Page 302 of Black Reign

Caramel hair against my pillow.

Her hand tucked beneath her cheek.

Still here?

Still here.

I turn back.

“I’ll marry her.”

Nothing.

Absolute silence.

My father blinks once.

“What?”

Interesting.

Apparently I can still surprise him.

“I said I'll marry her.”

“You have lost your mind.”

“Possible.”

“Xavier.”

“She becomes my wife, she's no longer an external association.”

His mouth actually falls open.

“Marriage does not erase criminal exposure.”

“I didn't say it did.”

“It does not grant her Blackwell clearance.”

“I didn't say that either.”

“It certainly does not prevent authorities⁠—”

“It makes her family.”

My father stops.

There.

That's the point.

“She gets my attorneys. My security. My personal legal team. Any attempt to put her into some internal Blackwell room for an undocumented interrogation becomes an attempt to seize my wife.”

“This is absurd.”

“Effective.”