Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,33

forth. The interruption reminded Fiora of when they were children, and Salena always tried to protect her from strangers finding out about her ability.

“In all my hundreds of years, we have rarely needed protection.” Yusef motioned for them to follow him inside.

Looking past the broken shards scattered about the floor, Fiora found the home more welcoming than the palace. There was a luxury in the palace, yes, but here, in the woods, there was comfort. Logs from the giant trees of the forest lined up to create curved patterns along the wall. Black curtains half covered the dome window in the ceiling. Small wooden carvings decorated a stone fireplace.

“And not since we married and the war with the Var ended.” Olena gestured toward the couch. “Check for glass before you sit.”

“War?” Fiora hadn’t picked up any hints of a shifter war in her visions. Usually, there were threads of animosity that came through after a region had been through a war. “How long ago was that?”

“I’m seventy-two, so roughly that long ago,” Jaxx answered.

Fiora’s eyes widened, and she looked him over. “You’re seventy-two?” She then glanced at Yusef. “And you said you’re hundreds of years old?”

Yusef nodded. He looked very much like his son except for his dark eyes. Jaxx’s eyes clearly were inherited from his mother.

“Does it matter? Does that change your interpretation of the timelines?” Salena asked. “Is the—event—further away?”

“No.” Fiora shook her head in denial. “I’m just surprised I was kissing someone that much older than me and didn’t realize it.”

“Kissing?” Olena excitedly jumped on the word and rushed back toward them to stand before her son. “Have you…? Are you telling me that…?”

Jaxx put his hands on her shoulders. “Easy, Mother.”

“Are you two together?” Olena demanded, turning her attention to Fiora. “Seriously together? Is that why you have brought her to meet us?”

“Awkward,” Grace mumbled under her breath as she sat on the couch. She gave a small laugh. “Jaxx, tell your mother if you’re getting married.”

“You do not have to be married to kiss. No, we are not getting married. I’m afraid that is not in the stars. Your son—” Fiora began.

“—is preoccupied with other things,” Jaxx put forth, stopping her from telling them about the death mark. She was grateful for the interruption.

“So, no?” Olena’s expression fell. “If you’re kissing, you like each other. Are you two making things more complicated than they need to be? Is this because you’re planning on waiting a year for the next official ceremony? If so, don’t worry about it. The whole ceremony is old fashioned anyway. You won’t be the first to meet your mate outside of those parameters. You can stay in the marriage tent and go through the motions when the time comes. Now, tell me everything. We can talk through this.”

“I don’t know if it will be in a tent, but I will have sex—” Fiora began.

“I don’t want to talk about any of this with you,” Jaxx said with a glance around the room. “Do you want help cleaning?”

“Leave them be, my love,” Yusef said, not answering his son as he went toward a kitchen. A counter and stools separated the open space. The Old Earth style was still popular on some planets. “We are not ones to lecture them about easy beginnings when it comes to relationships. Need I remind you about the night we met at the mating ceremony? I believe you tried to stab me in the neck.”

“It was a tiny prick with a drugged hairpin,” Olena dismissed with a wave of her hand. “And you survived.”

“Whatever you say,” Yusef answered. He opened a compartment in the kitchen and activated a cleaning droid to sweep up the glass. The unit made a low humming noise as it rolled over the floor.

“Would it help if you found your crystal?” Olena asked her son with a sideways glance toward Grace.

“It would help if you stopped pestering me about it,” Jaxx said.

“Can you blame a mother for wanting her grown son to know the love and happiness I have found with your father?” Olena asked.

“No, not for wanting it. Insisting your will on him is a different conversation,” Fiora said. She gasped and covered her mouth while giving Jaxx an apologetic look.

Olena’s eyes widened. She stared at Fiora for a moment, before suddenly laughing. “I like this one.” She slapped the back of her hand against her son’s chest. “I approve. She has fire.”

“Thanks,” Jaxx said, smiling at Fiora. “I like her, too.”

“Seriously,