The Thrice Marked

by Liddie Cain

“I know and you know I love you too,” she replied as she scrubbed her cheeks.

  “The talk with Sylvia will be tough but I will be there for you.”

  “You’ll be there for both of us, Roz,” she said as she dried her face. “I care about her very much and if there is any possibility of keeping a friendship between us I’m going to do that.”

  “Definitely.”

  We left the bathroom and both crawled into the bed. The room was dark and the house was quiet. Darby had gotten still beside me and I knew she was drifting off to sleep. I thought of Felix.

  It had been over three months since he had given me that last kiss before he walked out the door. I missed him so much that I was actively trying to distract myself from thinking about him. But laying in bed, with only my own thoughts to pay attention to, those were the times that I couldn’t shake him from my mind.

  I needed to see that teasing smile and feel those strong arms around me. I needed to be able to turn my face into his neck and inhale the scent of his skin. The uncertainty of why he was gone or if he was still alive was torture. These thoughts circled in my head and the tears silently slipped down my cheeks.

  Darby, half asleep but sensing my emotions, turned to face me and threw her arm across me. She pulled herself up against my back and held me tight.

  “Don’t cry. He’s out there. Get some sleep so we can get him back.”

  “Okay,” I whispered back.

  Darby stayed up against me until both of us went to sleep because soulmates, even if they are only your friend, don’t leave you alone in the clutter of your sadness.

  ***

  Soon after we got up the next morning, we were sitting on horseback at the river that separated the Unseelie lands from the Neodrach. The fairy horses were solid white and surefooted with their small dainty steps. They moved in unison with the horse that Iona rode, even in step together. When at rest, they became individuals again who shifted their weight and dipped their head to the grass at their own discretion. As soon as Iona clicked her tongue against her teeth again, they all fell back into unison with her.

  The air above the river shimmered like a translucent barrier. Barden slid off the back of his horse and walked up to the water’s edge. He pulled a dagger out from a sheath on his leg and held the blade tip against that shimmering wall.

  “Through blade, I call to the power of the Unseelie King that the veil be lifted for our passage.”

  I felt a moment of Conall’s familiar aura rush across the air. It lifted the shimmering field in front of us. Barden remounted his horse and Iona guided us into the water. The horses quick-stepped once their hooves left the soil and I braced for the splash of water. The splash never came, however, because their hooves hit the surface of the water just like it was solid. The sky grew lighter, shifting from night time to twilight. Darby looked at me with widened eyes and a surprised laugh slipped across my lips. Barden turned and gave us a soft smile before we made it to the other side. The horses continued with those double time steps across the surface of the water, perfectly in-step. When they reached the bank, they returned to their normal gait and shook their heads as they calmed themselves back down after their use of magic.

  “Didn’t expect that,” I said with amusement.

  Iona actually cracked a smile. “Fairy animals have many talents.”

  We came to a stop and Barden slid off of his horse and used his dagger to close the translucent shield behind us again. As he walked back to his horse he said quietly, “Keep alert and try not to speak while we are moving.” He made eye contact with me as he lifted himself back up onto the horse and gave me a silent nod. Iona clicked her tongue against her teeth again and we headed into the Neodrach.

  The landscape was much the same as the mix of forest and open fields as in the Unseelie lands. It was brighter here, a twilight transition between the daylight of the Seelie lands and night of the Unseelie. But it was just enough light to create long and wavering shadows that could make you think that things were there that weren’t. Uneasiness washed over me and Darby both and I wasn’t sure which one of us it originated from.

  The empathic connection between the two of us was more solid as we moved in the Neodrach. We were picking up on each other’s nervousness and making our own worse. I had to take a moment and concentrate on clearing the tidal effects of our emotions bouncing back and forth between each other. She breathed out a slow breath as it relieved both of our minds.

  We settled into the routine as the time passed. Iona kept the lead with Barden indicating directions from time to time. The farther we went the more the land turned to trees and forest. It remained an uneventful journey until we stopped to eat lunch. That was when the Seelie entourage stepped out of the trees into the clearing where we stood.

  Barden grabbed me by the arm and shoved me behind my back while Iona stood over where Darby was sitting on the ground.

  The Seelie nobles held up their hands to show they held no weapons. There were four of them and they appeared to be wearing guard uniforms that were similar to the Unseelie guard except for theirs being yellow with blue accents.

  “What are you doing here?” The guard standing closest to us asked.

  “We are just looking for someone that these two humans have lost, we did not come here for trouble,” Barden told them. “What issue would bring the guard of Princess Aurnia into the Neodrach?”

  “To guard me of course,” a femine voice said. She stepped out from behind the guards a moment later and I was staggered by her presence. Her eyes were a piercing bright gold with sunkissed skin and a tumble of golden hair that had lighter shades of blonde and platinum threaded throughout it. She wasn’t quite as tall as the guards around her since she was right around my 5’6 height. The crown on her head shimmered gold with white and yellow stones.

  “Why would you be helping these humans?” she asked.

  “Princess Aurnia, greetings. We help them because they are friends,” Iona responded.

