Marked (The Coldest Fae Book 3) by Katerina Martinez (novel24 .txt) 📗

I nodded. “I’m glad you fell into my window that night.”

“Me too. But it didn’t happen by accident.”

I frowned at her. “It didn’t?”

She shook her head. “No. I came looking for you. Not because I knew you, or I knew of you, but because I’d been able to sense you from a distance. Your power, I mean.”

“Power… I lived with three witches. That’s probably what you were drawn to.”

“No, you’re not listening to me. In fact, you’re deflecting again, and that needs to stop. You need to stop running from yourself.”

“I’m… not.”

“You are. Dahlia, pixies have a keen sense for magic. Most of us are trackers who find lost magic items, or scholars who study strange magical phenomenon. There was magic all over London, but the only fae I could sense was you. I was hurt. Dying. You were a beacon in the night, a lighthouse. It wasn’t random that I came to you.”

“Why didn’t…” I paused, “Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?”

“Because you weren’t ready for it, but look at where we are, Dee. We’re in the heart of Arcadia, in the village of the moon children. This is where you were meant to be, where you were fated to go, and I know your destiny isn’t to die at Scary Spice’s hands because you couldn’t activate this portal.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“I just am. Now, bloody howl so we can go after that guy for biting you.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Fine, but if I make a tit out of myself, so help me…”

“What? What are you gonna do?”

Grumbling, I stepped into the stone circle. From up here I could see many of the fae gathered at the foot of the hill, others had come out of their tents and were watching from the village itself. None of them were coming up, though. I was given space. Not enough that they wouldn’t hear me, mind you.

The night was dark, and quiet. My voice was going to carry, and so would their inevitable laughter.

Among those standing at the foot of the hill were Ashera, and Melina. The big guy, Praxis, was also there, as was Toross. He had Mira thrown over his shoulder again and had angled her so she could also see what was about to happen. Wasn’t that just great? The fae had chosen right now to be considerate.

Fantastic.

“Alright,” I said, “Here goes.”

“I’m here,” Gullie said. “Ready when you are.”

Shutting my eyes and swallowing hard, I took a deep breath, and howled as best I could. My voice was shrill, and light, but it carried all the way to the frozen peaks in the distance, bouncing here and there, echoing for miles. It was one hell of a sound, that was for certain, but when I opened my eyes, I was still standing at the top of the hill.

The fae gathered at the base of the hill and in the village were watching, but they weren’t laughing, at least.

“It’s not working,” I said.

“Try again,” Gullie said. “Deeper, this time.”

“Deeper? I already sound like an idiot.”

“Deeper. Do it!”

I groaned at her and shut my eyes again. This time, I whet my lips with my tongue, and when I took a deep breath, I held it in my lungs for a second before exhaling a second howl, this time in a lower pitch.

Again, the howl bounced off the mountains and ran off into the night, as if it was scared to be seen standing next to me. I couldn’t blame it. I still hadn’t activated the stones, and there were murmurs starting to push through the gathered fae. I could hear them, even from up here.

If I couldn’t get the stones to work, would they even wait the hour before killing all three of us?

“Gullie, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’m scared.”

Gullie zipped a little closer to me. “Use that,” she whispered, “Use the emotion, and maybe get on your hands and knees. Think like a wolf.”

This is stupid, I thought, as I lowered myself onto my hands and knees. The dirt underneath me was cold and wet, and it quickly started turning my fingers numb. I dug my fingertips into it, feeling the earth beneath my hands, working it through my hands.

A pulse of warmth raced through me, filling my chest with soothing heat and making my skin prickle. This was new. Different. I felt nervous, anxious, like something was happening at the edge of my senses, something I wasn’t totally aware of.

“Gull?” I asked.

“What is it?” she said.

“I think… something’s happening.”

“Don’t speak; just feel. Let it out.”

I glanced at Mira and Mel at the bottom of the hill again before closing my eyes. This time when I drew in a deep breath, the air felt cooler, but it was also packed with aromas. I could smell the moisture in the water under my hands, the snow on the peaks, the very rocks themselves. I could smell the fruity alcohol brewing down in the village, the animals roasting on spits.

It was as if the world was opening up to me, slowly, and then all at once.

After a moment, I could hear the fingers of snowy dust as they picked up and rolled over the edge of the mountains around us. I could hear the crackling of the fire; I could even hear Praxis telling Ashera, “We should kill them now. This is another farce.”

“No, wait,” she said to him.

Anger filled me, then. Anger, and determination. This entire time I had been holding a breath in my lungs. When I let it out, it was in the form of a deep, long, wail of a howl that didn’t bounce off the mountains but harmonized with them.

It was as if there were four of me, each singing a different part of the same, beautiful melody in perfect unison. It was a howl that felt like it