Chapter 36 Marcus Returns (Again)

Chapter 36 Marcus Returns (Again)
Maya's POV

Marcus showed up at our door with three lawyers and a smug expression that made me want to paint his face onto a canvas and set it on fire.

"Emergency custody hearing," he announced, shoving legal papers at me. "Tomorrow morning. I'm getting Lily away from this madhouse before your magical nonsense gets her killed."

I was so shocked I couldn't speak. We had ninety-six hours until the Severance Ritual. We were planning an impossible heist. And now my ex-husband—who'd ignored his daughter for months—suddenly wanted custody?

"You can't be serious," I finally managed.

"Deadly serious." Marcus gestured to his lawyer team like they were weapons. "I have witnesses who'll testify you're involved with dangerous supernatural entities. That your house has been under investigation by magical authorities. That just last week, your daughter's uncontrolled magic nearly killed fifty people in a bakery."

"How do you know about that?" Dante demanded, appearing behind me.

"I have sources." Marcus's smile widened. "Turns out the supernatural community loves to gossip. And when I heard my daughter was living in a house where reality tears open and shadow monsters attack—well, any responsible parent would intervene."

"You don't care about Lily," I said, my voice shaking with rage. "You just can't stand seeing me happy. This is about control, not custody."

"This is about my daughter's safety." But his eyes told the truth—he was enjoying this. "The judge will see through your magical delusions, Maya. You've always been unstable. Now you're dangerous too."

One of his lawyers stepped forward. "Ms. Blake, we have documented evidence of—"

The lawyer stopped mid-sentence. His eyes went wide with terror.

Behind him stood Enforcer Kael, the Council's warrior guardian. Seven feet of pure intimidation, his tribal tattoos glowing with barely contained power.

"Marcus Blake," Kael said, his voice like grinding mountains. "You are interfering in Council business."

Marcus's smugness evaporated. "I—who—what are you?"

"I am the being who ensures supernatural law is respected." Kael moved forward, and Marcus's lawyers stumbled backward. "You filed emergency custody papers citing magical danger to the child Lily Blake Rossi. This constitutes interference in an active Council investigation."

"I'm just protecting my daughter!" Marcus's voice cracked.

"No." Kael's glowing eyes fixed on him. "You are attempting to use Council proceedings as leverage in a personal vendetta. I have reviewed your history, Marcus Blake. You have contacted your daughter five times in the past year. Zero times in the past six months. Your sudden concern for her welfare coincides precisely with learning of the Council investigation."

"That's—I've been busy—"

"You've been irrelevant." Kael pulled out a crystal that projected images into the air—recordings of Marcus's phone calls. "Three days ago, you told a colleague, and I quote: 'My ex-wife thinks she's special now with her magic powers. Time to remind her I can still destroy her life whenever I want.'"

My stomach churned. Of course Marcus didn't actually want Lily. He just wanted to hurt me.

"Those recordings are inadmissible!" one of the lawyers protested.

"In human court, perhaps." Kael's smile was terrifying. "But we are not in human court. This family is under Council jurisdiction. Any attempt to interfere—legal or otherwise—will be treated as an attack on Council authority."

He turned that horrible smile on Marcus. "Do you understand what that means, Marcus Blake?"

Marcus had gone pale. "No?"

"It means," Kael said softly, "that if you proceed with this custody hearing, I will attend. I will testify about your actual motivations. And then, because you wasted my time with petty human drama, I will ensure you understand exactly how outmatched you are."

Kael's tattoos flared brighter. The temperature in the room dropped thirty degrees. Frost formed on the windows.

"I could freeze every molecule of water in your body," Kael continued conversationally. "It would take 0.3 seconds. You'd shatter like glass. Or I could simply remove your ability to speak—permanently. You'd spend the rest of your life unable to manipulate anyone with words again."

"You're threatening me!" Marcus squeaked.

"I'm educating you." Kael's expression was almost amused. "You are a normal human trying to use supernatural circumstances for personal gain. This is remarkably stupid. The Council has destroyed civilizations for less."

One of Marcus's lawyers had actually fainted. The other two were backing toward the door.

"Withdraw your custody filing," Kael commanded. "Apologize to your daughter for using her as a weapon against her mother. And never—ever—contact this family again unless genuinely concerned for the child's welfare."

Marcus looked like he might throw up. "And if I don't?"

Kael stepped closer. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of thousands of years of absolute authority. "Then I will show you exactly what magical danger looks like. Personally."

"I withdraw!" Marcus shouted. "The custody filing is withdrawn! Tell the judge we're dropping it!"

"Good." Kael's tattoos dimmed. The temperature returned to normal. "Now leave. And Marcus? If I ever hear you've contacted this family with malicious intent again, I'll visit you at night. When you're alone. When no one can hear you scream."

Marcus and his lawyers practically ran to their car.

