Marked (The Coldest Fae Book 3)

by Katerina Martinez

  “Before what starts?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but Radulf is gaining power. He has been ever since we left the castle. I’ve been doing all I can to keep him buried under his brother’s psyche, but I don’t know how long that will last. The sooner we can get him out of him, the better.”

  “And what is it you ask of me?”

  “We need to perform an exorcism.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. Her mouth opened as if she was about to speak, but one of her people came through with a plate of food and a pitcher filled with a warm, spiced drink. The plate was set in front of me, as was the cup, but I wasn’t hungry. Not right now. When the man left, Ashera spoke.

  “You need me to perform an exorcism on your Prince?” she asked.

  “I would do it myself, but I don’t know how. None of my friends do. I know if you could help us, we would stand a far better chance at getting this right. If you don’t help us… then this could all go horribly wrong.”

  “I would ask you why not simply kill the man, but you have clearly considered that option already.”

  “I wouldn’t say I’d considered it, but I know it exists.”

  “Then you must know that would be the easiest way to deal with this?”

  I shook my head. “That’s not necessarily true… what if by killing Cillian, we release Radulf? No. An exorcism ritual, where the invading spirit can be captured, or banished… that’s what’s going to work. I can feel it in my gut.”

  “You seem very sure for someone who has been with us for less than a single cycle of the moon.”

  I shrugged. “Exorcisms aren’t unheard of back on Earth. I don’t know exactly how they work, and I’m sure every ritual is different. I also know there are great risks to consider here, so I’ll understand if you want time before you decide, but time is short.”

  Ashera’s eyes narrowed. She glanced at the plate, then back up at me. “You talk a lot,” she said, “Now eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “You would refuse your Alpha’s food? I am sure we have spoken of this before.”

  Frowning, I grabbed the plate up and started gingerly picking at the meat on it with my fingers. It was warm, and tasty. The meat fell apart in my mouth, and the seasoning was perfect. It was hard not to enjoy it. A few moments later, I was taking deep gulps of the warm drink, too. It tasted like warm apple cider, but it wasn’t alcoholic.

  “Why him?” the Alpha asked.

  I finished chewing and swallowed. “Why what?”

  “Why did you fall for him?”

  I sighed. “We’re each other’s belore. Soulmates. I hated him when I first met him, but even I couldn’t deny the attraction. Over time, he couldn’t either. That’s why I can’t just kill him, or let anyone kill him. I need to try and help him.”

  She nodded. “I understand this. I have never found my belore, but if I had, I would not want them killed, either.” She paused. “If I help you, you will have to do as I say.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Exactly as I say.”

  “I promise, I will.”

  “Exactly when I say it.”

  Really? “You are the Alpha here. You make the decisions, you lead the ritual. We do what you say.”

  “And if it does not work, and he must be killed… you will not hesitate.”

  I swallowed hard. “That… I’m not sure I can promise you that.”

  “You will have to. Otherwise, I will, and it will be better for him if he dies by the hand of his belore, than by that of an enemy.”

  “He isn’t your enemy, Ashera. I know he isn’t.”

  “That remains to be seen…” she stood abruptly. “Come, we’ll prepare.”

  “Now?”

  “We will perform the ritual tonight, under the light of the moon in the forest beyond the circles… stop this prophecy before it comes to pass.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  I watched Ashera gather a few supplies before we headed out to find the other girls. She’d picked up a bowl, some herbs, a knife, and several decorative necklaces. Finally, she wrapped her items up in a leather satchel, grabbed a wolf’s pelt cloak, and threw it over her shoulders before wordlessly leaving her tent.

  Once we were outside of her tent, she stopped and turned to look at me. “Gather your friends,” she said, “Then get his highness. We will meet you on the other side of the stone circles.”

  “You don’t want to come with me?”

  “Must I?”

  “I guess not…” I nodded, “Alright, I’ll be right behind you.”

  Ashera grunted at Lora and Jaleem, who were still standing sentry outside of her tent. Wordless, they followed her through the village. They were heading toward the hill that led up to the stone circles the moon children used to travel from the forest to this place and back. This exorcism was going to happen soon. Tonight. I wasn’t sure if I was totally ready, but I was going to have to be.

  I found Mira and Toross talking at the door to Mel’s tent. Their conversation stopped when they saw me, and I had to admit I stood my ground for a moment. This was the second time I’d approached that tent and felt… a little uncomfortable. Like an interloper, an intruder—a third wheel.

  Obviously, none of that was true. I was making it all up in my head. But I had never been very good at shutting my own head up so I could think properly, and not let my emotions take complete control over me. I hadn’t spoken to Toross since the challenge, and what few words we had exchanged had been… a little frosty.

  After an awkward, silent moment, I approached.

  “Are you alright?” Mira asked, before I could talk. “We haven’t had a moment to speak.”

  “I’m fine,” I said, “Somehow.”

  “And the Prince?”

  I glanced at Toross. “Fine. I’m sorry I didn’t mention him sooner.”

