Fate Forsaken

by Chauntelle Baughman

  Four bowls shot up and she started to fill them one by one.

  Tim stuck his nose over the bowl and drew a deep breath. “You’ve outdone yourself this time, Adelle.”

  She smiled. “You haven’t tried it yet.”

  “I don’t have to.”

  The room fell silent as they stuffed their faces. Rho glanced around at the unlikely alliance, thinking they were easily the most diverse group of DarqDwellers she’d ever met.

  “You still feeling all right?” Tim focused on Rho. He’d asked her the same question every day since she’d taken the death mark.

  Rho nodded. “Fit as a fiddle.”

  “I dug into some older archives today,” Adelle cut in as she scooped herself a bowl last and took a seat. “They’re all handwritten in Latin so it’s a process, but I’m getting there.”

  “I appreciate it,” Rho said, truly meaning it. Eldon’s sisters had been cold and angry when she’d first met them. They’d been raised to scorn vampires, believing they were the lowest of the DarqRealm races, but things had changed since she’d taken the death mark from their brother.

  Eldon wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Nick had an idea about that, actually.”

  “Oh?” Preshea shoveled another spoonful of food into her mouth.

  “How would you feel about taking a little trip to Paris?” Eldon eyed Tim and Preshea.

  His sisters shot each other a sideways glance, and their teammates looked equally surprised.

  Preshea frowned. “Now isn’t really the best time for a vacation.”

  “Not a vacation.” Nick leaned across the table, scooped a massive heap of chili, and slopped it into a bowl. “A business trip.”

  “You’re so rude.” Adelle shook her head. “You could just ask someone to pour you a bowl, you know.”

  Nick settled into an empty spot at the table. “I’m no different than I was as a kid. And back then, I was adorable.”

  “Hardly.” Adelle rolled her eyes. “You were rude then and you’re rude now. Only these days, my mom isn’t the one cooking you dinner.”

  Tim gulped down a glass of water before setting it back on a coaster. “So what’s in Paris?”

  “I know someone there who may be able to help us—help Rho, actually, with her death mark,” Eldon answered. “It’s also where the mover Kamen is. Or used to be, I should say.”

  “That’s where it was stolen from?” Preshea asked between her mouthfuls of food.

  Adelle met Rho’s eyes, clearly irritated by Preshea’s lack of table manners. Rho tried not to grimace as the shifter continued to smack down her food.

  Eldon nodded. “We’d put the mover Kamen far away from the others, hoping that might help keep it safe. Only the Collective members knew where it had been hidden.”

  Rho set down her mug and opened her hand to stare at her palm. Back when they’d first joined this team, their racial divides had threatened their ability to work together. The leader of the Collective had branded their palms with the emblem of the magick movers, a triquetra surrounded by four moon phases in different colors, each representing one of their races.

  The symbol was actually a skin-binding spell, which forced their cooperation. When Tim, Preshea, Eldon, or Rho—the official, Council-appointed members of the team—argued, the headache that followed was nothing short of excruciating. They’d learned quickly to get along with each other. Or at least try. Scary how powerful magick could be, if wielded by a strong enough magick mover.

  “Hard to believe even with all that magick, someone still got their hands on it,” Rho said.

  If the movers wanted to hide something, she could only imagine they’d do a hell of a job wrapping the object in protection spells. Back when she’d been ordered to hide the vampire Kamen, she’d hired Eldon for that very reason.

  Then again, her Kamen had been stolen, too.

  “That’s why I think it’s a fae job.” Eldon frowned. “Especially knowing what we know now.”

  “What do we know now?” Vectra’s soft voice piped up. No one said anything for a moment as every stare centered on Preshea, the girl’s older sister. Vectra looked every bit of fourteen, the high cheekbones and straight nose giving her away as Preshea’s kin. Her jet-black hair was stick-straight as it cascaded over each shoulder, and unlike her sister, it gave her a much softer, more delicate appearance. She was certainly not a member of the team, but she was the only family Preshea had left. Whether Preshea wanted the girl involved was her call.

