Marked by Power (The Marked Series Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Marked By Power

  Cece Rose and G. Bailey

  Contents

  Marked by Power

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  The End…for now…

  About the Authors

  About the Authors

  Other Titles by Cece Rose

  Other Titles by G. Bailey

  Marked by Power

  Cece Rose and G. Bailey

  Copyright © 2017 Cece Rose & G. Bailey

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  For the flock, because without the flock this book collaboration would never have happened. <3

  Prologue

  The dim lighting in the room does nothing to hide the predatory look on his face as he stalks around me, moving in a circle. I keep trying to move with him, to keep my eyes on him and my back away, but he’s just too quick. He shoots flames to my left, and I jump to my right, narrowly avoiding the hit.

  I try to counter with air, calling on my mark. I aim low, hoping to strike him off balance. He blocks my attack with a simple swipe of his hand. A cool jet of water flows from his right hand; he doesn’t aim it at me, but at the floor. I stare at him in confusion, when suddenly the water begins to cool and freeze over. I struggle not to slide across it. I lift my left hand and command fire, using fire’s heat to melt the ice. The steam creates a wall between us. I try to use it as a screen to attack, but he simply uses his air ability to clear his vision again. I back up a few steps to keep out of reach, but he pounces, crossing the space between us. Within seconds I’m pinned down onto the blue mat by his weight. I struggle to get loose, completely forgetting to use my magic in order to assist me.

  “Miss Crowe,” he whispers in my ear softly, his deep voice sending shivers right through me.

  “Kenzie,” I mumble.

  “What?” he asks.

  “Please call me Kenzie,” I whisper.

  “Miss Kenzie Crowe,” he utters softly, his cool breath against my neck making me shiver.

  “Yes?” I whisper, looking up, and catching the heated look in his green eyes.

  “You would be dead six times over if I was really trying.”

  Chapter 1

  Kenzie

  Today is the first day of the rest of my life, my initiation into the marked academy. I glance around at all the other seventeen-year-olds dressed in traditional white, as we walk across the rocks. Most look excited, a few nervous, and one even looks a little bored, but I’m calm. I’ll be happy whether I get one power, eleven, or any of the numbers in-between. I feel a hand slip in mine, and as I look around to see Kelly, I smile at her.

  “Aren’t you nervous?” Kelly asks.

  “Nope. It doesn’t matter what happens. I’ve just got to last three years in this school, and then I’m back to the plan. It’s hard to be nervous when you’re not invested,” I answer softly, aware of the quiet around us, and not wanting my voice to echo in the darkness of night.

  “I am,” she whispers. “What if I only get one? My dads will be so disappointed. Mum will be happy with whatever, but those two, they just have so many expectations,” she adds. I frown. I know her dads have always been pushing Kelly to be a high achiever, but seeing her worry like this makes me glad that my own fathers only want me to be happy. The three of them have always shown me support in whatever I want to do, and my mum is the same.

  “It’ll be fine, Kells, I promise,” I reply, squeezing her hand tightly. She shoots me a grateful smile, and then her eyes widen as we reach the cave entrance. The entrance is considerably large for a cave and is mostly filled with water, but for a narrow, uneven ledge that runs along one side.

  One by one, we file onto the ledge in alphabetical order, walking slowly and carefully across it. Kelly lets go of my hand reluctantly and slips in behind me, walking so close I can feel her breath on my neck. I’m glad her surname follows mine: Crowe and Curwood, I’d hate to think of her doing this part without me.

  We follow along the trail until I see the people in front of me seemingly vanish into the wall. I trail my fingers along, waiting for the crack I know is meant to be there. The guy directly in front of me steps to the side and vanishes. I follow his steps and feel my fingers leave the wall, finding the gap. I slip through after him and walk in darkness for a moment, until I see where the narrow gap opens up. Torches line the walls, the flames flickering and casting shadows everywhere. I carry on following behind the guy in front, and I hear Kelly following closely behind. The path opens into a large cavernous space. A serene pool of water lies between us and a grand, golden, double door. The doors are covered in the twelve markings of the marked, six on each. There are three people cloaked in black standing in front of the door. One stands to the side by a gong, holding a long striker. Another stands slightly to the other side, gesturing to us all to file into the room. And one stands in front, a long gold chain hanging around their neck, the master of today’s ceremony.

