The Mark of Fate: Book 3 of The Marked series

by Ford, Rinna

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What’s our next plan of attack?” I asked as I leaned forward, putting my forearms on the table’s smooth surface. “Another detention facility?”

  Another beat of silence passed as the rebel leaders looked around at each other but never at me. They were hiding something, or rather trying to figure out how to break some kind of news to me. The only person as clueless as me was Dev, since we had both missed the beginning of the meeting.

  I turned halfway around to look at Xan then the other way to look at Matias. Unlike the rest of the people there, they both looked me in the eye, but with hardened jaws and angry eyes. The longer I looked, I realized they weren’t angry at me though. They didn’t like what was about to happen. It had to have something to do with what Amos wanted to talk to them about.

  “What’s going on?”

  I narrowed my eyes and willed my grandfather to make eye contact with me. Eventually, he gave in and sighed, looking up at me and clasping his hands together in front of him.

  “Our plan of only attacking their detention facilities isn’t working. At least, not as well as we’d hoped.”

  “Yeah, I gathered that,” I replied warily and adjusted myself in my chair, sitting up a little straighter. “In the time it takes us to destroy one, a couple more pop up.”

  He nodded his head in agreement. “We just don’t have the manpower to keep up with it all. We’re losing.”

  I took a deep breath in and let it out evenly, trying to keep my anxiety from taking over.

  “So what do you want to do? I don’t think abandoning the detention facilities is a good idea…”

  “We don’t want to do that,” Ingrid interrupted me. “We…” she looked around the table then stopped back on my face, “we believe that we need to go back to our original plan of getting the supernatural society behind us as well. We need numbers and if we show the paranormal world what their leaders are doing… and that there’s hope for a better future…”

  “Barry, the caster who’s memory Ingrid showed us, is allowing us to use it as propaganda for our cause,” Amos then told me. “We are going to spread the images and our message on the internet.”

  “Your message? Which is what exactly?”

  When Amos wouldn’t answer, Ingrid did it for him. “That our supernatural government is beyond corrupt and that we have a solution. One that has been foretold… you.”

  I inhaled deeply through my nose and held it for several seconds before letting it out through my mouth. They wanted people to see me and who I was. They wanted the people to remember the ancient prophecy that most believed to only be a fairytale, but one they should believe in with their whole hearts because I was a living, breathing manifestation of that prophecy.

  If they showed the images of the raid to the supernatural society, there would be panic, but if they gave them the hope of a new leader, one who will bring “harmony and peace” to their broken world...

  It was brilliant and it scared the shit out of me. I knew it was coming, but I wasn’t at all prepared for it to happen so soon. To fulfill the prophecy, they needed me to be a leader.

  “Won’t the humans catch on?” My voice came out so soft, it almost sounded like a whisper. Clearing my throat, I then said, “You can’t guarantee some of them won’t see it. It is the internet, after all.”

  “You’re right, but the ones who do see it, will write it off as special effects or something like that,” Ingrid told me confidently. “We have master hackers in our ranks, casters who can tie magic in with technology and can anonymously post a link to the video. We have the message and now the means to do it. Are you in, Emelia?”

  “In for what exactly? I need you to tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

  “Love, they want you to show the supernatural world who you are and what you can do. They want to show exactly what you can do to prove you are the one from the prophecy.”

  Matias spoke the words, but I could tell by his tone he didn’t agree with them. I glanced toward him to see him looking at the floor in front of him, his lower jaw pushed slightly forward as he deeply exhaled.

  I turned my head in the other direction and caught Xander’s eye. He chose not to speak, but instead he parted his lips and shook his head lightly. He didn’t agree with it either.

  “I don’t have my caster side,” I said aloud then turned back to face the group as a whole. “My magic is gone. If we wait for it to return, I won’t have control over it, you know that. How can I show them I’m the supe of the prophecy if I don’t have control over all three parts of me?”

  “Well, we think that your shifter and vampire sides will be enough,” Nila, the bitch who wanted to arrest me just days earlier, told me haughtily.

  “They have my caster mate,” I then said. “Right now, I know that he’s alive. I can feel it in my soul that he’s alive. Don’t you think Ironshot will kill him if the public truly believes I am the savior foretold in the prophecy? If he stops me from joining with all three of my mates, the prophecy should die. What does the last line say? Oh, yes! ‘When three destinies are one.’ O-n-e not w-o-n. I need to bond with all three of them.”

  Everyone around the table, aside from my two mates, looked thoughtful as if they didn’t think about that. Xan, Matias, and I talked about the prophecy’s wording for weeks, and they understood what it meant. Xander wasn’t even a little bit happy about the idea to be sharing me with someone else, especially someone he hated, but Fate chose Ronan for me for a reason.

  Funny, one of the main draws of the rebellion was that a supe should be able to choose who he or she got to be with. I didn’t seem to have that choice, not that I wanted it anyway. I couldn’t deny I needed Ronan in all ways, just like I needed Matias and Xander. I wanted them all with the same amount of ferocity that I needed them to feel complete.

  “Find Ronan. Alive. Once he’s safely with us, I will gladly take my place but until then, I have to say no. I’m sorry.”

