"Alana, here. I want you to have this Blood-Fiend Fruit."
Marcus held the rare fruit out to her with a warm, unguarded smile.
The pull of status within the Dragon Dynasty's hierarchy had its appeal, of course, but Marcus had never been the type to chase titles for their own sake. Power meant little if it came at the expense of the people he cared about. Handing something this valuable over to the empire felt hollow when he could instead place it in the hands of the woman standing before him.
"For me?" Alana's voice came out soft, almost fragile. She looked at him as if she wasn't quite sure she had heard him right, her eyes glimmering with confusion and something deeper, something steadily growing.