  “Iona, blood drinker, greetings,” Aurnia said with a respectful tone. “I suspect that one of these humans is the one that caused the return of the Trooping Lunes to the Unseelie Throne room, is it not?”

  Barden and Iona hesitated.

  “Well?”

  “Why would that interest you, Princess of the Sun Court?” Barden asked.

  “That is a foolish question, Barden. How would it not interest me?”

  He shook his head and finally dropped the question. “I cannot let her be harmed.”

  “I have no wish to harm her. I am asking because I am curious.”

  I started to grow concerned that Barden’s refusal to answer her would cause more problems then her simply knowing. She wasn’t exactly acting like she would show aggression and her guards remained behind her without trying to go for their weapons. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and it drew her golden gaze to me.

  “Ah. I see the difference in their auras anyway. It is you,” she stated as she nodded her head to me.

  “Yes.”

  “Who do you seek out here, human?”

  “My partner. Felix. He is an archdemon.”

  “Then we can help you for we saw where he is being kept earlier.”

  Iona stepped out from in front of Darby and lowered the spear she had grabbed when the Seelie surprised us. “We would greatly appreciate it if you told us where.”

  Aurnia looked at Iona, then glanced down to Darby. She paused. “What is your name, red haired human?”

  “Darby,” she replied, giving Iona a quick uneasy glance.

  “Is Felix your partner as well?”

  “No, he is my brother. Or was my brother in our past life.”

  “Then your brother still.” Aurnia said with a softer tone. Darby smiled at her, her expression mirroring the soft tone Aurnia had used.

  “Yes, my brother still.”

  Aurnia firmly nodded at her then looked back at her guards. “Prepare the horses. We will take them
there.”

  Barden and Iona gave each other startled looks. Aurnia noticed and walked towards Barden. “You will get there more quickly if we assist. An archdemon has no place in the Neodrach and it will be better for both of our courts if he is taken back to his own realm. So are you prepared to allow us to join you?”

  “Yes, Princess Aurnia. We would be honored to have your gracious help.”

  We packed up our things as the Seelie settled Aurnia back onto her own horse. The elaborate gold and white dress she wore would make it difficult to do on her own. One of her guards fell in beside Iona and Barden to help lead the way once we were all back on our horses. Another fell into step beside me. Aurnia rode beside Darby with the last two guards bringing up the rear. I wouldn’t have thought much of Aurnia placing herself close to Darby except I had noticed that she had asked Darby’s name and not cared to ask about mine.

  The Seelie Princess rode in silence as all the rest of us did. Since I shared such a strong empathic bond with Darby I knew that she was curious about the woman beside her. Aurnia finally broke the silence when she looked at Darby and said, “You bear a mark that has connected the two of you.”

  “Yes. Roz, that must be why we can sense each other’s emotions.”

  “Oh, that’s probably true,” I replied.

  “And what is Roz feeling?” Aurnia asked her.

  “She’s curious about you.”

  “Oh?”

  Though she was behind me I knew she was asking the question of me. I looked back over my shoulder. “Yes. I’ve never met a Seelie Princess before.” No way was I going to admit that I thought she was interested in Darby. I had no idea if this would be considered offensive or not.

  “You two are the first angels I have seen reborn as mortals in my few centuries of existence.”

  “I’m not aware of any others,” I replied. “Unless it happened after us.”

  “There are some rumors about others,” Aurnia said.

  “Really? I wonder who,” Darby responded and met my gaze with a questioning expression. I shrugged back in response as Iona hushed us. We had come up to a small loch and the air almost sizzled with power.

  “Pict beasts are here,” the lead guard said barely above a whisper. “They weren’t here earlier.”

  The horses still followed command but all of them had become quiet, only moving their feet and not tossing their heads or tails. I felt tension grow between members of our group. The path we had been following eventually broke away from the shore. At the moment I would have finally allowed myself to relax, one of the rear guards let out a pained yell and his horse fell to the ground.

  I looked back as the guard beside me pulled me from my horse and onto his. A large black horse like figure stood over the fallen guard. It was a horse head but with green glowing eyes and sharp fang like teeth that glinted against the dark skin of its muzzle. It lifted its head from the fallen white fairy horse and blood dripped from that lethal mouth. I could not help the scream that ripped itself across my lips.

  The other rear guard had gotten in between Aurnia and Darby and was urging us all forward. I had a moment where I could reach out and touch Darby’s fingertips before three more of the Pict beasts rushed us. The guard who had pulled me in front of him took control of Aurnia and Darby’s horses. He skillfully guided us back and around one of the Kelpie like beasts that dove for us.

  Barden, Iona and the other two guards filled the twilight with bright blasts of power and gleaming flashes of blade as they defended us. Iona struck one down but was grabbed on the shoulder by the last Pict beast and dragged off of her horse and into the trees. Barden was on the ground pursuing her in a flash, his dark skin disappearing when he hit the thicker shadows in the woods. The guards followed, taking us with them and getting us off of the open road.

  “Roz!” Darby yelled out as we whipped through the trees. I looked back to see one of the Pict beasts closing in on her. The guard beside her jerked her off of her horse. It broke from the pack and vaulted into the air. The black Pict horse lept in the air after it but it could not fly like the fairy horses. It came back down with the thundering cadence of hooves and turned toward Aurina’s horse.

