heart open, testify, tell me i'm not crazy
Marcus didn’t miss the shift in her, the way the light around her dimmed, the cold creeping into the air, the silent hum of something gathering beneath her skin. He had seen enough magic to recognize when it was about to tip from playful into something sharper. His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t step back. But he didn’t rise to it either. Instead, he let out a slow breath, steadying himself before answering. “I don’t think you can’t,” he said carefully, meeting her gaze without flinching. There was no challenge in his voice, just a grounded certaintly layered with a gentleness he had learned from the way his mother dealt with Ravenna and Margot's tempers. “I just don’t think it’s worth proving.”
He glanced past her, back toward the trees they had come through, where the Greatwood thickened again. Then to the south. Then, deliberately, Marcus shifted the conversation. It was not abrupt, but with intent, like guiding someone off a dangerous path without making it feel like a loss. “There’s another part of the forest not far from here,” he said, tone lighter now, though still measured. “Ludo’s Woods.” Which, like the Eyes of Vi, Marcus only knew about from books and stories and word of mouth.
A faint, almost crooked smile tugged at his mouth as he added, “We could make a game of it. Tag. Or hide-and-seek.” His eyes flicked back to hers, gauging her reaction. “You seem pretty confident you wouldn’t get lost,” he went on, a hint of teasing threading into his voice now. “So it might actually be a challenge.” Marcus tilted his head slightly, easing back a step, raising his hands and arms in arcs at his sides to entice her into his game.
He glanced past her, back toward the trees they had come through, where the Greatwood thickened again. Then to the south. Then, deliberately, Marcus shifted the conversation. It was not abrupt, but with intent, like guiding someone off a dangerous path without making it feel like a loss. “There’s another part of the forest not far from here,” he said, tone lighter now, though still measured. “Ludo’s Woods.” Which, like the Eyes of Vi, Marcus only knew about from books and stories and word of mouth.
A faint, almost crooked smile tugged at his mouth as he added, “We could make a game of it. Tag. Or hide-and-seek.” His eyes flicked back to hers, gauging her reaction. “You seem pretty confident you wouldn’t get lost,” he went on, a hint of teasing threading into his voice now. “So it might actually be a challenge.” Marcus tilted his head slightly, easing back a step, raising his hands and arms in arcs at his sides to entice her into his game.
m a r c u s
