Page 115 of Nearly Dead

“What?You mean you being on the council?”He avoids my eyes.

“Don’t what me.What was all that stammering about Sully?Are you guys…?”I’m interrupted as my father appears next to me.He grips me by my elbow and squeezes.

“You could have seized that seat immediately,” he says, his voice low with displeasure.“Why delay?Why surrender the advantage?So much can happen in a year.”

I gently but firmly remove his hand from my arm.“Because I’m not you.I don’t want power for its own sake.”

“Then what do you want?”he demands, genuinely perplexed.

I look past him to where Costin waits by the elevator, his eyes meeting mine with understanding and love.To Anthony, whose face shines with pride for his sister.To Astrid, who looks at me like an equal.

“Balance,” I tell my father.“Freedom.The right to define myself on my own terms.And I think I want to get married to Costin.”

There was a time I didn’t want magic in my life.I would’ve given anything to stay human.But everything changed.Now I finally get to decide what that change means.

His brow furrows.“That’s not how our world works, Tamara.There are always obligations, allegiances, compromises.”

“Maybe it’s time our world changed,” I reply.“Maybe that’s what I’m here for.”

I leave him standing there, speechless for once, and join the others.As the elevator carries us down, Anthony bursts into astonished laughter.

“A council seat?My baby sister, on the high council?That’s...”he searches for words, “that’s kind of hilarious.”

I arch a brow at him, so he knows I’m not done asking about Sully.

“It’s a target on her back,” Costin says soberly.“There will be those who oppose this change, who see Tamara as a threat to the old order.”

“What’s new,” I say, finding a confidence I never knew I possessed.“I’ve faced worse than politicians and bureaucrats.”

Astrid studies me with those calm eyes, her expression inscrutable as always.But when she speaks, there’s a warmth in her voice I’ve rarely heard before.

“You’ve surpassed every expectation I ever had for you, Tamara,” she says.“Though I suspect that was always your intention.”

I’m not quite sure how to respond to this praise.For so long, I’ve craved Astrid’s approval while simultaneously resenting that I needed it at all.

“Old habits,” I say finally, with a small shrug.

The hint of a smile touches her lips.“I look forward to seeing what new habits you form.”

The elevator doors open to the lobby, and we step out together.

“So,” Anthony says as we exit the building into the night air, “did you mean that part about marrying Costin, or was that just to shock our father into silence?”He chuckles.“I wish we could resurrect Mortimer just to see his face when you tell him there is going to be a vampire in the family.”

I feel Costin go still beside me, his eyes suddenly intent on my face.The sire bond pulses between us, but it’s not the bond that makes my heart race.

“I meant it,” I say simply, holding Costin’s gaze.“If he’ll have me.”

For a being who’s lived centuries, Costin looks remarkably stunned.“Tamara...”

“Don’t answer now,” I tell him.“Take some time.Think it over.I’m not going anywhere.”

The smile that spreads across his face transforms him.Not the careful, measured smile he shows the world, but something genuine and almost boyish.

“My answer is yes,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me into his arms.

Anthony makes a gagging noise.“And that’s my cue.”He turns to Astrid.“Please tell me you have a car waiting.”

“Of course,” she replies, her eyes still on us.“Tamara, we’ll speak tomorrow about the next steps.Costin, start thinking about a guest list.”

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