  The Seelie princess turned and threw her hand out towards it. A ball of pure sunlight cast out from her hand and hit it directly in the face. It stumbled, shaking its head but disoriented enough for us to get some distance from it.

  Barden had Iona in his arms and was running towards us. Too late, we realized that we had been pressed up against a hill side and the three Pict beasts had us surrounded. The guards slid off of the horses and left me and Darby to stand beside Barden. Aurnia was still mounted and she pulled her horse in front of us.

  “They have no weapons that can stand against them,” Iona said weakly.

  Barden looked down at her. “Quiet, save your strength.”

  Her shoulder was badly injured with bites extending up her neck that were bleeding heavily. I pulled my shirt up over my head and walked over, folding it once then pressing it firmly against Iona’s neck. She hissed out in pain but didn’t try to pull away from me. I met Barden’s gaze over her.

  “Rozalyn, feeding from you might allow me to raise enough power to kill them.”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  He laid Iona down on the ground gently. Aurnia’s guards were fighting with the Pict beasts but another one had fallen and lay on the forest floor and did not move. There were only two of them against the three beasts now. It was only a matter of time before they would turn their attention to us.

  Aurnia jumped to the ground and walked over to us. “I can infuse her with power as you drink. Mine compliments hers. It will give you more power but I cannot promise it will not hurt you.”

  “Do it, if I fall then get them back to the Seelie Sithen and contact King Conall.”

  She nodded quickly, then turned those piercing gold eyes to me. “I will need to kiss you. I was a goddess of love and devotion. My power invokes through loving touch.”

  I blinked, but agreed. “Okay.”

  Then the air grew softer around us and the movements of everyone else slowed down drastically. She threw my mortal mind open wide. I saw surprise flick across her face at what she found inside of it. My mind as Alidia was there and flooded over me. With her in my head with me I could handle both halves of me at the same time. The call of the heavens was right there at my touch again.

  My angelic parents, Azrael and Hanna, were suddenly connected to me again. I saw both of their faces lift in surprise in a vision. They were here in the Neodrach. It was why Felix had come here. “Alidia,” Father whispered my old name. Aurnia’s fingers touched my cheeks and pulled me back from them.

  “My parents.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry. We don’t have the time.”

  I could see into her as well. The moment felt like a cheesy romance movie, but that was the essence of her. In her heart was kindness and sentimentality. If an angel could be a fairy it would be her. She had come into the Neodrach because she knew that Felix had been searching for the imprisoned angels. She had come to help him even though it was dangerous for her.

  Felix had spoken to her when he first came here. She let the memory unfold for me. Watching through her eyes and seeing his open smile and dark eyes pained me. “I must rescue them. For me and for Roz.” His words echoed in her memory for me. Then her soft lips laid across mine.

  She didn’t pull me into the kiss, her power simply poured across our mouths. Sweet and warm like a crystal blue sky, it filled me. There was a pain against my neck but she pushed more of her warmth into me and I forgot it had happened. When her lips finally released mine I stood there with her summer woven powers still flowing through me. Barden pulled his mouth away from my neck and jerked me back into the present.

  I fell back and Darby caught me. Iona reached up and took my hand. I looked over at her, seeing her wound. Power rushed across my skin, down my arm and into her hand. Her back bowed and her
eyes rolled back in her head. I dropped her hand and both me and Darby scrambled backward.

  Barden had called an almost suffocating amount of power around him. Even Darby held her hand up to her throat like it was difficult to breathe. Iona sat up, touching her hand to her neck and looking at me with wide eyes when she realized that her wounds had partially healed. There was no time to ask questions because Barden whipped that power out in front of us.

  It was like the air had been split. Sound left me then came back in the form of wind like we were standing inside of a tornado. Lightning cracked the sky and thunder was so close that it made my teeth rattle. Aurina fell back to the ground with the rest of us.

  “Hide your faces!” she yelled at us over the sound of the storm.

  The four of us huddled together. I peeked out from underneath my arm and watched as Barden and his night time skin glowed with the force of power inside of him. The lightning struck the Pict beasts rapidly, thunder rolling without ceasing. When the last one finally fell, Barden fell with it.

  That power shot straight up from him and hovered in the air. It was a tightening ball of lightning. As it tightened, the pressure around us increased. Dragging in a breath became nearly impossible before it popped. It drove into the ground. Trees laid over and the soil churned like something large lifted from beneath it. I could hear the trunks breaking and rocks slamming against each other.

  Barden was pulled into the wave of earth and leaves. The ground shuddered as he entered. Then it rolled up higher and higher until it formed a mound the length of a football field. A door emerged at the front of it right before us. The door opened and Barden stood there with a crown on his head that was deep gold with glittering pale pink and crimson jewels. Aurnia watched him, unaware that the Seelie Princess crown on her head was transformed into one that matched Barden’s twilight colored one.

  The two guards that were still standing after the attack walked up to Aurina and dropped to one knee in a bow. She looked at them in surprise. “What is it, Fergus?”

  “Fairy has crowned you for this new sithen as well.”