Marked by Destruction (The Marked Series Book 3) Read online

  Marked by Destruction

  The Marked Series

  Cece Rose

  G. Bailey

  Marked by Destruction © 2018 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.

  Cover Design by Christian Bentulan - Covers by Christian

  Created with Vellum

  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

  Epilogue

  Authors’ Note

  About the Authors:

  Other Titles by Cece Rose

  Other Titles by G. Bailey

  Please continue reading for a short sample of Black Spells & Twisted Souls by Cece Rose… Coming July 2018.

  Every Witch for Herself

  Please continue reading for a short sample of Runes of Truth by G. Bailey…

  Runes of Truth

  For everyone who stuck with us, and followed Kenzie’s story to the end.

  Prologue

  Mackenzie

  “Please don’t kill me,” I whisper. “I haven’t done anything to you.” In response to my plea, the man brings the silver dagger closer to my throat, his almost grey eyes staring into mine, seeming to assess my every movement.

  “Why shouldn’t I kill you, Mackenzie Crowe? You opened a portal to my world, risking not only Earth, but Ariziadia too. We had peace, but you broke that peace by trespassing here.” he asks me, but I feel like he doesn’t want an answer. The marked here have found us guilty without asking, but I will give him a reason anyway.

  “If you kill me, no one on Earth or Ariziadia will be able to stop my father,” I say honestly, and he narrows his eyes at me.

  “Are you threatening me with your family? If they come here to avenge you, I will simply kill them all,” he bites out, a light growl slipping through his words. I try to stay calm and not think about what this marked can shift into.

  “I’m not threatening you, only telling you what will happen. He won’t come here to avenge me; he wouldn’t care if you killed me. If anything, you would be helping him,” I say, and I see the confusion cloud over his eyes.

  “My father was the one that forced me to open the portal. He was the one behind all of this. He will not stop until he controls Earth. What do you think he will do after he has all of Earth in his control and a marked army with boosted powers from the open portal?” I ask, swallowing a little as the pressure of the dagger against my throat makes it harder and harder to speak. The leader doesn’t say anything, just waiting for me to continue.

  “He will come here and destroy you. I can stop that, with help from my guys. Now it’s your choice,” I say, keeping my eyes locked on his and not backing down. I won’t plead for his mercy anymore. Marks or no marks, I am stronger than that. He goes to say something when the door slams open behind me. The leader pulls me to his chest, turning me so I can face the open doorway just as Mr Daniels, the twins, East and Enzo walk in.

  “Kill or even harm her, and we will burn your world to the ground,” Mr Daniels say calmly, but any person would be a fool not to hear the promise of destruction laced in his words.

  Chapter 1

  Mackenzie

  Waking up shouldn't hurt this damn much, I think to myself as I open my eyes and look above me. The blue sky has sheens of purple and green crossing over it, and there isn't a cloud in sight. The red sun hangs low in sky, leaving me feeling warm despite not having any blankets or even a jacket.

  I sit up, looking around at the dark thick grass patch I seem to have landed in. The green field is relatively small, and surrounded by strange, thick trees. They're taller than any trees I've seen before and have leaves hanging down that are bigger than me.

  Spotting Enzo across the field of green, right on the edge of the tree line, I try and pull myself up. As I stand, my ankle immediately gives out, sending me right back onto my ass. I cry out in pain as I clutch it to me, pulling up my dress to assess the damage. After slowly rolling up the dark leggings I still have on under the dress, my eyes burn with tears as I look at the bruised mess my body is in. Not only is my ankle completely bruised a horrible shade of dark purple, but my entire leg seems to be littered with bruises and scrapes. I take a moment to look over the rest of my body, and find that the rest of me doesn't appear to be in great shape either.

  “Enzo?” I croak out, but it's so quiet he doesn't even stir. Clearing my throat, I try again. “Enzo!” I shout, swallowing after to clear the dry prickling feeling in my throat. I could really use some water right now. How long was I even out?

  I hear a groan coming from his direction.

  “Enzo!” I shout again, but then I can't stop the coughing fit that follows. I press my hands into the grass, trying to just ride it through. A hand pats my back, and I roll back over, breathing a sigh of relief as I look back into Enzo's dark eyes staring down at me.

  “Take it easy, Crowe. You'll cough your lungs up at this rate,” he says dryly.

  “You're okay,” I state, looking over him and see he looks mostly unscathed despite his slightly torn clothing. He shrugs.

  “I wasn't. I healed myself when I first woke up, but I was so wrecked I passed back out before I could make my way to you. I'm sorry, I should have crawled over to fix you first,” he says guiltily as he sits down beside me and places his hands on my ankle.