  We all file into rows in front of the water. Once side by side again, I feel Kelly’s hand slip back into mine. We kneel as instructed and wait for the rest to file in. Once we are all waiting, kneeling patiently, the master of the ceremony steps forward.


  “Welcome, new students, to The Marked Academy. One by one your names will be called, and you shall enter the water. The water here is all the way from Ariziadia, and will activate your dormant powers. You are to submerge to receive your marks at the sound of the gong. Once blessed by the water, you shall declare how many markings you received, before passing through the doors. However, if you are not blessed by the water, you must leave immediately. Do you all understand?”

  A mixture of affirmative answers and head nods roll across the room as we indicate our understanding. I feel Kelly’s hand squeeze mine tighter, the worry of not being blessed clearly getting to her.

  “We shall begin,” the ceremony master says. I can feel the tension in the room as everyone stares forward, waiting for the blessings to begin.

  “Jacob Addison,” the robed figure to the left calls, their deep voice carrying across the otherwise silent room. The guy kneeling on the front row furthest to the left stands and makes his way to the pool of water. His hunched shoulders are the only sign of his concern as he slowly wades through the water till he reaches the centre and stops, nervously looking around. I count my blessings that I’m not first. The pressure of going before everyone else must be overwhelming.

  The robed figure to the right bangs the striker against the gong, and Jacob submerges himself in the water, going completely under. We all watch and wait with bated breath for him to rise. After what feels like forever, he emerges, spluttering and his hands patting against several parts of his body. He must be counting his marks.

  “How many markings?” the deep voice calls.

  “Seven,” Jacob replies. He looks around and catches the looks of who I assume to be friends, giving them a thumbs up, before wading the rest of the way across the water. He walks up and past the robed figures before slowly pushing the grand-looking door open and stepping through, the door closing softly behind him.

  “Joshua Allen,” the robed figure calls, wasting no time in continuing.

  The next guy stands and makes his way into the water. The gong sounds, he submerges, and then emerges again.

  “How many markings?” the robed man asks.

  “Four,” Joshua answers, his voice wavering over the simple word. Without looking back, he crosses through the water and walks up past the robed figures, and leaves through the golden door as the guy before him did.

  “How many more people before us?” Kelly whispers to me softly.

  “Twenty-two,” I whisper back. “Just be glad our surnames don’t begin with Z.” I shoot a smile at her, which she returns nervously. 247 of us needing to be blessed, I’m glad I’m not the robed guys right now. Turning my head, I cast my eyes across to the guy sitting at the back at the far right. Nope. It’s him I am glad not to be, his knees will be aching like hell by the time he gets called.

  I turn my attention back to the ceremony, watching each person stand, as they are called and step into the water. They all receive marks; the lowest three and the highest earning ten. The one with ten gets some impressed looks from other students, who are kneeling and waiting. As I watch Liam Cartwright walk through the large doors on the other side of the water, I take a deep breath.

  “Mackenzie Crowe.”

  Despite expecting it, I freeze when my name is called. I wasn’t feeling nervous before, but the water suddenly looks so much more daunting. With so many still in here watching, I feel the pressure mount. What if I only get one? It doesn’t matter so much to me if I don’t have powers, but others may think less of me for it, and I have to put up with these people for the next three years.

  What if I stand in the water and have nothing, nada. If I’m not marked, what would happen then? It’s not as if that is common, but it’s been known to happen; I wouldn’t be the first. Not marked, not human, but unmarked. The unmarked are born of a marked line, but not deemed worthy of power. The ultimate failure in the eyes of my people.

  I gulp as I stand, straightening my shoulders as I walk the short distance to the water. The water is completely still, not a ripple in sight. I dip my toe in first, feeling the cold shoot straight into me, chilling me to my bones. I cast a glance back at Kelly. She shoots me an encouraging smile and mouths something at me, but I can’t make out what. I turn back, looking straight at the door ahead, and step into the water.

