The Marked

Chapter Seven

I spent the rest of the day with Anise, and even though I had her company to enjoy I had lost the company of another. I hadn't seen Thane since I woke up and from what I knew he wasn't even near the village. At one point I was worried about his absence but I knew he could handle himself.

"Violet?" Anise pulled me from my thoughts once again. I shake my head clear,

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"When are you leaving?" she asks.

"Soon. I'll know more when Thane returns,"

"At least we all know you'll be safe with him," she says quietly. I could sense her sorrow. She had lost her her sister, her home, her mother, and now she was losing me.

"What makes you say that?"

"He's kept you safe more than once. During the attack and when you were asleep,"

"It's his job. He's suppose to keep me safe and return with me to his realm,"

"Do you think you'll be return here soon?"

"I'm not sure?" I say truthfully. There was so much to do and so much to still take in and learn.

"Violet!" I hear Maev's voice and look down.

"Thane must be back," I mumble. We both get up and walk out of the small hut. I saw both Thane and Maev standing and talking quietly. Thane looks over at me and they stop talking.

"What is it?" I ask.

"We're leaving tonight," he says gruffly. I feel Matthias weave between my legs and I look down at him. He jumps onto my shoulders, and makes himself comfortable.

"I thought we were waiting until Melody's burial?"

"There's been a change of plans," he says, handing me my bag. Anger brewed within me and he knew he could tell how I felt. That had been my only request. I wanted to wait til after the burial that would take place tomorrow. "I'm sorry Violet, but we have to. Marcus has left this realm now and I don't know where his next target is. We have to go," I take in a shaky breath.

He was right. If Marcus was on the move we needed to find out where he was and avoid anymore bloodshed. "Fine. Just give me a few minutes," I say curtly. I turn back around and take Anise back into the hut.

"Lumen," I mumble as I dump the contents of the bag out onto the ground.

"What are you doing?" she asks me. I wave her down and she kneels next to me. I hand her two bottles of swift.

"Emergency only," I tell her sternly. She nods, "Don't tell anybody else that you have it,"

"I won't," she promises. I put the rest of the bottles in my bag along with my small kit of healing herbs and a few other random potions that may or may not come in handy in the future. I glance at the book that I forgot I had and debate about wether or not I should bring it. I sigh, and put it in the bag.

We both stand up and stare at each other. I hug her tightly. I didn't know when I would see her again, but I knew it would be a long time before I did. "Stay safe," I whisper.

"And you do the same," she says. I give her a sad smile and walk back out. I was surprised when it wasn't just Thane and Maev. The rest of the witches came out to see us off. I smiled at all of them, grateful to see that so many people would care about my absence.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away quickly. I needed to stay strong. "Goodbye Violet," Maev says as she embraces me. "I have faith in you," she whispers to me. This was harder than I thought it would be. Maev was like a mother to me and leaving my family behind was leaving me with a terrible feeling.