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

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