Mark of Love (Love Mark #3) - Linda Kage Page 0,145
trying to catch her or what?”
Wincing uneasily, I shifted, not sure how to tell him the next part. “Well, that’s the thing, actually.”
He squinted, not understanding. “What do you mean?”
Before I could explain anything further, the shrill scream of a raven sounded above. It swooped down, and its homing human stepped forward, stretching up an arm covered with a leather gauntlet to his elbow. The bird settled on the glove’s sleeve and croaked low in its throat until its human untied the message from its leg and gave it a sunflower seed in payment. It squawked in thanks and took off flying again.
“My lord,” the raven’s homing human called, his voice urgent as he stepped forward. “Everett of House Teller sends a message, saying they’ve confirmed the capture of a Graykey female.”
“Shit!” I leaped forward, gripping Erick’s arm. “My lord.”
What the hell had Quilla gotten herself into? She was supposed to be gone from this fucking dimension already.
“I know, I know,” Erick muttered on an exhausted sigh and lifted his hand to interrupt me before I could say anything. “You and your uncle don’t get on well. I’m aware. I’ll make sure to keep the two of you apart while we handle this.”
“No,” I ground out. “Not him. Her. The woman. That’s got to be my true love.”
“What?!” the crown prince yelled incredulously. Around him, his royal soldiers immediately lifted their weapons, on guard, and ready to attack.
“You’re mated to a fucking Graykey?” one asked as another spat on the ground in my direction, as if the very idea put a vile taste in his mouth.
Erick merely hissed out a breath, closed his eyes, and set a hand over his face. “Why the fuck did you just tell me that?” he asked, then added as he gritted out from between clenched teeth, “In front of witnesses?”
“You have to help me,” I begged, stepping toward him.
All his warriors shifted closer, causing me to inch backward away from their prince.
Meanwhile, Erick threw back his head and cracked off a harsh laugh. “Help you?” he repeated. “Have you lost your damn mind, Indy? Even if I was so inclined to assist you right now—which I’m pretty sure I’m not—I couldn’t defy my father to such an extreme. And I can tell you right now, he would never agree to pardon a Graykey. You know more than anyone how dangerous they are.”
“But she’s not. Erick, please God, just listen to me.”
With an aggravated sigh, the prince waved a hand, letting me know he’d at least listen.
“It’s Quilla Graykey. Do you remember the information we have about her?”
“Hell, I never remember the damn details about any Graykey. That’s Olivander’s forte. But the name vaguely rings a bell. Is she the one who traded her magic to the Donnelly bitch who used it to snap Urban’s neck?”
“Yes!” I pointed at him, glad he remembered. “That’s her. She shed her magic in order to avoid succumbing to her family’s bloodlust. She’s not evil. She took drastic measures to keep from going evil.”
The prince hissed out a weary sigh and shook his head. “That’s nice to hear and all, but she could still—”
“I’m not done,” I cut in, slicing him with a pleading expression. “She also had her womb magically closed so she can’t bear children. She can’t fall into the curse’s bloodlust, and she can’t pass it on to a new generation. I promise you, Erick. She is harmless. Completely not dangerous to anyone.”
“Uh, my lord,” the homing human called. “There was more on the back of the message. It says the Graykey female killed one of our guards and one of Teller’s. Then incapacitated another before they finally captured her.”
I hissed out a curse, even as I silently congratulated my girl for putting up a good fight. Erick turned back to me, his eyebrows raised inquisitively.
With a wince, I shrugged. “Like you can blame her for defending herself.”
“You’re not arguing your case well at all.”
“You know what they’ll do to her,” I urged. “Tell me; what would you do to avoid such a capture for your mate?”
“Jesus, Indigo. You really got yourself into a pickle. But this is one area I can’t help you.”
I wanted to keep begging. But he was right. Even if he did want to help me, he couldn’t. Not even he could sway the king’s mind. I’d seen him try before to no success. I guess that meant I was on my own.