  “No, I'm glad you healed yourself first. It's not like I could have,” I mutter, looking down at my unmarked skin. I feel his hands warm up as the healing energy from his mark flows through me. A stab of jealousy strikes me at the knowledge that I can't do that anymore. With no healing mark, I have no power to heal anyone. With no marks at all, I’m completely powerless to help anyone, or even defend myself. How is this possible?

  “Shit, I barely noticed. They haven't re-appeared?” he questions as he runs his dark eyes all over me, as if wanting to check for himself. “I noticed when they disappeared during the fight, but I just assumed they'd come back once you didn't...”

  “Once I didn't die?” I supply for him, as he trails off, and then I feel the tears start to trail down my cheeks. Ryan. How could I even let it slip my mind for a second, much less the minutes I've been awake?

  “Hey, don't cry. It's okay, you're okay. I’ve got you,” he mumbles awkwardly, as he pulls me onto his lap and wipes at my tears with his sleeve.

  “He's not okay, Ryan's dead. Alaric killed
him...how could he?” I question as the tears continue to flow. I feel the lump in my throat forming, and I feel a headache setting in, but none of that matters.

  “Shh, it's okay, just breathe,” Enzo says, but his voice is lying. Even he doesn't believe it's okay, nothing is okay. We're trapped on a different world, lost from everyone else but each other, and Ryan is dead. My brother is dead, and my father is the one who killed him.

  “It's n-not...” my words are lost in my sorrow, drowned by my cries and the shaking of my body as my entire body racks with sobs against him.

  “Get your shit together, Crowe. Breathe. Gods, I'm not good at this...” he trails off. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Kenzie, listen to me. Crying won't change it, and right now we need to focus if we're going to have a chance at saving everyone else we love. We need to find the others, and then find a way home. And then, we're going to get that son of a bitch and make him pay for what he did. He's going to pay for hurting you, and for taking Ry's life. I promise you that; we won't rest until it's done,” he says.

  For some reason, whereas softness and reassuring usually makes me want to cry harder, a goal makes the tears stop. It's as if someone cut off whatever supply was fuelling them and left in their place a burning drive to make Alaric pay. I gather my sorrow into a box and shut it, knowing that I can deal with my pain after Alaric is stopped. I swallow thickly and pull myself from Enzo's arms.

  “He can't get away with this,” I say, and he nods.

  “He won't.”

  “How long do you think we've been here?” I ask, looking around at the unfamiliar landscape. The trees make me think of pictures of rainforests I've seen, but the strangeness of the green and purple in the sky is a firm reminder that this place is not my home world.

  “I'm not sure. Too long, I'm dying for some food,” he mutters.

  “You're hungry?” I ask incredulously. This really isn't a time for snacks.

  “A guy's gotta eat,” he says with a shrug, but his shinning dark eyes show the real emotion that he hides behind his cool outer facade.

  “Let's find water first,” I say and then freeze. “Is the water even safe to drink in this world?” I question, and I can feel the crease in my forehead as I really begin to feel the gravity of what being on another world could mean. We both stand, and Enzo walks a little toward the tree line.

  “Our ancestors lived here. If they found ways to survive here, so can we. We find water, and then we search for the others. They went through before us, but hopefully they haven't moved far,” Enzo says, and I look around. There's no sign of the others being here whatsoever.

  “Enzo,” I breath, and he looks back at me concerned. “I don't think they landed in the same spot as us. They could be anywhere... Do you have any idea how big Ariziadia is?” I ask. His eyes widen as he too looks around, and sees for himself that there really is no sign of the others.

  “I have no idea. Not a fucking clue.”

  Chapter 2

  East

  “Kells, you need to get up,” I prod gently, but she continues to ignore me, as she stares off into the distance. She hasn’t moved from the edge of the river bank. She was sitting there when I woke up, and she hasn't uttered a word or even acknowledged my or Logan's presence.

  I look back at Logan helplessly, and hold my hands up in defeat. He'd suggested I try and talk some sense into her, saying that I'd known her for years longer and was more likely to succeed. He didn't listen when I tried to insist I'd barely spoken to her over those years. I’d mainly stuck to hanging out with Ryan, and she was always with Kenzie.

