Marked Prince

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Fiora and Jaxx had just left the palace. Unlike the time Jaxx led her through the hallways, he was now fully clothed in dark pants and a red tunic shirt. He’d guided her around a maze of halls so she could avoid running into people, which she thought was sweet. The clothes he had given her to were close in design to his, pants with a fitted shirt and boots.

  “Which one are you?” the woman asked pointedly. “Future queen or sister?”

  Fiora instantly became flooded with images of the woman locked in a battle with a man she couldn’t see. Wings ripped from her body before she swooped from a tower and attempted to chase after a cat running away from her.

  “This is Fiora.” Jaxx placed a hand on her shoulder. His finger touched her neck and pulled her out of the vision. “Fiora, meet my cousin, Princess Grace.”

  “You’re a dragon,” Fiora said. “One of the rare females I’ve heard about.”

  “And you have visions,” Grace answered.

  “Don’t,” Jaxx warned.

  “What?” Grace blinked, trying to look innocent and failing.

  “She’s not a fortune teller,” Jaxx stated.

  “Well, from what I heard, she kind of is,” Grace quipped.

  “You should go back to the palace,” Jaxx said. “You cannot be involved in what we’re doing.”

  “What are you doing?” Grace asked.

  “It’s better that you don’t know,” Jaxx answered.

  “Jaxx, Grier, and Salena are escorting me to Shelter City to see if I can read the timelines and find out what is about to kill everyone,” Fiora said. “We are going to stop by Jaxx’s parents’ house to pick up some supplies, so no one saw us leaving the palace with bags. We did not tell the king and queen that we were leaving. We’re sneaking away.”

  Jaxx grimaced.

  Grace’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Yes, really,” Fiora said. “The general is not happy that I was taken from him, and his anger will need an outlet. That could mean hurting Shelter City somehow because he knows the shifters want to help them. I can’t go back because when Grier and Jaxx flew me over the city, I picked up a lot of timelines—which are what I call future premonitions because of the way they flow in my brain—and now I know too much about—”

  “Grace, what are you doing?” Grier came down the path to join them. “I thought you were supposed to be getting ready to meet your—”

  “No.” Grace held up her hand toward Grier’s face as if to block him from her view. “I am weary of you all teasing me that every time I want out of the palace, it’s because the Var princes are visiting. Maybe I just want out of the palace. Why should the men in the family have all the fun?”

  “Because you usually are avoiding the Var princes when you leave the palace,” Grier answered under his breath.

  “Don’t make me light you on fire in front of your new bride,” Grace said. She turned back to Fiora. “You were saying?”

  Fiora instantly answered without hesitation, “Now I know too much about the people of Shelter City and their factions, beliefs, threats, that the information in the general’s hands could prove very dangerous.”

  “You’re very…” Grace studied her, “accommodating.”

  “You’re very aggressive,” Fiora countered.

  “She only speaks the truth,” Grier said as if Fiora’s claim against Grace amused him.

  “My sister can’t lie. It’s physically impossible,” Salena explained. “Even when we were kids all it took was one question from my parents, and Fiora told them every misdeed.”

  “Stop asking her questions, Grace,” Jaxx ordered.

  “What? Are you like her protector now?” A half-smile curled on Grace’s lips. “I have a feeling Fiora can speak for herself.”

  “Fiora is under my—” Grier began.

  “Yes,” Jaxx stated, cutting off his cousin. He pulled Fiora close to his side. “I am her protector.”

  Fiora looked up at him.

  Grace’s smile widened by degrees. It didn’t take a psychic to see the mischief in her. But, Fiora could also sense her pain and loneliness. She wondered if anyone else saw it, or if the impression came from the visions. “Is he more than your protector?”

  Fiora didn’t want to answer. “Yes. I find myself attracted to him, both physically after we landed and I followed behind him in the palace, and he was completely naked, and mentally since I discovered his touch—”

  “Ah! Stop.” Grace pretended to gag as she cupped her ears. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “—for some reason has the power to stop my premonitions from flowing,” Fiora finished. “I’ll probably have sex with him on multiple occasions while I have the opportunity, but sadly the future isn’t looking great right now.”

