Page 67 of Marked
“And Shona? Were they killed with a single arrow shot to the chest as well?”
Paul nodded. “Yes. I think you and Ace are right to suspect a link between your attackers and those deaths.” He paused, his body tensing.
“What?”
“I think it’s also safe to say that attack on you in the woods a few days ago was a botched attempt. Not the one where you and Nala were ambushed by a bunch of men, but the one before that.” He curled his hands into fists. “Maybe you were meant to be the first victim.”
A shiver raced up my spine and I shook the unease away. Paul wasn’t saying anything that hadn’t already crossed my mind.
Ace, on the other hand, had stopped chewing and now glared at Paul. “Other attack?”
Right. While I hadn’t told my brother about the attack directly, he would’ve heard about it from either the town’s gossip or the queen herself—I submitted a report after all—but Ace didn’t have the same connections.
“I was attacked coming back from Wast. I wasn’t harmed.” What I didn’t mention was that I had help from a mysterious wolf. I didn’t want to dwell on how close I’d come to death.
Ace grunted and pushed away from the table. He picked up his empty plate along with mine and carried them over to the kitchen sink.
“We really need to see the bodies,” I said. “If we can detect the same magic on the bodies as the magic on the arrow that struck me, then we can confirm the connection. It will give us at least a direction to go in, and we’ll be a step closer to figuring everything out.”
Paul glanced at Ace. “You told her about your magical senses?”
Okay…where mild irritation had percolated before from Paul’s drawn-out theatrics, I was now fully annoyed.
What else did Paul know about Ace that I didn’t? What other secrets had these two kept from me. And more importantly, what secrets had Paul shared? Some of his weren’t his alone.
Ace grunted in response before turning on the tap to wash the dishes.
“You’ve been dealing in secrets, brother,” I hissed under my breath.
“Never yours,” Paul said, his gaze softening. He jerked his chin in the direction of the couch, and I followed him into the living room with irritation still prickling my skin.
We settled on the couch, leaving Ace in the kitchen. Nala hopped onto the cushions between us and curled up. My brother reached out and ran his hands along her fur. Sadness briefly pinched his expression.
I didn’t need to read his mind to know his thoughts had travelled to his own familiar—or rather the lack of its existence.
“There’s another reason I am here.” Paul raised his voice from a whisper. If Ace could hear over the sound of washing dishes, he could probably listen from the other room.
“I won’t help you get into Sley’s pants. You’ve tried so many times to seduce her it’s just getting embarrassing now.”
Ace’s chuckle travelled from the kitchen.
Paul smacked my arm lightly. “No, but now I’m rethinking my gift.”
“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows. “What gift?”
“I’ve arranged to get the two of you into the Death House to view the bodies, but it must be tonight, and I only managed to get you an hour.”
A dish clattered in the kitchen and Ace stomped over to join us. He had a mouth full of food, so he had to angry chomp and swallow before he could talk. Had he used dishwashing as a cover to shovel even more food into his face?
“Phaan, Paul,” Ace said. “That gives us no time to prepare.”
“Why didn’t you lead with that?” I flung my arms up for what felt like the millionth time today. Pain streaked down my body, and I grimaced, quickly lowering my arms. I might’ve recovered from the wound, but sudden movement still caused twinges of pain. Hopefully, this side effect would go away soon now that my accelerated healing had kicked it.
“Calm down.” Paul moved his arms up and down as if trying to soothe wild animals. “We have some time, and the plan isn’t super elaborate—we go in, you sniff around, we get out.”
I glared at him.
“On a scale of one to ten, how much do you want to smack me right now?” Paul flashed his cheeky grin—the same grin that got him out of as much trouble as it got him into.