  The pain stabs me in my chest as I think about Kenzie and Ryan. Ryan because he's gone, and Kenzie... because I don't know if she is. I want to believe she's okay, that Enzo got her out, but I feel the heaviness of loss in my bones when I picture her face. Even if she's okay, I will probably never see her again, not with her being in a whole different world. We don't know if there are people here, or if there is a way to get home. We could be trapped here forever, just the three of us. I look between Logan and Kelly, seeing the blank expression on Kelly's face, and the heart broken one on Logan's as he's clearly thinking along the same lines as I am. Fuck. I stand and walk over to Logan, pulling him away from Kelly so we can talk.

  “What the hell are we going to do?” I ask.

  “Don't look at me, like, fuck if I know,” he snaps back.

  “We need a plan. We need to find your brother and Daniels. They fell through when we did, but they were too far away to grab onto...” I say, trailing off as Logan's face pales.

  “Do you think they made it through okay? They couldn't have like, gotten lost in between, right?” he questions. I want to tell him that I'm sure they must be here and okay somewhere, but that would be a lie. I have no clue.

  “I don't know,” I answer honestly, and he nods stiffly as he stretches one arm, and then the other across his chest.

  “We need to at least look,” he says, casting his eyes around. To one side of us there are mountains, and to the other, thick trees as far as the eye can see.

  “Which way should we go?” I ask.

  “This way,” Kelly's voice calls. She walks towards the mountains, not slowing at all to give us a chance to discuss our options.

  “Why that way?” I call after her, but Logan has already begun to follow her.

  “I had a vision. We'll find Kenzie this way,” she calls back. Kenzie? I run after Kelly, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around to face me.

  “What do you mean we'll find Kenzie this way?” I ask. She looks at her shoulder, and I let go, stumbling back as I realise how tightly I must have been holding her. I can see red marks where my fingers were gripping her. “Shit, I'm so sorry,” I say quickly, and she waves it off.

  “It doesn't matter. Kenzie will need us. We need to get through these mountains. Just trust me, let’s go,” she says confidently, already turning away and heading in the direction of the mountains once more. Logan moves to step in pace with me.

  “Kenzie's okay,” he breathes out, the relief in his voice rings clear and matches the way I feel.

  “So is your brother, but none of them will be if you two don't hurry up!” Kelly calls back in a chastising tone.

  “What about Daniels and Enzo?” I call, already speeding up as we scramble to follow after her.

  “Enzo is with Kenzie, but I didn't see Mr D in my vision. I'm sorry.”

  “Do you think he's okay?” Logan asks as we finally catch up with her again. Gods, this girl can move quickly when she wants to.

  “I don't know, but I hope he is. Look, we don't have time for all these questions. We need to keep moving, come on,” she says, powering ahead even faster than before. We just about keep up as we trail after Kenzie’s curly-haired blonde best friend. Her determined expression gives us both enough hope to trust in her vision, and we follow her without any more questions.

  Chapter 3

  Kenzie

  “There isn’t anything but trees, and more trees,” I grumble, almost tripping on the vines as we continue to walk through the forest. Enzo grabs my arm, keeping me upright, and then he links his fingers with mine as we keep walking.

  “Wait, I have an idea,” Enzo stops, seeming as breathless and tired as I am. We have been walking for hours, and both of us are getting exhausted. We really need to find some water soon. I look up, spotting a row of mountains on the other side of the forest as Enzo lets go of my hand. If we can make it through the trees to the other side, then we might be able to find water in the mountains. I lean against a tree as Enzo puts his hands on the ground, digging them into the mud.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Using my earth mark to feel for water,” he explains and then closes his eyes. We are both silent as he searches, and I stare up at the sky. The massive, red sun is setting, and it’s getting dark. I can’t see a moon, but I wonder what colour it would be. There are a few stars to be seen, and the sky is a mix
of oranges and purples. It’s stunning, and I still find it amazing that this world really exists.

  “I found something, but it’s underground. Come here,” he stands up, wiping the mud on his trousers. I step into his arms, giving him a confused look.

  “There’s a cavern underneath us, with water. I don’t sense any other life, so it should be safe, but we need to sink down,” he says.

  “Through the earth?” I question.

  “This isn’t earth,” he smirks, holding my head to his chest with his one hand, and then using his earth mark to sink us into the ground. When the mud gets up to my neck, I take a deep breath and close my eyes, feeling it slide all over me. I start to panic after a few moments, but then it stops, and we are falling.

  “Enzo,” I scream, waving my hands around, and then I fall into water. I try to call my marks, on instinct rather than thinking about it, but of course, nothing happens. I swim up, breaking the surface and looking around.

  “Enzo!” I shout, hearing splashing to my right. Three balls of fire float up to the top of the cavern, lighting it up. I turn around and see Enzo swimming over to me. When he gets close, he pulls me to him tightly.