by Ford, Rinna
“I’m going to get some rest,” Devlin said. “There’s a lot that we need to talk about. I’ve missed you, Firecracker.” He kissed me on the top of the head and he walked toward Irna, who stood in the doorway. The pair walked up the stairs, her hand on his elbow, and disappeared into the second floor. Deciding not to worry about that, I turned to my mates.
Before I told them what I wanted, Xander stood, still holding me and he began walking upstairs. We stopped just outside of Camille and Grayson’s room and he sat me down onto my feet.
Matias and Xan leaned against the wall, settling in and I knocked on the door.
“Go away!” Camille cried.
“Cammie, it’s me,” I said through the door. I knew that the nickname would piss her off enough to get her to open the door and confront me.
I waited for a few seconds before the door swung open wide. She stood there, black tears streaked all the way down her cheeks and her red hair in a complete mess. She looked as if she hadn't slept since we returned from the cabin and I completely understood. How would I feel if I lost one of my guys?
It was then that I remembered what Ronan had done, sacrificing himself by holding down Ironshot so I could get away, only to be knocked down. A wave of grief washed over me and I nearly buckled at the knees.
Matias caught me with a concerned look. I gripped the door frame and stood myself back up.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine, I promise.” I lied, but it was better than telling the truth at the moment. Camille needed a friend and I wanted to be there for her.
She opened the door wider, and then when I was inside, she slammed the door in Matias’ face. The bedroom was a mess. Grayson’s clothes were strewn all over the place. It looked as if she took everything he owned and threw it into the room.
“Camille, I…”
“It’s my fault, Emelia,” she said. “I should have told him I didn’t want him to go. He’d be mad, but he’d still be alive. It’s all my fault.”
“Oh, honey.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “You know nothing you could have said would have changed his mind. Bears are naturally hardheaded, you know.”
She scoffed a laugh, then burst into tears, soaking the sleeve of my nightgown. “You’re right,” she finally admitted. “But I can’t blame him, so I have to blame myself.”
“Honey, that Council caster killed him,” I said. “Not you, so put the blame where it belongs.”
After a few seconds, she pulled away, a look of hard determination on her tear slicked face.
“The Council is to blame. They killed my Grayson.”
“Well not the whole Council, but…”
“Thank you, Emelia. Thank you for helping.” She walked around the room, looking for something. When she finally found it, a shirt, she picked it up and brought it to her face, inhaling. “I’m going to avenge you, baby. I promise,” she said. Then she turned her back to me, effectively dismissing me. “I’ll see you later.”
“See you later? Oh. Okay.”
Confused as to what the hell just happened, I turned and walked out the door where my mates were still standing.
“Is everything alright in there? Matias asked me.
“I don’t really know,” I admitted. “I think I helped, but she’s… I don’t know.”
I swayed on my feet and Xander caught me, picking me up once again.
“I’m taking you to bed,” he said and carried me down the hall to our bedroom.
He slid me under the covers, then he and Matias both stripped down to their boxers and joined me. It didn’t take long for me to fall back asleep, curled into Xan’s chest and tangled up with Matias, just how I loved it.
* * *
As always, life went on.
For the next several days, my memory of that terrible morning came back to me, piece by fuzzy piece until I could remember everything, including Michael Ironshot’s crazy smile.
Devlin filled us in on what he remembered from his time in captivity and how he was captured. He lost track of Ainsley at the cabin that night when we were attacked. He didn’t see what happened to his boyfriend and his captors refused to tell him. It broke my heart to see my uncle so torn up about it, but I was torn up too.
Dev wasn’t as tortured as much as just held captive and starved most of the time. That was enough to make me want to burn everything the Council had to the ground. He was held by Ironshot in order to get to me. That was Dev’s only purpose to him.
And then there was Ronan. Matias saw how my caster mate sacrificed himself for me and Xander saw him fall. He made his choice and he chose me. That spoke volumes toward Xan’s feelings about him.
To say they were both upset over the turn of events would be an understatement. We all vowed we would find Ronan and get him away from the Council and Michael Ironshot, no matter the cost.
The prophecy said the cursed child of earth and fire would join with blood and rule supreme. Well, I was that child, and Michael Ironshot had no idea what he unleashed when he came after me all those years ago.
No. Fucking. Clue.
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to my family- my husband and daughters. You’ve been such a big inspiration to keep writing when I don’t feel like it and when I’m too tired to do anything else. I love that I can follow my dreams and hope that I make them want to follow yours too.
Thank you to my Beta readers- Shannon, Tiffany, Teresa, and Kayla. Thank you for loving my story as much as I do and for making it the best possible version it could possibly be.
Thank you to Karisma, my new PA. Thank you for kicking my butt into gear and know that I’m so happy to have you on my team!
Thank you to my friends in the writing and RH communities! I love you all and thank you for your constant support and feedback.
Finally, thank you to the fans. Thank you for loving Curse Marked and I hope that you love this next installment. I’m so in love with this story and I can’t wait to see what you think!
About the Author
Rinna Ford is a Southern girl that lives in the Midwestern USA. She lives with her amazingly sexy husband, two adorable daughters, a lazy dog, and a skittish cat. She loves music, sushi, Star Wars, and getting packages in the mail (much to her husband’s dismay). Rinna Ford is the pen name the author uses to write the stories that float around in her head.
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Also by Rinna Ford
The Aurelia Chronicles series
Queen of the Fireflies
Queen of Flames
The Queen’s Trials
The Marked series
Curse Marked
Standalones
Keelut
