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8. Nicolette
Last Updated:
2021-11-24 20:14:47
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Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 9. Farrow
The princess had been dozing on Caramel for over an hour now. I could tell by the way she would gasp herself awake and jerk upright every time she started to lose her balance and began to topple from her saddle.I knew I should’ve had mercy, called it a night long ago, and set up camp for us. But my quest was half-filled now; I just wanted to get us home so I could drag Sable out of the damn dungeon. Besides, we were still far too close to Donnelly’s castle for my comfort, so I pushed us onward.And she hadn’t protested the grueling pace once.Nicolette was quite the trooper, actually.She hadn’t complained about the continuous, no doubt jarring ride, and I knew she was used to living in luxury and comfort—she’d packed half her damn castle and brought it with her, not to mention her hands had been as soft as silk when I’d helped her onto her horse. She couldn’t be used to such poor conditions. Yet she said nothing.Curious that.What stumped me even more was the chat we’d had ear
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 10. Nicolette
I think Farrow was in shock. Or more likely complete denial.After giving him irrefutable proof that he was indeed my mate, he backed away, gave his head a quick shake as if to clear it, and then said, “We need to set up camp before the sun’s full in the sky.”I let him use his evasion tactic because we had the rest of our lives for him to get used to the idea, and honestly, I was a little worried about him. A dull roar of emotions wafted off him in unrelenting waves. They were jumbled together so tightly I couldn’t distinguish one from the other; I wasn’t even sure if they were mainly positive or negative feelings.I guess he needed a bit of time to process.But his silence bothered me to no end.“Want to know something ironic?” I asked as he pulled a large spool of leather from his pack and then bent to spread it on the ground. Realizing the covering was actually the roof of our tent for the day, I moved to the opposite end as him to help straighten it. When he didn’t answer my
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 11. Farrow
Faith?In a fucking tattoo?The girl really was soft in the head, after all.I sniffed and moodily shifted onto my side, punching at an annoying lump of sand through my bedroll that had been digging into my rib cage for hours. This ridiculous quest just kept getting stranger and stranger, and I had no idea how to deal with it.And all Nicolette had to say was to have faith; it’d all work out.I snorted. What a bunch of codswallop. I had a bad feeling her naïveté was going to land us both in some serious trouble before this was over.So certain of it, in fact, that I’d gotten basically no sleep throughout the day, worried about what was to happen with her.Now, the sun was beginning to tip back toward the horizon, and I knew I should get my tired ass up, wake Nicolette, dole out some rations to eat, and pack away our camp, but I just lay there, trying to devise a plan that saved both her and Sable.For there was no way I could lead this woman into any kind of harm. Innocent kitt
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 12. Nicolette
It was the clicking that roused me.I’d been so tired I couldn’t even remember falling asleep, and I was still deep under when something began to tick and clack directly next to my ear, followed by swishing sounds, like someone sweeping a floor. Then more snicks. Maybe an insect scurrying past.A moment passed before I was able to drag my eyes open and spot blurry dark patches in front of me in the lighter sandy background.I blinked drowsily, still half-asleep.By the time I realized it was a scorpion that had sauntered right up to within a foot from my face, it was too late for me to do anything but scream.So, scream I did. Quite healthily.And that’s when I realized the scorpion wasn’t alone.“Omigod, omigod, omigod!” I screeched, jolting upright and then leaping to my feet, where I danced back on bare tiptoes, only to discover that not only was a horde of scorpions lined up next to my pallet in front of me, but there were more behind me, and to the left and the right as wel
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 13. Farrow
I was jealous.Of some stupid bugs.And what was worse, Nicolette had caught on and called me out on it.Jesus, how humiliating.But damn it all, since the moment we’d left Donnelly together, she’d been nothing but interested in me, trying to learn more about me or tell me about herself, trying to convince me we shared a special bond. And then bam, the terrible-spelling scorpions had come along, and suddenly she was like Farrow? Who’s Farrow?Not that I wanted her to pester me with all that love-mark nonsense. It was just that the abrupt absence of her constant attention had left me feeling forsaken.Okay, maybe forsaken was too dramatic of a word.But she’d just completely stopped talking to me. And this itching, nagging place inside me craved to have some of her attention back.I scraped a hand over my face and groaned aloud. What was this girl doing to me?She trotted up beside me, and my stomach knotted with tension and irritation.And longing. Jesus, I fucking longed for
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 14. Nicolette
Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!An arrow was sticking out of Farrow’s chest, near his left shoulder, just under the collarbone.“Farrow!” I screamed, leaping off Caramel so I could race toward him when he slumped off Mint and landed lifelessly on the ground.When something whizzed past my ear, the wind from its passage dusting my cheek, I realized more arrows were pursuing us.“Bloody bastards,” I hissed, ducking my face and falling to my knees to make myself a harder target to hit.But who the devil would be shooting at us before even finding out if we were threatening or not?Ire beginning to rise over the entire situation, I crawled frantically toward my wounded mate, who was lying supine and gasping as he clutched his arrow’s shaft only for his fingers to fall back limply to his side as if he’d passed out.“Farrow?” I whispered, hovering above him and barely making out his features in the early morning light.Seriously, who could even see well enough to aim bows and arrows at th
