by Leigh Fallon
“They’ve moved in before.”
“This time, it’s different.”
“What did you do with them?”
“The Knox? Well, the tracker, Lyonis, was taken out simply enough,” Cú said without reflection. “The rest of the Knox that were gathering when Megan was taken were chased across Europe. We got all of them, bar a few that we lost near the Sahara. We’ll get them too . . . eventually.”
I felt a little ill as an unwelcome memory of Adam’s body lying deathly still invaded my mind. I shuffled closer to him.
Adam squeezed my hand but kept his attention on Cú. “How many of them were there?”
Chloe spoke up before Cú could answer. “About fifteen, all waiting to make their move. They were only focused on Megan. It was the most sophisticated Knox operation we’ve seen. Normally they grab whomever and go, but they waited, biding their time. They’re up to something.”
Áine sighed beside me. “Aren’t they always?”
Cú shook his head. “No, this is different. They’re better organized, more disciplined.”
I shuddered. With so much going on in our lives, it was easy to forget the dangers of being Marked.
“I guess we should be thankful you’re even more skilled than they are,” Adam said quietly.
Áine shrugged. “So why disband the Knights if you’re needed? And why is Fionn so against you?”
Cú looked uncomfortable. “That is a long story, spanning decades, really. The Order of the Mark and the Marked Knights were two completely separate institutions—both existing for the Marked Ones but for two very different purposes. The Order was there to guard your history, to nurture your talents, and to protect you from discovery. We, on the other hand, were there to protect the elements at all costs. In the late 1800s, many Knox had infiltrated the Order, so much so that two of the Marked were brought up in the hands of such members. The boy and girl were being twisted and molded by the Knox, exposed to their darkness. When they turned eighteen, they broke away from the Order and disappeared into Russia.”
“Exposed to their darkness?” I repeated. “You said that earlier to Adam. What does that mean?”
Cú sighed. “This is something you should be taught by the Order, but their theory is that if the darkness is hidden from you, you are less likely to be affected by it. You see, like most things, there are two sides to your element, the light and the dark.”
“There is darkness in us?” I asked. “Like an evil?”
Cú shook his head. “Not evil, just an opposite. It’s a balance; one cannot exist without the other. You are taught to embrace the light and to use your element in a certain way, but the dark is there. It’s completely necessary and maintains the balance; the two halves are what make it possible for the element to exist in you. You must remember: Your elements are the powers of a Goddess. To her, light and dark are not good and evil, they are positive and negative. Sometimes dark deeds are essential for the greater good. But only a higher power has the ability to make that call. No human, even a Marked One, should cast judgment and use their power for destruction or dark intentions. It is the darkness that the Knox foster and then use to manipulate the Marked to their side. Do not let it trouble you. I only mentioned it because we believe strong emotional responses can trigger the imbalance. That’s part of the reason why relationships between Marked Ones are feared by the Order and the Knights.”
“Yet you don’t seem convinced,” Adam said.
Cú raised an eyebrow. “Don’t I? Look, everyone has a light and a dark to them. With the Marked, it’s just a little more complicated because there’s more at stake. But the light and the dark don’t choose you—you choose them. Alrek and Sigrid made a choice. They chose the darkness.”
I gasped. The fourth name on the list. “Sigrid?”
“Yes. That was the girl who was raised by the Knox.”
Rían’s eyes flicked to mine, then back to Cú. “What else do you know about her?”
Cú took a deep breath and plowed on. “The Order was so embarrassed by the defection that they failed to tell us until it was too late. Sigrid and Alrek were running wild through Russia, causing mayhem. The Knox had originally wanted them to be powerful enough that they could take control of the country. But Alrek and Sigrid were consumed by the darkness that they were raised to embrace. They enjoyed watching people suffer at their hands. It is said they even started the chaos on Bloody Sunday outside the Winter Palace. The Order no longer had the Amulet of Accaious, so they couldn’t remove the elements, like they’d done on previous occasions. The Knights had to intervene.” He paused and knocked back the remnants of his drink. “For us, the decision was simple: Sigrid and Alrek needed to be destroyed so that the elements could be passed down. But Alrek and Sigrid got word of the plan to take them out, and they decided to take out the Knights instead.
“They managed to wipe out over half of the Knights who had gathered for the mission. My great-great-grandfather, Ruben Christenson, was stationed at an exit that wasn’t clearly visible. While Alrek and Sigrid were busy massacring the main body of Knights, Ruben drew his sword and killed them both, releasing the elements. The Order has been more careful and less cocky since that time, but they never forgave the Knights for killing two Marked Ones. The Knights eventually disbanded without financial aid from the Order, and Ruben Christenson was villainized.”
“Which is why Fionn is so against the Knights?” Áine asked.
“Yes. Fionn is Order through and through, and he hates that the blood of the Knights runs in him.” Cú exhaled heavily. “When Emma and Stephen DeRís were killed, it became apparent that the Order had once again become unsafe. A small pocket of the Order, knowing what they were faced with, quietly reinstated the Knights in order to offer protection if it was needed.”
“A small pocket,” Adam repeated. “Does that mean not everyone in the Order is aware the Knights have been reinstated?”
