The Outcast by Calle J. Brookes Page A

imposing, the older male looked almost evil. The crowd around them hushed.
    Nalik had always worn power well, but as a Laquazzeana he was downright terrifying. Did the other male know it?
    One look at the scarred face and Marcos suspected Nalik did know. And took great enjoyment out of it.
    A woman squealed his cousin’s name and the crowd parted for her. The beautiful girl that he had spoken with before. She too was Laquazzeana? How had it happened?
    Aureliana had died to become one; had this girl? A woman stepped through the ether next, leading the first group through. Portkeys could dissolve the boundaries between realms, but they were not overly large. Huge amounts of people could not use them at once; smaller parties would come through at a time.
    This woman was old, powerful, and when he looked closer it was obvious she was damaged in some way physically.
    Aureliana stepped closer and put a hand on Lana’s shoulder. “That is Eaudne. She is the one who may have the answer to the dark sorcery that plagues you, little sister. She is skilled in sorcery, and in the protection against it. We will speak to her soon, I am sure.”
    Lana was trembling in his arms. He strongly suspected that if he didn’t keep a good hold of her she’d bolt back inside the monstrosity of a castle. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I will be with you, always. And that mean looking bastard there—that’s a cousin of mine. He might look like he could eat demons for breakfast, which he probably can, but he’s a softie on the inside. Mostly. Look at him, them.”
    He hoped she saw what he did.
    The young girl, he didn’t even know her name, had her arms wrapped around Nalik’s neck and he was holding her like he’d never want to leave her again. It was very obvious the two weren’t just mates, they were lovers. The kind the word was meant to describe. The kind he wanted to be with the female in his arms. “Look at how he looks at her. ”
    She nodded and he felt the red hair brush against his chin. “He loves her.”
    Aureliana must have heard. “He doesn’t just love her, he adores her. They went through so much to be together. Many of us have. But it is worth it, brother. I would not trade an instant of what happened to me if it meant that I never found my mate.”
    Heavy words to think about it.
    More people crowded through the portkey. Marcos whistled low. His father hadn’t changed much, had he? He looked a great deal like Aodhan, but it was obvious he had not lost any of the arrogance that he had always possessed. The old man looked around the courtyard with obvious disdain.
    That attitude would end up getting the old man’s ass kicked. Marcos would pay good money to watch just that. “There’s our father.”
    “You look like him. A little.”
    “I suppose I do. More is the pity. Can’t stand the man.”
    “Why?” She looked up at him. He couldn’t help himself—he dropped a kiss on her nose. Her cheeks flushed, and she shivered.
    His attention was fully on her; damn the old man, and all the others around them.
    He’d found his mate. Nothing else mattered but that.
    Marcos’s sister had one hand on his shoulder, the other patted her small son’s back. Aodhan stood at Marcos’s left. For a moment he was glad he wasn’t facing the old bastard alone. Not that he felt fear or uncertainty; what he felt was solidarity.
    Their father walked toward the dais where the high king waited. Adrik Adrastos deigned to look at none that he considered lesser than himself. Even his children.
    “Does he know, I wonder, about you, Auri?” Marcos smiled at his sister.
    The expression she turned on him was one of pure wickedness. “Not that I know. And I’ve told Ren and my brother-in-law they aren’t to say anything, yet. I want to have a bit of fun.”
    “Our grandfather’s people come next.” Aodhan’s words were more serious than Aureliana’s.
    “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.” Marcos did not know who he