Page 224 of Bitten & Burned
“Rellin—” Vael squeezed, and Rellin coughed, sputtered.
“Fine, fine… I’ll tell you what you want to know,” he rasped.
I nodded once.
“We mark what’s ours; when it’s got our mark, we touch the brand on our wrists and it tells us where it is. The marked thing. We can smell it. All of us. It bleeds. And it’sours.”
The last word sounded wet. I ignored that. “So what, Drummond’s got one on him? One that controls mine?”
“No, no, no, no, not him, “Rellin laughed. “He wouldn’t put somethin’ so dirty on his skin, no. He’s got it on somethin’ else.”
“On what?” Vael asked.
But I was already thinking. Remembering.
“Told you, I dunno,” Rellin replied.
“The amulet?” Vael mused.
“No, I replied. “He’s got a stone. Small. He kept it in his pocket. It must be that. Quil destroyed the amulet. And even so, I was the one wearing it, not him, so it wouldn’t have helped him track me. There’s no way it was making me bleed.”
“And youarebleeding so good for us,” Rellin growled, smacking his lips obscenely.“You smell like mine… let me touch her, please just once…”
Vael shook him once, and he shut up.
“How do you get it off?” I asked.
Rellin started laughing salaciously. I rolled my eyes.“The sigil, Rellin. How do you get rid of it?”
He laughed again, but this one couldn’t be considered an innuendo at all; it was mean. Ugly. Loud.
“Answer me,” I hissed.
Vael shook him again. “In Camarae’s umbral name, you will answer her.”
“You don’t get rid of it, throat-slut. You are ours now. Forever. Once you’re marked, you’re marked. You’re ours forever. Forever, forever, forever.”
I blinked, panic rising in my chest like gas, but this wasn’t escaping. It was bloating. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Like I couldn’t see. Or think.
I stumbled backward, ran for the door. I raced to the stairs and I didn’t stop until I reached the top. I could still hear Rellin laughing at me.
“You’re ours! Forever, bloodbride, OURS!”
A sharp crack filled the room, and then there was nothing. No sounds but my blood rushing in my ears and my own breathing.
He was gone. Vael killed him.
I sniffed hard and leaned against the wall for support.
Vael caught up to me, his hand on my arm. “Rowena…”
“No…” I yanked my hand away. “No, I can’t… no…”
“I killed him; he won’t speak to you or look at you again.”
“Good,” I said, nodding. “That’s just one. I want them all gone.”
“We’ll do it, Witchling. We will.” He reached for my hand again, and I let him have it, but tears began to drip out unbidden. I used my other hand to violently wipe them away.