  “You are nothing but a spoiled brat!” Nila screeched and stood up, slamming her hands on the table. “You would be dead without us!”

  “And you would still be spinning your wheels, never getting any closer to your ‘goal’ without me.”

  “You’re a selfish, self righteous …”

  Before Nila could finish her sentence, Matias had his hand wrapped around her throat.

  “Think long and hard before you say another word,” he told her, his body radiating the need to back up his threat.

  Not to be outdone when his mate had been threatened, Xander was also on his feet but had positioned himself in front of me, ready to spring. His fingers were splayed out wide, and his breath was hard and heavy.

  “I’m sorry,” I told them all and put my hand on Xan’s arm, hoping to deflate the hostile situation. “I truly am, but what you’re asking me won’t fix the problem, it’ll make it worse. If Ronan dies, the prophecy will be dead too and then where will you be? You’ll have the Council breathing down your neck harder than you did before and it would all be for nothing. If you want my opinion, start spreading the video and rumors of the prophecy. Only rumors. People will whisper instead of scream and yes, there will be disbelievers, there always are. But above all, keep raiding the detention facilities and find my mate. I promise, once he’s with me and unharmed, I’ll be the leader you want me to be.”

  With that, I stood up and walked around the table to where Matias still held onto Nila’s quivering throat. I slid my hand down his free arm to his palm and gently pulled. It didn’t take much effort to get him to release her and I knew I was the only one who could do it.

  I walked out of Amos’ office with two of my mates and didn’t look back as I left the rebel leaders to discuss their next steps. We needed to find Ronan. There was no question about it.

  * * *

  As I left the meeting, Soleil was riding me hard and wanted out desperately. I was having a hard time convincing her to hold back, that it wasn’t
the right time or place to let her out, mostly because I couldn’t cover her with magic but she wanted her mate as much as I did. Ronan may be a caster, but my dragon fully accepted that he was hers and when a dragon claims something, it won’t be denied. So as I argued with the dragon in my head, I promised her the next best thing-training.

  Soleil huffed in disappointment, knowing that we’ve been doing what we could to find Ronan, but mad that we didn’t know where to begin to search for him. I felt the same, but at least we could be ready for when we did find him.

  As we stepped out onto the backyard lawn, I began unbuttoning my shirt and slid it down my arms, throwing it onto a nearby chair. Left in only a tank top covering my upper body, I turned on my mates and raised one eyebrow. I knew it didn’t bother them to see my markings, but I knew they were hesitant to see me show them off.

  I could feel eyes on my back of the other supes that littered the training grounds, Alec included, but I did my best not to let it affect me and what I’d come to do. I had been fighting and training with the supes of the rebellion for months and I’d slowly gained the confidence to show off my markings; my curse. It ran from the base of my neck to the backs of my thighs and from shoulder to shoulder, so bits of the hypnotic swirls and swoops were visible, although not completely. I could understand that people would be intrigued by the markings, not only did they have power in them but they were beautiful in their own way. They made me who I was meant to be and I didn’t want to ever forget that.

  “Let’s go,” I told my mates and crouched into a fighting stance. At that point, I was used to the gawking but I was antsier than usual and I knew exactly why.

  I felt it every time Alec’s eyes passed over me. It felt like a warm caress over my body, especially over the parts of my mark that peeked out from my tank top. It angered me and I growled my command to Matias and Xander again, ready to work out my aggression.

  Oblivious as they were to Alec at the moment, they were more than happy to oblige. They each took turns fighting with me through different scenarios, allowing me to call on the different parts of me-at least the ones I could call on-and never took it easy on me. By the time we were finished, the sun was dipping below the treeline and most of the other supes had cleared out of the training grounds as they headed to dinner. The few that remained were packing up like we were, Alec being one of them.

  He kept his distance through the whole session, never alerting anyone else what he was doing, but I knew. I just needed to find a way to prove it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sunset had become my favorite time of day ever since moving to California. Watching the sunset over the ocean was something I truly believed to be life changing. I loved to sit and just watch as the sun would dip below the horizon, leaving the sky streaked in fantastic colors that could only be described as breathtaking.

  Sunrise, while not as spectacular while living on the west coast of the country, was still something to behold. I didn’t know if it was because life seemed to be less hurried where we were compared to the hustle and bustle of New England, but it was something I learned to appreciate. While dusk always felt like the perfect way to end a day, dawn made me feel invigorated, happy to be alive and in love with my mates.

  I was at my most hopeful during the early morning and late afternoon hours. I had been down on myself a lot lately, I knew it and most of the time I couldn’t see beyond my problems, but at the sun’s rise and fall, it all seemed to melt away.

  I sat on my deserted beach, the same exact place I had my first real talk with Matias after learning I had a vampire mate. I faced westward over the darkened sea and sky, watching it change from inky black to navy blue as the sun rose behind me, revealing the new day.

  I was alone that morning for the first time in a long time, not counting the morning I met Alec, and honestly, I was glad for it. That little stretch of beach had become one of the only places I could find solace, a place to quiet my mind and I knew that the sunrise was the perfect time to visit it. When Matias told me the night before that he was going on a mission for the rebellion and would be gone until breakfast, I didn’t hesitate to make plans for my early morning hours.

