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"I just…" He let go of her but didn't move. Instead, he pushed his hand into the pocket of his jeans. "You're beautiful, you know that?"
She felt her brow crease, but wasn't sure how to respond. "Yeah. So, um..." Dahlia bit her lips together, hoping this wasn't about to ruin the moment. "You said Des Moines is safe, so I told a friend who told a friend, and um..." Oh, she hoped he wouldn't take this badly. "I have a crappy apartment in the poor side of town with some undead neighbors."
He nodded once. "Which came first?"
"The hope that we could find a place to call home. We've never been able to organize, but over the years, we do meet a few people." Again, she found herself biting her lip. "They'll hate you, but they won't kill you."
"I noticed you didn't say they wouldn't make me a snack." He took a long breath. "Ok." Then he pulled a small box from his pocket and sank down onto his knee right there in the airport parking lot.
"Thane?" she asked.
"Dahlia, will you marry me?" he asked. "Become Valka Keegan in truth, be my wife in whatever way you'll agree to, and let us join our two, uh, families together?"
"What?" Her mind stopped, unable to believe he was doing this.
They'd slept together, sure, but she fucked a lot of people. She'd also just lost Mei. She liked him, but she certainly didn't love him! This was wrong. This was all wrong, and how could he possibly think that was what she'd want! Did he think that little of Mei that he'd assumed she could be forgotten in a matter of days?!
Dahlia didn't think. She just swung, the flat of her hand hitting him hard across the cheek. Thane grunted, turning with the blow, but he didn't get up.
"Howdareyou?" she hissed.
He offered her the box. "Just look at it!" he snapped. "Stop and fuckingthinkfor a second. They know most of your name. Once they have it, they will record it and you will never be safe again. This? It's the one way to change a woman's real name, right? Even in the Bronze Age, women became a part of her husband's family, so be mine. Make that name you're carrying into the real thing. Make these lies real, and use them to escape the Church!"
She took the box. Inside was a simple gold band. With a trembling hand, she lifted the ring and actually looked at it. On the inside was an inscription.
A union for a dream.
And there, on the lid of that box was a little more. Written in gold ink was:For Mei. A promise for revenge.
Dahlia quickly put the ring back into the box and closed the lid. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her ears were ringing and her heart was racing.
"I don't love you," Thane said gently as he climbed back to his feet. "I'm not saying I couldn't. I'm just saying that we've spent too much time as enemies for it to be that easy. My brother is back there at the Church's mercy. That guy whose shirt you took? He is too."
"Yeah, the one I knocked out instead of killing," she remembered.
"And he knows it. They tried to make him summon you. He said he was going to let you out. His big plan was to turn you loose inside the church. They'd stake him for it, and there are too many priests there. You'd never make it far, but he says that at leastyouare predictable. He wants out. That's three of us, and the only person who knows how to get away from the Inquisition?" He pointed at her.
"But I'm not ready to get married," she told him. "Mei..."
"I know," he breathed, wrapping his hand around hers with the box beneath. "You loved her in a way that I can't even imagine. I'm not trying to erase that. I just know that it won't take long before they figure out that you are no man's son. From there, it's not hard to find the rest. Theywillget your name. They will summon you, and I don't think they want to kill you. They wanted you filled up. Why?"
"I don't know," she insisted. "There are rumors of experiments, but once the Church gets us, we're gone. There's no getting out, so we never hear about those horrors."
"But I got you out," he insisted. "We want to help. There's only three of us, but we know the Church. Two hunters and a priest? We can do this, but the first step is to make sure you are safe, and that means marrying someone. I have a feeling that an eidolon won't work, which leaves me as the best option."
"What if I marry you and then kill you?" she shot back.
He let out a shuddering breath, then lifted his other hand. "I'm not scared of much, but this?" His fingers were trembling. "I can't have kids. I will be a shitty husband, and I certainly don't expect you to be a good wife. I know you can't be. You have to live, and that's the whole point."
"I like being my own woman," she insisted.
That made him laugh. Just one hard chuckle that seemed to burst out, surprising him as much as her. "In case you missed it, I can't put you in your place. Not even if I wanted to, and I don't. This? I'm thinking we can have a real nice open relationship. You can wear the pants, I'll be your little bitch, and maybe my wife can keep me safe from her friends. Maybe she'll help me save my brother, because I've got nothing left, so this is what I have to offer."
"A marriage of alliance," she realized.
"And hope," he added. "A way to prove that you and I are no longer enemies. We're no longer on different sides. Marry me, Valka, and become my ally. Fuck the Church. Fuck what anyone else expects. Somehow, we figured it out in Dallas, so why can't we do the same here? I like you - probably more than I should. I think that you don't hate me, or you would've killed me by now. It's not a lot to go on, but it's a place to start. Will you be my wife and start something new with me?"
The power was there in his eyes. She could see it, but this time she wasn't scared of it. This time, she realized that it was nothing more than a sign of how strong his will was. If the world was made up of the power of mind over matter, then he had the strength to help. To actuallyhelp herinstead of just fueling her.