  Jaxx cleared his throat.

  Grier chuckled.

  Grace opened her mouth but then shut it without saying anything.

  “You asked,” Salena said, hooking her sister by the arm to lead her down the path away from the palace. “How are you feeling? You look better than when we arrived.”

  “Better. Frightened.” Fiora glanced at the trees as the forest became thick. The trees grew wide and tall, with leaves big enough to wrap around her body. If they were to cut one down, a spaceship would be able to land on that single trunk. “Happy to not be eating nutrient paste and getting daily booster shots to amplify my premonitions.” She glanced at the path. The compacted red dirt contrasted the small yellow plants growing along each side. “Being near Jaxx helps. I’m not sure what it is about him that stops the visions, but it might be because he has a death mark.”

  Salena stopped suddenly, causing Fiora to realize what she’d said.

  “Death mark?” Grace demanded. “Is that what it sounds like?”

  “Jaxx?” Grier insisted.

  “It’s nothing,” Jaxx dismissed.

  “Fiora?” Grier gently took her arm so she looked at him. “What does it mean that Jaxx has a death mark?”

  “I don’t want to answer you,” she said, only to add, “but his future is silent. I see nothing when I look forward, only darkness. That always means one thing. There is no future.” She drew her eyes to Jaxx’s dark ones. “I wish it were different.”

  What she didn’t say is that she hoped in changing the fate of Shelter City, they might find a way to change his destiny as well. Though, darkness meant his death was sooner than that of the Cysgodians. They still had timelines to show her.

  “Maybe you’re wrong,” Grace insisted, her expression begging Fiora to recant.

  “This isn’t about me. This is about helping Shelter City,” Jaxx said. “Payton has a contact in the city. I think I know where to find her. She can take us there, and maybe then we can narrow down which timeline will be the most useful to trace.”

  “Yevgen?” Salena asked.

  Jaxx nodded.

  “Payton took me to see him. That’s how we found you,” Salena told Fiora. “Yevgen monitors the city and knows everything that is happening. He might be able to help you fill in the gaps. I’m pretty sure I can lead you to where he lives.”

  “Yes. I agree. Yevgen. That way we’re not caught roaming the city aimlessly,” Grier agreed. “Salena, I’d like you to stay with Grace when we go—”

  “Like hell,” Grace snapped. “I’m going with you. If you try to leave me behind, I’m telling King Ualan all about this adventure.”

  “Yeah, that’s not happening. I’m not leaving my sister’s side.” Salena took up Fiora’s arm again.

  “Discuss it later,” Jaxx said. “I hear someone coming up the path. We need to stop talking until we’re past the village, or someone will overhear us.”

  “Shifter hearing is more sensitive than—” Salena began to explain.

  “I know,” Fiora broke in.

  Salena kept looking at her like she was delicate and needed protection. When she spoke, her tone lightened like she conversed with a scared child. Had she been like that when they were
children? It felt borderline condescending.

  Thankfully, Salena didn’t ask what was wrong with her because Fiora would have said precisely that, and she had no wish to hurt her sister’s feelings.

  Jaxx and Grier stepped in front of her as a man came down the path. Jaxx placed his hand behind his back to keep ahold of her to stop any visions. From what she could see through the space between their arms, the man looked like some of the Draig men she’d seen outside the palace door. The princes nodded at him in greeting.

  “Blessed day,” Grier said.

  “Blessed day, my princes, princess, ladies,” the man answered pleasantly.

  Fiora looked down at Grier’s wrist. He wore a leather band with what appeared to be a pottery shard sewn onto it. Without thinking, she reached to take his hand. He turned in surprise at the contact.

  Seeing her interest in the jewelry, he said, “We removed the pottery from your sister’s leg. Now I carry a piece of her with me wherever I go.”

