Page 92 of Marked

“We knew that already,” Ace said. “Hardly groundbreaking.”

Orion scowled at my partner before returning to me. “It’s not just that. It’s pure.”

“Pure?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“We all thought immortal bloodlines had diluted over generations Growing weaker and weaker from the time when pureblood galeons and phaanons mingled with humans. But this isn’t diluted. We’re looking for a pureblood galeon.”

You’ve already been marked. The queen’s warning echoed in my head as I stared at Orion with my mouth open.

“A pureblood galeon?” I straightened in my seat. “Like the king and queen?”

Orion nodded.

Ace leaned forward, placing his elbow on the table to prop his head up with his hand. “We could be looking for a phaanon, too, couldn’t we? They’re also immortal.”

“They don’t exist,” Orion said. “Not anymore, anyway.”

“It would explain why galeons are being targeted.” Ace shrugged.

“Unlikely. That would mean there’s a pureblood phaanon running around, using their magic, recruiting men to kill bonded galeons. Someone would’ve tattled. We would’ve heard something.”

“Well, we’re hearing something now,” Ace muttered.

Orion sat back in his chair. “If I was a phaanon, I’d hide. I certainly wouldn’t be sticking my neck out and risking discovery. An entire army of galeons would take up arms and hunt me down.” Orion shook his head. “There’s just no way a phaanon has been involved without being detected.”

“Speaking of detection,” I said. “How do we detect a pureblood? Galeon or phaanon?”

“Well, phaanons are easy to spot,” Orion said.

“Because you’ve seen so many?” Ace asked.

“No.” Orion touched the top of his ears and raised his hands. “Because they have pointy ears. Or at least that’s what the history books say.”

“So pointy ears and phaanons aside, how do we detect a pureblood galeon?” I asked. “With the exception of self-declaring, like the king and queen, what characteristics set pureblood galeons apart from descendants? Couldn’t they just exist among us without anyone noticing?”

“I heard pureblood galeons don’t need a familiar to be unkillable,” Ace said.

“Rumours,” I replied, willing my breath to remain steady.

Ace narrowed his eyes.

“And we can’t exactly go around stabbing unbonded galeons to see if they survive,” I said.

Orion nodded. “But we need to find one.”

“What do you suggest?” Ace asked. “Prick testing the entire legion of hunters?”

“Maybe it’s the king,” Orion said.

“Why would the king kill his loyal subjects?” I asked. Orion had shared his distaste for the royals before, so I wasn’t surprised he suspected them of murder, but this didn’t make sense.

“Maybe they weren’t so loyal,” Orion said.

“I’ve been loyal,” I said. “And I’m being set up.”

Orion frowned. “Set up?”

“They’re using my arrows.”