Chapter 27
Kara
Isit on the garden bench, watching fall leaves dance across the ground as the sun sets. My fingers toy idly with the pendant against my skin; it’s become a habit now.
Mom, Dad, and Gran are strolling around the garden, enjoying the last rays of sunshine, but I just can’t let my guard down that much. The battle replays in my mind – Lucien’s end, saving Gran, the moment I thought Marcus would die.
My stomach clenches at that memory.
“Here.” Rowan hands me a steaming mug of chamomile tea as she appears at my side. “You look like you need this.”
I wrap my fingers around the warmth, breathing in the familiar scent. A part of me is picking up on Marcus. He’s…troubled about something. I’ve kept my distance this past week, and while part of me wishes he’d push harder to see me, I’m glad that he’s giving me space.
“You can’t avoid him forever,” Mia says, settling beside me. “We all see how miserable you are.”
“I’m not miserable.” But the words don’t ring true, even to me. “I just… I need time to think.”
“About what?” Rowan perches on my other side, Poppy on the back of the bench behind her.
The pair have been inseparable since we saved her – which should have given Rowan the perfect opportunity to learn more about her unimaginable powers, but the squirrel’s steadfastly tight-lipped.
Gran says she’ll tell us more when she’s ready.
Rowan is still looking at me. “Think about what, Kara? He nearly died saving us. Saving you.”
I stare into my tea. “That’s exactly it.
How do I know these feelings are real? What if it’s just the blood match forcing us together?
I want…” My voice catches. “I respect what you have with Darick, Ro. What Mia has with Soren. But…” I heave a breath.
“Call me old-fashioned, but I want real love, not some illusion.”
“You think the blood match creates feelings?” Mia’s laugh is gentle. “Kara, it only works if there’s something already there.”
“But how can I be sure?” The question that’s been haunting me finally spills out. “Every time I feel something for him, I question whether it’s genuine or just the blood bond.”
I feel Marcus’s presence at the edge of my consciousness – steady, patient, waiting. It would be so easy to reach out to him, but I hold back.
“I’ve never been so confused,” I admit quietly. “I’m supposed to be the strong one, the one who has everything figured out. But with Marcus… I don’t know what’s real anymore.”
Mia bumps her shoulder against mine. “You’ll figure it out, hon. It’s not that hard.”
I give a mild snort. “Easy for you to say. You’ve already drunk the Kool-aid.”
“Ooh. Low blow!” chirps Poppy.
“Cut it out!” Mia scowls at me. “Just because you don’t get it doesn’t mean that what I feel is wrong. I love Soren. Truly love him. And I know he loves me. If my blood happens to keep him alive, it makes no difference to our feelings for each other.”
“If anything, it adds a dimension,” Rowan says from the other side of me. “Something extra that other people will never get to experience.”
“If you say so.” I frown at her for a moment. “Wait. Where are your glasses?”
“Don’t need them anymore. I haven’t since the bond was sealed.”
“What?” My brow furrows further. “Then why do you wear them?”
“Habit, I guess.” She shrugs. “And Darick thinks they’re cute.”
“Ugh.” I roll my eyes. “You really are beyond help. And you’re gonna ruin your eyesight.”
“Nah. She’s a witch. And she has mad power now. Though God knows it took her long enough.” Poppy wrinkles her nose.
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 – telling me this. 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 I can 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.”
The mug slips from my suddenly numb fingers. Dad catches it with a quick spell before it can shatter.
“I don’t want the Elder position if it means losing you,” Marcus says. “Everything I am, everything I could be – none of it matters without you beside me.”
“Marcus…” My voice cracks.
“He means it, sweetheart.” Dad’s voice startles me. I’d almost forgotten we had an audience. “He came to ask my permission first.”
I whip around to stare at my father. “He what?”
Mom’s eyes are suspiciously bright. “Your father and I have seen how you two look at each other. How you fight for each other. That’s not magic – that’s love.”
Gran nods, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Sometimes the truest magic isn’t in our spells at all, but in our hearts.”
I turn back to Marcus, overwhelmed by the emotion pouring from him.
“I don’t care about status or power,” he says softly. “I care about you. About us. Whatever comes next, I want to face it with you.”
“I…I…I don’t understand,” I say stupidly, although understanding is beginning to sink in.
“I want you to be my bride, Kara. If I’m going to take on this role, I want you standing at my side.”
“Wh-what?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Kara!” Poppy is exasperated. “Does he have to spell it out for you?”
“He wants you to marry him, hon.” Mia’s voice is gentler.
My head is spinning so fast I feel dizzy. Marcus is standing right in front of me with a look of anxious expectation. And I… I don’t know what to say right now.
I stare at Marcus, my pulse pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. Everyone’s waiting for my answer, their eyes fixed on me with varying degrees of expectation and concern. My doubts surge forward, threatening to overwhelm the warmth I feel whenever I look at him.