I stood there, stunned. The Council's enforcer—the being we'd been terrified of—just protected us from Marcus.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Kael looked at me, and for a moment, something almost kind flickered in his eyes. "I enforce the law, Maya Rossi. That includes protecting those under Council jurisdiction from external threats. Your ex-husband was attempting to weaponize supernatural circumstances. That falls under my purview."

"But the Council wants to seal our magic," Dante said carefully. "You're investigating us as a threat. Why protect us from Marcus?"

"Because until the Council renders final judgment, you are under our protection as well as our observation." Kael moved toward the door. "We may determine your family magic is too dangerous to exist. But that is our decision to make. Not some bitter human's revenge fantasy."

He paused at the threshold. "Magistrate Theron lost his family because he chose duty over protection. He was away enforcing law when they needed him most. He will not make that mistake again—even with families he's investigating. Neither will I."

After Kael left, Dante and I just held each other, shaking.

"Did the Council's enforcer just... defend us?" I asked.

"I think he did." Dante sounded as confused as I felt. "Maybe they're not as hostile as we thought. Maybe—"

His phone rang. Felix.

"Bad news," Felix said without preamble. "I've been monitoring Council communications. Kael defending you from Marcus wasn't kindness. It was strategy."

"What do you mean?" Dante put him on speaker.

"The Council doesn't want external complications interfering with their investigation. They want you focused solely on their judgment—no distractions like custody battles." Felix's voice was grim. "But here's the real problem: I just learned why Kael personally intervened."

"Why?"

"Because he's going to be in the vault during the heist."

My blood turned to ice. "What?"

"The Council knows about the theft attempt. They're not stopping it—they're using it as a test. Kael will be waiting inside the vault as an additional Guardian." Felix paused. "Maya, Dante—you're not just stealing from the Council. You're walking into a trap. They want to see if you'll choose power over morality when given the chance. And Kael's job is to kill you if you make the wrong choice."

I felt sick. "Then we call off the heist."

"You can't. Without the artifact, the Severance Ritual happens in four days. Your only hope is to pull off the theft, somehow convince Kael you're not corrupted by the Crown of Unmaking, and escape before the entire Council destroys you."

Dante grabbed my hand. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't." Felix's voice softened with what might have been genuine sympathy. "I'm sorry. I thought this heist would save you. Instead, I've helped you walk straight into an execution."

The call ended.

Through our soul bond, I felt Dante's despair matching mine. We were damned if we stole the Crown and damned if we didn't.

Then Lily's voice came from the stairs. "Mommy? Daddy? Why was Mr. Marcus here?"

She'd heard everything. Her seven-year-old face was pale with fear.

"Was he trying to take me away again?"

"No, baby." I pulled her into a hug. "He's gone. He won't bother us anymore."

"Because the scary tattoo man scared him off?" Lily asked.

"Yes."

"Is the tattoo man going to hurt us during the vault thing?"

I froze. "How do you know about the vault?"

"I heard you and Daddy talking last night. You're going to steal something to stop the Council from taking our magic." Lily looked up at me with eyes too wise for a seven-year-old. "But it's a trap, isn't it? They want you to steal the Crown so they can say you're bad."

"Lily—"

"I can help," she interrupted. "My wish magic can—"

"Absolutely not," Dante said firmly. "You're staying with Elena during the heist. This is too dangerous."

"But I can wish for the heist to succeed! I can wish for you to come home safe!"

"And those wishes would corrupt your magic further," I said gently. "Baby, we need you to trust us. We'll figure this out."

But looking at Lily's terrified face, I wasn't sure we would.

That night, I found a note slipped under our door. Expensive stationery, elegant handwriting.

"Dearest Maya and Dante, I hear your heist has become considerably more complicated. The Council laying a trap, Kael waiting to strike, the Crown designed to corrupt you—it's all very dramatic.

But I have good news: there IS a way to use the Crown without being corrupted. A way to rewrite reality without losing yourself.

All you need is one person willing to wear the Crown and absorb all its corrupting influence—a sacrifice to bear the darkness so your family stays pure.

I even have someone in mind. Someone who's already corrupted beyond redemption. Someone who might actually welcome the Crown's power.

Call me when you're desperate enough to listen.

Yours in chaos, Victoria

P.S. The person I'm thinking of is already on your heist team. You just haven't figured out who yet."

I read the note three times, my hands shaking.

Someone on our team was already corrupted. Already dangerous enough that wearing the Crown wouldn't make them worse.

Felix? Voss? Or—horrible thought—could it be Iris?

And the worst question: was Victoria telling the truth, or was this another manipulation?

I looked at the heist countdown on my phone: 84 hours remaining.

Somewhere in the next three and a half days, I'd have to decide: trust Victoria's plan and sacrifice someone to the Crown's corruption, or watch my family be destroyed by the Council's trap.

Either way, someone we knew was going to become a monster.