The Marked Ones (Fairytail Saga)

by Munt, S. K

  He poked his tongue out at her. ‘Okay fine; Ku uipo...I’m gay.’

  Her jaw dropped. ‘You are?! Since when? Does my mum know?’

  ‘I fessed up this afternoon over the phone. She was shocked, but not overly devastated. I get the distinct impression that she’s rooting for unca Tristan anyway.’ He grinned. ‘And to answer your first question, I’ve known for awhile.’

  She frowned. ‘But you let your parents offer you up anyway?’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘I know, I know....tacky.’ He cringed. ‘Sounds awful, but I didn’t want to let my parents down. You see, they know-’

  She smirked. ‘And they thought I’d cure you of it?’

  ‘Not if they could see you now,’ he said jokingly. ‘But no. The only part that bothers them, is the part where I don’t have babies.’ He smiled easily, letting her arms go. ‘They wanted me to tell you, and cut a bit of a deal. Exchange a child, for freedom.’

  ‘Wow!’ Ivyanne’s eyebrows shot up. ‘That would have been a tempting deal, two days ago!’ she punched him lightly in the shoulder. ‘Where were you then?’

  ‘Thinking it over. Eventually, I decided no. I mean, if I want to breed down the line, I’m sure there will be a willing full blood candidate at some point. But it wouldn’t be very progressive of me, to get myself a mer-beard. There isn’t the prejudice against gays in our world that there is in this human one-so why fake a marriage?’

  ‘It could have helped me out,’ Ivyanne said.

  He smiled. ‘You mean, before you shagged Tristan?’

  Ivyanne’s eyes widened. ‘He told you? That little-’

  ‘No,’ Bane made a face. ‘Speaking of which....you probably need to find him, and soon. I was with Ardhi when he found the, boat, with the uh, signs of sexual misconduct ..… and suffice to say, he’s out for blood.’

  Ivyanne hadn’t believed that the day could get any worse. If Ardhi knew that she had slept with Tristan-his entire world would have come down around him. He’d be scared and heartbroken....who knew what he was capable of?

  ‘This is the worst day of my life,’ Ivyanne whispered.

  Bane nodded. ‘I’m getting that-that’s why I headed straight for your room. Look, Ivyanne, I may not want to marry you-but you look like you could use a friend.’

  Ivyanne had just been thinking how much she needed the old Ardhi back. Wherever he was at that point, he was probably thinking the same thing. ‘I really could. Mahalo.’

  ‘A'ole pilikia,’ Bane held out his arm. ‘Let’s go and put this fire out, okay?’

  She took it gratefully, suddenly saddened that Bane had withdrawn his proposal. She could have had her cake, and eaten elsewhere. ‘Let’s go.’

  ⁓

  Lincoln arrived back in his room around eight-thirty, thinking that it had been the longest day of his life. All he wanted was a strong drink, a shower, and a sleep. He slammed the door behind him a little harder than necessary, but it didn’t improve his mood.

  He threw his phone on his nightstand, then realized he was still clenching Ivyanne’s shell necklace in his fist. He lifted his hand, prepared to smash it into a million fragments against his wall, but changed his mind at the last minute, hanging it on the back of his chair. After all, it was the only piece of her he’d ever possess.

  Once the season was over, he fully intended to take an extended vacation before his father officially retired. He didn’t think there was anywhere he could go that wouldn’t remind him of Ivyanne, but he figured a desert of some sort would be perfect. Egypt? Alice Springs? Nowhere that could be reached by water inlet. He should of asked Ivyanne what place on earth was her idea of hell.

  What does it matter? He thought, tearing at his scalp angrily as he glanced around his cold and lonely room. I’ll probably just be led astray by some sort of fucking desert sprite or misplaced leprechaun anyway!

  Lincoln was done. If he was going to be stuck at The Seaview for the rest of his life, things were going to change. Firstly, he was going to fire every member of the staff with a tattoo, and replace them with regular folk. Hell, maybe he’d even sell up. And if his dad didn’t like it, tough. Lincoln had sacrificed enough of his life to this god-forsaken bay.

  Not that any of it was going to help him forget her.

  The answering machine light was blinking. Lincoln crossed to it, and hit the button, glaring at his dirt-smeared face, cursing the fact that his outsides suddenly looked so young-if he felt one hundred, he wanted to look it. It was like being sad on a sunny day-it made you feel worse.