  “I remember,” Fiora said. The blue glaze was one of her mother’s specialties. She made the most beautiful designs. Fiora and her sisters helped to dig the clay for the pots. This very shard might have been unearthed with their hands. “Salena tripped and fell into a stack of pots ready for market. Broken pieces were everywhere. The loss in sales made meals interesting that winter.”

  “I didn’t trip,” Salena protested, just as she had as a child. “I was pushed.”

  Fiora reached to touch the pottery with her forefinger before letting him go. With the fondness of the memory also came a bittersweet ache for that same past. It was hard not to think of the general making her tell the story of her family’s death over and over. “One of us always tells the truth, and one of us doesn’t have to.”

  “One of us clearly has a selective memory,” Salena quipped. For a moment, it was just like when they were children—bickering, teasing, happy.

  “We should start walking before more people come,” Jaxx said.

  10

  For as much as Fiora hated the silence of her traveling companions, she was also grateful for it. Silence meant they weren’t questioning her. The unasked questions were etched upon their solemn faces, which only grew wearier the longer they walked. The dirt path joined up with a broader cobblestone walk through the trees. She caught a glimpse of the Draig village at the base of the mountain palace. It covered part of a valley.

  Jaxx stayed close to her as if wanting to always be within arm’s reach if she needed to touch him. The timelines trying to invade were manageable at the moment. She didn’t need to touch him, but she wanted to.

  “I’ll probably have sex with him on multiple occasions, but sadly the future isn’t looking great right now.”

  Her stupid mouth had already revealed her attraction to him, and all she could hope is that he felt the same. It’s not like she could see an upcoming preview of their time together in his future. Though, she was sure it would have been a great, sexy show if she could.

  “What are you smiling at?” Salena asked.

  “I was thinking of Jaxx naked,” Fiora answered. Her cheeks and neck heated in embarrassment, and she was unable to force herself to meet Jaxx’s gaze.

  Grier coughed as if trying to cover his laughter.

  “So, you really can’t turn that truth-telling off?” Grace asked.

  “No. If I fight it, I’ll get a blinding headache that will last for days, my nose will start bleeding, and I’ll blurt it out anyway.” Fiora sighed. “Not pleasant.”

  “I would think there would be something medical you could do for that,” Grace mused.

  “That would imply something is wrong with her,” Jaxx said. “She’s perfect the way she is.”

  “I’m just saying if it’s causing problems, isn’t there some kind of brain surgery or something?” Grace continued.

  Fiora tried to think of a clever riddle, but she had a difficult time. Talking to them wasn’t like telling fortunes in front of a crowd.

  No, not them. Him. Jaxx.

  “I tried to have my vocal cords disintegrated once when the Federation was putting me into a medical booth,” Fiora admitted. “They caught the programming code and stopped it before the damage was done. It wasn’t very smart of me. Anything I do to myself, they’ll repair. The only thing they can’t fix is death.”

  “Stop talking like that,” Salena said.

  “Please don’t ask me any more about this.” Fiora looked to Salena, silently begging her to get them to stop questioning her.

  “I apologize. I don’t mean any harm,” Grace said.

  “How would you like it if you were asked personal questions you were forced to answer?” Jaxx countered.

  “I only thought we might find a way to help make it better,” Grace said, sounding slightly defensive.

  Salena gave a slight nod toward Fiora and winked. “You know, Grace, I’m curious about something. What is up with your betrothment? I heard you were engaged to a Var prince, but it sounds like you are avoiding him. When’s the big wedding?”

  Grace’s eyes widened and seemed to flash with an inner fire. “I don’t recognize the betrothment because it frightens me to know my future has never been my own. I’m afraid that I’ll be trapped in a loveless, humorless marriage to a stuffy cat-shifter prince who will try to snuff out everything that I am. I resent my parents for agreeing to the treaty, even if they didn’t intend for it to hold. And I know, in the end, I’m going to be forced to marry a man I don’t love for the good of the kingdoms. I will do everything I must to put off the inevitable.”

