Chapter 4 The mark

Dawn painted the mausoleum walls in streaks of blood-red light.

Akira's hands shook as she pressed them against the shattered door, her shadows still coiled around her wrists like living shackles. Behind her, Lena crouched over Kyler's unconscious form, her bone dagger pressed to his throat.

"We should kill him." Lena's voice was ice. "Vanthornes don't protect strays unless they want something."

Akira flexed her fingers. The shadows obeyed-retreating, but not disappearing. Not fully. "He saved us."

"No." Lena jerked her chin toward Akira's collarbone. "*That* saved us."

Akira glanced down. A symbol glowed against her skin-a twisted vine encircling a crescent moon. The mark pulsed with every breath, warm as a brand.

The Hunt's mark.

The door creaked.

Sebastian stood silhouetted in the morning light, his antler mask gone, his blond hair matted with dirt and something darker. He grinned at the sight of them.

"Oh, this is *delicious*." His gaze locked onto Akira's mark. "Little orphan's been claimed by the woods."

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**Blackthorn Academy – Headmistress's Office – 7:13 AM**

Headmistress Voss traced the mark on Akira's skin with a silver-tipped quill. The ink burned.

"Fascinating." The headmistress's breath smelled of decayed roses. "No student has borne the Hunt's mark in fifty years."

Akira clenched her jaw. "What does it *do*?"

"Nothing pleasant." The quill dug deeper. "It means the forest has chosen you. And the forest always collects its debts."

Behind her, Kyler stiffened. He'd been silent since waking, his face a mask of carefully controlled fury. Now, his fingers twitched toward the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

The headmistress noticed. She smiled.

"Oh, Kyler. Did you think you could hide her?"

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**The Dormitories – 10:45 PM**

Akira pressed her forehead against the cool glass of her window. The mark throbbed, its heat spreading like a fever.

A knock.

Kyler stood in the hallway, his shirt torn, his knuckles raw. He didn't wait for an invitation.

"Pack your things." He tossed a leather satchel onto her bed. "You have until midnight."

Akira didn't move. "Why?"

"Because the mark isn't just a brand." Kyler's voice dropped. "It's a death sentence. The forest doesn't let go of what it claims."

Outside, the trees whispered.

Akira's reflection in the window grinned back at her-a smile too sharp to be her own.

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**The Clock Tower – 11:58 PM**

Lena met them at the base of the tower, her arms crossed. "This is suicide."

Kyler didn't slow. "It's the only way."

Akira's mark burned hotter with every step. The tower stairs spiraled upward, the walls lined with portraits of dead students-their eyes following her as she passed.

At the top, the clock's gears groaned.

Kyler pressed a hand to the center of her mark. "When the bell strikes twelve, jump."

Akira recoiled. "*What?*"

"The forest wants you." His grip tightened. "So we give it something else."

The first chime rang.

Akira's shadow *moved* without her.