Marked (Last Princess Book 1)

by A. M. Hardin

  "Yes," I manage to squeak out past the lump in my throat. My heart races from the fear that someone hurt my family, and I have to constantly stop myself from thinking about all the things that could happen to them.

  Following Kade into the house, I swallow hard. It's quiet. Way too quiet. Looking up to meet Kade's eyes, I nod when he puts his finger over his lips, telling me to remain silent.

  His sharp eyes take in every detail of the house for a few moments before he lets out a soft breath. "There's no one here, Cherish. I'm not sensing any life in the house besides us. You're sure they're supposed to be here?"

  "I'm positive. We were all supposed to tell Ella what was going on and explain why I would be leaving with you guys at the end of the school year."

  "Alright. Stay here while I do a physical check of the house okay?"

  I bite my lip to stop myself from refusing, but I know if I move I'll just stress him out even more. Giving him a nod, I move to lean against the wall beside the door. I turn my head slightly to my left and frown when something on the floor by the kitchen counter catches my eye. "Kade?" I lift my chin in the direction of the kitchen. "Check in there first. I think there's something on the floor."

  He studies me for a minute. "Alright." He moves steadily in the direction of our kitchen. As soon as he reaches the other side of the counter he stops. "Kish." Shit.

  "What?" I move to step away from the wall, and he holds his hand up to stop me.

  "No. Stay there while I check the rest of the house." I narrow my eyes at him. "Please, mia."

  I give him a jerky nod, even though I fully intend to look when he's out of my sight. He slowly makes his way through the kitchen and moves through the living room and down the hallway.

  Once I'm sure he's out of my sight, I walk into the kitchen, swallowing hard. My breath leaves me in a whoosh as the gun Kade gave me clatters to the floor, and I cover my mouth with my hands to muffle the sob escaping me.

  Laying on the floor with one of our kitchen knives sticking out of her chest is Ella, blood pooled around her body from the wound. I fall to my knees as I stare at my little sister, sobs racking my body and tears flowing freely down my cheeks.

  Before I realize that I'm moving, I'm at her side and moving her hair out of her face with shaking hands. "Ella," I whisper, my voice breaking. "No, no, no. You can't leave me," I sob, pulling her into my arms and bury my face in her hair. "Please, don't leave me," I beg into her hair.

  "Damn it, Cherish," Kade swears quietly as he comes back into the room. He places his hands on my shoulders, rubbing his hands across my shoulders soothingly.

  "I don't understand," I mutter after several minutes of clutching my sister to me like a lifeline as I cry over her body. "What happened?"

  Kade's hands freeze on my shoulders a split second before his grip tightens slightly. "The same person who spelled Adam is behind all of this," he informs me quietly.

  I pull back slightly and run my fingers across my sister’s cheeks. "Did you find our parents?" I ask, even though from his body language when I asked what happened, I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, and I don't think I can stop the tears from falling again.

  "I found them," he murmurs. "I'm so sorry, Cherish."

  Tears slip down my cheeks, and I bite my lip to stop any sounds from coming out. I sniff. "H-how?"

  "Cherish–"

  "How?" I repeat with more force in my words, making it clear that I won't let this drop.

  "The spell that was placed on Adam, enhancing his negative emotions. It was cast on your dad," he says softly.

  "My dad did this?" I ask, my chest tightening.

  "Your dad wasn't himself, Cherish, you have to understand that." From my peripheral, I see him kneel down beside me. He reaches out and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering. "It may have been his body, but under that spell, he wouldn't have been able to control what happened."

  "What do you mean?"

  "That spell, if it's triggered by even the smallest hint of anger or frustration, essentially takes control and enhances the emotion tenfold. You mentioned that your parents were fighting a lot, I think whoever did this knew that and knew that your dad would be an easy target. However, I think they were hoping that you'd have been here."

  I shake my head, trying to my best to understand why someone would do this. "If the goal was me, why take my family?" I ask, voice breaking. "What happened to my dad after he–" I cut myself off, not able to finish the question.

  "I believe whoever placed the spell on him also placed a compulsion on him for after the deed was done. Once everyone besides him in this house were dead, he killed himself. It's entirely possible that he snapped out of it and couldn't live with what he'd done, but I'm not sure."

  We sit there for several minutes, Kade rubbing my back and me sobbing while clutching my sister to me. I don't know how long we sit there for. At some point, Kade manages to get me to let my sister go and pulls me into his arms while I cry into his chest.

  "Kade? Cherish?" Andrei's voice calls out to us shortly after my tears have dried, I just have nothing left.

  "In here," Kade says, rubbing my back once more before tucking one arm underneath my legs, supporting my back with the other arm and standing with me in his arms.

  I don't react. I'm completely numb, overcome with grief for my family. I've never felt so alone, so helpless.

  The guys all talk around me, but I've stopped listening. I want to see my mom and dad, but I know that the sight of them dead will haunt me just like I know Ella will.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kade

  "What happened?" Andrei demands.

  I give him a quick recap of the breach and coming inside the house only to find that Cherish's family had been killed. I knew it would hurt her to know they had died, but I knew it was going to hurt her even more if she saw any of them like that.

