Chapter 26
The next morning, before going to the office, Gavin and Marigold stopped by the secure downtown apartment where Blossom was being kept under watch. Two of the Clan’s lionesses greeted them at the door. Both radiated calm, maternal strength, the kind of steady presence Marigold had come to treasure.
“She’s eaten,” the one named Beth reported. “Still weepy, but calmer than yesterday. You’ll find her in the living room.”
Inside, Blossom was curled small in a chair by the window. The proud, furious cousin who had ambushed them in the garage looked like a hollowed-out version of herself, pale and raw. When she saw them, her eyes went wide and filled with tears.
“Marigold.” Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry.”
Marigold moved forward slowly, hands open. “We just want to talk.”
“About what?” the teenager asked quietly, a hint of unease in her tone.
“About how you got past our security measures,” Gavin said, his voice strong but gentle.
Blossom flinched, but to her credit, she answered.
“I had help. One of the cousins who hasn’t…
um…changed yet. Derrick gave me a talisman that got me past your magical protections.
The witch named Claudia has it now. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but the hatred—” Her voice broke.
“It felt like it owned me. I thought if I killed you, everything would go back to the way it was.”
Marigold’s chest tightened. “And now?”
Blossom’s tears spilled over. “Now I can see how twisted it all was. How twisted I was. It’s like I’ve been walking in fog, and suddenly, the sun’s out.
Every awful thing I did… I feel the weight of it now.
I don’t know how to live with that, but I swear I’ll try to make up for the things I’ve done. ”
Marigold glanced at Gavin. His expression was still guarded, but she caught the flicker of something softer in his eyes.
“You understand we can’t just take you at your word,” he said, voice steady. “You nearly killed Marigold. Trust has to be earned.”
Marigold noticed he didn’t mention the way Blossom had managed to throw him across the garage. She’d probably totaled that SUV Gavin had crashed into as well.
Blossom nodded, trembling. “I don’t expect forgiveness. I’ll stay wherever you put me, answer anything you ask. Just don’t send me back to the ones who are still dark. Please.”
The plea rang so true that Gavin exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“The new leadership of your family knows where you are, and they also know we won’t hurt you as long as you cooperate.
You’re not free to move about, but we also won’t cause you harm if you don’t seek to harm us or escape.
We’re still in talks about what to do with you long-term, but in all likelihood, you’ll be returned to your family at some point in the near future, if all goes well. ”
“I won’t try to escape. Being here is the first peace I’ve had since I was too little to understand what was going on in the family. I like Beth and Cindy,” she said, referring to the two lionesses who were acting as her caretakers.
“Good. Then you won’t mind sitting tight while we figure this all out,” Gavin said.
“No. I don’t mind. But can you tell me what’s happening with my family?” Blossom asked with a hint of timidity Marigold had never heard from the usually self-assured teen.
“Robert and Rowan have taken over,” Marigold told her.
“They’ve indicated that they want to forge a new path for the dynasty.
A kinder path where children are no longer seen as pawns or tools.
I think they want to get back to being an actual family again, rather than some dynastic group looking to build an empire on the backs of its members.
Not everybody agrees, of course, but they do have some support, mostly among the younger family members who weren’t yet fully committed to the prior path.
Your parents support them, but I’m sorry to say, your folks are still recovering from the changes made when they attacked me and the Kinkaids who had come with me.
I’m not sure, but I don’t think they’re all that interested in doing magic anymore.
Rowan says they’re still in a bit of a daze. ”
Tears leaked down Blossom’s face as Marigold filled her in on her parents, but the girl had a right to know.
“They’ve been completely spaced out since that day,” Blossom said, sniffling a little.
“I didn’t understand it before, but I get it now.
Whatever you did changed everything. Even my tattoo is gone,” Blossom said, holding up her arm to show the unblemished skin where before the evil Venifucus tattoo had marred her young skin.
Just about everyone in the family had it on their right forearms. They all started out relatively simple and got more complex the longer each person served the ancient order and rose in its ranks.
The complexity of the tattoos also had to do with the mage’s level of power and responsibility withing the ranks of the Venifucus.