  Preshea gave a short nod. “It’s fine. She won’t say anything. I’d like her to stay here in the safe house with Adelle and Jess, though, until we get back. Since our allegiance to the ShiftMaster has changed, I’d like to know she’s protected while I’m away. This safe house is about as secure as I could hope for.”

  The situation with the ShiftMaster had, indeed, changed. He’d once been Preshea’s boss and the leader of the shifter nation, but since they discovered he’d been using fae magick to maintain his power, the respect she’d once had for him had vanished.

  Eldon’s stare turned to Adelle then Jess. “That’s fine with me as long as it’s fine with my sisters.”

  Jess shrugged a shoulder, and Adelle nodded. Neither of them stopped stuffing their faces.

  “Rhyannon wants the Kamens.” Tim pointed his spoon toward Eldon. “I don’t know why, but we know for a fact she’s after them. She needs them for something.”

  “The only Kamen we’ve recovered is the one that wasn’t missing. The fae aren’t represented on our team because Rhyannon claimed the green Kamen was still in her possession—until the night we fought her and took it from her. But Rhyannon still has the yellow one,” Eldon said.

  Rho nodded. “She had it around her neck when she disappeared.”

  “That Kamen belongs to my people,” Preshea growled. The yellow stone held the magick of the shifter nation, and Rho had no doubt Preshea would kill to return it to its rightful home.

  “We’ll get it back,” Tim assured. “Just like we got the green one back.”

  “The green one wasn’t exactly ours to retrieve, though.” Eldon frowned. “Not that I mind taking anything from Rhyannon.”

  Preshea smiled and gripped the gun at her waist. “I wouldn’t mind taking a lot more than a Kamen from her.”

  Tim cracked a slight smile before turning serious again. “So we have the green fae Kamen and the black werewolf Kamen in our possession.” He glanced toward the hallway where the team had sealed the relics away in a magickal hiding place. “But we’re still missing the blue, red, and yellow relics.”

  Preshea turned to Rho. “You’re sure Rhyannon has the yellow stone?”

  “Positive,” Rho answered. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the rock around Rhyannon’s neck belonged to the shifters.

  Preshea’s brow pinched in thought as she licked her spoon. “That means the blue mover Kamen and red vampire Kamen are unaccounted for.”

  “Could she have organized for them to be stolen and sent to her?” Rho asked. If Rhyannon possessed only one Kamen now, and the team had already hidden two away, the others had to be out there somewhere. And seeing how the queen had somehow managed to get her thieving hands on two stones already, they could only assume she’d had a hand in the disappearance of the others.

  Eldon rubbed his chin, as he usually did when he was thinking. “It’s possible, but we’re going to have to retrace our footsteps. Figure out exactly where the vampire and mover Kamens could have gone missing.”

  “They’re still out there somewhere,” Tim said.

  “As much as I hate to admit it, Nick’s right. Given Rho’s current…predicament, Paris is the best solution.” Eldon set a gentle hand on Rho’s knee and glanced toward Tim and Preshea. “We could visit my friend to try and find a fix for the death mark, and you two could investigate the disappearance of the mover Kamen.”

  “Two birds, one stone.” Leaning back, Tim met Eldon’s stare. “I like it.”


  Preshea shrugged a shoulder. “Makes sense. Plus, I’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower.”

  “I’ll need a day or so to get in touch with a few people on the other side of the pond. They’ll probably appreciate a heads up before we just show up at their doorstep.” Eldon reached into his back pocket and fished out his cell phone. “Then I’ll need to buy a couple of tickets.”

  Nick arched a brow. “You can’t just jump them?”

  “I can take you two through the lines.” Eldon pointed a finger to Tim, then Preshea. “But Rho and I will have to catch a red-eye.”

  “I can’t jump?” Rho had traveled with Eldon through the lines before. She might get a little vertigo when she landed, but that wasn’t reason enough to keep her from going.

  Eldon shook his head. “I’d rather not risk it.”

