Marked By Lies: A Reverse Harem Series (The Marked Series Book 1), Paige Orr [new books to read .TXT] 📗

as his eyes slowly open, taking in everything around him. At first he doesn’t seem to notice the danger that he’s in, but that doesn’t last long. When he finally notices me looming over him, he lets out a high pitched squeak, scurrying backwards away from me, and drawing everyone's attention.

He frantically looks around, taking in the carnage around him, and his whole body begins to shake as he realizes he’s on his own this time. Even the little Witch sitting with Annika refuses to look his way, obviously having had enough of this guy's shit. When your own people turn their back on you when you need them the most, it really is a true testament of the kind of person you are.

“There is no point trying to fight this Marcus. As much as I would love to dole out your punishment myself, there is already an escort on their way to transport you to Faerie. There you will stand trial, and the kings will be the one to choose your punishment.”

I watch as the grown man in front of me dissolves into hiccuping tears, curling into a ball as if that could protect him from what is to come. He was a fool if he thought that he would just walk free from something this serious. My father can be a cruel man, and a lot of the time I don’t agree with his decisions, but this bastard deserves everything that he gets.

I motion Elias over to me, telling him to watch our captive, before heading over to the group of Fae who haven’t moved since their restraints began getting released. I can see that some of them are still bound, so before addressing them, I make my way around the group, letting the rest of them go.

I walk to the front of their group, feeling their eyes watching my every move, and I can’t blame them. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through since they were taken, but by their bedraggled appearance, I know that it wasn’t easy. If this had happened before we had all met Melissa, I would have immediately separated my people from Zaph’s, but now I realize how stupid that is.

I doubt these Fae see any differences between themselves anymore, and I’m not going to force them apart when they are gaining comfort from their fellow captives. My job as their prince is to help them, not make the situation any worse than it is.

“I’m sorry that it took us so long to find you all, but no one is going to hurt you anymore. If you go over to Morpheus and tell him your name, if he doesn’t already know it, then he will begin to contact your families so you can go home. The kings may call for your presence for the trial, but it shouldn’t come to that.”

A few of the stronger Fae help those that can barely lift themselves from the ground, helping them to follow my request. I know that this won’t be a quick job, but knowing that they are all finally safe, I can feel a burst of energy filling me. I can only thank Danu that we made it in time.

Chapter Thirty-Five

 

Melissa

 

Two Month Later

I lean back in my office chair, taking a deep breath as I rub my hand down my face. I haven’t been sleeping much since I returned home after rescuing the Fae, and the exhaustion is really starting to get to me. I know that the guys don’t blame me for what happened, but that doesn’t change the guilt that’s been swallowing me whole.

All four of them have popped in to check up on me from time to time, and I know that none of them have believed me when I’ve told them that I’m fine. They have enough on their plates though, helping their people recover from the shit that they’ve been through, and they don’t need to be worrying about me on top of that. Things returned to normal after that day, but I just feel like I’m stuck in some fucked up limbo.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the petrified look on those kid's faces that day. In fact, I dream about them any time I do manage to get any sleep. Usually in those nightmares though, I don’t make it in time and their lifeless corpses look at me with blame filling them. I don’t think any sane person could get over seeing a child in that situation.

Annika has tried to get me to speak to her about everything that’s going on in my head, but that's my burden alone to carry. Usually I would confide in her about absolutely everything, but every time I even think about telling her what’s going on in my head, bile rises up my throat.

Over the last two weeks, Grey and Priscila have been her almost everyday,her while she tries to teach about what I am. When she came to me in those tunnels, I never had the time to think about why she knew so much about my magic, but it turns out that she was the same as me. It makes so much sense when I think about it now, but I’m just glad I finally have someone that can explain things to me.

Through all of my training, I’ve learned how to keep my sight on full-time, so that I don’t need to switch between. It took a little while to get used to it all, but now that I am, It’s truly sunk in that I’m not human. Priscilla explained to me that we are a rare group of supernaturals named necromancers. When she told me that though, I couldn’t help but think back to that day in the garden with my mom when Lucy told me she wasn’t my real mother.

I’ve