  God. Why didn't she just stay put like I asked?

  Xander's eyes drop to the quiet and still Cherish in my arms, his expression filled with concern. "We should get her out of here."

  I look at Andrei. "Do we go back to our house or take her to her father? I don't know how well she's going to cope with this."

  He studies her for a minute. "We need to bring her back to the king. If nothing else, he may be able to help her get through this. Plus I think the sooner we get her away from here, the better."

  "Cherish, you okay with that, princess?" Xander asks softly.

  No response.

  Xander sighs. "Bring her to the king and have him send someone to collect her family so that they can have a proper burial as well as somewhere for Cherish to visit. I'll wait here for them."

  Andrei meets my eye and nods. "Alright. Let's get going then."

  "I'll, uh, pack up some of Cherish's things from here. If there's anything that she wants to bring that is her parents’ or her sister’s I'll come back for them," Xander says, eyes brimming with worry as he watches our princess.

  She doesn't say anything to Xander as we leave the house, she just lets me carry her with her head resting on my shoulder as she stares off into space.

  I follow Andrei into the woods by her house and wait while he summons the portal to take us home. Once the portal is opened, a large golden arch that shows our kingdom on the other side, we step through, closing it immediately after we go through.

  We walk the short walk to the castle gates since Andrei opened the portal right outside the castle walls and stop when the guards recognize us and open the gates. The king's head guard, Elazer, is on the other side of the gate and frowns when he sees Cherish in my arms, covered in blood.

  "What happened?" He demands.

  "We need to see the king. We'll explain once we get inside," Andrei promises.

  Elazer nods and leads us into the castle and through it's many halls until we reach the king's study. "He's in here." He knocks on the door and announces us.

  "Enter," the king's voice booms from the
other side of the door.

  We enter the room and immediately the king is on guard and is standing up from behind his desk. "What happened?" He growls, repeating Elazer's greeting.

  I move to place Cherish on the couch at the edge of his office, and she immediately curls in on herself, facing the back of the couch, not noticing or not really giving a shit that she's getting blood all over.

  I turn to face the king and bow low before straightening again. "My Lord, the princess' family has been slaughtered. I realized a breach when I was walking her home. There wasn't anyone there, but when we entered the house her family was already gone." I give him the same recap that I gave to Andrei when he and Xander arrived at Cherish's house.

  "She's not injured?" King Leander asks.

  "No, ma maja, the blood is her sister’s."

  The king closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "She saw their bodies?"

  "Only her sister’s. After I explained what had happened to her family she cried, when she was done, she has been the way she is now. She hasn't responded to us, or anything that's been said."

  "I see." He moves around his desk and walks to Cherish. Placing his hand on her forehead he puts her to sleep. "I'll have one of the maids clean her up. Take her to her room. I'll check in on her shortly. I need to speak to Elazer and a few others."

  "My Lord," I start, "we ask that, for the princess' sake if nothing else, that you send some guards to collect her family and bring them here for a proper burial."

  He nods and dismisses us. Andrei takes Cherish this time, and we make our way to the room the king had been preparing for her to stay with us. Her room is between mine and Xander's room and across from Andrei's room, so she has at least one of us near at all times.

  The maid is already in the room, waiting for us to arrive. Andrei lays her on the bed and we leave the room to stand outside the door.

  "I'm worried about her," I admit to Andrei.

  Andrei runs a hand through his hair. "I know. I am, too." He lets out a sigh. "God, it wasn't supposed to be like that. We shouldn't have had to bring her here because she lost her family because of those assholes gunning for her."

  I nod my head in agreement and lean against the wall. "When she snaps out of this, it's most likely going to be ugly."

  "She's strong, she'll get through it."

  "I never said she wasn't strong, and I'm not doubting that she'll get through this. I'm just worried that this is going to be too much for her. Her family, leaving her friends, suddenly moving in with her biological father, and not having a say in it. She's going to snap, and it won't be pretty."

  Andrei's quiet for a minute. "Maybe when things calm down we can get the king to bring her friends here to visit. Or at the very least, let Cherish go see them to assure them that she's fine. The whole family disappearing will be very noticable."

  "You know as well as I do that the king won't sanction her leaving again until this war is over," I point out.

  "It's still worth a shot," he says with a shrug.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cherish

  I don't move from under the covers when I hear a knock on the door. The door opens, and from where I'm at on the bed, I have full view of Xander coming into my room. He’s not wearing the clothes that are from my world, and it’s really weird seeing the guys in their guard uniforms.

  Since they’re this kingdom’s royal guards they wear a mixture of arctic blue and black. Normal guards wear just black on black. The uniform isn’t like those old-days knight outfits and are actually kind of tasteful, it’s just a little weird seeing them wear those blue capes like they’re Dracula or something.

  I honestly don’t see the reason behind the capes.

  "Hey, princess," he says with a soft smile. His eyes fall on my uneaten breakfast on the tray beside my bed and his smile turns into a frown. "You haven't eaten."

