Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,15

from the same direction.

Fiora was grateful for the interruption. When she started to lift her hand in a silent plea to stop him from continuing the conversation, a wave of awareness came over her. She turned more fully toward him. She’d been confused before when all the death and destruction hit her, but she felt the man’s future clearly now. No wonder she was sick to her stomach when she was around him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, frowning.

“I’m so sorry.” Fiora hated that she was compelled to answer honestly. Tears brimmed her eyes. When she looked at him, all she saw was emptiness. That is why she’d confused him for Death. He wasn’t Death. He was destined to die. “You have a death mark.”

The man stiffened. Could she blame him?

Fiora had learned very quickly as a young girl that people didn’t necessarily want the truth. They said they did. They said they wanted to know the future, but it wasn’t true. They wanted her to tell them the future they wanted to hear, not what really would come to pass.

Could she blame them? When the futures of so many were about to be cut short? Why would they want to hear how painful the end would be?

It never stopped.

Grier escorted Salena toward them. Her sister’s hair was a tangled mess, and she wore Fiora’s white tunic. Grier was covered in clumps of dried mud. The disguise had been somewhat more convincing when he’d arrived at the facility, but now he looked like he’d been traveling for days without access to a decontaminator.

Salena approached, only to stop near the monster statue. She leaned against it, taking a deep breath as she clung to a stone shoulder.

Grier appeared concerned. “Salena?”

“Move me and I’m throwing up on one of you, Grier,” Salena answered. “I need the world to stop spinning first.”

Fiora tried to keep her head from whirling. She pressed her hands to her forehead. The marked man touched her arm gently to turn her toward him. She was sure he meant well, but the slight jolt of her body sent a shockwave through her, and she ended up heaving a stomach full of nutrient paste onto the man’s crotch.

He jerked his hand back.

Fiora covered her mouth, mortified by what she’d done. The man stood frozen with his hands to his sides as if he wasn’t sure what to do about the mess. When she opened her mouth to apologize, another wave of nausea hit her, and she covered her lips in an attempt to stop a repeat performance. She swayed slightly on her feet.

“Let’s get you ladies someplace where you can rest.” Grier motioned that Fiora should walk with Salena away from the statue.

Fiora sidestepped the mess, glancing up at the marked man in apology. Salena stayed close to her side.

“Jaxx, Kane should be home,” Grier said. “You can bathe there. He’ll have something you can wear. And call a servant to send a cleaning droid to help with this, please.”

Jaxx. The marked man had a name.

Fiora took hold of her sister’s arm, leaning into Salena for support. All she wanted was to get away from everyone.

“I promise you’ll be safe here,” Grier said. It took her a moment to realize he spoke to her. “No one can get to you while you are in the palace.”

“They’ll come,” Fiora whispered. Even though he didn’t ask the question, she felt compelled to warn him. At least he’d be able to keep Salena safe. That’s the best she could hope for. “It won’t take them long to figure it out who took us. Two beasts in the sky will not go unnoticed.”

“They’re called dragons,” Salena corrected.

“You have many fights ahead.” Fiora needed them to understand what she’d seen, even as she didn’t understand it all herself. “I see red and violet—”

“Shh, you don’t have to speak now.” Salena shushed her as she patted her back. “You don’t have to look at the future. We’re safe now.”

Grier went ahead of them to open a thick wooden door and then waited for them to enter before him.

Fiora paused before stepping through the door. Her mind was a jumbled mess. “Two is stronger.” She grabbed her sister’s hand and held tight. “Together, we might be able to find our missing piece.”

Piera. They still needed to find Piera. She couldn’t forget. Her head filled with so many timelines that it would be easy to lose herself.

“Do you know anything?” Fiora insisted.

“No, and I’ve