  Grace put her hands over her mouth as if to stem the flow of words.

  “Not so fun when it’s you, is it?” Jaxx said.

  Grace shook her head. “My apologies, Fiora. I won’t ask you any more questions.”

  “I didn’t know you were frightened,” Grier said.

  “Shut your black hole,” Grace grumbled, as she surged on ahead of them on the path to effectively cut off the conversation.

  “She has a lot of anger and sorrow in her,” Fiora whispered as images of Grace’s future flowed through her mind. “If you could see her path, you wouldn’t tease her about it.”

  Jaxx touched her arm, drawing her from any visions of the future. He glanced at his cousin and nodded that they should keep walking as he slowed his steps and kept her with him. When Grier and Salena followed Grace, Jaxx said, “I want you to know, I’m attracted to you, too.”

  “I know. I heard you tell my sister,” Fiora answered. She hoped that meant they’d have sex soon. She could have tried to suppress the thought, but there was no use.

  Jaxx grinned. “So, I wouldn’t be pushing past allowable limits if I…”

  He stopped walking and cupped her face in his hands. His eyes moved to her mouth, and he hesitated before lowering his lips to hers. His kiss was warm and gentle and way too brief.

  “…did this?” he finished.

  Fiora shook her head in denial. “No.”

  “And if I wanted to do it again? Would that be allowable?”

  Fiora nodded, weakly whispering, “Yes.”

  Jaxx’s mouth met hers in a deeper kiss. Her mind was devoid of premonitions, but her thoughts ran rampant as they all focused on him. She felt the breeze against her hands, heard the sound of the wind crashing the giant leaves together overhead. Dots of sunlight danced over Jaxx’s head. She kept her eyes open, not wanting to miss a moment. With Jaxx, she couldn’t predict what he would do next, and the not knowing both excited and frightened her. She wasn’t used to being surprised.

  “I can’t do what I want at the moment. If I kiss you again, I think I might embarrass myself.” He glanced around at the trees and then down the path where their companions had gone. “This is not the place.”

  At that, Fiora chuckled. “I’m kind of the queen of embarrassing myself. It’s mortifying to answer every question asked of me. Yeah, I was staring at your ass. Yeah, I want to have sex with you many, many times. Yea
h, I’m going to tell my sister, your cousins, and anyone else who asks me about it. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but—”

  He placed his finger against her lips, silencing her. “I don’t mind if people know I’m attracted to you, and I will be envied when they find out you’re attracted to me.”

  “That’s not the only concern,” she insisted. “If I know secrets, and people want to know those secrets… I can’t be trusted. The more people I’m around, the more I see. I don’t think you should take me around your parents. I should hide when we get close to their house.”

  He looked as if he wanted to disagree but didn’t speak.

  “I need you to promise me something. I can’t ask my sister, and Grier would never do anything to go against his wife, so that leaves you as the only person I can ask.” Fiora put her hand on his arm. “I will go into the city with you to read the futures. I promise I will try to find out what I can to help you and Shelter City, but the more I find out, the more dangerous I become—to the shifters and the Cysgodians.”

  He again glanced down the path before gesturing that she should walk with him.

  Fiora pulled his arm to stop him. “Jaxx, I need you to promise me that you won’t let the Federation take me.”

  “I have already said you are under my protection.” Jaxx’s tone changed as if her words insulted him.

  “Even if that means you have to kill me,” she finished the thought.

  He looked horrified.

  “You’re the only one I can ask,” she insisted.

  “No,” he said. “It will never come to that. Death is not an answer.”

  Fiora frowned. “You don’t know my life or my pain. Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be another way out.”

  He looked at her for a long moment, and she could see he was trying to choose his words. Finally, he whispered, “You’re not alone.”

  For perhaps the first time in her life, no words forced their way past her lips. She opened her mouth, as if ready for them to escape, but remained silent.