  I wade in until about waist deep and in the centre of the pool. I look up above, the gap in the ceiling of the cave letting the moonlight in. The glow of the full moon is strangely comforting. The gong sounds, and I submerge a second after, letting the icy-cold water cover me, closing my eyes as my head goes under. I feel the chill of the water make me shiver, and I start to wonder how I will know I have been blessed or not, when I feel a burn on my left ankle. That’s one. Another on my right hip. That’s two.

  Fuck my ribs! I clutch my ribs with my hands as a burn starts there as well. And then suddenly, pain strikes across my body in several places all at once. The water now feels hot, not cold. I pull myself upright, so I’m standing, shaking slightly. I look down at myself and try to make a count of all the marks, using pain as an indicator of the ones below clothing.

  Both ankles, both thighs, both hipbones, my ribs, two on my back, both wrists, and I feel a burn on the back of my neck. Wait, how many is that? I do a mental count. Twelve. That’s got to be wrong. I count again. A throat clears drawing my attention to the hooded figures, knowing I need to announce my markings. I try to count again, coming up with the same answer, twelve. How is that possible?

  “Miss Crowe?”

  “Tw-twelve,” I stutter quietly.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Twelve,” I repeat more clearly. “I have twelve marks.”

  Whispers start around the room. It doesn’t take long for the volume to rise, and for it to become shouting. Twelve marks, it’s impossible.

  I can hear people yelling things like “liar,” “deceit,” and “check her” as I swallow and slowly make my way across the rest of the pool. I stand before the robed elders, waiting for them to allow me to pass and enter The Academy.

  One of the figures steps toward me and holds out their hands, palm up, requesting my own. I place my hands in theirs and they turn my hands over and inspect the two markings on my wrists. The symbol of flames on one, and water on the other. They release them and twirl their fingers, asking me to turn around. I do as they say, facing the other students who are waiting for their own initiation to begin. I feel fingers lightly brush my thick, dark hair out of the way and then trace over the marking on my neck. I shiver from the gentleness of the touch.

  “I don’t need to see anymore,” the man’s voice says quietly. “This is the twelfth marking on your neck. I’ve never seen anyone wear this mark. I believe what you say is true.”

  I release a breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding. At least, he isn’t going to make me strip in front of most of my classmates on the first day. Now, that would have been embarrassing.

  “Continue into the school, Miss Crowe. We will speak with you once the ceremony is over,” he says it softly, so the words don’t carry.

  I nod my head and slip past him, eager to get away from all the eyes watching me. I reach the large door and push, it opens far more easily than I’d expected. I walk through and allow the door to close behind me, cutting off the stares. Just as the door is about to close, I hear them call Kelly’s name.

  Chapter 2

  Kenzie

  Twelve marks. I have twelve marks, and the twelve powers that go with them. How did this happen? I’ve never heard of anyone having twelve marks before. The highest number of marks I’ve heard about was a guy who got eleven last year. He was a hero around my community for months; everyone was talking about him. I try not to think of anything more and let my mind circle around the facts, as I walk up the dozens of high steps to another pair of big doors. I push open the doors to a large hallway, and I shut them behind me. Shivering from the cold, as my wet dress sticks to me, my long hair drips water ont
o the floor. Every drop echoes as it hits the ground in the otherwise silent hallway. I move quietly down the corridor, hating how my shoes sound squishy against the shiny, pristine floor.

  “Here,” a woman says, making me jump as she steps out of the shadows at the side of the hallway. I can’t see what she looks like as she has a black cloak on, and the large hood is covering her face. She hands me a folded, black cloak much like the one she is wearing, and I happily take it from her as I’m freezing.

  I pull the cloak around my shoulders and pull the hood up, still cold but not shivering as badly now that I’m under the thick material. The woman steps back, mixing into the shadows again. Probably hiding to freak the new students out for fun; I know I would.

  The corridor is surprisingly modern, nothing like I would expect an ancient manor on an island to look like. Modern chandeliers hang from the ceiling above me, casting a soft glow. The white walls are pristine and dark-wood floors look newly polished. The walls are covered in a mixture of ancient artifacts. There is everything from a giant sword, to what I’m guessing is a fish hook. There is also a strange looking, massive claw in a glass box. What could that be from? All along the wall are weapons, paintings, and various other things. I’d have to come take a better look at the other objects some time.