Fate Forsaken by Chauntelle Baughman

you prepare the coffee? I’m sure they would both like to freshen up after such a long journey.”
    Rho shot him a grateful smile. “You read my mind.”
    He winked. “Nah, I’m just gifted with reading emotions.”
    Good to know.
    Lukas led them to a room only a few feet off the living area and shoved the heavy wooden door open. “This shall be your bedroom. I hope you don’t mind sharing.” He pointed to a door on the far wall. “The restroom is through there. I’m afraid you must share with your friends. Do forgive the undersized home.”
    “Nothing to forgive, Lukas.” Eldon shook his head. “We’re just grateful for a place to stay.”
    Lukas bowed forward slightly then left the room, shutting the door behind him. Rho flopped onto the bed headfirst. Rubbing her face against the soft comforter, she closed her eyes and breathed in the foreign smells.
    “Are you feeling okay?”
    Rho’s eyes popped open to find Eldon hovering at the edge of the bed.
    “I’m just tired,” she mumbled into the soft material.
    His eyes narrowed. “You slept nearly the whole plane ride.”
    “I know, but it wasn’t good sleep. It was airplane sleep.” What a half-truth. Sure, she’d slept hard. But she definitely hadn’t slept well. She’d been preoccupied with nightmares about the Council for the entire trip.
    She hated the idea of lying to Eldon, and omitting this kind of information was a lie, no matter what she told herself. Thing was, she couldn’t bear to bring any more bad news to the table. Not when he already had so much on his plate worrying about her. She could see the concern in his face every day.
    He shook his head as if dismissing a negative thought before turning to grab her back from the doorway. “So what do you think of Paris?”
    “I love it.”
    His light laugh filled the air. “You’ve barely seen it.”
    “I’ve loved everything I’ve seen. That’s enough for me.”
    Eldon lifted the bag and set it on the end of the bed before unzipping it.
    “How long do you think we’re going to be here, anyway?” Rho asked.
    “Well, I’m not sure.” Zip. Zip. Zip. “Preshea and Tim are supposed to meet us at nightfall. They slept most of the day, but I think they went to pick up some food.”
    “Do we have any plans while we’re here?”
    “Nothing written in stone.” He pulled out four pairs of jeans and carried them to the wardrobe across the room. “Although we are going to meet with a friend of mine tonight.”
    She frowned. “I thought we were meeting up with Tim and Preshea.”
    “We are. And then we’re splitting up.”
    “Why?” That plan made no sense. “We need to go after that Kamen.”
    He shook his head and pointed a finger toward her arm. The one with the massive green fae mark and the death symbol that looked like a Greek letter theta. “Not until we get that looked at.”
    “Seriously? You’re taking me to the doctor chick tonight ?” Jess was the best in the west and she hadn’t been able to help in the slightest. Unless they had some medical ninja on this side of the pond, Rho wasn’t getting her hopes up.
    “She’s not a doctor; she’s an emulator,” he said.
    She snorted. “You magick movers have a fancy name for everything.” Healers, earth magick, ley line magick, it was all the same to her: scary as hell.
    “Our gifts are widespread. Being a mover just means we’ve been touched with a gift.”
    She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. After a moment, she asked, “So explain to me what you want her to do, exactly?”
    “Emulators can trace magick. I’m hoping she can map your mark.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “If she can see what Rhyannon used to create the mark, we may be able to unravel and remove it.” He removed a stack of her dark, long-sleeved shirts from her bag, eyeing her as he spoke.
    “Eldon.” She met his eyes and couldn’t help but be filled with a strange sadness. He wanted so badly to save her, but he was so