Page 62 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 2

I’d tried extremely hard not to think about it, in fact. It was fairly close to the top of the list of things I was trying not to think about.

“Do you really think Evangeline would be happy with a life defined by court politics?” I asked.

“Do you think you will be?” Marcus asked mildly. I clenched my jaw hard enough to feel it all the way up to my temples, and he took another draw from the vape.

“I have a duty,” I said through clenched teeth. “I have a responsibility to my people.”

“Yes, you do. To all of them. And that includes Evangeline.” Marcus’s calm demeanor infuriated me. He took his feet off the desk and leaned forward, examining my face. “You’ve been sharing dreams,” he said.

“How the hell do you know that?”

He sighed, shaking his head like a disappointed teacher. “Again, Gabriel, I do have my ways. Have you figured out what it means yet?”

“I’ve been a little busy.”

“Of course, of course. I’ll just tell you, then, shall I?” The bastard was enjoying this, I could tell. “Sometimes, when a vampire burdened with telepathy cares for someone very, very deeply, they… Well, they yearn. When their barriers are down—for instance, when they sleep—their mind seeks out the mind of their beloved.”

I was gripping the arms of my chair hard enough that they creaked. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying your mind will still reach for hers,” Marcus told me placidly. “She’ll be a part of your life, and you’ll be a part of hers.”

“For how long?” I asked.

“Until you stop loving her,” Marcus said. His expression gentled then, going softer, and sympathy creased the corners of his eyes. His eyes were sympathetic. “I haven’t known you long, Gabriel, but I suspect you’re not someone who falls out of love quickly.”

So, I couldn’t truly leave Evangeline. She would never be free of me.

“You two have a bond,” Marcus continued. “It’s undeniable. You simply get to decide if you want to embrace it together, or be miserable separately.”

I hoped my floundering wasn’t as obvious to him as it was to me. I wasn’t optimistic in that regard.

“Besides, she’s going to need your help,” Marcus added, then tucked his vape back into his pocket. He stood and headed for the door. “Especially now that her magic is going wrong.”

“Wait.” I crossed the room in an instant, putting myself between him and the door. “Her magic is going wrong?”

I listened with growing horror as he explained. That’s what she’d wanted to tell me, wasn’t it? Just before I’d ended things, Evangeline wanted to tell me something, and I’d brushed it off.

“Stop that,” Marcus said sharply. “Self-flagellation won’t achieve anything. If you want to help, then help.”

“You say that like it’s simple.”

“I’m well aware it isn’t,” he replied. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing it. So? The clock, I’m afraid, is ticking.”

I made the decision quickly. “Wait right here,” I told Marcus, then dashed out of the grand office and down the hall to find Gwendoline. I had to elbow through her flock of business-formal lackeys to get to her, and I pulled her into a side room, glancing around to make sure we were alone.

“You know where my study is at the manor,” I said to her urgently. “I assume you also know where I kept all of the policy suggestions my father ignored.”

“In the filing cabinet underneath the carving of the stag,” she said promptly. “Yes, I’ve snooped, don’t give me that look. If you didn’t want me to snoop then you shouldn’t have let me in there by myself.”

“You’ve read all of them, haven’t you?” I asked.

“Skimmed them.”

“Then, you know which ones are tenable.” I waited for her to nod. “Good. Implement as many of them as you can. Prioritize the ones that would be difficult for a successor to undo.”

“Where are you going to be during all this?” Gwendoline asked, a minute frown settling between her brows.

“Officially? In a period of mourning for my dear departed father, out of respect for his love of our traditions. During which I’ll be reflecting on the past and future of our community.”

---