Page 93 of In the Dark

“I’ve never been this happy to see a car.” Aisanna quickened her steps and leaned down to kiss the hood of the beat-up Crown Vic. “Oh yes. Come to Momma.”

“That’s my chariot you’re fondling,” Morgan made sure to tell her.

“You focus on your other chariot and we will take care of the vehicle. Don’t worry.” Astix opened the door, jerking it outward when it stuck from the icy cold.

Morgan helped Karsia into the back seat and shuffled in beside her. “Gladly.”

Aisanna gunned the motor and allowed it a moment to warm. They sat in the relative quiet simply enjoying the silence. It had been too long since they’d felt safe. Since they weren’t running from something or someone, with a constant threat on their heels.

Karsia allowed herself to sink into him, drawing the scent of him into her lungs. Her professor.

“You know we’re going to have to start over again, right?” she murmured. “I don’t know if we can count our one dinner as a real date. I…was not myself. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

She felt a deep rumble against her cheek when he chuckled. “Whatever you want, my sweet.”

“What if you get bored with me?” She chewed her thumbnail and deliberated. “I mean, now that I’m me. Normal.”

Astix couldn’t help but put her own two cents into the conversation. “What a thing to say, Karsia. You’re the most stimulating person among us.”

“I highly doubt I’ll ever be bored. You are more than enough excitement for me. I think a bigger problem would be my age.”

Karsia pushed up to look at his face. “How do you figure?”

“I was born in ancient Greece. And you’re, what? Twenty-five?”

“Shut up.” She shoved at him before snuggling closer. What had she said before? About wanting to live a large life? To escape the confines of Chicago? She needed to learn to be careful what she wished for.

She stared at her hand. Her regular, ordinary palm and fingers with no hint of blackness pulsing in her veins. Yes, she thought to herself, it was good to be back. Made sweeter because she’d managed to walk away with the prize.

Morgan.

Aisanna was behind the wheel, Astix riding shotgun, and the lovebirds in the back seat. There was still a long drive ahead of them, miles of dirty snow melting along blacktop and yellow lines. Dusky sunlight blinked through scattered clouds and reflected off the fields still covered with snow.

They had survived. They were headed home. And their hearts were overflowing with gratitude and love.

Karsia didn’t think she’d ever experienced such profound joy.

“My lady.” Morgan brushed a kiss over her hair. “My one and only.”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Mine, alone,” he said.

“Look here, mister. We are going to be happy together,” she told him, her voice bossy. “We are going to live and love and get married immediately.”

“Get married?”

Astix turned around, keeping one arm on the seat. “You can’t dissuade her. Don’t even try. She’s always been like that. Absolutely sure of what she wants. Jumping ahead and asking questions later.”

Karsia stared at her sister, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Astix might try to sound tough. Might act the part on more than one occasion. But there was relief in her voice, relief in the lines of her face.

She reached out a hand and placed it on Astix’s shoulder. Delighted when her sister covered it with her own and squeezed.

“I think, in this case, I’m more than willing to oblige her.” Morgan tipped his head back to rest it against the window.

Karsia considered Morgan, with his brilliant mind, sexy rear end, and loyal streak. She curved her lips up into a smile. Yes, it felt right. Absolutely right. She couldn’t think of a better man to spend the rest of her life with. And if her encounter with Darkness left a little something extra with her, say, in the form of extra years of longevity, then she would gladly spend them with him.

“Kiss me,” she insisted, turning her face up to him.

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