Page 53 of Kissed the Mark
“Vampire,” the Unseelie Queen said, herbooming voice knocking out all the chatter in the room, “I welcomedyou to my court for two weeks, but I did not offer you sanctuary.”There was a muttering at this, quickly silenced by the queenraising her hand. Technically, she had agreed to let Leandra stayfor two weeks, and nothing was supposed to interfere with that: youcouldn’t go back on a deal here. It was like killing a puppy.
“I understand,” Leandra said, when the queendidn’t continue.
“Good. Then you’ll understand why you’rebeing exiled from Faerie for a crime against one of your kin.”
The room became silent, the only sound beingLeandra’s ragged breathing from her ill-fated escape attempt.
“The vampires consider you a traitor tothem,” the Unseelie Queen continued. The courtiers watched Leandrain horror—a traitor to her own kind, the gravest of insults.
“But that’s not all. It seems that awerewolf pack is also out for your blood, for killing one oftheirs.”She didn’t do that!I felt like shouting. It wouldmake no difference whether she did or didn’t, though. All thatmattered was peace for us here. And drama. However little those twoconcepts could coexist. “And the little Mayfair witches are upsetat being used by you. And now, of course, you’re on poor terms withfairies here, for asking for shelter when you had committed sograve a sin.”
My mother gripped my shoulder so tightlythat I gasped. “You willnotdo anything like this again,”she hissed in my ear.
“Leandra the vampire,” the Unseelie Queencontinued, “you are officially exiled from the realm of Faerie,forever, for the murder of Mateo Rivera.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Exile
ONE MOMENT LEANDRA WAS THERE, and the next momentshe was gone; the magic exile took place immediately, leaving thecourt in disorder.
I wasn’t going to stick around forquestioning. Just as my mother converged on me from one side, andthe queen on the other, I flipped open the pommel of my dagger oncemore and ripped out the bell. Its clang filled the air, drowningout everyone and everything. “Back to Mayfair,” I whispered to it,but the whisper was the loudest thing in the room.
I kicked apart the pebbles I’d made into afairy circle the second I got back to Mayfair in Faerie, and wasthrust back into the real world, the anchor point of the St. Louisfairy circle released. I had to get to the town hall, and fast.Leandra had been right about one thing: there wasn’t anyone elsewho cared enough to save her.
But I guess I did.
So I started to run.
With three—if not four—groups after her,there was only one place Leandra would be to own up for heractions, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. I burst through thedoors of the town hall out of breath, startling the receptionist.Disaster reigned, giant plants knocked over and the mud of severaldozen pairs of footsteps that had run by in haste. “Where is she?”I demanded from the receptionist.
“They’re not going to let you in,” she said,but I was already through the double doors behind her, followingthe noise. There was a great commotion, the sound of peoplefighting. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the smallish room; itwas incredibly warm, with all the bodies packed in here. Aninterrogation room of some kind, but the interviewee wasnoncompliant.
Leandra had an animalistic look in her eyesas she elbowed people in the face, whirling about. “Hey!” I yelled,but only she turned to look at me. The relief on her face waspalpable.
I tugged on my magic, reaching for theplants that had been strewn about the foyer. The mayoral council’sversion of a SWAT team tripped over themselves as vines snakedbetween their legs, targeting ankles. Leandra pushed past people toget to me and gripped my forearm. “You came for me,” she said.
“Run.”
I yanked Leandra back toward the forest. “Wecan hide in my lair!” she shouted. “What are you doing?”
“The Woods Pack will give you shelter! Theyowe you a blood debt for Melanie!” It had occurred to me when I wasthere that the reason they didn’t try to charge her with anythingand didn’t talk about Leandra to me when I was investigatingMelanie wasn’t some big werewolf secret—they owed her. Big time.And now they were going to deliver on that.
There were sounds of pursuit now, even asiren—had they gotten the human police involved? “The lair would besafer!” she shouted between labored breaths. My thighs were on firefrom all the running but I didn’t stop, the grass pulsing at myfeet almost subconsciously as though to take some of the pressureoff and increase my speed.
I wasn’t as confident as her that thevampires would respect her lair so much that they wouldn’t golooking for her there. They’d followed her to Faerie, after all,hadn’t they? Along with witches, and werewolves.
But notthesewerewolves.
Branches smacked against my arms throughdenim as we entered the woods. I collapsed against a tree, chestheaving. “Come out!” I shouted. “Come the fuck out!”
“They’re not going to shelter me,” Leandrasaid. “They don’t owe me anything. I didn’t even help thegirl.”
“Didn’t you though?”
“If I had, I’d be a corpse too.” Leandratook a moment to splash her face in the pond and wiped it with herbare hands. Her eyelashes clumped together, cheeks turning red withthe sudden cold of it.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you killed MattRivera during that fight?” I asked, picking myself back up. “HELLO?WOLFY WOLFY?” I shouted into the woods.