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 15. Farrow
The boom came from nowhere. It was so loud it seemed to stir the sand dunes and rattle my teeth. Worried the sky was falling or something equally apocalyptic had happened, I hunkered my shoulders, ducking down to avoid certain death, only to realize the man who’d been attacking me with a raised axe remained frozen, his mouth gaping open in paralyzed shock.I frowned up at him, confused, until blood welled from a minuscule hole that appeared in his forehead.“What the fuck?” his comrade whispered before whirling to gape at me as if I’d caused the calamity. But I just shrugged, equally perplexed.So his wide-eyed stare of horror strayed past me to Nicolette who was still behind me. Seeing her, his gaze immediately narrowed.“You,” he snarled, raising his axe.Before he could charge, though, the explosion came again, just as deafening as the first time. But following this report, the front of the attacker’s tunic bloomed red in the center of his chest. He gaped down in fear, patted h
Last Updated : 2021-11-24Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 16. Nicolette
“Oh God,” I moaned.This felt divine.I tell you, nothing—nothing—felt as good as cleaning in the rocky stream of a small but glorious waterfall after going dirty for nearly a week.Another groan flowed from my lungs as I ran my fingers through my wet hair and rinsed out the scrubbing salts I’d smothered it with. I had used all the salts I’d packed from home, but it was worth it to clean myself.Farrow had rummaged through my clothes before leading me down to the stream so he could pick out appropriate Far Shore garments, as he’d referred to them. So a jewel-blue dress and leather boots awaited me on the shore to change into. But I was hesitant to leave the water just yet. It was simply marvelous here.And cool.The one stream we had at home down in the village of Mandalay was always so warm and temperate. The bracing feel of this water was kind of invigorating and refreshing. It made my nipples harden like fresh berries. After living my entire life in a desert, it was fascinatin
Last Updated : 2021-11-24
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Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance About the Author
Linda writes romance fiction from YA to adult, contemporary to fantasy. Most Kage stories lean more toward the lighter, sillier side with a couple meaningful moments thrown in. Focuses more on entertainment value and emotional impact.Published since 2010. Went through a 2-year writing correspondence class in children’s literature from The Institute of Children’s Literature. Then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, English with an emphasis in creative fiction writing from Pittsburg State University.Now she lives with her hubby, two daughters, cat Holly, and nine cuckoo clocks in southeast Kansas, USA. Farm girl. Parents were dairy farmers. Was youngest of eight. Big family. Day job as a cataloging library assistant.Harry Potter House Gryffindor, Patronus White Stallion, character match Hagrid. Supernatural Team Dean. Game of Thrones Team Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. The Walking Dead Team Daryl. Outlander Team Jamie Fraser. Teen Wolf Team Stiles. Avenger Team Thor...or Hulk (can’t
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 2nd Epilogue
“Mater?”I glanced up from the scroll I was writing on and found Wicket hovering in the entrance of my tent.With a snap from my fingers, the journal popped into the air and then spooled closed into a tight roll before disappearing so it could return to the only kingdom in the Outer Realms that actually contained a public library.High Cliff had always been ahead of the others in academics. Then again, the House of Bjorn, who had reigned over it for hundreds of years, had been the first family to cast off their powers. And it hadn’t taken me long to realize the absence of magic forced one to get creative and use critical thinking to solve problems instead, turning to science, inventions, and industry.Maybe that was why my little world here hadn’t evolved as quickly as I’d hoped it would; there was still too much supernatural interference at work, restricting its progress.Not that I was willing to forego any of my own abilities to help in that regard, mind you. So I couldn’t righ
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance Epilogue
“You want to know what I don’t understand?” Indigo said as he peeled a grumpacker in the seat across from me.Turning my gaze from the window of the carriage I’d been staring out to watch the Far Shore landscape pass by, I lifted my brows in amusement as he kicked back lazily on his cushion and hiked his boots up onto the padded bench next to me.“What’s that?” I asked.“Why…” he wondered, “is a woman who marries a king labeled a queen, but a man who marries a queen a mere prince?”Sending him an odd look, I answered, “You tell me. You’re the one who insisted it had to be that way in the first place.”He scowled in irritation. “Only because that’s how Bison said it’s done on Earth. Or at least how he thinks it goes. Apparently, he’s never followed royal order that closely before.” He wrinkled his nose. “Strange, that.”“Well, we certainly don’t have to follow Earth’s rules,” I decided, “as we’re not earthlings ourselves.”Farrow gasped at such a suggestion. “Yes, we do,” he argu
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 35. Farrow
