Page 124 of The Immortal’s Mark

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

Another beat of silence.

Then her gaze flicks upward again, toward the balcony.

“You should be more careful, Desmond,” Charmian says quietly. “Some things aren’t meant to be ignored.”

A warning, not just about me.

But about her fate.

About our connection.

Aside from my brothers, Charmian understands more than all the other Originals how the loss of my One affects me. She’s witnessed my breakdowns. She’s endured my pained wrath.

None of the others can claim the same.

I swallow down the loss threatening to choke me. “I have everything under control.”

The words feel hollow even as I say them.

Her lips press into a thin line. Then, finally, she nods. “Of course, you do.”

She steps past me.

“Just make sure,” she adds, her voice carrying over the noise of the street, “that your control doesn’t cost us everything. The alliance cannot endure another battle to fight.”

I grit my teeth and stand there long after Charmian disappears into the crowd. The weight of her words settling heavily in my chest.

Because the truth is, I don’t have control.

Not when it comes to my One.

And if the others find out she walks the world once more, the rebellion will come for her.

But I can’t let that happen.

I will not survive the loss again.

And if I don’t…neither will the world.

30

DARCIE

Something is wrong.

The thought hits me the moment the task force leaves through the front door, and it lingers into the night, making it nearly impossible to fall asleep.

But sometime in the early hours of the morning, I finally manage to drift off.

Only to be awoken by a loud crash echoing through the house, resonating through the thin walls.

I bolt upright with a gasp.

Anticipation has my heart already racing, my body knowing something bad has happened even before I’m fully awake.