Page 75 of Marked By Night

“We think so, yes. You should get one for each of us and in turn, we get them as well.”

A soft smile graces my lips. I love that. I like seeing my mark on them. If their expressions are any indication, they do too.

The room settles in a peaceful calm as we all sit examining our marks. Until the air shifts and darkness comes crawling through the open doorway. I know it’she who shall not be namedcoming before he even walks through the door.

“What’d I miss?” The man himself asks, sauntering in with a cruel smile fixed upon his luscious lips. It’s the kind of smile that nightmares are made from and instead of being repulsed as a normal person would be, my heart flutters. His darkness calls to mine in some fucked up way.

He’s not yours,I remind myself but the words seem hollow.

Try telling my magic that.

“Savannah is gone,” Kaos says. “For now, but the bad news is Dante broke the Elder’s orders not to bond with you until they could convene a meeting. She’s convinced her claim overrides yours.”

Dante scoffs, interrupting Kaos.

“I know. As if she could ever compete with our true mate.”

“Yes, Dante said as much earlier. What I don’t understand is why? What’s it to them?”

My Sworn share a look.

“They want to control every aspect of our lives because control equals power to them. We live extremely long lives and without true Links to procreate, our race is slowly dying out. They’re hoping one day their fake bonds will set and we won’t completely die out. With that said, there will be consequences for Dante’s actions, I’m sure, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

“Not if I can fucking help it,” I mutter. I’m not even a part of this society yet, not really, and that seems wrong to me.

Something deep in my chest starts to unfurl with the more I uncover about the Weavers, and it feels a lot like vengeance.

“What else is there that I need to know?” I ask, genuinely curious. “I’ve seen Elian pop into existence from the shadows, but is that something all Weavers can do?”

Kaos opens his mouth to respond when Elian shoots him a sharp glare, cutting him off. He clears his throat. “Er, it’s not my place to say what everyone else has, but you already know I can heal and produce shields, and Dante is a pyro.”

I’m like the epitome ofcuriosity killed the catand, in this case, it might kill me. I want to know so much more abouttheir powers, but I know they’re not going to budge with Elian in the room.

Kaos continues, “Now that Dante and I have bonded with you, we might have powers appear over the next few weeks.” He seems practically giddy with that statement and it makes me wonder if he doesn’t like his healing power. Maybe he wishes he had offensive magic like Dante.

“Do you have any other abilities? Aside from what happened with the Elite?” Elian asks, watching me from the corner of the room where he’s reclined against the wall. So he doesn’t want to tell me about his magic but wants me to tell him about mine. Seems fair.

I study him for a moment. His arms are crossed over his chest and his head is tilted back like he doesn’t have a care in the world. It highlights the chest piece peeking out of his collar. I can’t really make out the design, but it makes me want to find out why he’s so inked compared to the other two all the same.

I decide not to stoop to his level. “Extra strength, advanced healing. Nothing special until yesterday. Before then, it was mainly vibes from other people. Like if something bad is about to happen, I get these little tingly feelings.”

Kaos nods. “Most of us have those abilities as well.”

“See? I knew you were weak,” Elian says, running his tongue across his lips.

“What is your problem with me, Elian? What have I done to you?” I demand, shoving to my feet.

He throws his hands up and walks right back out of the room like he couldn’t care less about me or the whole situation, slamming the door so hard I’m surprised it didn’t pop off the hinges.

When his negative cloud of energy finally fades from the room, I blow out a deep breath. I don’t know why I keep expecting him to give me a shot. He’s been nothing but rude from the beginning.

Oh, well. I refuse to spare him another thought.

“I’ll back you up if you want to kick his ass,” Goldie says, lifting his head from the floor. I didn’t even realize he was in here. “Believe me when I say you’re not weak, and he will soon come to realize that.”

“You don’t have to assure me, pup. I already know.”

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