Page 59 of Marked By Night

Then reality comes crashing down, and I pull away, putting a slight distance between us. I miss the connection instantly. There’s something about Dante that makes everything else slip away.

My guilty eyes connect with Kaos’s. He reaches over and grabs my hand, rubbing the mate mark on my wrist. The silver flares to life, sending a jolt straight through my body.

“You’re his mate too, my Little Flame. It’s okay.”

I guess they weren’t joking.

Elian snorts, grumbling something under his breath, but I ignore him. Instead, I glance outside to check out my surroundings. The scenery doesn’t look much different. We’re still surrounded by trees, although the sun is higher in the sky than it was when I passed out. The clock on the dashboard confirms I was out for almost three hours.

Kaos brakes, cursing at the map in his hands as we pull off the civilized road onto a nondescript dirt path, barely large enough for his car.

“Guys? This doesn’t seem sketchy or anything,” Ash says from the back.

“Maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea to follow the talking dog and magical map?” Dante supplies unhelpfully. I shoot him a glare and he throws his hands up in surrender.

Before long, we approach a clearing and I watch as an immense oak tree appears in our path. There is a two-story cabin built into the base, decked out with windows, and… is that a wrap-around porch?

“How is a freaking treehouse better than our whole duplex?” Ash says, voicing my thoughts aloud. “Bedi’s been holding out on us.”

Goldie, the talking familiar, lifts his head from Ash’s lap, waking up from his nap. He stretches, accidentally nudging Elian who shifts out of the way like the dog bit him or something.

“We’re here!” he says, wagging his butt because he can’t move his tail.

Suddenly, a trapdoor on the bottom of the treehouse pops open and out shoots Bedi. A much younger, hotter version of Bedi.Even from here I can tell her skin is flawless and her hair that’s always been grey is now red, framing her face like a wild curtain of curls.

Her violet eyes twinkle with mischief as we dutifully file out of the car and approach. “I was getting worried that those nasty Elites succeeded in taking you out back there.”

Kaos and Dante both stiffen at her response but it’s not either one of them that speaks.

“You knew they were after us?” Elian asks, violence threading his words. All the guys are tense, their hands near their crotches. Fucking crotch knives.

“I did,” she boldly states.

Elian has his knife pressed against her throat before I can blink, and it confuses me. Why the hell is Elian the one defending my honor? He hates me.

“What are you?” he asks.

“The last seer, of course,” she says. There’s a glint of madness dancing in her ancient eyes. She disappears in a cloud of smoke and reappears behind him.

Elian whirls around to face her and does not look impressed in the slightest. “Seers aren’t real. I don’t know what kind of crack you’re smoking, but my Circle and I aren’t sticking around to listen to apsychopretend to be apsychic.”

Bedi tsks, not sounding a bit cowed by Elian’s sharp tongue. “We don’t have time for the squabbling. Sadie needs to have some vital protections placed on her before it's too late.” She trails off at the resounding growls and rolls her eyes. “Either take it or leave it, boys. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to cause her harm and haven’t.” Her violet eyes flash challengingly. “What’s it going to be?”

The guys exchange a look over my head, but I’m not one to have my choices made for me, so I step forward on my own. “I’ll take those protections, Bedi. Thank you.”

I don’t make it two steps before Elian grabs my arm and halts my movements. I grit my teeth. I’m getting tired of men handling me like this. I spin around, using his hold on my arm as leverage as I catch him in the stomach with my Converse. He grunts but doesn’t react otherwise.

“What she claims is impossible.”

“How so? Like I’m not supposed to be possible? Like magic isn’t supposed to be possible?” I ask, but don’t give him time to respond before shrugging out of his hold and stalking toward the treehouse.

After a moment’s hesitation, they all scramble after me. Bedi leads us over to the ladder and Kaos cuts in front of me, taking my hand off the rung before I can climb up. I start to object, but then think better of it. It’s tough when you’re used to being the only one looking out for yourself.

“Wait, why are we using the ladder, anyway? There are steps over there.” I gesture toward the spiral staircase leading up to the wrap-around porch.

Bedi stops her ascent, looking down at me with a small smirk. “Sure, but what fun is that dear?”

Touché.

---