  “Risk what? You’ve jumped me before.”

  “Not since you took on a death mark.” His glittering blue eyes met her stare. “I’m not saying you could contaminate the lines, per se, but I’d rather not take an unnecessary risk. There’s too much at stake.”

  Folding her arms across her chest, she tried not to pout. “I hate airplanes.”

  It was true. Despite her vampire nature and being nearly impervious to death, they still freaked her out. Something about hurtling through the air in a steel tube thirty thousand feet above the ground while traveling hundreds of miles an hour seemed totally unnatural. If she were meant to fly, God would have given her wings. Or turned her into an angel instead of a vampire.

  Eldon leaned toward her and pressed a kiss to her temple. “It won’t be so bad. You can take a few books from the library to distract yourself. Or I can buy you one of those e-readers.”

  She frowned. “No thanks.” No way was she going to take gifts or money from Eldon, even if they were sleeping together. She didn’t need him to take care of her. “You should know, if we hit turbulence, I’m not going to be happy.” And she’d probably claw him to keep from screaming like a crazy lady.

  “I can’t spell the weather, unfortunately, but if you’re anxious, maybe Adelle can whip up a sedative potion for you.” He shot his sister a look.

  “I’m great with potions.” Adelle’s warm brown eyes met hers and she nodded. “Actually, I may already have one prepped in the store.”

  Of course she would. Adelle ran Hocus Pocus, their mother’s old store, from their main home. How could they stay in business, especially with their temporary relocation to the safe house? She shoved the thought aside. Not her problem.

  Without warning, a rush of tingles struck Rho so hard she set her mug down on the table to keep from spilling it everywhere. She squeezed her eyes shut as she pinched the bridge of her nose, the nausea in her gut threatening to liberate the coffee she’d just swallowed.

  The sensation traveled from the death mark, shooting through her shoulder and into her skull. Starbursts of light flashed against her closed lids, even more this time than the last.

  Shit, the dizzy spells were getting worse. They’d started the day after she’d taken the mark, barely noticeable in the beginning. She hadn’t told her teammates about those either, not wanting to worry them with any more of her drama. Now she was having more than one a day, and they were strong enough to knock her on her ass if she wasn’t careful.

  If they kept getting worse, though, she’d eventually have to tell them. She could be a liability if this happened during a fight.

  “Baby?” Eldon whispered, his lips against her ear, forcing her eyes open.

  She tried to play it off. “Yeah?”

  His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?”

  She opened her eyes to find everyone at the table staring at her in concern. Exactly what she didn’t want. She forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just a little headache.” Right. The only headaches she’d ever gotten as a vamp were the ones forced onto her by the spell drawn on her palm, and those could only pop up when her teammates were fighting.

  Eldon’s sidelong glance told her he wasn’t buying it, but she changed the subject anyway. “So, I guess it’s time to go pack again.”

  “Ugh, I hate doing laundry.” Preshea groaned as she stood up and started clearing the plates. Tim gave Rho a long look before picking up his dishes and following Preshea into the kitchen.

  Rho blew out a breath, relieved her little diversion worked. Whatever the death mark had working inside her body, it wasn’t good.

  And she had the sinking feeling she was running out of time.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Still half-asleep, Eldon tossed over to his side and buried his head in the feather pillow. The slight dip in the mattress on his right reminded him he wasn’t alone. He lifted an arm to pull Rho closer to him.

  She sighed as she pressed her back against him, her cool skin brushing him like a natural air conditioner. Only her packaging was a hell of a lot more attractive.

  Every night for the past week, they’d slept side by side but always touching, a constant reminder of the other’s presence. Damn if it wasn’t the best thing he’d felt in a long, long time. Sure, he’d had girlfriends in the past, but none of them had ever been anything like Rho. She was gorgeous and tough, graceful and fierce, sweet when she wanted to be but fiery when she had to be. She was everything he’d never known he’d wanted. And she was right here in his bed—exactly where he wanted her to stay.

