Page 53 of Her Wicked Knights (Their Hallowed Queen #3)

Tripp

When Marley left, I thought maybe she’d be gone for a few weeks. I knew, in the back of my mind, that Whit had something to do with it, but I was naive enough to hope that she would get out from his hold and come back to us.

But weeks turned to months, and months turned to years.

Living without her is hell. Waking up each day to see the house she abandoned reminds me that she abandoned me, that she left me behind in spite of all the promises we made to each other as children. And it's not just me... Colton and Rev are hurt by her, too.

Not having her to share my grief and my triumphs has been torture.

I thought, if anything could make her come back, it would be my parents' funeral.

My mother was her best friend, after all.

She cooked Marley and Hadley casseroles, held her when she cried, even offered to adopt her.

My mother did all of that for Marley because she loved her, just like I love her.

And Marley couldn't even show up to pay her respects to them.

It was Rev who supported me in my grief, who held me when I broke down, who put me back together when I came apart, who didn't try to convince me that everything would be okay, unlike my brother.

Instead, he let me feel the pain but never let me get lost in it.

Because life doesn't stop for anyone. It persists, and because it does, so have I.

A lot can change in two years.

Colton decided to be a police officer, which didn't last long before my brother overthrew the mayor and appointed my best friend as his chief of police.

It's been funny, knowing what Colton does in his spare time.

Our parents lived to see Axel win the bid for mayor, and though he was by far the more successful son, I know they were proud of me too.

I took my graduation gift and bought the pizza shop Marley and I always loved, and it did so well, I bought the tattoo shop as well.

Colton's my most loyal customer, and Gina, the girl who I brought on to run things there, is clearly interested in him.

She did all my piercings, including the ones I got after my parents died.

.. ones that Rev was shocked to realize were there when we first started hooking up.

But he clearly has no complaints about them.

We've been together the better part of this past year, which has been terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

Losing my parents after Marley and her parents made me realize how few people I have left in my life to love, and that I should stop trying to push Rev away.

All he ever wanted was for me to let him in, and I finally did.

He let me in, too. We've taken turns, and while I'm more of a bottom, he likes it when I switch things up and surprise him.

.. just like I did last month when I bought the old Winthorpe Estate.

He was even more surprised two weeks later when I invited Colton to move in with us, but he didn't object.

The place is huge, and Colton's always out anyway.

This way, he doesn't have to worry about going home to his narcissist mother at the end of his shifts.

We still meet at the church every few months with Carson, Nick, and Mark. Jake doesn't bother coming around anymore, which is for the best, considering he wasn't really even welcome at the beginning. It's always brief, a way of checking in whether any of us has heard from Marley or Whit.

Whit promised Colton, Rev, and me Marley. He promised that we were fated together, that we would be together because the universe demanded it. He promised Carson, Nick, and Mark her power... the power he's been taking for himself and using to keep them hidden... to keep us trapped here.

None of us have been able to leave town since the day they did.

It's clearly some kind of curse, a means of making sure that we don't go looking for them.

.. that we don't find them. Because Whit knows what will happen if we do find him.

He knows he's a dead man, if not because of God only knows what he's doing to Marley, but because the others want revenge for his betrayal.

He promised them wealth and splendor, riches and magic, power and glory.

.. and he delivered none of that, trapping them here in this town with us.

It's the only thing we have in common, now. .. we're all invested in finding them.

Hadley knows where her sister is now. She's visited a time or two, and I've done everything I can to get her to tell me.

Her and Axel have been spending more time together lately, which means she can't avoid me as much as she used to.

But I'm not willing to torture the truth out of her, and she says she was sworn not to tell a soul where Marley lives.

Not that knowing would do us any good, anyway, since we're all stuck here.

We gather for the usual check-in, everybody confirms that we haven't been in contact with either of them, and then we all go our separate ways. But when the others leave, Rev stops me with a hand on my arm.

"I found something."

"You... found something?" I laugh. "What does that mean?"

Colton glances at me when Rev doesn't answer, stalking instead to the doors at the church exit to be sure they're shut properly. When he stalks back to us, it's to pull a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket.

"What's this?" I ask as he hands it to me without any sort of explanation. He watches expectantly as I unfold the paper, and Colton looks on over my shoulder.

It's a lined paper that looks like it was ripped from a notebook. It's covered in small writing, but none of the words jump out at me, and it takes a moment before I realize that's because the words aren't written in English.

"I've pieced together what I can, and I think it's a spell for projection."

"A spell?" Colton laughs. "It looks more like someone's journal than an instruction manual."

"You're laughing, but you know it's real. You know Whit trapped us in this town."

Colton doesn't make any attempt to deny that. Instead, he just shakes his head.

"Come on. Whit was a trickster. He used sleight of hand and mind games to convince us to fall for his bullshit..."

"You can't be serious." I laugh. "Colton, you saw it happen. You saw how he moved Audrey's body without touching her, how he sent her to the ground in pieces."

"He stabbed her a dozen times, brutally." Colton argues. "Of course, she fell apart when she dropped from so high."

"You can't be serious." Rev shakes his head. "After everything we did, you still don't believe?"

"Believe what?" Colton snorts. "That the girl he ran off with is our destined lover and we all just share her? That magic is real?"

"Yes." Rev snaps. "Exactly that."

"Nope." Colton shakes his head. "I'm not buying it."

"So, the night he controlled you... what was that?"

"Hypnotism. Voodoo." Colton shrugs.

I don't bother pointing out the irony of believing in those things but not witchcraft.

"You almost raped me because he was controlling us both.

" I say. It's the first time I've said it out loud, but I haven't forgotten.

I know it wasn't Colton, that he had no control, because I had no control, either.

The only difference is that I remember every last detail.

Colton claims not to, that everything is a blur.

"I wasn't going to..."

"You had no control." Rev reminds him. "You weren't the one calling the shots, and you know that.

You're not interested in men. You did that because Whit made you.

And you know, deep down, that this is all real.

But I'm done arguing it with you. I'm going to prove it.

I just need you guys here to anchor my body. "

"Anchor your body?" I repeat, expecting him to elaborate. Instead, he only nods. "I'm going to perform this spell. I need you to be ready to pull me back."

"Pull you back from where?"

It's only one of the questions I have, but I forget the rest when he grins. "I'm going to go find Marley."