  He shook his head. “No one told me,” he said, “Although I understand why. I would have had to tell Ashera.”

  I nodded. “Well, it’s all out in the open now. In fact, that’s why I’m here.”

  “What do you mean?” Mira asked.

  “I spoke to the Alpha. She’s going to help us with the ritual.”

  “Ritual?” Toross asked.

  I nodded. “The Prince. He… needs an exorcism.”

  I had rarely seen surprise cross my uncle’s face, but I saw it now. “An exorcism…” he said, flatly.

  “Yes, I’m going to have to explain on the way, though, because we need to go.”

  “Go where?” Mira asked.

  “Ashera is getting everything ready for us on the other side of the circles. It’s happening tonight, Mira.”

  “Are we ready for that?”

  “No, but I doubt if we were ever going to be.”

  Melina stepped out from behind her tent flap. “Well, we might not be ready, but we’re going to pull this off,” she said, “We’re going to get that thing out of him and everything’s going to turn out great.”

  Gullie fluttered out of the tent, her little green body glowing vibrantly. “That’s a lot of enthusiasm for a fae. Are you sure you don’t have a little pixie blood in you?”

  “Our blood is the same—only our size is different.”

  “Our size, disposition, mannerism, warmth, ability to tell a joke and take one…”

  “Don’t make me swat you.”

  “Ladies,” I said, interrupting. “You need to gather whatever few things you think you’ll need to work your magic. I need to go and get the Prince and get ready to summon the Veridian. We’ll meet on the other side of the stones?”

  “You do remember what I said about our magic?” Mira asked, “We don’t have much.”

  “Individually, no. But between the four of us and Ashera, we may just be able to pull it off. Let’s get started.”

  Toross stepped up to me. “You are giving out a lot of orders for a third,” he said, his voice low and dark.

  I felt a strange kind o
f cold push through me, the kind of feeling that comes after being threatened by someone larger, and more imposing than you. “I’m… sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “—don’t apologize… it suits you. You remind me of her.”

  “Her?”

  “Your mother.”

  I blushed. Hard. “That’s… not where I thought you were going.”

  He angled his head to the side. “Going?”

  “It’s a human expression. You really think I sounded like her?”

  “It is like she’s here.”

  “I wish… things might go a lot smoother if she were the one giving orders around here.”

  “Don’t underestimate your own abilities. Least of all tonight. Own your strength—we will all be counting on you, white wolf.”

  I sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have made such a bold claim. I can’t take it back, now.”

  “And you should not. You are the white wolf. I can see it in you, and the others are starting to see it as well. After tonight, there will be no doubt.”

  Smiling, I nodded. “Thank you,” I said, “I don’t think you understand just how much having you here means to me.”

  “Go. We’ll see you on the other side.”

  I turned around and made my way over to the Prince’s tent. The village was abuzz with activity, the moon children unsettled. They didn’t all know what was going on, I doubted if any of them had been given specifics, but it was as if they could sense the anxiety in the air; that feeling of impending dread.

  It rubbed off on me as I moved through it, like second-hand cigarette smoke that gets into your hair and stays there until you’ve been able to wash it off. As soon as I reached Cillian, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

  “What did I do to deserve that?” he asked, placing his hands on my hips.

  I looked up at him. “Would you prefer I didn’t hug you?”

  “No, I enjoy being hugged…” he paused. “How did your audience with the Alpha go?”

  “Fine, better than I had anticipated. But we have to leave.”

  “Leave?”

  “Tonight… she wants to do it tonight.”

  Cillian looked around the room, as if searching for a reason to say no, a valid excuse. It was the closest I had ever seen to fear coming from this man, but I’d seen it, and I understood it. He didn’t want to go through with this, not because he was afraid of dying, but because he was afraid of something worse happening.

  I couldn’t blame him.

  “It’s quick,” I said, “But she seemed to know what she was doing. I think she already has a ritual in mind.”

  “You think?”

  “She does. Our people are mystics and spiritualists. Spirits are our thing—or at least, that’s what my uncle has told me. You’re in good hands.”

  “And the Veridian?”

  I shook my head. “We won’t know how bad it’s going to get until we go out there and face it, but we have to face it, Cillian. There’s no other way through this.”

  He took my hands and squeezed them. “Then we’ll face it.”

  I nodded. “Do you need to bring anything?”

  “Not that I can think of…” he trailed off, then paused. “The next time we come here, he will be gone.”

  I took a deep breath. “I really hope so. The sooner we get him out of you, the better.”

  Cillian let go of my hand, walked over to my bed, and picked up my dagger. It was still in its sheath. I’d taken it off earlier and hadn’t put it back on after getting changed again. He handed it over to me, placing it carefully in my hands.

  “You’ll need this,” he said, letting go of the dagger and its sheath.

  “I can’t believe I almost forgot to bring it.”

  He turned his eyes up to meet mine. “I don’t think you would have forgotten this by accident.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “What I’m saying is, I know you don’t want to have to use it.”

  I swallowed hard. “Is there something wrong with that?”

