The Queen's Mark

by Tori Smith

  “That’s why you want to move her?” he asked, referring to the man in fine clothes and with an entourage behind him a Kardashian in this time would be jealous of. The man on the screen was from the United Kingdom, apparently visiting friends in a city nearby. He also happened to be the prime minister of that country.

  Oh, yeah, and he was also promised to our queen.

  “We can’t,” Derek roared, his body physically shaking, and though I wanted to freak out too—I didn’t. Hell, did I fucking want to but I didn’t. I knew why this was happening.

  I knew why our brother was doing this.

  “Is this your guilt talking?” Derek actually asked him. “You can’t have her? None of us can so you’re giving her away to that guy?”

  “You know she’s promised to him, Derek,” Elia chimed in and by the conviction in his voice, he and Wesley had already discussed this outcome. It probably had been when Derek and I had been in the midst of battling each other. We’d been bullshitting and they’d been planning.

  They’d been realistic when we couldn’t be.

  Wesley didn’t respond to Derek’s accusation, only lifted his hand and removed his fingerless gloves from the one containing his mark. The raised skin simmered with an air of energy I was sure had nothing to do with actual use and I knew that because my own mark was doing that too.

  I’d wake up and it would be on, warm and almost sometimes to the point of waking me up. It only did that if I made it, but recently I couldn’t control the sensation.

  “The queen’s in danger,” Wesley said, guiding us all to look at our marks, which we did.

  One by one we exposed them and all with the same response, lit marks and an indication of what he’d said. Something was coming for our queen.

  This wasn’t a joke.

  I think seeing all of us illuminated stressed the point and put the cold hard reality into all of us. Especially Derek, my brother’s eyes closing, as he lowered his head in what looked like clear defeat. I was sure we all felt the same.

  I put my hand on Derek’s shoulder, but looked at Wesley. “What do you think it is?” I asked him. “Rogues?”

  The resisters of our kind were always at the ready for something, and though less formally established in this time, they still hunted our people.

  “I don’t know. That’s what I’m not getting,” Wesley admitted, putting his glove back on. We all arranged our clothing. “They shouldn’t know about the queen so why is her life in danger?”

  It was true. Coming to this time, hid us. No one in this era should know anything of our plans in the twenty-first century besides a select few chosen to push forward the fulfillment of the prophecy.

  “Maybe it’s just like when Arden hurts herself or gets herself into trouble,” I suggested. The queen’s mark assisted her in times of need, as ours did to help her. An example of when she’d been under my watch was when she’d been crossing the street at eighteen. A car nearly clipped her, but her mark kept her at bay, a short reveal of its existence making her grab her arm, which had been enough for her to hesitate crossing the street. Just as quick, her mark went away and I hadn’t actually had to do anything that day to help her.

  I shrugged at the guys. “Maybe it has nothing to do with the humans at all.”

  “Yeah, well, either way we can’t take that chance I’m afraid,” Wesley said putting his hands together. “We must move forward with our mission and fulfilling the prophecy.”

  We all knew the details of it, literally trained for the day when Arden was supposed to come into her destiny. That day was supposed to be when she turned twenty-five though.

  We were supposed to have another year with her.

  “She goes to him,” I said, facing the dark television screen. “She goes to him and unites both magic and mortal men.”

  “And gives us all peace.”

  We faced Derek, united for the first time on a single issue no matter how tragic.

  Wesley moved a hand to Derek’s other shoulder.

  “It’s not about us,” he said to him. “Or even her. She has a mission here and that mission will one day save all of us. We need to get her to her betrothed. We need to get her safe.”

  Discussion moved into the next steps after that, when to move and how to do so. Wesley had already contacted the people representing Arden’s betrothed, which he said had been surprisingly easy considering the man’s role in this time.

  He was the English prime minister.

  Wesley said the prime minister’s people had been more than accommodating and prepared, the man’s representatives awaiting instructions for a rendezvous with our queen. Though our call was made a year early, they’d been ready for it and the others worked heavily to arrange that. Especially Derek, who seemed to have a sudden change of mindset regarding the subject or, really, maybe a change of heart at the core. He was probably grieving like we all were.

  It’d been in this intense focus where I believed they lost the queen, their subconscious keeping everything out as they didn’t want to expose themselves to any of us. In doing so, they blocked her out as well and as I never did, I felt the sudden extension of the bond immediately, my space between Arden growing and growing.

  Excusing myself, I left my military brothers and our plans, and ended up outside, the extension of the bond taking me there.

  I actually found Arden in the garage where we parked the cars, the one we’d taken Arden herself in and the one Wesley arrived by. She was behind the wheel of his Tesla, the car started and her hands shaking on the wheel. But even with all that, the car queued up and everything, she made no attempt to drive away. She only sat there, her hoodie covering her face.

  Like she didn’t really want to leave.

  Arden

  I knew he followed me. Maybe that’s why I stopped. I wanted to be stopped. My hands on the steering wheel, I gathered the keys to this car from the kitchen counter. They’d left them out, ready to be taken.

