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“I went to bed in pajamas and I left the door open so I could see the bathroom light.”
His face paled. “Ellie, your door wasn’t just closed; it was locked.”
“Oh, God.” Those things had access inside the house somehow.
David’s eyes widened with fear. “I’ll go look for your pajamas.”
“No.” I shook my head, frantic. “Don’t leave me.”
“Okay. I’ll just turn around.” He stood in the doorway, facing the hallway.
I dropped the sheet to my waist and pulled a towel off the rack to cover my breasts. “Okay.”
He turned around and took a step toward me, freezing when his gaze landed on my stomach. “God, Ellie. What did he do? That’s his mark.” His voice cracked, and his eyes glassed over.
My chin quivered. “He claimed me as his own.”
David swallowed. “Does that mean—?”
“No. I still have to choose, but both sides have claimed me now, whatever that means.”
He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me backward so that my shoulder blades were pressed against the back of the toilet. His voice softened. “What happened?”
“My dream was real. First I saw the badgers, where I got this.” I lifted my arm. “Then I saw Ahone’s messenger, who promised to show me Ahone’s mark after the next part of my dream, which was when Okeus cornered me.”
“Did you see the mark?”
“No.” I didn’t hide my bitterness.
He dabbed my stomach with a wet washrag and I flinched.
“I’m sorry.”
I gritted my teeth as he continued to clean it.
“This thing is a good twelve centimeters long. I think it’s going to scar.” He sounded devastated.
I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. “I think that was his intent. He wanted it to match the one he gave me on my arm.”
“I’m sorry.”
I opened my eyes and offered him a small smile. “Quit saying you’re sorry.”
“I can’t help it. This happened to you while I was across the bloody hall.”
“Well, I don’t want to think about what would have happened to me if you hadn’t been here.”
“What happened with Okeus, Ellie? I know he did this, but why?”
Total disclosure. “Okeus promised to give me back my father.”
His mouth dropped open. “Can he do that?”
“No, I don’t think so. Daddy was there, but it wasn’t him. His look-alike tried to get me to accept Okeus’s agreement.”
“To get his mark?”
“That too.”