  Besides, it had been Ivyanne’s doing. Until the effects of whatever Aubrielle had done wore off, he’d look at his face and know that he’d never be young enough for her, even in his prime.

  “HeyLink eets Missa Lee,’ the Japanese chef said quickly. “You better get dow here. There bin some drama.” The message beeped, then the recorded machine said :‘Received, seven thirteen pm.’

  Lincoln shrugged, erasing it. The message had been left over an hour before. When he hadn’t shown up, his dad would have been summoned and have handled it. Chase could handle it for the rest of the night, too. Screw everybody.

  But the machine beeped again. “Hey...uh Link, it’s Tristan,” the deep voice suddenly said. Lincoln’s sphincter tightened. “We need to-”

  Lincoln hit delete, unable to handle another second of Tristan’s smug voice. He was probably trying to keep him away from Ivyanne anyway-and that was taken care of.

  Lincoln turned to go the bathroom, noticing the scrap of paper lying on his bed. He frowned, snatching it up and peering at the scrawled cursive:

  Lincoln,

  I haven’t stopped crying. I love you honey, and even though Ive made mistakes, I need you to forgive me. I cant go through the rest of my life without you. I understand that your in love with her too, but shes torn between the two of you, and Im cured of him for life. Meet me out at Needle Island, my love, away from all of those who have come in between us, and let me start making it up to you. If you don’t come, I have no reason to live.

  Always, Adele.

  Lincoln let the piece of paper drift back to the bed, heart hammering. If she thought for a second that he could forgive her, she was insane. He’d already told her that. Besides, what on earth was she thinking, luring him to Needle Island? It wasn’t far off the coast, twenty minutes by boat in fact-but she knew he was terrified of boats! Was it some sort of test?

  Lincoln groaned, cursing her internally-of course he had to go. He couldn’t let her kill herself over him. Adele was an intense girl, after all. Who knew how dark her heart was at that time? Besides, part of it was Lincoln’s own fault. Adele never had the chance to win his whole heart, because he’d been saving it for someone who really didn’t deserve him anyway.

  Lincoln picked up his cell phone off the bed and stuffed it in his pocket. He left the note where he found it, figuring that if he died, at least his dad would know why he had headed out into the dark night in the first place.

  Besides, so what if he died? He was already in hell....heaven would be a step up.

  ⁓

  ‘What happened to your face?’ Ivyanne asked, the second she spotted Tristan, running into his arms. Her warm hand felt soothing against the light graze.

  Tristan scooped her up and squeezed her. ‘Your bestest buddy happened to it, that’s what.’ He spotted his nephew over Ivyanne’s shoulder. ‘Aloha Malihini!’

  ‘Aloha Paniolo!’ Bane lifted his hand in a salute. ‘Looks like you’ve been having fun!’

  ‘An adventure unlike any other.’ Tristan smiled. ‘Decided to step up finally, huh?’

  Ivyanne pulled back, grinning up at Tristan. ‘Actually, he just came out. One down! One to go!’

  Tristan laughed at the delight and relief in her eyes, before glancing back at his nephew. ‘Actually, that’s what I meant.’

  Bane lifted an eyebrow. ‘You knew?’

  ‘That you’re mahu?’ Tristan rolled his eyes. ‘I’m sorry, did
you think you were hiding it well?’

  Ivyanne stabbed him in the ribs with her fingers. ‘I didn’t!’

  ‘That’s because you haven’t seen his wardrobe,’ Tristan said, winking at Bane. ‘For someone who spends most of his time swimming, he’s got an awful lot of Dolce and Gabbana suits in there. He didn’t so much come out of the closet, as the closet came out of him!’

  Bane threw back his head and laughed. ‘Oh designer threads will be my undoing!’

  Ivyanne stepped out of Tristan's arms. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she demanded. ‘It would have helped me sleep at night!’

  ‘It wasn’t my place,’ Tristan said honestly. ‘Besides, risk Ardhi finding out that his odds were fifty to one instead of thirty to one? Not on your life!’ He took Ivyanne’s hand. ‘Now reunions aside, we have some serious shit to deal with. Ardhi knows somehow-’

  ‘He found your boat,’ Bane interjected. ‘And the state the bedroom was in sort of tipped him off.’

  ‘Oh.’ Tristan glanced at Ivyanne, who blushed and looked at her feet, shaking her head. ‘Well, that’ll do it! Anyway.... he’s lost it. He showed up in the bar and threw my table across the room-in front of dozens of people. No one’s blaming me, and it’s all cleaned up now, but he’s in trouble. And he’s not the only one.’

