Carrier of the Mark (26 page)

I couldn’t help giggling a little as I picked up the call. “Hello?”

It was Áine. “Megan, it’s time to swap back. I think Fionn will be doing rounds shortly. I guess you two didn’t get up to anything too serious last night, as the Earth hasn’t imploded!”

“I heard that!” Adam grabbed the phone. “Áine, as much as I love you and appreciate last night, sod off and mind your own business.”

I heard laughter ringing through the line as Adam hung up.

“I guess I’d better get going,” he said.

“Last night was pretty great.”

“Pencil me in for another sleep date soon.” He grinned.

“Definitely.”

He left, and a moment later Áine walked in. She jumped onto the unused bed and turned to me with wide eyes. “Well, how did you get on?”

I blushed. “Thank you so much for that. It was the best present you could have given me.”

She beamed. “No problem—but I will be looking for you to return the favor one of these days.”

I laughed. “You’re on. Did Rían mind your bunking with him?”

She shook her head. “Not at all! It was his idea in the first place, actually.”

We got dressed quickly and met the guys for breakfast. Then Fionn checked us all out and we headed out to the Land Rover. The ride back to Kinsale was quiet; we were all lost in our own thoughts. We got into town around lunchtime, and since my dad wasn’t expecting me back until the evening, I decided to go home with the DeRíses.

As soon as we got into the house, Fionn went into the kitchen and put the kettle on, while Adam and I headed out to the backyard.

“Want a coffee?” he called.

“Yes! That would be great,” I answered.

Soon Fionn appeared with three steaming coffees, and we all settled down on the steps. “What is it, Adam?” he asked, looking concerned. “There’s something on your mind.”

“I think Megan needs to hear your story. Hugh tried to coerce her with a guilt trip last night.”

“Christ, that’s low,” Fionn grumbled, looking more frustrated than I’d seen him in a while.

I started to tell him that he didn’t have to give me the full story if he didn’t want to, but he shook his head. “I don’t mind telling you; I just can’t believe they would stoop to pulling my story on you. I guess I underestimated their determination. How much did they tell you?”

I felt awful. I couldn’t believe I had to regurgitate such personal information back to him. “Well,” I began slowly, “they told me that you and Emma were in love, but you both knew that it was best to part, for the good of the Order.”

Fionn laughed bitterly. “That sounds about right for them! What spin!”

“Wait, what really happened?” I asked, startled.

Fionn’s eyes clouded over. “Oh, I loved Emma, all right. And she loved me. You and Adam remind me so much of us back then. But we always knew there was another man who had been chosen as her intended. Stephen DeRís. Stephen was a great guy, groomed for the role. Emma didn’t love him, but she was fond of him. And she was under a lot of pressure to do her duty. I respected her wishes and those of my superiors, but I demanded to stay with her as her guardian.” His voice roughened. “Every day was a heartache; every touch was a stabbing pain. And when the children were born, I saw the babies that should have been mine. She felt the same, but remained faithful to Stephen and to the Order.

“After Rían, Adam, and Áine were born, the Order had the four elements. Stephen, having done his duty, wanted out of the marriage, as did Emma. But the Order would not allow it. They had some time to go until the children would be strong enough to perform the alignment with their mother, and the Order wanted to play it safe, just in case anything happened to any of the Marked Ones. They wanted another child of direct descent as a backup, and they wouldn’t permit the separation until they had it.”

I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine feeling so trapped—and knowing that the person you loved was just out of reach. I looked over at Adam. He was as rapt as I was.

Fionn’s eyes darkened as he continued his story. “Emma was distraught. She had sacrificed her life for the Order, they had the four elements, and still they would not free her. Emma and I were still passionately in love, and one evening it all became too much to bear. We couldn’t be kept apart any longer. Emma told Stephen and he was fine with it. He knew that we should have been together from day one. So we continued the happy-family charade for the Order’s sake, but Emma and I were together, as good as married. Then Emma got pregnant with my baby. We were overjoyed. The Order, thinking the baby was Stephen’s, agreed to release Stephen and Emma as soon as the baby was born. But—” His voice broke off and he closed his eyes, fighting back whatever painful images filled his mind.

Adam went over to Fionn and patted him on the shoulder.

Fionn pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “I respect your strength, Megan; I wish we had been as strong as you. Love is never worth giving up on. If I could do it all over, I’d tell the Order to stick it, and run away with her. We would have been happy. The Marked line would still have continued. The Order doesn’t always know best. I will not have you and Adam suffer the same fate as Emma and me—or as Adam’s father, for that matter. Three lives wasted over rules and old traditions. The Knox snuffed out the lives of Emma and Stephen before they could
really
start living, and a baby girl before she got the chance to live at all. I will not let that happen to you. We’ll find a solution.”

I was so moved by the story it took me a while before I could speak. “There was something else Hugh said, about your not being her match because you weren’t a carrier of a neutral gene. He said the Marked gene is recessive—”

“They said my children wouldn’t have been Marked, right?” Fionn said with a twisted smile.

“He implied it. Hugh said they couldn’t be sure.”

“Hah! They think they have the whole genetic thing worked out, but they don’t. They got lucky with Emma and Stephen. The recessive gene is still a mystery. I don’t care what they say.”

