Elevation of the Marked (The Marked Series Book 2) by March McCarron Read Free Book Online Page A

her by the shoulders, and pulled away.  
    “You don’t mean you’re going back to Accord?” Bray asked. “It isn’t safe.”
      “No,” Jo-Kwan said. “I thought I should speak with the local constable. He’ll doubtless have more information.”
    Bray frowned. “I’m not sure that’s advisable. It seems that at least some of the constables have been cooperating with Quade.” She thought of Constable Abbort’s lies at the ball in Accord and her mouth puckered in distaste. “I don’t know that you can trust them.”
    “I appreciate your opinion, Miss Marron, but I think it would be most unfair to condemn all of my country’s officials merely because a few have erred. This is a small town; what are the chances Quade’s influence has reached so far?”
    Bray hoped he was right. She didn’t really fear some small-town law enforcement, anyway. Perhaps it would be better to know for certain, one way or the other, how wide-reaching this problem had grown.
    Heavy thuds echoed down the stair and Ko-Jin joined them, his hair rumpled and braid half undone. He surveyed the office with still-sleepy eyes, his hand gingerly assessing his wound. “What’s for breakfast?”
    “If you head up to the Lamhart house, I’m sure there would be food aplenty,” the doctor said, shooting a stern look in Yarrow’s direction. “I know Mrs. Lamhart would want to see her son.”
    Yarrow’s expression turned sheepish. “I had every intention…”  
    “Why don’t you and Ko-Jin go ahead to your house,” Bray said to Yarrow. “And I’ll go and see the constable with,” she gestured towards the royal siblings, unsure what to call them—was he prince or king? “And then we can meet in town and decide where to go from there.”
    Yarrow rubbed the back of his neck, color blooming in his cheeks. “I thought, maybe, you’d like to meet my—”
    Ko-Jin sighed dramatically. “Fine, I’ll keep an eye on this lot and you two go on.”
    Chae-Na turned to her mother. “But, what about…”
    “We’ll return for her,” Jo-Kwan said as he squeezed his sister’s shoulder.  
    They strode out into the cool morning and the party split, Bray and Yarrow veering away from town.  
    Bray couldn’t help but envy Yarrow his childhood—Glans Heath seemed a rather idyllic little place. They passed quaint shops, a bakery, a cafe. Well-dressed children played with a hoop on the sidewalk, lines of beautiful homes piped chimney smoke into the morning sky.  
    “Are you excited to see your family again?”
    Yarrow laughed nervously. “I don’t rightly know. I’d accepted a long time ago that I’d likely never see them again.” His hands balled into fists and then released. “It’s…I don’t know. But I’m glad you’re with me.”
    Bray took his arm. “They’ll be pleased to see you, I’m sure.”  
    He steered her up the drive of a large, tumbledown home. “I hope you’re right.”
    The color had drained from his face by the time they reached the front door. His hand shook as he raised it and, with his bottom lip between his teeth, rapped the knocker three times.  
    A moment of silence, then the pattering of feet sounded and the door creaked open.  
    A little girl, perhaps eleven or twelve years old, peered up at them. She had brown hair, just the same shade as Yarrow’s, which hung in ringlets around a slim face. “Allon,” she said with a laugh, “why’re you knocking?” Her brow creased as her eyes moved up and down Yarrow’s robes. “Wait. You aren’t Allon.”  
    Yarrow squatted so he could look the child in the eye. “No. I’m your brother Yarrow.”
    “Yarrow?” she repeated, with wide brown eyes. She held out her hand. “I’m Dellia.”
    “Dellia,” Yarrow murmured as they greeted like strangers rather than brother and sister. “You were just a baby when I left.”
    “Who is it, Dell?” a boy asked, appearing at the girl’s side. He was a good head taller than his sister, his youthful