The Council, A Witch's Memory by J.C. Isabella

knight…why?”
    “In order for you to remain on my property you must be a member of the royal family by birth, marriage, or knighthood.” I’d almost said binding, but I didn’t want to launch into a discussion about how two souls fused together for eternity. “More importantly, if we were ever attacked and you hurt or killed another out of self-defense, you would have immunity.”
    Earlier tonight was a perfect example. I’d told Venna to run. What I hadn’t told her was that there were three soulless warlocks chasing us. I’d killed them thinking they’d come for her.
    It hadn’t crossed my mind they’d been decoys.
    I certainly didn’t anticipate Zane coming back for his sister, but I couldn’t blame him. I’d have done the same for any of my family.
    “I’m James Bond now, like a spy or something? Do I get to go on secret missions?” Zane snapped me back to the present.
    “I don’t want you anywhere near that kind of action.” He was practically bursting. “I’m not going to give you any royal duties or send you on missions like a secret agent. This is so Venna will have peace of mind. It would destroy her if anything happened to you.”
    “You like to cover all the bases.” He grabbed the pen.
    “One more thing, Zane.” I placed my hand on the paper before he could sign. “Once your signature is on the paper, a mark will appear on your arm.”
    “My get-out-of-jail-free-card?” he guessed.
    “If you don’t want to do this I understand.”
    “Do you think it’s necessary?” he met my gaze, not looking like the troublemaker he pretended to be, but a fourteen-year-old boy, scared and unsure.
    “I sincerely hope it isn’t. I find having a security net a smart move. Insurance, if you will.”
    He pulled the paper out from under my hand and signed on the line at the bottom.
    Setting the pen on the desktop, he stared at both of his arms. Seconds later he hissed, clutching his right arm.
    A blue mark appeared on the inside of his forearm below the joint of his elbow. A crescent moon and three stars surrounding it stood out in a stark contrast against his tanned skin. He touched the quarter size mark with the tip of his finger.
    “It looks like a tattoo.”
    I lifted my arm, in the exact same spot I bore a similar mark, except mine was black and the stars were blue.
    I received mine on my eighteenth birthday. It was customary to wait until a person had come fully into their powers, but Zane was an exception.
    “How come yours is a different color?” he asked.
    “You can know a persons rank by the color. If the moon is black they are royalty. A blue moon, like yours, signifies a knighted witch or a warlock. Red belongs to the vampires, and green to the werewolves. Anyone with a mark, no matter what color, can be trusted.”
    “Could a vampire or a werewolf have a black mark?”
    “Yes.” I was about to explain when the door opened.
    Flora flitted in, “I went up to check on Venna. She’s mumbling in her sleep.”
    I stood. “I’ll go to her. Thanks.”
    Flora didn’t acknowledge me. She was busy staring at Zane’s arm.
    “That is a very high honor.” She smirked. “Don’t screw up it up or you’ll be exiled.”
    Zane headed out the door. “Thanks for your support, next time something exciting happens to you, I’ll be sure to reciprocate.”
    “Oh, Zane,” I said before I phased up to my room. “You can take one of the guestrooms on the second floor.”
    Flora smiled sweetly. “I could show him for you.”
    Zane shook his head. “Forget it, you’ll probably shove me in the broom closet.”
    I left them to bicker, which, I thought was just to mask their like of each other, to check on Venna.
    The need to tell her who she really was had grown into desperation. There were so many things that could go wrong if I made a mistake.
    Venna needed my undivided attention. I would face one of my greatest fears: Confess an enormous secret with the potential to tear us apart.
    I’ve