He stood up and hugged me. “You are as much a daughter to me as Áine. When the Sidhe selected you, you received Emma’s Mark. You carry with you a little bit of her and the daughter I never got to meet.” He ran his finger over my Mark. “I feel as if their spirit is in you.” Tears sprang into his eyes and he turned to walk into the house, lost in thought.

“You see,” Adam said, “whatever happens, we stay together. Fionn will fight to the death to protect you and what’s best for you—which, incidentally, is me,” he added with a sly smile. “Now, I think it may be time to take you back to your dad. He’s probably wondering what we DeRíses are doing to you, keeping you away for so long!”

A
fter we got back from Dublin we continued our regular training schedule, but we were much more cautious than before. I found it easier to trigger my power now. I could feel it—deep in my chest, an iciness served as a constant reminder that my element was always there, just below the surface. And my Mark was stinging again. Not all the time, but occasionally it would flare up. I hoped the power wasn’t growing too fast. I let Rían think that I was finding training more difficult than it actually was—I didn’t want anyone to know about the strength that I felt flowing through me. Not yet. I wanted to give Fionn and the Dublin Order time to find the solution. I was not giving Adam or my element up without a fight.

Adam was working on his control issues. It had been two weeks now since he’d lost control, but his element had grown inexplicably more erratic ever since Dublin. He reassured me that he would be able to resolve the problem, but it seemed like his power was acting on its own accord. Fionn had started working with Adam to help him manage it, using the same techniques that he’d used with Rían.

I made sure to make time to hang out with Caitlin when we were back, which felt easier now that I wasn’t as focused on my training. I’d missed her over the past couple of weeks.

One Monday after school we went down to a little café on the seafront. We dumped our bags and ordered giant hot chocolates. “Fill me in,” Caitlin ordered. “What have you been up to recently? And I want the
real
story. Not the school-lunchtime version.”

“Things have been pretty intense.”

“Really? Tell me!”

“I don’t know where to begin. Adam is amazing.”

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know! So … did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You know …
it
.” She raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

“What?
No!
Of course not.”

“Awww, I thought that after the Dublin trip there might have been some steamy sessions.”

“Oh, there was steam, and lots of it,” I said, blushing a little. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

“I know how you feel. Me neither,” she said dreamily.

“Hang on a sec; did
you
do it?” I asked.

“No! Definitely no
it
.”

“Phew! It still feels a little early for all that, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so. All in good time.” She winked at me. “So, any more freaky magic from the DeRíses?”

Keeping my eyes on my cup, I shook my head. “I think we were letting our imaginations get the better of us. It was probably all those hormones rushing to our brains.” I forced a laugh, hoping I sounded suitably breezy, then cringed—disgusted with myself for the all-out lie. “They’re just a little … unique. They’re nice, though. I’ll bring you up to their house with me someday after school. You can see for yourself.”

“I’d love to! I’ve lived here all my life and have never been inside.”

“Well, I’ll arrange it. You should see Adam’s room. It’s all sixties flower power.”

“Seriously? That’s too funny.”

“I know! I didn’t know what to say when he showed me.” I grinned at her as I leaned down to pick up my napkin that had fallen on the ground, but when I put out my hand, the napkin fluttered up from the floor and jumped into my palm before I even thought about what I was doing.

“Did you see that?” Caitlin said. “It just floated into your hand.”

“A draft must have caught it. What are the odds?” I tried to force myself to keep my tone light, and I quickly changed the subject. “So, what’s going on with Jennif—Ouch!” My neck stung sharply.

“Are you all right?” Caitlin asked, leaning toward me.

“I … I think something stung me.” I rubbed my Mark under my hair, trying to ease the pain.

“Do you want me to take a look?”

“No, no. I’ll be fine.”

I heard a mumbled whisper. “Sorry, Cait, I didn’t hear that. What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.” She looked at me, concerned.

I heard the whisper again, this time right at my ear. I felt a shiver down my spine; goose bumps spread out across my skin. I spun around, but there was nobody there.

“Megan, are you sure you’re all right?”

The pain started to ease in my neck. I waited for a few seconds to see if there would be any more whispers, but the air was clear.

“I’m fine … I think.” I looked around the café. “I just … thought I saw a bee.” A thrill of fear ran through me.

“I don’t see one. Anyway, you were asking about Jennifer—wait until I tell you about the fight that she and Darren had over the weekend…”

Caitlin’s voice faded away. I needed to talk about this with Adam, but if I told him about my Mark stinging, he might realize how strong my element was. He couldn’t know. Not yet.

Adam had stayed out of school all week. He still wasn’t totally sure if he had his element under control and he didn’t want to risk flooding out Sister Basil. I missed him fiercely, and on Saturday morning, while I trained, Rían banished him from the yard so I could concentrate.

By the afternoon I was exhausted and we called it quits. I went up to Adam’s room, and he and I curled up on his bed. Adam lay behind me with his body curved around mine. I was so tired from trying to suppress my element. I’d been warned of the strength required for suppression, but I didn’t think it was going to be this hard.

“So how’s your meditation going?” I asked, keeping my eyes shut.