Cú nodded. “Yes. After all, there are still many who would not support the decision.”
Adam half smiled. “You said earlier that we shouldn’t trust anyone, especially you. So why should we believe you now?”
“Trust and truth are two very different things. What I’m offering now is truth. Trust must be earned, and someday I hope I can do just that.”
My mind raced as I glanced over at Chloe, then back at Cú. “How about a few truths, then?” I said.
Cú raised his chin to the challenge.
“You knew Chloe was involved with Rían. Why did you hide that from the Knights?”
He looked at me for a few moments, as if gathering his thoughts. “There are two answers to your question.” He raised his finger in the air. “One: Interaction with the Marked is strictly forbidden. If the other Knights were to find out how close Chloe was to you all, she’d have to face a hearing, and might even lose her star.” He formed a V with his fingers. “And two: I needed her to bring you here without the Order knowing or the Knights realizing Chloe was working on a different directive.”
“You orchestrated this?” Rían spat, glaring at Chloe. “You planned the whole thing?”
“I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t,” Chloe said, her voice cracking a little.
I reeled. My suspicions had been right. “Last night, in the parking lot, when Adam and I saw you—”
“I was waiting for you. But I couldn’t let my partner know what I was up to.”
“You knew we’d come?”
Chloe shook her head. “No. But I was pretty sure you’d react the way you did.”
Rían glared at her. “All the phone calls when you were in the UK, they were all lies? You were in Cork all along.”
“No, I was in the UK, I swear. I was waiting on my orders.” Chloe moved toward him. “I hated lying to you, Rían. Please believe me.”
Rían stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and his eyes flared. “And if we didn’t fall for your little charade, what then? How far were you willing to
take the lies?”
“We had another plan in place.”
“Another plan? What was that?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
Cú pushed them apart. “Chloe had to employ rather drastic measures after she defended Megan in Cork City and you all became suspicious of her. I’m sorry, Rían, but we had no other choice. Please don’t take it out on her. She did it under orders with honor in her heart. And I assure you, it was a means to an end, and end it must. For good.”
“Don’t I get a say?” Rían demanded.
Cú went still. “Nobody gets a say. It was an illusion to serve a purpose. If you had discovered the Knights before we got you here, we’d never have had an opportunity to talk like this. The Order would never have allowed it. But now their hand is forced. We can unite, the Order and the Knights. We need to work together for what is to come.”
“We can still walk away,” Adam said.
“You can, Adam, but it would be unwise.”
“Why?”
“Because there is so much at play here. So much you don’t understand.” Cú turned and looked at me. “Give me the opportunity to help you.”
Áine flexed her fingers and stared at them. “Help us with what?”
“With what’s to come,” Cú replied.
“And what exactly is coming?” Rían asked.
Cú took a deep breath. “Destiny.”
Rían laughed. “What a load of crap. We’ve heard it all before.”
“You think you’ve heard it all before, but you haven’t. Let me come back to Ireland with you. I’ll explain all when the time comes.”
“Why not now?” I asked.
“Because events must unfold. Intervention may change its course or delay the outcome, but the end point is inevitable.”
Áine’s eyes flickered. “So what’s the end point? The alignment?”
Cú shrugged. “We’ll only know the inevitable when it happens.”
“Ugh! You’re as bad as the Order,” Rían said, throwing his hands in the air.
“Trust me when I say we are not.”
“You just said trust had to be earned.”
“And this is where I start earning it. I’m coming back to Cork with you. It’s high time my brother and I had a heart-to-heart.”
Seventeen
REUNION
Chloe led me upstairs to a pretty room decorated all in white with small blue and pink flowers on the bedspread and curtains. There was a pair of pajamas laid out on the bed, and a fire was crackling away in the small white fireplace.
“You knew we’d stay,” I said.
“It was more like wishful thinking.” Chloe turned away, not meeting my eyes. “Áine, you’re in here.” She pushed the door open to a room just across from mine. “Adam, Rían, you’re down here.” She walked to the end of the corridor and pushed two doors open. “Take your pick.”
Cú stood at the top of the stairs. “Breakfast is in the dining room at seven a.m. sharp. We took the liberty of setting the alarms in your rooms. Sleep well.”
Rían went into his room and slammed the door.
Adam leaned down and kissed my cheek, whispering, “See you in a few minutes.”
I closed the door softly behind me and got into pajamas. I stood in front of the fire, warming my cold feet and trying to sort through everything that had happened. There was a soft tap on the door. I looked over expecting to see Adam’s face, but it was Chloe.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“A chance to explain.”
I glared into the flames. “I defended you. When everyone doubted you, I was the one who convinced them otherwise. Do you have any idea how stupid I feel?”
“I thought you might understand. I thought we could still be friends.”
“You thought wrong,” I said, glancing at her. “I trusted you, and you used that against me.” I moved toward her. “I’m sick of being the weak one, the one who has to be protected.”
“Trust is not a weakness, Megan. It’s what makes you strong.”
“Tell that to Rían. Because going on that theory, he hasn’t got much strength left in him.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “What I feel for Rían is real. I . . . I just . . . if the Knights found out about him and me, I’d lose my star and my place among them.”
