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

It wasn’t a perfect plan. We were splitting ourselves into three groups, and that meant it was three times as likely that something would go wrong, but we didn’t have another choice. We needed Ollie because we needed the carriage, otherwise this would’ve been way simpler.

Getting to the Veridian on foot just wasn’t an option. It was already far enough away from us that it would take days to reach, and that was if it didn’t move. The carriage would also double up as a space for us to sleep in, especially during the night when the temperature drops, and we have no shelter from the bitter cold of winter.

I didn’t like the plan, but it was the best we could do, and we were going to stick to it.

The Prince stirred behind me. We had been settled on his bed for a while, ever since I’d come back from talking to Mira and Mel. He had needed to rest because his injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, and I didn’t want him waking up alone… I also very much wanted to be the little spoon after all that had happened today.

In a world where comfort was hard to find, this was comfortable, and right. Lying on a bed with the Prince’s arm thrown over my shoulder, the heat of his body against my back, the memory of what we’d done only a few hours ago still fresh in my mind. My entire body was still tingling. I’d had to be brief with Mel, otherwise I worried she might suspect what had happened.

And Gullie? Gullie had been asleep most of this time, tattooed against my hand, and I couldn’t blame her. It was the safest place for her to be right now, out of sight, out of danger, and safe with me. The Prince wrapped his arms around me a little more tightly and took a deep whiff of the back of my head.

I smiled to myself. “Feeling better?”

“Have you slept?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“You need your rest for tonight.”

“I know, but I’ll be fine. I’m used to not sleeping much. I didn’t get much sleep in the castle most nights.”

He kissed the back of my neck, setting my entire body alight. “When we are out of this place, and free of curses and trials, I will make sure you sleep perfectly well every night.”

I shuddered and trembled. “Oh? And how can you promise me that?”

“I will see to it personally that you are absolutely exhausted.”

My teeth started to ache, and I was suddenly overcome with an urge to bite him. Oh Gods. “Why do I love the sound of that?”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

I shook my head. “Before this, before you… I was never this open, this excitable, this hungry. What’s happened to me?”

“I can’t be certain, but I can tell you one thing.” He arched up and turned me over, so I was looking up at him from underneath. I placed a hand on his cheek and ran my fingertips up into his dark hair.

“What is it?”

“The woman you were drew my interest and held it. The woman you are becoming is drawing my excitement, and keeping it.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “A little too much excitement, maybe.” I slapped my hand to my mouth. “See? I never would’ve said that before! Who the hell am I anymore?”

“You are here to find out.”

“Here, where?”

“Here. In Arcadia. With me. I am a believer in fate, remember? You were meant to come here; you were meant to find me. Whatever happens next, it was meant to happen.”

I nodded. “I guess I can believe that, too. What about you, though?”

“Me?”

“I’m growing and changing. Finding myself. Is it the same for you?”

He gently kissed my forehead. “Your changes are visible on the outside just as much as they are happening on the inside. Mine are purely taking place inside.”

“What’s different for you?”

Cillian took a deep breath, then exhaled through the nose. “I have always been good at taking orders, following rules, carrying out my duties. I never would’ve thought I would find myself one night leaving the castle I grew up in, abandoning my duties as Prince and the Royal Selection, and… sleeping with a human girl in a tent.”

“Just… sleeping with her?” I ventured.

The Prince’s lips began to curl into a soft smile. “No, not—” I pressed my finger against his lips and stopped him from going any further. Someone was coming. I could hear footfalls, and they weren’t light, female footfalls, but heavy, crunchy ones.

I slid out from under the Prince and stood upright before whoever it was could arrive. A moment later, Toross parted the curtain to our tent, stopping in the entryway just as the Prince got to his feet. His movements were still slow, and sluggish. I wondered if he’d be able to break into a run if he had to.

“Am I… interrupting something?” Toross asked as he watched us both.

The Prince got himself upright and stared at Toross from where he stood. He knew, now, that Toross was my uncle. I hadn’t been able to keep the story he’d told me about my parents from him, either, though I had left out the part where his family killed my grandparents.

It was better he didn’t know that right now.

“No,” I said, “What is it you need?”

His eyes moved from me, to the Prince, then back to me. “I want to show you something.”

I frowned. “Show me something?”

He extended his hand. “Yes. Come with me.”

I glanced at the Prince. I couldn’t leave him alone, especially if I didn’t know how long I would be gone for. What if Radulf came back out while I was gone? What if he manifested in the flesh again and tried to finish the job? What did that even look like? A brief flash of Radulf’s shadowy form crossed my thoughts, and I saw him sneering at me.

Shaking my head, I pushed the memory aside. “Can… this