The Other Side of Truth (The Marked Ones Trilogy Book 3) by Alicia Kat Vancil Read Free Book Online

them,” I promised.
    “You’d do that for me?” she asked as her eyes darted up to mine.
    “Nulala, you should know by now that there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
    “Except to stop calling me that.”
    I couldn’t help but smile. “Apparently.”

Bollixed
    Thursday, November 1st

    TRAVIS

    W hen I stepped into the hall and shut the hotel room door behind me, two guys dressed in black were leaning against the wall with pretty heavy illusionary fields up.
    One with dark hair and intensely blue eyes looked up at me and a crooked smirk crept across his lips. He leaned over and nudged a young blond guy next to him who seemed to be nearly dozing off and who couldn’t have been any older than Patrick.
    “You owe me fifty quid, James,” he stated in a heavy accent. Kaigan Midoraian maybe, or Kaigan Kirian.
    The blond guy—apparently named James—just looked at him for a moment before his eyes darted to the hotel room door and then me. His eyes narrowed, and he scowled at me as he pushed off away from the wall.
    “What are you doing here?” James asked viciously in the same accent as the other guy.
    “ Excuse me ?” I asked as I furrowed my brow at him.
    “Why couldn’t you just lay off ‘em, you git? Why couldn’t you just let ‘em be happy?” James spat accusingly as he stomped toward me.
    “What the frak are you—?”
    “Arius Nualla and Patrick Galathea. Why did you have to bollix up everything?” he snarled as he pushed my chest.
    “James, stay easy, gods ,” the dark-haired guy snapped as he pushed away from the wall.
    “No, Damian! I need to know why . Why he was so bloody ill set!” James shouted back at the dark-haired guy.
    “I don’t know who the hell you are, but you don’t know shit about me, or her, or anything,” I said defensively.
    James jerked his head back toward me, eyes alight with anger. “Oh I don’t, do I?” he scoffed as he moved closer to me. “You’re Travis Centrina, Director of Karalia’s Department of Technical Research and Development. Oldest son of Misaki and Joshua Centrina. And you let the Arius get stabbed by a Kakodemoss agent on your watch!” James screamed at me as if the words were blades he could stab through me.
    I froze. The facts surrounding Nualla’s injury hadn’t been made public. Hell, the fact that she had been hurt at all shouldn’t have even made it outside the hospital.
    “How do you know about that?” I asked in a low growl. He didn’t answer. “Who are you, and how the fuck did you find that out?!” I shouted as I slammed him up against the wall, my forearm against his throat.
    “Oi! Lay off, you—” the other guy—Damian—put his hand on my shoulder and I whipped around, clocking him in the jaw with my fist. “—two.”
    I stared at him, and he stared back at me like he wasn’t phased in the least.
    “If the two of you insist on having a row, then go ahead, I ain’t gonna stop ya. But don’t do it in the bloody hall for cryin’ out loud, or everyone and their brother’ll know about what happened to the Arius,” Damian admonished us as he massaged his jaw. “Gods, has anyone ever told ya you punch like a ton of bricks?” he asked me sourly, which was when I noticed a tattoo on his wrist peeking out from beneath his black leather jacket. Eight spokes radiating out in a circle, each spoke ending in an Egyptian lotus.
    “You’re Protectorate?” I stated a bit caught off guard. My eyes darted to the other guy. “You too?”
    “ He just completed the training program, so forgive him for being so feckin’ idealistic,” Damian stated as he let out an exasperated huff.
    I folded my arms across my chest. “What exactly is going on, you two?”
    “You’re bollixin’ up someone’s mar—”
    “James!” Damian snapped sternly. “Shut your gob, and go make sure the hotel guards ain’t coming.”
    “But—”
    “Leg it, James!” Damian roared in an authoritative voice.
    James glared back at him