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

touch the ground. I shook my white fur, then sat in front of the Prince. He had a look of surprise on his face, of awe. I didn’t think he would ever get used to seeing me change shape.

That made two of us.

“Ready?” I asked.

“You know, of all of this…” he paused, and pointed at me, “The thing I find most remarkable is that you can talk.”

“I know. It’s a weird quirk. The other fae can’t talk—not like I can.”

“Perhaps it’s because you’re the white wolf?”

“Or maybe my human side has something to do with it.”

I looked up at the stars, searching for the brightest one. “Hold onto your stomach,” I said, “This part gets bumpy.”

With a deep howl, I activated the stones. The circle whirred to life, lights erupted all around us in a vibrant display of streaks and lines, and in an instant, we were gone.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

 

 

By the time the Prince and I reached the forest, Ashera had already prepared the ritual space. In a clearing of trees, she had set up a circle using stones and bones. Candles burning softly marked the points of power along the edge of the circle, and at its head sat Ashera, cross legged, with a wolf’s head on the snow in front of her.

In her hands she had a bowl that was filled with herbs and spices. I watched her grab a clump of snow and drop it in the bowl, then she started kneading it all together until the snow melted and merged with the contents of the bowl creating a heady, herby aroma.

Mira and Mel were present, standing off to the side with Toross. I spotted Gullie quickly, sitting on Mel’s shoulder. Opposite them stood the moon children—Lora, Jaleem, even Praxis. They remained wordless as I approached, still in my wolf form, with the Prince behind me. The air was tense, I could feel it, but there was no wind. No current. Only the bitter chill of winter.

“We are almost ready,” Ashera said. She pointed at Cillian. “You, stand in the circle.”

The Prince and I exchanged a hard look, then he nodded and did as he had been asked. He stood in the circle and looked around, maybe as if he was expecting something to immediately happen. It didn’t. There was only the cold, the lack of wind, and the pulse of dread and anxiety floating through us all.

“Do you need anything from me?” I asked the Alpha.

“Only silence,” she said.

Nodding, I pushed myself up onto my legs and shook my wolf form off like a coat of snow and light. I walked over to Mira, Mel, and Gullie. They were holding hands, so I joined them. Gullie immediately floated out of Mel’s hair and came to settle on my shoulder, and I felt a little better for it.

“How are you holding up?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“I’m a little nervous,” she said, “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Me either. We’ve been through a lot, but somehow this feels like the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”

“It’s because the risk of failure is so high… we might not be able to pull this off.”

“I know. But we will. I believe in us.”

Gullie took a deep breath. “Just don’t get hurt, okay?”

“Or you. If they come… the Wenlow, I mean, I want you to tattoo yourself against Mel’s skin, and I want you to tell her to get the hell out of here.”

“I’m not leaving your side, Dee.”

“Gull, this isn’t up for debate, okay? I’m serious. We know what those creatures can do. You saw what they did to the Prince, to Aronia. I don’t know if they’ll have the same effect on the moon children, or on me, but I know that the three of you will be in danger if they arrive. You need to leave while we fight them off.”

“What if you can’t?”

“Then you leave without me.”

“I don’t want to…”

I sighed. “Gull—”

“—no, why do you want me to leave so badly?”

I paused. “If anything happens to me here, I need you to run away and find a portal to Earth. Go back to my mothers… I need you to tell them.”

“You can tell them yourself.”

I shook my head. “You aren’t going to listen to me no matter what I say, are you?”

“I didn’t come here to run away at the first sign of trouble. I may be a pixie, but I’m not about to let some huge, furry freaks drive me away without a fight.”

I smiled at her, then thought for a moment. “Alright, fine… you can be Ginger.”

She frowned. “Ginger?”

“Ginger Spice? Because you’re by far the bravest of us.”

“Was Ginger the brave one?”

“I don’t know about brave, but I always wanted to be more like her. Now I kind of want to be more like you.”

Gullie smoothed the back of my neck with her hand. It was warm, and soft, and sent affectionate prickles racing through me. “You can tell me more about that later, after we’re done with all this.”

“Why don’t you both get a room?” Mira whispered.

“Why?” Gullie fluttered over to my other shoulder, “Wanna join us?”

Mira cocked a quizzical eyebrow, then grinned. “Careful what you wish for, pixie.”

“I hope you’re not planning on leaving me out of this party?” Mel put in.

“Definitely not,” I said. “Now all we need to do is get Ashera to like us, and our Girl Power squad is complete.”

“Let’s do a good job today,” Mira said, “And she just might.”

The conversation fell to a quiet lull, and I noticed then Ashera had been whispering almost this entire time. A soft, green steam had begun to rise from the bowl in her hands. She wasn’t kneading its contents anymore but mashing it with a grinder. Ashera then looked toward the circle in front of her and pushed out an ancient fae word I didn’t understand.

A freak wind rushed past her, tugging at her hair and racing toward the candles, turning their light green as it passed over