Immortality Stolen (The Mortal One Series Book 2) by Shannon Bell Page A

marriage?”
    I shook my head. “It wasn’t like that.”
    “Then explain it to me.”
    I closed the hotel room door behind me and started down the hall.
    Olivier caught up to me, grabbed my hand, and spun me around to face him. “Dylan.”
    I searched his deep brown eyes. “What?” I was close to sobbing and didn’t want to deal with this right now.
    “Tell me.”
    “He needed to make me legal in Italy and wanted to make sure my name was changed so that people from my old life in Florida couldn’t find me. So he created marriage documents.”
    He stood there shaking his head. “There were other ways that he could have changed your name and legalized you as a citizen in Italy without forcing you into marriage.”
    “Maybe. But that’s what was done. I’m fine with it.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Sorry,” I said. “But it’s really not your call.”
    His posture was stiff and he marched down the hall, barely saying anything more to me as we got into the elevator.
    “How far is Charlie’s Beach?” I asked as we walked into the lobby.
    “Keep your voice down,” he snapped. “It’s less than a five minute walk from here.”
    Fine . I fell into step with him, walking out of the hotel room and taking a left.
    We walked in silence, and as Olivier had promised, it was only a few minutes away. At this time of night, the vendor booths were closed down. Only a few people wandered around, coming out from the U-bahn stations in the middle of the road.
    Charlie’s Beach was nothing more than a tourist trap across from the famous Checkpoint Charlie. A vibrant sign hung above a white fence with a yellow cartoon sun with the words: Charlie’s Beach. It was closed for the night, so the gates were closed. Olivier casually leaned against the gate and signaled for me to do the same. He knocked on the gate lightly and someone from behind opened it for us.
    The beach was more just a small area with sand and lawn chairs. There were more vendor booths along the side, along with a souvenir shop, but they were closed as well. I didn’t see who was responsible for opening the gate, so I clung close to Olivier.
    The gate closed as quickly as they had been opened. Once closed, a tall blonde-haired man stood in front of it. He had wide shoulders and a wicked scar down the side of his right cheek. If he was going for intimidation, it worked. I took another step closer to Olivier. He reached out and took my hand to settle my nerves, which I was thankful for.
    “Olivier, welcome to Berlin,” the man spoke.
    “Thank you. Christoph, this is Dylan,” Olivier said. He made some basic introductions and we walked over to one of the wooden picnic benches to have a seat.
    “Gregorio is going to join us in a few minutes. He should be here momentarily,” Christoph said, talking to Olivier but staring at me.
    I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if I should or what should be said. To avoid complicating matters, I just kept my mouth shut.
    “Gregorio is the necromancer, right?” Olivier asked.
    Christoph nodded. “You’re mortal,” he then announced.
    My eyes widened and I nodded.
    “And she is under my protection,” Olivier added before he got any ideas.
    “I wasn’t implying anything. She isn’t marked by you, though.”
    “No. She is marked by another.”
    “Does he know that she is with you?”
    “He does.”
    I took a deep breath. I hated when conversations were being had about me when I was sitting in front of them.
    They must have taken note of my uneasiness because Olivier apologized and Christoph began asking me questions about who marked me and how I met Olivier.
    Olivier gave me a quick warning look, which I took as a cue for me not to share too much.
    I waved my hand and announced that I had met Olivier when I was in Paris and that the person who marked me was the second in charge for the sovereign over Paris and Florence. I didn’t mention any names and wouldn’t unless Olivier told me to. I didn’t know this