Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,61

Fiora past a corner building to where the street crossed with another to run along the side of the cliff at the edge of the city. Rows of tables were set up in the shadows several paces away from where Payton hid. The smell of cooking meat drifted to where they stood. The tables closest to a fire pit were filled with a dozen men. A boy walked plates of food to a few of them before turning around to fetch more.

Across the street from the diners stood a group of people watching, as if desperate to gain sustenance from the smell in the air. Hungry people were nothing new in the city, but it angered him every time he witnessed it. One food simulator would easily feed the starving crowd.

“I hate the Federation,” Fiora said through gritted teeth. “Promise me when we figure out how to stop this disaster, we’re going to help them. All of them. Promise we won’t stop until this nightmare is over for them.”

“You have my word,” Jaxx said. She didn’t need to illicit the promise from him. He’d already been working on that, but he saw how important it was for her to lay voice to it. He could imagine how she felt was much like the first time he’d seen such misery.

A few of the men at the dining tables taunted those who begged for food. He knew the hungry would not cross the street. To do so would be to draw the ridicule of those who were fed.

Jaxx continued walking, waiting to explain things further until they were out of sight. They arrived at the hanging material.

“Some of them are just children,” Fiora said. “I know the cruelty that exists in the universes, but to see it…”

Payton pulled back a sheet and said, “We send them to the corner to stare at the food so no one suspects they’re getting fed from another source. If they stopped showing, someone would notice. A runner will come by later. With Brogan gone the food runs are taking longer.”

Jaxx nodded when Fiora glanced at him. Payton had beat him to the explanation. “It’s true.”

Fiora sighed in relief.

“Doyen is with his followers at the tables. This is as close as we can get without being in full view.” Payton held the material aside so they could duck underneath. “Hopefully, the sheets will provide some protection.”

“This will do,” Fiora agreed.

“I’ll go tell Salena and Grier what we’re doing. We’ll be nearby if anything happens.” Payton slipped through the laundry and disappeared into a passing group.

“Can you use your shifter eyesight and tell me which one he is?” Fiora asked.

Jaxx focused his vision. It didn’t take him long to pick Doyen out of the gathering. “Back to the cliff, closet to the cooking fire facing the others.”

Fiora took a deep breath, angling her head as material blew in front of their view. “Got him.”

“Say the word,” Jaxx said.

“I know.” She smiled at him. Her eyes already looked tired, and she hadn’t even started the reading. “You’ll fly me out of here.”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“There is something you can do for me.” Fiora touched his cheek.

“Anything.”

“When I start, don’t touch me and bring me out of my visions. My nose will bleed and I’ll be in pain, but don’t stop it. This is too important.” Fiora ran her thumb along his bottom lip. “I know you’ll want to, but don’t.”

Jaxx didn’t like it, but he nodded once before dipping slightly to kiss her lips. Her hand slid against his cheek in a gentle caress. He covered her hand with his, holding her to him for a little while longer before finally letting go.

16

The rocks started with a light trickle down the side of the cliff to her left. Fiora forced herself not to react in fear, even though she wanted to throw her hands protectively over her head before larger stones rained down on her. The material changed before lighting up in flames from the explosion. The fire burned all around her. She pushed past the blistering heat. This is not the moment she needed to see.

She focused her eyes on Doyen’s short black hair, ignoring the material that blew past her to hide him in an unrhythmic pattern. As she stared at him, his blue eyes came into focus. Not so much that her eyesight improved over the distance, but because she picked up on his timeline.

Ash began to fall. Doyen’s gaze was cold, a reflection of his dead