, at working within the confines of the human legal system to make sure everything is tied up in a bow for the civil authorities.
Do you have a lawyer you prefer to use?”
Rowan looked at her brother, and it was Robert who answered.
“The legal firm the Patriarch used was already fighting with the firm Ash hired to transfer title to the various properties and probate Jeremiah’s will.
We know we need to hire our own representation, but we’re not really sure where to go. ”
“We can’t use Kinkaid lawyers, though,” Rowan put in, her lips twisting in upset. “That’ll only stir the pot against us with the old guard in the family.”
Gavin held up a placating hand. “No worry on that score. What I was going to suggest is that you meet quietly with the head of our legal department. She knows a lot of people in the city and surrounding areas and can set out your options, as well as recommend some top-notch law firms you can interview until you find someone you’d like to work with. ”
“That sort of advice would be welcome,” Rowan said, looking relieved. “We’ve never had the opportunity to seek our own experts before. We always had to use whoever Jeremiah wanted us to use if something came up.”
“If you want to talk to her before you leave today, I can make that happen. This way you don’t have to set up a separate meeting. I assume you made your way here today in secret?” Gavin asked.
“Of course. Jeremiah and the triumvirate may be dead, but there are still a few really evil people out there that share our last name. We’ve had to fly under their radar pretty much all our lives, and we’ll need to keep doing that for at least a little while until our power base as the new heads of the family is secure. ”
“So instead of a dictator or a triumvirate, you’re going to be a duo at the head of the family?” Gavin asked, one corner of his mouth tilting up.
“We’re twins, Mr. Kinkaid. We’ve always done everything together,” Robert clarified.
“Of course!” Claudia said, clapping her hands. “The twin flames shine brightest together.”
Rowan nodded at the other woman. “It was something we discovered while we were still very young, and our parents were smart enough to train us to hide it from everyone. If Jeremiah had known what we could do, we wouldn’t have made it to adulthood. As it is…”