  I hoped whoever didn’t need them.

  The engine hummed with its soft purr, Lucas on the opposite side of the car from me. He said nothing, merely stood there with his hands on top of the car. Upon him looking inside, I ventured he probably wanted to know exactly what I was attempting to do here.

  I chose to unlock the door for him, caught anyway, and as it was just him, I gathered no one was going to come running out here looking for me. I found it curious I had only been able to feel Lucas when I’d been listening in on the boys. I told them not to do that around me—speak about me without me being present. I told them…

  My mind still in a whirlwind by the conversation I heard, I breathed, gasps increasingly hard in my chest.

  The door clicked open and what happened to be the quietest bear in recorded history folded himself inside the sedan with me. With his sheer size, Lucas even had to do one further, his large hands holding the top of the car so the interior missed his head on the way in. Settled, he closed the door, then panned my way, his lips frowning.

  I turned away, unable to look at him. I didn’t want to look at any of them. I just found out my destiny resided with a man I hadn’t even met and decided for me in a time I still wasn’t even sure I believed. There was one thing to see something for yourself, but quite another to believe something someone told you on sheer trust. I had no idea what was going on with me and these guys and still questioned my decision to come onto Wesley. Hell, I had come onto all of them at some point and not one of them stopped me. They felt with me. They traveled with me into a world I had considered to be make-believe not even a week ago. So much of their tales were turning out to be true daily.

  That’s what squeezed my heart even more about what they said.

  “She’s not meant for us,” Wesley had said, but it’d been both what he said and the way he said it to bother me equally. He said us as in all of them, each man meaning something. I had felt connections with all of them, but never did I believe they’d make note of that. It also seemed normal
what he said and the others hadn’t disagreed with him, which led me to how he said it, a finality to the discussion in his voice.

  A tragedy.

  Lucas turned out to be just as silent inside the car as he was out, his arm pressed against the window as he shifted his body in my direction. With the quiet, I wondered if he’d let me sit here with him all night, just the two of us.

  “I wasn’t running,” I said, technically running but not in the way I was sure he believed. I wasn’t running away from them. I just wanted answers outside of them.

  Reaching over, Lucas turned the key in the ignition, the car shutting off and the cabin filling up with more of his scent than there already was. They all had their own array, Wesley’s I had gotten to know the most intimately among the others, but Lucas’s had been first, the epitome of thick, potent, and male, a scent that almost couldn’t be bottled as it was all him.

  He settled the keys in his lap. “Where were you going then?” he asked me and I turned, hard to look at him as he was just as beautiful as the others.

  “She’s not meant for us…”

  I closed my eyes, shaking my head. Pressing my palms on the wheel, I stared ahead at the open garage door.

  “I just want answers,” I said turning toward him. “I want to know the truth. I heard what you guys were talking about.”

  His lips pressed together and I wondered if he knew what I’d been going to say, but since Wesley said they couldn’t hear my thoughts, I figured not.

  He pushed a hand behind his neck, facing me. “How much?”

  “How about all of it,” I said, snapping. “How I’m the answer to an entire generation of peace, which you guys briefly mentioned before, but none of that consisted of me marrying some guy.”

  “He’s not just a guy,” he said, dropping his arm. “He just happens to be the English prime minister and your unity will bring peace between the two races. Arden, you’re going to save us one day, will save us when you turn twenty-five. It’s predestined and determined.”

  I missed the part of this guy basically ruling the country alongside the monarchy.

  My mouth opened, truly freaked by all of this.

  “Okay, twenty-five,” I said. “Then there’s time. For… whatever. I just turned twenty-four.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “What’s not simple about it?”

  His head fell back against the seat.

  “We’re all sensing a threat,” he said, turning his head and moving in. “Something’s coming. Coming for you and we need to get you to this guy and push forward the prophecy. We don’t know how much time we have or even if we have time. But we have a chance. We have something if we get you to him.”

  “Well, what if nothing happens?” I challenged. “What if I go to this guy, we marry, and we all die anyway—”

  “It’s a chance.”

  His face was close when he said it and my insides wove tight like they normally did when any one of them got too near me, the apparent bond between us making me do things I didn’t want to do, as well as feel things I didn’t want to feel.

  Lucas’s gaze fell to my lips, but he sat back before he did something, his hand coming up to his mouth and his fingers pulling through the thickness of his beard.

  Sitting back, I collected myself too, willing myself to gain control of my emotions.

  Wesley said the bond wouldn’t be so strong one day.

  I just had to hold out and bank on the fact of the statement being true. I didn’t like not having control of myself. Especially when it came to these guys.

  Lucas tapped his leg, keys in his hand. “We have to take you to your betrothed, Your Majesty,” he said, coming back with the formalities, and this time, I didn’t correct him. Mostly because I think I knew why he did. He was putting a wall up, a divider that set firm ground between us and if he was going to do that, I could too.

  With a sigh, he clicked the door handle, but stopped when I called his name. He faced me right away.