  He glanced at the clock. Five thirty p.m. They only had a half hour left to test a theory he’d been playing with for the past week.

  “Rho?” He shook her gently. “Time to wake up, angel.”

  She grumbled and ignored the wake-up call. Just like usual.

  “Don’t make me do this the hard way.”

  Something resembling a grunt came from beneath the pillow, and a smile touched his lips. If there was anything this vampire hated, it was being woken up.

  He propped his head up on his elbow as he stared down at her, drinking her in. Tendrils of long, blond hair fanned around her face, her pale skin flawless as she lay beside him, completely still. Her parted lips were a perfect shade of pink, and he fought the urge to taste their kiss until she awoke. Fangs were hiding just beneath. Even though he’d come to love their sweet sting, he knew better than to surprise a sleeping vamp. God, she was lovely, even when she slept. Still, he couldn’t help but feel she was holding something back from him.

  When Rho had taken on the death mark for him, he’d never felt guiltier or more grateful in his life. She hadn’t experienced any side effects from the mark just yet, but they all knew it was a matter of time. He’d been watching her like a hawk just in case, both because he wanted to and because he felt he needed to.

  “Last chance,” he taunted. This had become his favorite way to get her out of bed, mostly because he knew it pissed her off. She was cute when she was irritated.

  Rho pulled the comforter over her head and wiggled toward the far end of the mattress. As if that would stop him. He chuckled as she struggled, still asleep and trying to escape her life-sized alarm clock.

  “Did you hear me? Last warning.”

  “No,” she mumbled. “Don’t do it. I swear, I’ll kill you.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  “Don’t test me.”

  He rolled toward her on the soft mattress and yanked away the pillow covering her head, tossing it across the room. “One.”

  “I’m not kidding.” She groaned, covering her eyes with an arm.

  “Two.”

  “Do it and die. That’s a real threat, Eldon Tradare.” Her voice was gruff and laced with sleep.

  “Three—”

  With one swift motion, he curled his arms around her body and yanked her on top of him.

  “Eldon!” She kicked against him playfully, her long hair falling around him like a golden halo as she stared down at him with cool, gray eyes. Ignoring her pathetic protests, he planted kisses along her neck, holding her tight against him.

  “Let me go!” she squealed,
giggling.

  His words were muffled against her neck. “Never.”

  “You know better than to wake me up before sunset.” She pulled away from him and tried to drop the smile from her face, attempting to glare. “This is so cruel.”

  He lay back and rested his head on the pillow, arms still wrapped around her. “What if I told you I have a present for you?”

  She quit struggling and glanced down at him, a brow raised in interest. “What kind of present?”

  “Well.” He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears. “How do you feel about…I guess you’d call it daywalking?”

  She tilted her head, confusion flickering in her eyes. “What?”

  “I, in my infinite brilliance, have uncovered a spell which may let you walk in the sunlight.”

  “No way—”

  “And since we have to walk through the daylight at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in less than fifteen hours, I thought this might be a good time to test my theory.”

  “Wait, the flight doesn’t arrive at night?” she asked.

  Eldon shook his head. “Of course not. By the time we land halfway across the globe, it’ll be noon in Paris.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t even consider the flight landing during the day.” Her lips pursed and she considered him for a long moment. “If there were a way for me to wander around in the sunlight, wouldn’t all the vamps be doing it by now?”

  That thought had crossed his mind.

  He lifted her hand and kissed her palm then traced a finger along the magick mark they shared with their teammates. Preshea’s yellow half-moon and Tim’s black full moon marked her hand just as they did his, both of their markers almost completely faded because of their distance. He’d delivered them halfway around the world to Paris yesterday.

  He glanced up at her wide eyes, her brow pinched as she bit her lip. She always looked like that when she was thinking hard. And she was right to worry about what he planned to do.

  Vampires were restricted to the night, and most of the DarqRealm preferred it that way. They were dangerous, cranky, and manipulative as hell. Opening up this can of worms could get him into serious trouble with the Collective.