Page 27 of Marked

“An arrow isn’t enough to kill someone like Dita.” I glared at Ace. “There had to be more to it than just a well-placed arrow.”

“And why would you think I’d know the answer to that?” Paul asked.

“You’re Queen Titania’s golden child. You always know everything that’s going on.”

“Well, I don’t know this.”

“Can you get me in to see her?” I asked.

“What?” Paul snapped his head back as if I slapped him, his eyes widening. “You want to see the queen voluntarily?”

“Not the queen. I want to see Dita’s body.”

“Why the phaan would you want to see a dead body?” Ace asked.

“Don’t tell me you’re squeamish about bodies? You’re here to hunt, not pick flowers.”

He scowled at me, his entire expression turning dark and deadly.

“Well?” I turned to Paul. “Do you think you can get me in? Pretty please. I’m your favourite sister, after all.”

A single arrow shouldn’t have been enough to take down Dita. As far as I knew, nothing existed that could kill a bonded immortal, at least not anymore, but it wasn’t like immortals lined up, offering to act as guinea pigs for maiming, beheading, and getting set on fire, so not everything could be discounted.

A memory of the pain spreading through Nala’s body flashed through my mind and made my stomach twist in a knot. Was that arrow killing Nala? Would it have eventually killed both of us? But then, why did I survive?

“You took a shot through the heart,” Paul said.

“I did.” I reached up and rubbed my chest at the memory. Luckily, Paul didn’t say when. Ace didn’t need to know about any of that. The incident had happened a long time ago. Abandoned at an early age, Paul and I had grown up in an orphanage and later on fled the physical and emotional abuse to live on the streets of Wast. After Paul took what should’ve been a fatal blow to the head with a bat, the leader of our gang suspected Paul was a galeon. To test that theory, he shot me in the chest and his suspicions were confirmed.

Without familiars, we both should’ve died anyway, regardless of our immortality–but we didn’t.

Queen Titania had been the one to find us. Or rather, the queen had been who the gang leader approached as a prospective buyer for us. Luckily, she hadn’t dismissed his claims and paid the low price of fifty gales for our lives. She’d told us never to speak a word about what had happened. People would ask questions we didn’t have answers to.

“When did you take an arrow to the heart?” Ace raised his eyebrows. “I think I would’ve remembered that.”

I shrugged, not looking over at my brother. “A lot has happened since you left.”

My brother and I kept our promise to the queen and kept the information secret. I didn’t like the queen for a lot of reasons, but I trusted her to protect her own interests and I just happened to be one of them.

“Must be nice having a familiar.” Ace scratched his jaw.

I exchanged a look with my brother. Not many knew about our lives before we moved to Perga on Queen Titania’s orders, and we both preferred it that way. Ace and Paul might’ve become best friends during those formative years, but nothing and no one would ever get between my brother, me, and our secrets.

“So? You’ll get me in?” I squinted at Paul.

“What exactly do you think you’ll find that the examiner won’t?” Ace asked.

I shrugged, not quite sure of the answer myself. “Maybe I just need to see her for myself.”

“Did you know her?” Ace asked.

“Yes.” Who didn’t? Dita was beautiful and charismatic and always kept the nobles from other cities company when they visited. She made sure they remained allies instead of enemies. And if they had bad intentions, she took care of them with quick efficiency.

Not many people knew Dita was one of King Oberon’s many assassins. Where Queen Titania commanded the ragtag group of hunters to monitor and manage both humans and animals alike in the forests surrounding Wast, the king focused his attention on exclusively controlling the people within his city and nearby towns, and he was merciless in his control.

Not only did he have an army at his disposal, he also employed an unspecified number of assassins who he didn’t hesitate to utilize.

Paul glanced at the lightening sky. “I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not making any promises.”