  “No… but you know that you must. If it comes to it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It feels like everybody knows what I must do, but the truth is only I know what I should do, and what I can do.”

  “Can you plunge this into my heart if you feel you should?”

  “Cillian…”

  “It’s important, Dahlia. It’s not just your life at stake anymore. There are others who are depending on your ability to do what you have to do, should the moment call for it.”

  I got to one knee and attached the straps around my ankle, fastening the dagger into place. When I came back up, my eyes were cold and hard. “If it calls for it…” I said, leaving the rest unsaid.

  Not because I didn’t want to say it and ease his mind, but because I couldn’t. Because if I’d told him I would drive the dagger into his heart and kill him if I had to, it would’ve been a lie. I could lie to other people, but not to him.

  I took his hand this time. “Come on. They’re waiting for us.”

  Together, Cillian and I made our way out of the tent and went through the moon children village. I took the walk slow, not wanting to hurry up the hill. I had to admit, there was a real beauty to it. The warmth at the base of the valley, the crisp air the higher one went, all the stars in the sky.

  I had a sudden feeling like I was going to miss this place, and I squeezed the Prince’s hand even tighter. My gut was starting to play tricks on me, trying to crumble what little composure I had been able to hold onto. I had to remind myself that this was going to work, that we were going to be fine. Otherwise, I may never have made it to the top of the hill.

  Cillian stepped into the stone circle and looked around at each column. “I’ve never seen a portal like this before,” he said.

  “That’s true…” I said, “The last time you came through here, you were barely conscious.”

  “This is ancient magic. Far older than what we use in the castle.”

  “It makes for a pretty handy security system. You can’t activate it unless you can become a wolf, and that means the wrong kind of people will never come through here.”

  “Is that how it works?”

  I nodded. “Take a step back,” I said.

  Cillian moved to the edge of the circle while remaining inside. I let myself fall to my knees, taking on my predator’s aspect before my hands could touch the ground. I shook my white fur, then sat in front of the Prince. He had a look of surprise on his face, of awe. I didn’t think he would ever get used to seeing me change shape.

  That made two of us.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  “You know, of all of this…” he paused, and pointed at me, “The thing I find most remarkable is that you can talk.”

  “I know. It’s a weird quirk. The other fae can’t talk—not like I can.”

  “Perhaps it’s because you’re the white wolf?”

  “Or maybe my human side has something to do with it.”

  I looked up at the stars, searching for the brightest one. “Hold onto your stomach,” I said, “This part gets bumpy.”

  With a deep howl, I activated the stones. The circle whirred to life, lights erupted all around us in a vibrant display of streaks and lines, and in an instant, we were gone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  By the time the Prince and I reached the forest, Ashera had already prepared the ritual space. In a clearing of trees, she had set up a circle using stones and bones. Candles burning softly marked the points of power along the edge of the circle, and at its head sat Ashera, cross legged, with a wolf’s head on the snow in front of her.

  In her hands she had a bowl that was filled with herbs and spices. I watched her grab a clump of snow and drop it in the bowl, then she started kneading it all together until the snow melted and merged with the contents of the bowl creating a heady, herby aroma.

  Mira and Mel were present, standing off to the side with Toross. I spot
ted Gullie quickly, sitting on Mel’s shoulder. Opposite them stood the moon children—Lora, Jaleem, even Praxis. They remained wordless as I approached, still in my wolf form, with the Prince behind me. The air was tense, I could feel it, but there was no wind. No current. Only the bitter chill of winter.

  “We are almost ready,” Ashera said. She pointed at Cillian. “You, stand in the circle.”

  The Prince and I exchanged a hard look, then he nodded and did as he had been asked. He stood in the circle and looked around, maybe as if he was expecting something to immediately happen. It didn’t. There was only the cold, the lack of wind, and the pulse of dread and anxiety floating through us all.

  “Do you need anything from me?” I asked the Alpha.

  “Only silence,” she said.

  Nodding, I pushed myself up onto my legs and shook my wolf form off like a coat of snow and light. I walked over to Mira, Mel, and Gullie. They were holding hands, so I joined them. Gullie immediately floated out of Mel’s hair and came to settle on my shoulder, and I felt a little better for it.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

  “I’m a little nervous,” she said, “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  “Me either. We’ve been through a lot, but somehow this feels like the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”

  “It’s because the risk of failure is so high… we might not be able to pull this off.”

  “I know. But we will. I believe in us.”

  Gullie took a deep breath. “Just don’t get hurt, okay?”

  “Or you. If they come… the Wenlow, I mean, I want you to tattoo yourself against Mel’s skin, and I want you to tell her to get the hell out of here.”

  “I’m not leaving your side, Dee.”

  “Gull, this isn’t up for debate, okay? I’m serious. We know what those creatures can do. You saw what they did to the Prince, to Aronia. I don’t know if they’ll have the same effect on the moon children, or on me, but I know that the three of you will be in danger if they arrive. You need to leave while we fight them off.”

  “What if you can’t?”

  “Then you leave without me.”