“After your earlier display, they have to all be guessing.”
She shook her head. “No! They’d never believe I’d cross that line.”
“And yet you did.”
“I had to. Cú told me to do everything in my power to maneuver you to where we needed you.”
“You really don’t care who you hurt as long as you get what you want, do you?”
“It wasn’t about what I wanted. It’s what’s best for the Marked and for the Knights. Don’t you see that?”
“All I see is a heartless liar who betrayed her friends, her boyfriend, and even her own kind.”
“That’s not true! What I did, I did with honor. The Cup of Truth would have exposed me if it were not the case. The Knights are my family. They’re all I’ve known since Cú took me in. It hurts so much to lie to them, but it is for the greater good.”
“So what do you want from me? Permission to toss Rían aside just because you’re afraid of the consequences?”
“I thought you of all people would understand.”
“Me! Every day that I’m with Adam, I’m reminded of the repercussions of us being together, but you don’t see me running away.”
The silence that followed was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. Adam popped his head in. “Are you decent?” He pulled up short when he saw Chloe.
“I was just leaving.” Chloe marched out.
“What was all that about?”
“Ugh!” I covered my eyes and dropped onto the bed. “I’m officially turning into a bitch.”
“That’s not true . . . you’ve always been a bitch.”
“You’re hilarious.”
Adam laughed. “You know you’re not a bitch.”
“I am. I’m a horrible person. I’ve hurt you and Rían, I’m lying through my teeth to my dad, taking advantage of his girlfriend, and I just told Chloe she was a coward.”
Adam sat down beside me. “That’s quite a list. What’s this about taking advantage of your dad’s girlfriend?”
“Remember how she said she’d cover for me, so I could come here? She took my dad to Paris. Paris! And he’s been leaving me messages telling me what a wonderful daughter I am. I feel so horrible.”
“Everything is going to be okay. Look, your dad is blissfully unaware of anything right now, so stop freaking out. As for Petra”—he gently lifted my chin, tilting my face to his—“just be thankful she seems eager to help.” His finger ran along my jawline, then slowly down my neck.
“I guess.”
“Driving yourself crazy isn’t going to solve anything.” He pulled back the duvet and we sank in under it, listening to the sizzling of logs on the fire.
The flickering glow created a light display on the wall and Adam’s face. The room was filled with the warm, nutty smell of slow-burning logs, bringing back memories of cozy Christmases with Dad, back when things were simpler. I sighed. “We’re good, aren’t we, Adam? I mean . . . we never really talked about what happened with Rían.”
He moved his face closer to mine until our noses were touching. “We’re good.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, letting my lips brush his.
“Don’t be. In a weird way, it’s given me new hope. If the elements are reacting among all of us, maybe what’s going on isn’t something signaling truth in a prophecy. It might just be the way they interact.”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that.” I leaned into him and kissed him softly, but then for the first time since our tryst in the yard, I let go of my inhibitions, testing the boundaries of where I could take this. I climbed over him on my hands and knees and kissed him until we both were gasping.
/> He gripped my shoulders as I pushed him back. “What are you doing?” he said.
“Testing your theory.” I grabbed his hands. Holding them tight, I pushed them over his head and lowered myself onto him. I met with little resistance as my lips worked over his face and shoulders. The wind whistled outside the window, and the branches of a tree thrashed against the side of the house.
Adam moaned, dropping his head back with his eyes closed. “We should stop.”
Keeping my lips on him, I whispered against his skin, “No, we should keep going.”
Adam’s eyes opened, and he pushed himself onto his elbows. “No, we should stop.”
Heat prickled over my skin as the wave of sensuality that had engulfed me slowly rippled away like a fine silk sheet slipping to the floor. “I’m so sorry, I just . . .”
Adam smirked. “Don’t apologize, I’m not complaining.”
“No . . . I . . .” I climbed off him, breathless and dizzy with embarrassment.
“Megan.” Adam leaned forward to pull me back. “I want this too—I’m just not . . . prepared, if you know what I mean. I wasn’t exactly thinking safe sex when I packed my bag this morning.”
I wanted the mattress to open up and swallow me whole. “I’m not usually . . .”
He raised his eyebrows. “A deviant sex kitten?” He pulled my hands away from my face and kissed me.
I kept my eyes closed, still embarrassed.
He put his lips to my ear and whispered, “Is my Megan in there? Megan, if you can hear me, be strong. Some wanton goddess has taken control of your body. But I will—”
I started laughing.
Adam opened his eyes wide in mock relief. “Megan! You fought off the evil temptress! You came back to me.” His face suddenly softened as he dropped the act and raked his fingers through my disheveled hair, holding it back from my face. “I love you.”
My hand crept up to his cheek. “I love you too.”
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” Cú said as we left for the airport the next morning. Just as we were throwing our bags into the trunk, a small fox appeared from the woods behind him. Cú crouched down onto his knees and petted the fox adoringly. “I’ll be back soon, my old friend. Can you keep an eye on things?” The fox nudged him in the leg, then sat patiently and watched us getting into the car.
