Page 31 of Polestar
She’d only had enough time to shower after the long, long day and what seemed to be an even longer meeting.
I can’t believe Kane even suggested I pretend to be engaged to Magnus.What a ridiculous ruse.
And yet, nothing about Kane’s demeanor hinted at any type of humor.
She glanced at the phone again.
Kane wouldn’t call them back to her office if it weren’t important.
Ana scrubbed her hair as quickly as she could with the towel that encircled her head, then threw on her silk nightgown and reached for her robe.Shoving her bare feet into her fuzzy slippers, she belted her robe and left her room as Raya was leaving hers, still fully dressed, her brows deeply furrowed with concern.
She gave Ana a cursory once over and smirked.“Cute slippers.”
“Any idea what this is about?”
Raya shrugged.Her concerned expression returned, “Nope, but we should hurry.”
At that, they jogged the rest of the way.
They arrived at Kane’s open office door, where she was still at her desk.Connor sat in the leather chair that Ana had occupied earlier in the evening while Magnus stood by Kane’s desk with a haunted expression.
Ana’s stomach churned.
What could have happened in the last twenty minutes that was so urgent?
Aksel Matochkin was stable and in the care of GPSA medics.Had he taken a turn?
Kane gestured for them to sit.
“What’s happened?”Raya said as she took the other chair.
Ana perched on the same antique chair from the first day, arms crossed.
“Aksel is marked.”
“Shit,” Connor spat.
“Oh no,” Raya whispered, turning wide eyes on Magnus.“Oh no.”
“Marked?What do you mean?”Ana demanded after seeing their reactions.
“Magnus, would you show Ana the picture?”Kane said.
Magnus withdrew his phone and swiped his screen, producing an image.
Ana rose from her seat and approached to see a human throat with a black ink sigil at its base.
“A tattoo?On his throat?”She looked up at Magnus, who nodded.“What does it mean?”
“It seems to be some kind of hex,” Raya said, her voice full of disgust.
“Magic?”Ana said, incredulous.“But… why?”
“It’s most likely the reason he isn’t healing.It’s keeping him weak.”
“And unconscious?”
“Not by design.He’s unconscious because he was beaten so badly and cannot heal naturally because of the sigil.Medical science is doing its best to support his body where his shifter ability can’t.”
