Free Braving Fate (The Mythean Arcana Series Book 1) by Linsey Hall

back was through that bathroom door.
    I can do this. Pull it together! She nodded at herself in the mirror, unable to help sneaking in a nervous and appraising glance at her clothes, and swept out of the bathroom just as Cadan walked in.  
    The sight of him stopped her in her tracks. He stood near the doorway, his stance casual, but still as tall and broad as she remembered from the previous night. The man was huge.
    “Time’s up, lassie, we need to go.” His voice was deep, almost rough, and the Scottish brogue that shaped his words made a shiver run down her spine.  
    He felt vaguely familiar, as he had last night. Her gaze roamed over him, searching for anything recognizable and coming up short. She didn’t know anyone with such tightly leashed discipline. From his board-straight posture and impeccable T-shirt and jeans to his dark, military-neat hair, everything about him spoke of self-control.  
    She wrinkled her nose in suspicion; he looked too big and perfectly shaped to be from the real world.He should be on a billboard somewhere.
    The light of day didn’t make him look any safer than he had last night, though; her original assessment of dangerous held true even in these civilized surroundings. Perhaps because of these civilized surroundings. Actually, a billboard wasn’t the right place for him; he should be out on some battlefield in the Highlands, wearing a kilt and beheading an Englishman.
    She was probably giving him the third degree with her eyes and felt heat creep into her cheeks. “You’re here to help me figure out who I was?” she asked.
    “I’m here to keep the demons off your back while you figure out who you were.”
    “Do you know who I was, then?” Tension gripped her heart in an iron fist, squeezing until it felt like it couldn’t deliver blood to her starved extremities. This was even worse than nightmares. Her soul wasn’t her own.  
    “Yes.” His voice gave away nothing.  
    “Assuming that I believe you, can’t you just tell me? This would all go a lot faster.” And she could finally figure out what these damn dreams meant.  
    “Of course you believe us, lassie. You’re intelligent, what with the university job. Recent events—the tattoo, the appearance of demons—indicate that the world isn’t all you thought it to be. And nay, I canna tell you who you were.” End of story, the undercurrent of his voice said.  
    “And why not? Precisely?”
    “Rules.”  
    “If you are half as intelligent as you say I am, you’ll agree that rules is just another deflection of my question. Why can’t you tell me who I was?” The professor voice was the only one that would do in this circumstance.
    “Fine. I’ll explain. But the rules are important. They’re the only way we keep our society secret from the mortals. They need to be followed.” He gave her a hard look to make sure she understood.  
    Diana was all too familiar with the consequences of not following rules, so she nodded.
    He nodded back and said, “Reincarnates usually experience a catalyzing event that returns their memories. The appearance of your tattoo was a small event that sent you to us, but you still haven’t experienced one that will allow you to understand who you were. I could tell you that you were Queen Victoria, but it wouldn’t do you a damn bit of good because you wouldn’t have her memories. You’d have no idea what your task is. It could even divert you from the proper path if you went chasing off after loose ends. You were reborn for a purpose, and for you to misinterpret that purpose would lead to dire consequences.”
    Dire consequences?As in, more dire than being attacked by monsters and kidnapped by a previously unheard-of magical organization?  
    “Gather your things. I’ll meet you in the hall outside in two minutes.” He spun on his heel and walked out.

CHAPTER EIGHT

    Cadan paced in the hall, clenching and unclenching his fists while he waited for Diana. They needed to get