  "I'm not hungry." I haven't eaten much since I was brought here three days ago. I've barely even been sleeping because whenever I try, I'm haunted with the memories of my sister dead on the floor. Other times I'm haunted by the happy memories I have of my family, all ending in their deaths.

  Xander sits on the bed beside me and brushes my hair out of my face. "I wish there were something I could do to make this better for you, easier for you." He rubs his thumb under my eye. "You haven't been sleeping again?"

  I shake my head. "I can't." My voice breaks, and I feel tears threatening to surface, but I'm all cried out.

  Xander leans forward and presses a light kiss on my forehead. "I know it's hard, princess. We're all here for you."

  I take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. "I know. Thank you. I couldn't have done the funeral yesterday without you guys."

  He smiles sadly. "I swear to you, we will find who did it, and they will die."

  I look him in the eye. "You find them, I get to kill them."

  He blinks, probably in shock. "Cherish," he starts, but doesn't finish his sentence.

  "I'm not stupid, Xander. I know taking a life isn't a simple thing but I have to do this. I have to do this for my family."

  He nods in understanding. "Okay." His eyes fall on my full tray of food again. "You should eat, princess."

  "Xander–"

  "You need to eat, Cherish." He grabs both my hands in his and pulls me up into a sitting position. "Come on, we'll go for a walk around the gardens when you're done."

  I sigh when I see the resolve on his face, and I know that he won’t let it drop. "Fine."

  I eat slowly, mechanically, the food settling in my stomach like lead. When I get halfway through, I push it away from me. “I can’t eat anymore.”

  Xander studies me for a second. “Okay. Why don’t you go shower and get dressed? I’ll wait for you in the hall.”

  I push the blankets off me and swing my legs over the side of my bed. "Alright. I'll be out there in a bit."

  He smiles. "Good girl."

  I scowl at him. "I'm not a dog."

  He rolls his eyes and stands. "Just get ready, princess. You haven't seen much of the land, and I think you'll like it."

  I walk into the attached bathroom when he leaves the room and take a quick shower. With a towel wrapped around me, I search through the clothes Xander had brought me from my house and grab a pair of panties, a bra, jeans and a t-shirt with "Some people just need a high five . . . in the face . . . with a chair" written on the front.

  Since I'm not feeling very . . .sociable today, maybe the shirt will keep people away from me. Though, I'm pretty sure I could look like a homeless person, and these people would still come up to talk to me and try to be my friend just for the simple fact that I'm their princess.

  Leaving my room, I shut the door behind me and look at Xander, who's currently reading my shirt and from the twitching of his lips, is doing his best to not laugh. Or at the very least, smile.

  "Ready?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

  His lips quirk on one side. "Waiting on you, princess. Let's go."

  I almost jump as his hand rests gently against the small of my back, leading me down the vast hallway and out of the castle. I still can't wrap my head around the whole castle thing, if I'm being completely honest.

  Xander leads me down a path outlined in rose bushes. The bushes disappear shortly after they started and the path is then outlined in tall trees.

  "Where are we going?" I ask after walking for a while.

  He peeks at me and a stunning smile takes over his face. "I'm taking you to my favorite place."

  I tilt my head to the side and watch him for a second before nodding. "Okay. Lead on, then."

  He chuckles and keeps walking. The path ends a short while later but he keeps leading me through a thick patch of woods, and I glance around, noticing there's no one around.

  "Is this where you kill me?" I joke.

  Xander rolls his eyes. "God, you're dramatic. We're almost there, just another few minutes."

  He was right. A few minutes
later, I'm standing at the edge of a waterfall that falls into a crystal-clear lake that looks like it's got diamonds glistening from the sunlight under the water. My breath catches in my throat as I take it all in. The trees. The water. The sun glinting off the water. The fresh air.

  "It's beautiful, Xander." I swallow hard. "Ella would have loved this," I whisper painfully.

  Xander pulls me to the edge of the lake and makes me sit down beside him. He wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his chest. "I know you miss them, Cherish. You just need to remember that they may be gone, but they will always be with you."

  I look up at him and see that he's watching me intently. "It's my fault," I whisper, tears threatening again.

  He squeezes my shoulder and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. "Disa, it is not your fault."

  I shake my head, making his lips graze my forehead again since he hasn't exactly moved back. "It is. They wanted me." I bury my face in his chest. "It should have been me," I say, the words coming out muffled, but I know he understands me.

  "Ma hai, it shouldn't have happened at all, and it definitely shouldn't have been you."

  My brows furrow at the unfamiliar word. "Ma hai?"

  He shakes his head, giving me a soft smile. He cups my cheek and rubs his thumb gently across my cheekbone. "It's not important. What is important is that you don't beat yourself up about this. It is not your fault. This guilt will eat you alive if you let it."

  "They wouldn't have been killed if it weren't for me."

  "They wouldn't have been killed if it weren't for the asshole who caused it. We will find him, princess. I swear to you, we will. We won't let them get away with what they did."

  "Xander," I breathe when his gaze drops to my mouth and I'm suddenly hit with the crushing desire to know what it's like to feel his lips on mine. I bite my lower lip, unsure of what to do or say.