  ‘Lincoln?’ Ivyanne asked, paling considerably under the muted light as Tristan led them back to the staff quarters, thinking of Ardhi’s tirade the day before.

  ‘Yes. Beats me as to why, but Ardhi seems to be in a crush now, talk it out later kind of mood.’ Tristan squeezed her hand. ‘I called and left a message, but I don’t know if Link’s gotten it yet. Have you seen him?’

  She ducked her head, momentarily blocking his view of her pretty profile. ‘Yes.’ She whispered.

  ‘Did you handle it?’

  Ivyanne nodded.

  ‘Will he be back in his room by now?’

  ‘I don’t know...I left him in the forest an hour ago.’

  Forest? Tristan’s stomach tightened. ‘At your fort?’ He asked slowly.

  Ivyanne nodded again. ‘And before you ask-he found me. He...he he knew almost everything.’

  Tristan’s eyebrows shot up, appalled. ‘Does Ardhi know about it?’

  This time, she shook her head.

  Tristan hoped he didn’t look as jealous as he felt. ‘What were you doing all of this time?’

  ‘Having a nervous breakdown in the bushes.’ Bane said, patting Ivyanne’s shoulders and giving him a warning look. ‘Take it easy man. She’s not a happy camper.’

  ‘Well....okay. Sorry.’ Tristan sighed, not loving the idea of Ivyanne and Lincoln in the forest together-but she’d left alone, so that was a good sign. ‘I hope he’s not back yet then. Ardhi’s probably staging an ambush. We’ve got to get there now, and beat Link back to his room.’

  ‘Okay...’ Ivyanne said softly. ‘Quickly then. I don’t think he can take much more of our kind before he snaps.’

  The three of them jogged down the path, Tristan holding Ivyanne’s hand the whole way, Bane bringing up the rear. When they arrived at the managers cottage, similar to Tristan's, right down to the kitchenette, the lights were on, and the door was ajar.

  ‘Someone’s in there.’ Ivyanne stopped, pulling Tristan up. ‘Who should go in?’

  ‘Bane,’ Tristan said quickly, waving Bane forward. ‘He won’t know him-he’s more likely to hear him out.’

  ‘Sweet,’ Bane went ahead, but paused to glance back: ‘He doesn’t have a gun, does he? Spear? Electric toothbrush?’

  ‘Unlikely,’ Ivyanne said.

  Bane nodded and went up to the door, sticking his head in, and looking around. After a minute, he entered.

  Tristan turned to Ivyanne, looking her up and down carefully. ‘Lose your necklace?’

  Ivyanne looked at Tristan, biting her lip. ‘And I thought Link was the observant one.’ She said softly, guilt written all over her beautiful face. ‘Tristan-’

  ‘We’ll talk about it later.’ Tristan let go of Ivyanne’s hand as Bane came back out, holding a leaf of paper in his hand. The idea that their princess had broken the biggest rule of all was shocking, even to him. He wanted to understand, and vowed that when she filled him in, he would try his hardest to-but if Lincoln was more precious to her then their secret was, Tristan didn’t like his chances of ever possessing her whole heart.

  He knew almost everything. Her words repeated in his head, relaxing him slightly. He desperately hoped that was true. If she’d offered their legacy up eagerly, Tristan may as well track the guy down and give him his own life, because it would mean that Ivyanne actually loved Lincoln more than she loved her people.

  ‘There’s a note here,’ Bane held it out to Ivyanne. ‘From some chick named Adele, asking Link to give her a second chance.’

  ‘Lemme see that,’ Ivyanne snatched the piece of paper, her wide green eyes scanning it clearly. ‘Meet her on Needle Island?’ She scrunched up her face. ‘That’s crazy! She doesn’t know him at all if she thinks he’d go on a boat.’

  Bane pulled something out of his pocket and held it under their noses. ‘This was on a chair too. Looks like the kind Ardhi’s mother makes-Leah has one.’

  ‘That’s Ivyanne’s!’ Tristan took it. ‘Babe, this means he’s been back already, right?’

  Ivyanne’s mouth fell open, her eyes fixed to the paper. ‘Oh no!’ She thrust it at Tristan. ‘Adele didn’t write this!’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘Well for one, I’ve seen her handwriting on lunch dockets-it slopes backwards. Secondly.... look at the punctuation on the words ‘I’ve’ and ‘Can’t’. No apostrophes!’

