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

before turning on his heel and storming off down the hall.
    “And bring me back a fizzy drink,” he called after James.
    “What kind?” James called over his shoulder.
    “Somethin’ other than Coke,” Damian called back before turning toward me. “I’m Damian Corkoran by the way, and that there ball of piss and vinegar—” he said as he jabbed his thumb in James’ direction. “—is me little brother James.”
    “That’s great, but why exactly are two Protectorate from Kaigan Midora hanging outside the hotel of an Karalian arius ?”
    “Because that arius of yours sure gets herself in a whole fecking lot of trouble, sahavi .”
    It was a completely true statement about Nualla, but still…
    “Why would the Karalian Embassy need to pull in Protectorate from another region?” I asked suspiciously.
    “’Cause apparently yours’ in a bit of a desperate state.”
    I jerked my head back as if I had been slapped. It wasn’t like we had tried to keep the facts secret, but still I hadn’t expected someone to throw it in my face, either.
    The sad truth of it all was that a good portion of those who had died in the last attack had been Protectorate, because one of the devices that had gone off had been in their facility. So when the doors had sealed shut, it had locked them in a poisonous prison they had had no hope of ever escaping. Frankly, Shawn was lucky as hell that him and the others in academy training had been away from The Embassy doing a field exercise, or they’d all be dead.
    Damian looked at me, and then sighed heavily. “Look, that wasn’t said to make you feel like a pile o’shite. Trust me, sahavi , if I wanted to start a row with ya, you’d know.”
    I considered him for a moment, and decided to let it go. “So what was all that about?” I asked as I jerked my head toward the direction James had gone.
    “You mean James?” Damian asked as he looked in the direction I had indicated then back at me.
    “Yeah.”
    “Oh, that be about some wanker posting snaps of you getting off with the Arius,” he said with a hint of a mischievous smile.
    My eyebrows shot up, and my mouth hung open. “ Excuse me ?”
    Damian looked at me curiously before some kind of realization crossed his face. “Wait, ah, what is it you Karalian’s say? Oh, right, ‘making out.’”
    I ran my hands down my face. “Yeah, Nualla mentioned that. Just how widespread are they?”
    “The snaps?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, mostly they seem to be on that cheeky girl’s mag. But, ah, if that brother of yours doesn’t know about you and her, might be good to tell him before he sees those snaps. Because blood ain’t gonna do nothing to stop him busting your dial.”

Screw You, Christmas
    Thursday, November 1st

    PATRICK

    “I t’s barely past Halloween and they already have the damned Christmas decorations up,” Travis said with a scowl as he glared at the workers erecting the giant fake tree and other holiday decorations in Union Square.
    I looked across the square to where a workman was trying to shoo away pigeons from a palm tree so he could string white twinkle lights through it before I went back to my burrito. Lunch in Union Square; part of Travis’ not-so-subtle new campaign to get me out of the apartment.
    “Travis, they put them up the same day every year.”
    “That doesn’t make it right,” he grumbled before taking a sip of his soda.
    “So they like to set them up early, who the hell cares? It’s just to get people in the holiday spirit. What’s wrong with that?”
    He didn’t answer me, in fact, when I looked back at him he was looking at a discarded candy wrapper that was stuck to the cement with gum.
    “Wait, you can’t seriously hate Christmas. Who the fuck hates Christmas? It’s Christmas, ” I asked in disbelief as I set my drink down on the polished black granite step.
    “I have a damn good reason,” Travis replied sourly, still not looking at me.
    “Oh really ?” I asked dubiously.