Page 10 of The Immortal’s Mark

Des’s calm demeanor doesn’t waver. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” Thane’s gaze sharpens. “He never leaves her side. He’s taken with her. Anyone can see it.”

Lome shifts in his seat. Eshe’s jaw tightens.

“Stop this, now,” she snaps. “The enemy isn’t in this room. He’s out there, holding Bella hostage. That’s where our focus should be.”

Thane’s knuckles whiten.

For a moment, I think he’ll explode again, but something inside him breaks instead.

His shoulders drop, and the fury drains out of his face, leaving only exhaustion.

“I can already feel the loss,” he mutters, staring at his hands as he uncurls his fists. “My strength fades with every second she’s gone.”

I swallow hard, blinking back the sudden sting in my eyes.

“I feel it, too,” Lome murmurs, voice low.

“She’s alive,” Des says, quiet but certain. “Otherwise, the loss would be much worse.”

“It feels worse enough,” Thane snaps.

Des dips his head. “Forgive me. I only meant to reassure you.”

As they speak, the truth threads itself together in my mind. They’re not just grieving, they’re weakening.

Bella’s absence isn’t just hurting them emotionally. It’s literally draining their power.

Exactly like Adir promised.

“I don’t want your apologies,” Thane snarls, his anger snapping back into place. “I want us to take action. You need to claim the girl.”

Not this again…

I brace myself.

Des spent weeks denying I’m his One, but after recent events…after our conversations and stolen moments that he promptly regretted…I don’t know what answer he will give this time.

Des’s tone stays cool, but steel runs under it. “I understand your fear, but Darcie can’t replace Bella.”

“She can replace her power,” he fires back. “If we want to defeat this rebellion, that’s what we need.”

Des folds his arms. “No.”

The sound of his refusal is sharp. Final.

Thane slams his hand against the table. The crack echoes like thunder.

I jerk backward, the chair legs screeching against the floor.

Shit.

Four sets of Immortal eyes whip toward the sound, scanning the air around me.

My heart stops.

I don’t move. I don’t breathe.