The Donnellean army arrived two days later. In all actuality, it was fairly anticlimactic.Far Shore soldiers waited at the city limits for them, lining the roadways to provide a royal escort for such honored guests that led their commander straight to the castle’s entrance.Urban Bjorn, leader of the Donnelly troops, looked puzzled and suspicious as hell, glancing around him as if he expected an attack any moment even as he strode forward to meet me, where I stood awaiting his arrival at the door to the throne room. When he recognized who I was, his scowl grew.“You!” he boomed as he grabbed the front of my tunic and yanked me against him so he could snarl directly into my face. “This whole mess is your fault?” He shook me harshly, rattling my teeth. “You fucking punk. I should’ve let Brentley execute you that night Nicolette begged me to save your miserable life.”“Be that as it may,” I offered mildly. “What’s done is done, so…” I lifted a bored eyebrow. “If you’ll kindly release
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 34. Nicolette
So, the headcount in our expedition more than doubled. Farrow was adamantly against the idea of letting Roloff join us, but the soothsayer defended his case quite handily, if you wanted my opinion.“They had an axe to my head,” he sobbed. “What was I supposed to do? Besides, destiny was whispering in my ear, telling me you needed to be caught there, sneaking into the castle.”I glanced toward a glowering Farrow. “You really can’t argue with destiny, you know.”“If destiny meant Sable had to die and your life was put into jeopardy, then the hell I can’t.”“It had to happen that way,” Roloff insisted, tears spilling down his cheeks. “I loved Sable, too. She kept me sane while we lived in those dungeon cells together. We watched a tongue-less man starve to death. Rats swarmed in. I would’ve lost my mind without her. But destiny said…” He paused to dab at his wet eyes. “Destiny said it was to happen this way. The results will cause peace among many and—”“You call this peace?” Farrow
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 33. Farrow
I woke to the caw of birds outside the window and nearby waves walloping the shoreline.With a contented groan, I stretched my arms over my head and glanced at Nicolette sleeping beside me. A smile stretched across my lips. I liked sleeping in a bed with her. My fingers coasted over her hair, careful not to disturb her. She looked so young and innocent in rest.Wanting to keep it that way, I eased off the mattress and found my clothes piled on the floor where I’d dropped them last night.Once dressed, I padded barefoot to the door and opened it quietly, peeking into the front room.If I was lucky, no one else would be awake yet. I could sneak back to my bedroll without Bison or Indigo realizing I’d been with Nicolette at all last night.From the table, however, both Indigo and Bison turned from where they’d been sitting and talking, and they each gave me a severe once-over.Dammit. Busted.The High Clifter scowled irritably, his eyes bleary with signs of sleeplessness. But the e
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 32. Nicolette
I fell asleep before Farrow did that night, thank God. Though we’d only shared a handful of dreams together, his always left me disturbed, feeling heavy and despondent afterward.I didn’t like seeing how gray life had left him, either. I mean, had the man never been given a sweet treat or hug in his entire life? It was a miracle he’d turned out as well as he had. With the kind of hopeless existence he’d been given, I would’ve imploded by now.I wanted every night to be full of my dreams, so he could at least experience some warmth and brightness.When I appeared in the village of Mandalay, a smile lit my face.“Oh, thank God,” a voice said from behind me, echoing my thoughts. I turned, beaming at Farrow. He lifted a shoulder almost bashfully, admitting, “Your dreams are better.”“They are,” I agreed, going to him.Needing my hands on his skin, I made his tunic disappear and put that leather and fur-skinned kilt back on him. Purring my approval, I smoothed my palms up his bare che
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 31. Farrow
We reached the destination that Indigo led us to—a cottage on the beach—early the next evening. The other two had let me trail along silently behind them throughout the day, and I was grateful for that.I felt raw. Exposed. I didn’t know how to deal with any of this. So I just kept it all contained inside myself.Glad to not think about my pain for a while, I examined the small but finely built home in front of us and then moved my gaze out to the sea.All my life, I’d lived within a day’s ride from the shore, and yet I’d never been here before.“It’s so massive,” Nicolette murmured, coming up beside me so she could study the scenery as well. “Water as far as the eye can see. I never imagined it’d be like this.”I sent her a questioning glance before realizing the sand princess who’d lived her entire life in the center of the Outer Realms wouldn’t have gotten to see such a sight before either, would she?Holding in the urge to take her hand and squeeze warmly as we experienced th
Trust In Love: A Love Mark Romance 30. Nicolette
Farrow led us from the castle in record time, but we didn’t escape unnoticed. About the same moment we made it outside, a warning trumpet blared from the towers, beckoning more forces to help in finding the escaped felons. In finding us.“We left our horses this way,” Indigo started, but Farrow grabbed his arm.“No. That’s too close to the main entrance. They’ll spot us immediately. Let’s go this way,” he urged, leading us in the other direction. “Maybe if we make it to the stables without being spotted, we can steal some horses and get out of town.”But we no sooner darted in that direction than we found our way blocked.“Whoa!” Indigo grabbed Farrow’s arm, halting him. “Guards.”“Shit. This way, then.”Farrow tried to lead us to a side alley.More guards.They closed in on us from every street and angle, creeping stealthily forward on foot, weapons raised.“We’re surrounded.”I glanced around desperately, only to spot a weathered old man sitting in a two-wheeled cart that w