Others chose to have the tattoos in different places, but it seemed the Rollins dynasty had decided to be both obvious and uniform about it.
They weren’t hiding their tattoos where nobody could see them, and they wanted everyone in the family to have it in the same place so they could all easily observe changes to rank and position just by reading the tattoo.
Marigold hadn’t realized her gift could burn away that mark of evil.
She hadn’t stopped to look at what she’d done to the others who had lived through the onslaught of her power.
Gavin asked a few questions about how the teenager was feeling about the loss of her tattoo and any physical effects she might be experiencing, while Marigold’s mind was whirling.
A moment or two later, the lioness named Cindy came in to see if anybody wanted anything and to ask Blossom what she wanted to eat. Gavin seemed to take that to mean that the interview was over for now as he looked over at the maternal lioness and they sort of nodded at each other.
Blossom got up from her chair and went to stand by Cindy, who put a hand on her back, almost protectively. Blossom looked straight at Marigold and seemed to gather her composure.
“I really am sorry. I didn’t understand before.
You know the way we were all raised, though I can’t blame all of my actions on that.
I just didn’t know another way, and I’m sorry for that, and for the way you were treated, cousin.
I hope the rest of the family figures it out sooner rather than later. ”
“I hope so too,” Marigold managed to whisper before Blossom turned and went into the kitchen with Cindy to talk about meal prep.
Marigold and Gavin left the apartment shortly after. Once they were out in the hallway, Marigold leaned into Gavin, her legs shaky. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her hair.
“Well, hell,” he murmured. “If someone had told me a year ago, I’d be standing here believing a Rollins’s apology, I’d have called them crazy.”
Marigold pressed closer, her voice quiet but sure. “That’s the whole point, I think. We’re changing what it means to be a Rollins, one soul at a time.”
They stood there a moment longer, letting the truth of it settle between them. For once, hope didn’t feel so fragile. Finally, Gavin straightened with a sigh.
“Sam’s waiting in the office. Time to trade family drama for Clan business.”
Minutes later, they left the secure apartment building and drove farther downtown, the hum of traffic a strange reminder that the rest of the world was still going about its business, unaware of the battles raging in shadows.
When they arrived at Kinkaid headquarters, Gavin squeezed her hand in comfort before striding into Sam’s office with her at his side.
Sam was waiting behind his desk, a stack of reports spread out in front of him.
His expression was all business, but his gaze flicked briefly to Marigold, then to where she was holding hands with Gavin.
A smile seemed to hover around the corners of his lips, but she might’ve been imagining it. Then he gestured for them both to sit.
“We’ve got two situations that can’t wait,” Sam said without preamble. “Mrs. Entwistle’s been spotted on Long Island, and Abdul Kettering’s mage friends are stirring up trouble on both sides of the Atlantic. We’re going to need a plan for both.”
Gavin grunted and shifted position in his chair.
Marigold knew who Mrs. Entwistle was but wasn’t sure exactly who the mages associated with Abdul Kettering might be.
She listened intently to see if she could be of any help.
She’d heard a lot living in Jeremiah’s household.
Even though she’d never been involved in the dynasty’s affairs, she had heard an awful lot about who they dealt with and what they had planned over the years.
Sam tapped a folder. “First, Mrs. Entwistle. We’ve had two separate reports of her on Long Island.
One puts her near an old estate tied to known mage bloodlines.
Another places her in a small coastal town, asking pointed questions about shifter presence.
She’s laying groundwork. We don’t yet know for what. ”
“You’ve given the mission to Liam, right?” Gavin asked.
Sam nodded, and his mouth twitched in something that wasn’t quite a smile.
“He won’t be alone. The Bureau’s already got eyes in the area.
That lynx shifter FBI agent is one of those who spotted Mrs. E on the island.
The lynx is sharp, disciplined, and she doesn’t scare easy.
Liam respects her. More importantly, he seems to listen to her.
I’m going to request that they work together on this. ”
“Good call,” Gavin agreed. “Liam is a soldier first and foremost. He needs an investigator’s help with this, and Lina Goodwell, the FBI lynx, is the perfect fit for that role.”