Page 94 of One True Love (Love Mark 1)

Then I felt more relief. Okay, pretty much all I felt was relief, but at least I didn’t feel so bad about having the sex dream I’d just had about another man.

Except, ugh, I still felt bad about that. I wanted to be better than Soren, the loyal type of spouse. But I’d felt no loyalty to him at all when Urban had slipped his tongue between my legs and shown me pleasures I didn’t even know existed.

Damn. Not even learning my husband was an unfaithful louse could dampen my guilt. I hurried around a corner, needing that tea and view from the wall of clear rock now more than ever.

But, alas, it wasn’t to be.

“Vienne…psst. Vienne,” a voice hissed, making me jump out of my skin. I whirled around to find Nicolette cracking the door to her room open and waving me forward. “I need your help.”

I nearly threw up my hands and sighed. I was trying to have my own crisis here, and I needed to be in my safety zone, drinking from my calming brew before I could deal with anyone else’s problems. But from the distress I sensed oozing from Nicolette’s room, she couldn’t wait that long.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, moving toward her.

She shifted back, opening the door wider to let me in. “I think I messed up.”

I was about to step inside when I noticed something written on the side of her face, next to her left eye. Jarring to a halt, I blinked and then gaped when I realized it was the tattoo of a heart within a circle.

“Oh…my God,” I uttered, my jaw falling slack. “What have you done?”

“I know, I know.” She winced and shook her hands. “At the time, it seemed like a good idea. I still love it, and I can’t wait to find my one true love with it, but then I woke up this morning and realized, holy shit, Caulder’s going to see it, isn’t he? And he’s going to be pissed.”

I nodded, unable to speak as I stared. She had a love mark on her face. Just like Urban.

She bit her lip and pressed her hand to the tattoo. “Do you think he’s going to kill me?”

Literally, no. But metaphorically… I nodded again, still no words.

“Oh God, Vienne. I thought at least you’d have something reassuring to say.”

But, “Have you lost your damn mind?” was about all I could think to blurt.

She cringed. “I just wanted one so badly.”

I sighed and pressed my hand to my own brow, not sure how to help her through this.

“When?” I asked. “When did you do this?” But the answer had already come to me. “Last night? When you didn’t join us for dinner? They said you were sick and couldn’t come down. But you...what? How did you even get this done?”

“I snuck out, of course.”

When I opened my mouth to blow a fuse, she lifted a hand, pausing me. “Not, literally. I took a guard and went out through the front gate, all very legitimate and appropriate-like. I just…” She cringed. “Didn’t mention to my escort that the king might not approve of my little outing.”

“But—”

“Oh, there was a High Cliff priestess staying in Mandalay,” Nicolette assured me, answering the question I hadn’t even asked yet. “I met her at Brentley and Allera’s wedding.”

When I opened my mouth to ask more, Nicolette kept talking at super speed.

“She even had a permit to be there. She showed it to me at the wedding. She was showing it to everyone because she was freaked out about how negatively Donnelleans viewed magical people. But she was so nice, and she talked to me at the wedding banquet like I was a real person. An adult. When I told her how much I wanted a love mark, she offered to give me one. I was hesitant, of course, but she told me where’d she’d be staying and when she’d be leaving. I kept telling myself it was a bad idea, Caulder would never approve, but… Oh my God, she’s set to leave Donnelly tomorrow and this was my very last chance ever to get one. I had to go to her, Vienne. You understand, right? I just had to.”

I closed my eyes and nodded, actually proud of the girl for following her heart and doing what made her happy. But, God, now I had to help her out of this situation.

“Do you think we can conceal it somehow?” she asked hopefully. “With powder or…or…”

“Nicolette,” I said softly. “You need to tell your brother about it. Today.”

Her eyes went wide and her head shifted back and forth. “I don’t think I can.”

I took her hands. “It’s best to get it over with now,” I said. “Besides, if you were brave enough to get the mark in the first place, then you’re brave enough to tell the king about it.”

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