  But his eyes bugged out when I made a request.

  “You want me to what?” he questioned and maybe he didn’t understand my request after I said his name but I’d been crystal clear. I wanted to go to this… guy I was supposedly marrying.

  And I wanted Lucas himself to take me.

  “You take me,” I emphasized, completely serious. “That’s why I came out here. To go to this prime minister myself and get some answers.”

  “You’ve been told everything you need to know already,” he said, shaking his head at me. “If you want to know more, he was sent here, just like you from the future. The only difference is he’s known about his birthright since he was placed in this century, but only enough to prepare him. I doubt you’ll get much else from him that you don’t already know.”

  Which made me only want to meet him more. We were in the same boat here, two people brought together by a presumed destiny. We both had others dictating our lives and I wanted to know what he thought about that. Maybe we could even end up being a unified front and the more allies I had in my camp the better.

  “You take me to him,” I said once again. I placed out my hand. “Now hand me the keys and tell me where to go.”

  “You’re not just leaving like this,” he said, his lips frowning. “And definitely not with just me. The others—”

  “I want no part in this,” I told him. With one of them, Lucas, I could at least keep my head on straight, not to mention when they were all together they could be hella intimidating, neither of which I needed.

  I breathed. “You guys said the prime minister was nearby, visiting some friends?” I questioned and he nodded his head. “Okay, so we go. We talk to him and then come back.”

  “And the other guys? Derek, Wesley, and Elia?” he asked to which I only shrugged.

  “You’ll be there with me,” I said, and with each of them, I would say I did feel protected. Especially after the powerhouses I’d seen some of them be individually and that had been without any signs of threats around. I may have been confused about all this and not entirely confident I was a time-traveling witch queen, but one thing I did believe was that these guys were powerful in their own right. Lucas could protect me himself if he wanted to.

  “I believe I’m safe with you,” I said being honest about that to which only got a harsh sigh in my direction.

  “It’s not about my capabilities,” he stated, the keys balled tight in his large fist. “It’s about my duty to the crown, you. I’m one of four protectors. We guard the crown and there are real threats out there.”

  I was fully aware of the threats, or had he forgotten I’d lost my parents only days ago?

  I played with the zipper of my hoodie, my awareness of Lucas’s presence full blown, as well as the possibility of him feeling my vulnerabilities. With the thought, he moved closer, eyeing me.

  “Our marks are indicating danger, Arden,” he said. “Danger we don’t know the source of.”

  “But the plan is to bring me to this guy, right?” I asked, looking up at him. “That’s the plan to avoid whatever this danger is, so I don’t see the point of whether it’s you or the others bringing me to him. I just want to talk to him and I want to do it on my own terms. I can’t do that with the others around. It’s too much. I haven’t had any control over my own goddamn life since you guys came into it.”

  I pushed my hand into my hair shaking my head.

  “I can’t take you myself, My—” Lucas’s lips fell together with the words, his expression crestfallen. “I can’t, Arden. There’s just too many possibilities out there. Whether it’s the plan to take you to him alongside the others or not. It’s not smart for it just to be me.”

  “What if I commanded you?” I asked and nearly regretted the words the moment I met his bright blue eyes, the brevity of what I’d said ringing harshly across them.

  They only mixed with the strong emotions coming off him.

  The force of the bond made me feel each o
ne of them, the wave of an anxiety and betrayal weaving its violent web thickly into my soul. I’d shaken this man before me, to the point where he actually was shaking, his expression grave.

  “Is it a command, my queen?” he asked, his eyes so sad now, hurt. “Because if it is, I can’t defy you.”

  I felt he was asking me something without asking me, almost pleading with me to take a position on where we were and who we’d become after I chose my path. But now, I did feel like I needed to be his queen, more importantly, I needed to be the maker of my own destiny.

  My nod had him getting out of the car so quickly I thought he was about to run back to the house, but to my great surprise he ended up on my side of the vehicle. Clicking open the door, he stared at me.

  “If I have to take you,” he said, widening it. “Then I’ll be driving.”

  Fourteen

  Arden

  I had one more command of Lucas as we got further away from the beach house in Vermont and that consisted of this journey being between us and only that—us. He wasn’t to tell the others the truth until we got back. I needed time to get to the prime minster and ask my questions. I wanted to meet this man without any other mental complications, i.e., my other three guardians. There was just too much with the rest of them around, too many voices in my ear and making this whole experience more overwhelming than it already was.

  Keeping the other men in the dark required an excuse on Lucas’s part, which not only unsettled him more, but also put me in a position of extreme guilt. In my heart, I knew this man would do anything, anything I asked him to. I had a lot of power when it came to him and that had nothing to do with it being physical. He basically told me if I commanded him to do something he would, so I did, no matter how heavy it sat on my heart.

  The call he made to the boys—his excuse for taking me—he never got to make. The others dialed him first and that happened only moments after we got on the road. I hadn’t been surprised as I imagined the others knew right away when my draw started to fade.