  Tristan blinked at her. ‘So?’

  Ivyanne took the paper back. ‘Adele’s an English major in university, Tristan! This note was written by someone who probably didn’t get through high school!’

  ‘Ardhi!’ Tristan’s stomach dropped as the penny did. ‘What do we do?’

  ‘Guys?’ A feeble voice asked. He looked up to see Pintang stepping out of the darkness in front of her room to the left, still wearing the blue dress from dinner, biting her lip. The moonlight picked out silvery strands in her glossy hair. ‘Bane?! What are you doing here? What’s going on?’

  ‘Have you seen Ardhi?’ Bane demanded, not bothering with pleasantries.

  Pintang shook her head. ‘No. But while I was helping Remi clean up the mess you jerks made in the restaurant, Caleb came in to report one of the hire boats missing.’ She scowled at Tristan. ‘I had a sinking feeling that my brother is involved somehow so I came to tell Ivyanne.’

  Tristan turned to Ivyanne. ‘Link’s going to be looking for a way to Needle ...right? And if Ardhi left that note, and took a boat.…’ He cringed. ‘Did you warn Lincoln? About Ardhi?’

  ‘No! I didn’t want him living in fear!’ Ivyanne’s panic was instantaneous. ‘We have to find them!’

  ‘Why?’ Pintang stepped forward, looking perplexed. ‘What’s going on now?’

  ‘We haven’t got time to explain!’ Ivyanne turned on her heel and began running back towards the hill leading to the esplanade. ‘Just come and we’ll tell you everything!’

  Pintang sighed but kicked off her shoes and tossed them to the grass, pushing past Tristan with one final look of derision. ‘Fine. Guess my night can’t be ruined any more anyway!’

  Tristan sighed and ran after them, hoping she was right, but knowing her hopes would fall to where his were when she learned the extent of Ardhi’s downward slide into insanity.

  32.

  Ardhi was just pulling his boat back up onto the sand when Lincoln jogged down the beach, his complexion sweaty and waxen, his eyes frantic with worry.

  ‘Adele?!’ he called out, bending his head against the wind and sprinting faster. ‘Wait!’

  ‘Who’s that?’ Ardhi tried to sound surprised, though he smiled inwardly, thinking that he’d timed this perfectly. To Lincoln, it would look like he was just leaving
, instead of returning. Luckily he’d cut the engine offshore and waded the boat into the shallows.

  ‘Ardhi?’ Lincoln’s face fell. He came to a halt two feet away, panting. He looked around. ‘Have you seen my ex girlfriend Adele?’

  ‘Oh, hey. Link isn’t it?’ Ardhi tried for nonchalant. ‘Your ex..The blonde who was crying the other night?’

  ‘Yeah. She would have come down the beach recently.’

  Ardhi dusted the sand off his hands. ‘I saw someone head out in one of the hire boats about fifteen minutes ago, but I couldn’t tell you who was in it.’ He glanced up at the starry sky. ‘It’s been a nice night for fishing, but the weather’s coming up. I hope that wasn’t your girlfriend, because the ocean is no place for a chick by themselves in a storm.’

  Lincoln looked around around nervously. ‘What are you doing out here then?’

  Ardhi smiled. ‘I love fishing-and I’m not a chick. My sister had plans tonight so I figured I’d cast a line in off Needle.’

  Lincoln’s expression was wary. ‘You can use a boat?’

  That seemed like an odd question. Ardhi shrugged. ‘Yeah..... why?’

  ‘I just, uh....’ he screwed up his face. ‘Never mind. Look my ex has lost her mind and left me a note saying she’s waiting on Needle for me. I don’t want to get back together, but I don’t want her doing something stupid on my behalf either.’ He looked at the dinghy doubtfully. ‘Man I hate boats, and I don’t know anything about running them. Will you give me a ride out? I’ll reimburse the cost of the hire boat and swing you a little extra if you do.’

  ‘Sure.’ Ardhi couldn’t believe how willingly Lincoln had swallowed the bait. He gave the boat a shove back into the water. And it was intriguing to learn that he was afraid of the water! ‘Is she the suicidal type?’

  ‘I didn’t think so. But she’s the attention-getting type.’ Lincoln muttered. He darted a look at Ardhi, who motioned for him to climb in. Lincoln loped one of his long legs over the side. Never had a man looked less graceful. ‘Thanks for doing this, by the way.’