21. Chapter 21

21

Chapter 21

Darick

I sink back into my leather armchair, lost in thoughts of the evening's events. Marcus stands by the fireplace, staring into the flames. The silence between us is laden with unspoken concerns.

"What's the plan, Darick?" Marcus finally asks, turning to face me. "Lucien's not backing down. And his plans are growing more audacious."

I drop my head against the backrest of my chair, frustration gnawing at me. "I don't know, Marcus. Even if we try to beat him to the punch by telling the Assembly about my…condition, who's to say he doesn't have another ace up his sleeve?"

Marcus nods grimly. "He's too sneaky to second-guess. And he doesn't care who he takes down in his grab for power."

I stand, pacing the room. The taste of the strange witch's blood still lingers on my tongue, a reminder of how close I came to exposure tonight. "We need to think like Lucien. Try to anticipate his next move."

"Easier said than done," Marcus mutters. "He's a snake; we're not that slippery. For all we know, he's already set something in motion that we can't see coming."

I stop by the window, staring out at the grounds. "Maybe that's our problem. We're playing defense when we should be on the offense."

"We're playing ball games now?" Marcus raises an eyebrow.

"Hardly," I scoff. "Never was my thing."

"So, what are you suggesting?"

"I'm not sure yet," I admit. "But we can't keep reacting to Lucien's moves. We need to make him react to us."

We fall into silence again, both lost in our thoughts.

I can't stop thinking about the blood Lucien gave me. The questions swirl in my mind, demanding answers.

How did he get witch blood?

And why didn't it taste as intoxicating as Rowan's?

"Marcus," I say, breaking the silence. "That blood Lucien offered, the blood that I drank…it was witch blood."

Marcus nods. "I guessed as much. How the hell did he get it?"

"I don't know, and that worries me." I massage the back of my neck, frustrated. "But there's something else. It didn't taste…right. Not like Rowan's blood."

"Who's Rowan?"

"Her. The witch I told you about. The one in my head."

"So now you're on first-name terms?"

"I guess you could say that." I don't intend to go into details. "I've tasted her blood." In the dream realm or not, I know our encounters are real. As real as me standing here right now.

"Well, well…you sly dog!" He chuckles.

"This isn't a time for jokes, you ass." I scowl at him.

"Sorry." Marcus makes a wry face. "Okay, back up a bit… What do you mean, ‘not like Rowan's'?"

I hesitate, realizing I've said more than I intended. But I need answers. "Her blood…it was like nectar. Irresistible. This other witch's blood was just…blood. Palatable, but nothing special." I flex my fingers and roll my shoulders. There's something missing. The blood I drank tonight didn't make me stronger. "And…" I pull in a breath. "Rowan's blood boosted my powers."

Marcus stares at me, his expression shifting from surprise to something I can't quite read. He's silent for a long moment, his gaze intense. "Darick," he finally says, his voice serious. "Do you realize what this means?"

I shake my head, confused by his reaction. "What's wrong?"

"It's because this…Rowan is your blood match," Marcus says, his words hitting me like a physical blow.

"My blood match?" I repeat, stunned.

"Yes." He's so certain. "Precisely."

"But that's…that's impossible." It seems too…easy.

"Why?" he asks. "You have the Bloodbane, and you've found your match."

"But it's supposed to take years." I'm bewildered.

"Who says so? There's no law that says you have to pick through hundreds of witches until you find the one. You've found her. She's it."

"Fuck," I say feebly. Part of me has refused to see it. Refused to hope. But now, it's sinking in. "She's my match…"

Marcus nods slowly. "It probably explains the psychic connection, too. I don't know much about these things, but it wouldn't surprise me if that sort of shit happened." He pauses. "Darick, this is…significant."

I rub a hand over my face, my mind reeling.

My blood match.

The implications are staggering. Every vampire with the Bane spends a lifetime looking for their match. And to think that I've been talking to mine all along…

"This is fucking impossible," I mutter.

"Not impossible. Fucking miraculous, Darick. And now that you've found her, you have to keep her close. She'll be your source." Marcus's face is alight with enthusiasm. Obviously, he doesn't see the catch here. How could he? He doesn't know the whole story.

I stare at Marcus, disbelief etched on my face. "Are you seriously suggesting I keep her as some sort of…blood bank?"

Marcus shrugs, his expression still bright. "It's a solution, Darick. You need her blood to thrive, and it would solve our Lucien problem."

"No," I growl, rising from my chair. "Absolutely not. I won't force her into anything."

"Who said anything about force?" Marcus raises an eyebrow. "You convince her. There are ways to make it appealing, you know. Plus, it's not unprecedented. How do you think the others do it?"

I have no idea. I never thought this far ahead. I've always just thought that there are those with the Bane, and then us. Except, I'm not "us" anymore. It's time I started to accept this.

I shake my head. "You don't understand. She hates me, Marcus. She'd never agree to it."

"How can you be so sure?"

The memory of our last encounter flashes through my mind. The fury in her eyes, the raw power of that sunflare she hit me with. "Trust me, I know."

I can still feel the searing heat of her magic, the way it had knocked me off my feet. It wasn't just the power of the spell that had stunned me, but the depth of emotion behind it. There was no mistaking the loathing in her eyes.

"Women are fickle. Maybe you got it wrong." He shrugs.

"She hit me with a sunflare, Marcus. A fucking sunflare. Do you have any idea how much magic that takes? How much hatred you need to fuel something like that?" Harnessing the power of the sun is no small feat.

Marcus whistles low. "Damn. Okay, I see your point."

"It's never going to happen," I say firmly. "We need to find another way to deal with Lucien."

Marcus sinks into a seat across from me, sinking back into it. "Well, we're gonna have to think long and hard. Because without this girl's blood, you're going to get weaker every day. And all the while, you're trying to play tic-tac-toe with the grand high master of subterfuge."

He doesn't have to keep talking for me to read between the lines. I know what he's saying.

I'm fucked.