I didn’t know that the rebels had Marked Ones among them, but I figured that if they were able to hide from my father, they would be Wren’s best bet.
“Evelyn?” The man’s scrutinizing gaze remains on me, even now. “Is he speaking the truth?”
The elderly woman rises from her seat, hobbling towards us, leaning heavily on her cane. She stops a few feet away. Her Mark flares, washing Wren and me in its light, and her eyes turn a milky white.
The temperature drops, and a cool breeze that has no business being in this windowless room brushes past me. The hairs on my arms raise. Someone behind me mutters a curse.
Wren stiffens, letting out a soft gasp, but I don’t let her go. I’m not sure I could even if she asked me to.
The violet light pulses thrice, each time more vibrant than the last before the film clears from the seer’s eyes. Evelyn exhales shakily, and her hands tremble, reminding me of my grandmother. She stumbles back, dropping into a seat that someone brought over for her.
“What did you see, Evelyn?” someone asks from the crowd.
The seer looks up. Pauses, seeming to weigh her words. Then she proclaims, “The Hunter speaks the truth.”
A hushed silence washes over the crowd.
“It is as he says,” Evelyn continues. “She has power that needs to be controlled, magic that is unchecked.”
Murmurs rise from around us.
“You do not need to chain the Hunter, Captain.” Evelyn looks at Alaric. “He will not leave the Blessed, nor will he risk endangering her.” The seer’s eyes meet mine, and a shiver runs through me. “After all, she ishis.”
19
MEANT TO BE MINE
WREN
She is his.
The seer continues speaking as if she hasn’t made a series of proclamations that have left my mind spinning. I vaguely hear her say that, at least for now, Gabriel and I will remain under her people’s protection.
The wordprotectionsounds suspiciously like remaining under guard, if I’m being honest, but I can’t think too hard about that at this moment. I’m stuck on Evelyn’s confirmation that Gabriel and I are fated to be together.
Tension ebbs from the room the longer the seer speaks. It’s easier to breathe. People are still watching us out of the corners of their eyes, but there isn’t as much outright hostility in their expressions.
Still, it’s clear that this group does not trust us, and honestly, I don’t blame them. After everything I’ve been through, the list of people I can trust is minuscule. Right now, it feels like it’s me and Gabriel against the world.
When the seer finishes speaking, the red-haired captain escorts us out of the cavernous room. We stop in the hallway so they can unlock Gabriel’s chains, but they leave our manacles on. Which, like much of this situation, is not great. My wrists areitchy, and dried blood is gathering on my skin beneath the cuffs. A bath would be fucking amazing, but this doesn’t seem like the right moment to ask for one.
Eight guards form a box around us, which feels dramatic since we aren’t armed, and Gabriel looks like he’s about to collapse, either from exhaustion or his injuries, I’m not sure.
“Where to, Alaric?” a gruff guard on my left asks.
“The Hollows,” the captain replies.
That must mean something to everyone else because we start walking. Our escort keeps a steady pace, and my muscles complain after days of inactivity, but at least we aren’t running. Since good things are few and far between these days, I’m going to count that as a win.
Lanterns hanging in regular intervals on the stone walls illuminate our path, shoving away the shadows. I’m not sure where we are, but judging by the lack of natural light and all the stone we must be underground somewhere. Maybe in a set of interconnected caves?
It’s odd. Without the suns or moons to guide me, I don’t even know whether it’s day or night. There’s just the lanterns and the mystifying red sheen on the rocks. Now that we’re closer, I realize the discoloration isn’t a trick of the eye. The walls are shimmering because hundreds of rubies, some as big as my thumb and others as small as specks of dust, are embedded in them.
I gape, staring at the gems, and the distraction causes my foot to catch on the floor. Gabriel’s hand lands on my arm, steadying me. He removes it once I’ve regained my footing.
“You good?” he asks quietly, the words meant for my ears alone.
Am I? I don’t know. It’s been an incredibly long day, and the amount of information I’m processing would give anyone a headache. I haven’t even had the chance to think about the factthat somehow we’re with a group of rebels because my mind is stuck on the seer’s proclamation that Gabriel and I are fated.