  So when I woke that morning, I kissed Xander and slipped out from under his arms before throwing on a sports bra and leggings and stuffed Dev’s potion vial in a little pocket in my leggings, and heading down to the first floor of the mansion. I waited until just before the predawn light, drinking a couple glasses of blood, then tied the laces on my shoes and ran the seven or so miles up the coast to my stretch of beach.

  “Emelia.”

  I hadn’t been there very long before I heard my name spoken on the wind as it whipped around me, pulling strands of hair out of my ponytail. I stood up in a flash, and turned on the spot letting my predators out simultaneously but finding no one but myself. Narrowing my eyes and letting my senses extend even further, I felt no one else on the beach with me.

  Satisfied that I was merely hearing things, I relaxed ever so slightly and pivoted my foot to turn back around. When I turned back toward the ocean, I wasn’t met with the view of the rolling waves but Alec’s smiling face as he stood there smugly with his hands stuffed in his front pockets. As fast as a snake strikes its prey, I had my hand wrapped around his throat. His hands flew to cover mine as he began making choking sounds dramatically. He had no business being there and my suspicions about him were climbing by the second.

  “What are you doing here?” I growled out in a low voice. I was pissed he had the nerve to follow me, but I was even more pissed he was able to sneak up on me like that.

  He tapped on my hand asking for me to let up while he continued to try and gargle out his plea, but I didn’t want to give him the chance to try and use a spell on me, or worse. However, I did want to know what he was up to. At war with myself, I let him go with a shove, but kept my vampire and dragon close to the surface.

  He loudly breathed in and out as he hunched over with his hands on his knees and looked up at me with his hair falling into his eyes. It took a couple of seconds of this before he was able to stand again, combing his hair back with his hands before stuffing them nervously back into his pants pockets.

  “I’m, I’m sorry,” he said to me in a hoarse voice. A lesser person would feel bad for his then scratchy voice, but not me. I still had the itch to pummel him into next week for following me and sneaking up on me like that.

  “Why are you here?” I asked again, my voice coming out as a growl. My patience was running out quickly and he seemed to be stalling.

  “I saw you leave this morning,” he began and shifted from one foot to the other, “and I just wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry if I scared you…”

  “You didn’t scare me,” I retorted, “I’m just not sure I like you, and you following me like a creeper in the night to an abandoned beach doesn’t help your case. What the fuck do you want?”

  He looked down at the sand in between us and huffed out a non humorous laugh. His smile stayed in place a little too long, a little too awkwardly before it fell revealing a much more nervous caster.

  “I, I just want to be your friend. I want to help. I know who you are and what you’re meant to do and I… I want to be a part of that. I swear, that’s all.”

  He held up his hands in surrender and tilted his face down in submission. I studied him for almost a minute but his posture didn’t waver. I didn’t see or feel even a hint of dishonesty coming from him.

  “Following a woman all by herself out in the middle of nowhere to ask for her friendship is a really bad idea. You’re lucky I didn’t murder you on the spot.”

  “I know, I can see that now. I’m sorry for following you and sneaking up on you.” His face tinged pink from embarrassment. “I saw you without one of your mates for the first time ever and I took a chance. I should have thought about it a little more before doing that.”

  “Yes, you should have.”

  I relaxed a little bit more at his boyish gri
n, and felt my attraction to him begin to build. I couldn’t tell if it was his natural charm or if he was weaving another spell; I couldn’t smell anything different with the wind blowing in the opposite direction, but I didn’t like it. I also remembered my promise to Matias and Xander.

  “I need to get going,” I said to him with a forced smile.

  “Wait!” Alec called out, throwing his hands out. “I just need to know one thing.”

  I stopped moving and waited for him to ask his question.

  “When you attacked me earlier, why didn’t you use magic? I could see your vampire and shifter sides, but you never call on your caster side. Why?

  My nostrils flared, knowing it was a touchy subject. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I knew I needed to answer him with the lie that had already been spread around if I wanted to keep my secret.

  “It’s gone,” I replied, looking him straight in the eye. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors. Well, they’re true… mostly true anyway. We don’t know for sure how or why, but our guess is that when I bonded with Matias, my caster side was smothered by my shifter and vampire sides to the point that it went away entirely. I didn’t have my caster mate to boost my magic so it just… died. There’s no trace of it left.”

  “None?” He didn’t seem to believe me.

  I shook my head. “You’re a caster. Can’t you detect even the smallest hint of magic? I know my uncle can.”

  I issued the statement as a challenge, and I knew that was exactly how he took it.

  Alec reached his right hand toward me. “May I?” he asked. He wanted to touch my skin in an attempt to feel for my magic.

  I hesitated, but gave in and reached my opposite arm toward him. He took it gently, rubbing his thumb in a circular motion across the delicate skin of my inner forearm. Alec lowered his head as if he were concentrating. His jaw clenched and the circles on my skin became slower and slower until he stopped making them, but didn’t release me.