Page 64 of Marked

I’m cut off by his laugh. “Seth? Did your dog not tell you who I am?” His laugh fades into a contemplative hum. “Unless of course, he hasn’t figured it out yet.”

“Why don’t you enlighten us?” I grind out through clenched teeth.

“Us?” He echoes. There’s a mix of bitter jealousy and amusement in his tone. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. My, my, I must say, you’re not a very good guardian, are you? Letting your coworker escape like she did.”

My eyes snap to Jack’s, apprehension snaking down my spine again. Guardian? Coworker? Just who is Jack? What is he?

His gaze holds mine unwaveringly, but I can see a flicker of dread in his eyes. Despite what he’s feeling, he doesn’t let it show in his voice as he replies to Seth. “She wouldn’t have escaped if you hadn’t helped her.”

“But what fun would that be?” Seth coos. “Ammit needed a vacation. She’s having quite the fun.”

Jack suddenly snarls, startling me into taking a step back. “So much fun that she attacked Valkyrie. Or was that also part of your plan? To rip out the heart of the woman you seem to want so desperately?”

There’s a beat of silence before Seth speaks again. “She wasn’t supposed to,” he states in a low, cold tone. “She was instructed to retrieve my cup.”

“Did you really expect that to pan out?” I cut in. “Especially with how you’re obviously losing control over her?”

Seth sighs as if it’s nothing but an inconvenience. “A temporary issue, I’m sure. Maybe merely sensing the guardian sent her into a panic. She clearly prefers one god to another.”

“God?” I repeat, eyes widening as I stare at Jack. He does nothing to rebuke that statement and that terrifies me.

“Oh yes. I did tell you that your chose the wrong one, remember?” Seth hums in self-satisfaction, but I barely hear him.

My overloaded brain quickly finds all the pieces and shoves them together in my head.

Egyptian.

A dog.

A guardian.

A god.

“Anubis?” I whisper in a tight voice. My throat closes up on me as I stare at Jack with wide, disbelieving eyes.

A muscle in his cheek clenches and twitches before he gives me a single, tense nod.

The phone slips out of my hand and drops to the carpet with a muffled thud.

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