The Mark of Fate: Book 3 of The Marked series Ford, Rinna (most read book in the world .txt) 📖

“Because he wants you as a mate and a lover,” Matias spoke up. “It’s written all over his face whenever he sees you. He has designs on you and you’re falling for his charms like the rest of the females in this house.”

I laughed out loud at the humor of it and looked back toward Devlin, who was doing his absolute best to ignore our conversation but failing miserably.

“We aren’t blaming you…”

“No, you just think I’m stupid. You don’t think I see how everyone responds to him? I see it, and it makes me weary of him and his intentions.” Both of my mates looked away sheepishly. “I don’t know if he’s genuine, but in all honesty, up until this morning, he hadn’t given me any reason to believe that he means to do anything but get to know me. Now, I don’t know what his plans are, but I promise, I’ll stay away from him if that’s what you two want.”

Xan loudly sighed and crossed the distance between us, wrapping me in his arms. I told him what he wanted to hear and as I felt the warmth from his body, how he molded around me, I knew I would do everything in my power to live up to my promise. I turned my head and looked at Matias. He let out a deep breath, as if relieved. My promise meant a lot to him. It meant a lot to both of them.

Chapter Thirteen

After a little more snuggling with my mates, they both said their goodbyes. Amos asked to meet with them before our morning briefing with the rebel leaders. I tried not thinking about what he needed to tell them without me there. It was just one more thing I was trying not to worry about.

Dev and I talked a little bit more about the potion, as if that huge scene between my mates and me didn’t just happen, but it was difficult. Fighting with them isn’t something I like doing, but fighting with them in front of others is pretty embarrassing.

“I have an idea,” Dev told me and began to dig through a drawer on the far wall.

We were talking about the next dose that I would need to take. After several seconds of digging, he pulled out a little vial with a stopper on top and held it up for me to see. He then walked over to a table and pulled out our family spellbook and began flipping through it until he found the right page. With expert precision, he gathered the materials he needed and began mixing them together.

I loved watching my uncle mix his potions. I didn’t know any other caster that was able to make them so effortlessly. He was really and truly gifted.

After several minutes of pouring and mixing, he took a medicine dropper and pulled some of the swirling liquid up then deposited it in the small vial. He put the stopper on top and handed it to me.

I took it from him and frowned. From the look of it, I could tell that it was the exact same potion I took earlier, but why would he give me another dose so soon?

“In eight days,” he began, “when you start feeling the potion wearing off, find a private place and take this immediately. I don’t want you to suffer in pain while you’re trying to get to me.”

“It didn’t take me that long to get up here,” I refuted and tried to give it back. He closed my fingers around the bottle and pushed it back toward me.

“Yeah, but if you had this, you wouldn’t have had to suffer at all. What if you’re alone next time? If you lose it or the bottle breaks, which it shouldn’t, I can quickly make you another dose. Take it, Emelia.”

He never used my real name unless it was something important. I could see something burn in his eyes but it was gone just as quickly as I’d noticed it. He cleared his throat then gathered all of his materials and took them to another empty bin to wash them.

“But what if I lose it and someone else finds it?”

We were keeping the existence of the potion secret for a reason. It was a valid question. He stopped what he was doing and looked up as he considered it.

“Well, it won’t work like it’s intended for anyone else, that’s for sure. Your blood is an active ingredient, so it’ll only work as it’s intended for you. As to what it will do, I don’t know exactly. Let’s just hope no one else tries to take it.”

“No pressure at all,” I muttered to myself and stuck it inside the front pocket of my worn jeans.

“You’ll be fine, you big baby,” Dev smiled and walked over to the door.

Using the same spell he used to let Xan and Matias out earlier, he released the protection spell and waited for me. We were late for a meeting with the rebel leaders and needed to be on our way.

“Have you heard from Irna?”

The day Alec was released from the infirmary, my grandfather told me Irna had moved to the New York faction. I was glad she took my advice and hoped she’d do well there. All in all, she was a good person, much like Chei Yun, but also like him, she made a big mistake when she told Di about me.

He shook his head. “No.”

When I made the promise to my mates about staying away from Alec, I didn’t realize how hard it would be. We got down to the main floor of the mansion at the exact time that Alec came in through the front door. He looked surprised to see us. A smile lit up on his face while Devlin and I looked at one another then back to the other caster. He stopped right in front of us and put his hands in his pockets almost nervously.

“Hey,