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

What I’d had trouble with, though, was magic.

I couldn’t summon it, even with my mother’s dagger. Toross suspected my human side was repressing that part of me somehow, keeping it contained. He was probably right. I had grown up in an environment where I was forbidden from triggering the magic in the very dresses I was being asked to make.

It was a twenty-four-year-old habit I was being asked to break, and it wasn’t giving up easily.

Toross had brought me to the edge of the cliff, and had been taking a step toward me every time I failed to manifest even a little magic. I had my dagger gripped tightly in my right hand, and I was wearing a new suit of leather armor I had made for myself. It was white, it had a furry cloak and hood, and it clung nicely to my body, but the best part about it were the spells I had woven into its seams.

I tugged on a thread under my right wrist and snapped it like a whip, summoning a trail of sparks and embers. “There,” I said, “Better?”

“I’m not interested in your tricks,” he said, “I want to see real magic, the magic of your parents, of our ancestors. I know it’s in there.”

“And if it’s not?”

“It is. You know it is too.”

“Fine, but what if I can’t call it out again? What if it only works in extreme situations?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think you understand just how extreme your situation is right now,” he said, taking another step toward me. I backed up, and some of the snow under my foot gave. I was able to hold my balance, but I had reached the edge of the cliff. Behind me there was only the whooshing wind, and a rolling drop all the way to the village.

“You won’t kill me,” he said.

“Not deliberately, no.”

“Not even by accident. You’re my uncle. I know you won’t let me die.”

“I will do my best to save your life if I’m able, but I don’t think even I would be able to catch you if you fell off that cliff.”

I pointed at his feet with the tip of the dagger. “Which is why you’re going to stop exactly where you are. This is getting ridiculous, Toross—we’ve been at this for hours today.”

“Complaining will not get you out of this.”

“What will, then?”

“I have told you many, many times. Magic. I want you to call on it and use it.”

I shook my head. “I really wish I could help you, there, but it’s just not working.”

Toross paused. “Don’t you want to learn how to dedicate your clothes?”

“Dedicate them?”

“Enchant them, so they won’t fall off you when you shapeshift.”

My cheeks and chest flushed as I recalled all the fun the Prince and I had been having for that very reason. I trained most days, from sunup to sundown. A lot of the time I spent in my predator’s aspect, learning not only how to fight in it, but how to eat, drink, rest, and live in it. The only time I got to slip out of it was after a long day of work, once I’d returned to my tent.

There was something about watching me shift back into my human form, naked, that made him so eager to ravish me… I couldn’t understand it, but I also wasn’t complaining.

Definitely not.

“I mean…” I paused, “I guess I’m in no rush?”

Toross’ eyebrow cocked. “You should want to be able to dedicate your clothes. You should also want to know how to use your magic. It is your gift, the gift of your mother.”

“I know.” I shook my head. “Look, it’s not that I don’t want to, I just can’t do it. The last time I really called on it, I was… so angry.”

“Angry?”

I sighed. “Some bitches had dragged me out of my bed and locked me in an aviary.”

By the look on his face, he didn’t understand the word bitch or aviary. “Is that… bad?”

“There were birds everywhere, and Mareen had whipped them into a frenzy. They were attacking me, and they just wouldn’t stop. I remember finding somewhere to hide, but there was so much noise… all the squawking, the shrieking. Something inside of me snapped, and I screamed, and my voice was enough to shatter the glass keeping the birds locked in the aviary.”

Toross was silent for a moment. “So, anger triggers the magic?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been that angry since.”

Another pause. He cleared his throat. “You know… Mira and I will be sharing a meal tonight.”

My chest tightened and I perked up. “You… what?”

“Yes. We, uh, talked, and decided we should talk more… in private.”

I shook my head and waved my hands. “Wait, wait. Hold on. You and Mira are having dinner? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

“I thought she had told you.”

I could already feel my heart starting to pound. It was making my vision tremble. “She has told me nothing of the sort.” I scanned his eyes, “Wait, are you lying to me?”

Toross’ face hardened. “I am a man of great honor. I don’t lie.”

“Seriously, tell me the truth right now. Are you lying to me? Are you really going to dinner with Mira tonight?”

He took a deep breath. “I am not lying,” he said. “Mira and I have a lot in common.”

I laughed in his face, but it was an angry, panicked laugh that was kind of all over the place. “You two could not be more different!” I yelled, “What could you possibly have in common?”

“She is… interested in food, as am I.”

“Just because you both eat doesn’t mean you share that in common. Try again uncle.”

“Mira is a proficient archer, and she has many skills I find interesting.”

“Alright, well, you’re my uncle, and she’s my friend, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for the two of you to have dinner. In fact, I think I told her to keep away from you.”

“Yes, she had