Page 4 of Marked By His Hunger
Before I can second-guess myself—before fear can dig its claws back in—I click.
For a split second, nothing happens.
Then the screen flickers.
The rune at the top of the email glows—bright, silver, alive—and something sharp and electric rushes through me, like I’ve just crossed an invisible line I didn’t know existed.
My breath leaves me in a gasp.
The room feels… different.
Quieter.
Or maybe louder.
Like I’m hearing something I couldn’t before.
The email shifts.
Changes.
Welcome, Serena.
Your journey begins now.
A chill slides down my spine.
But I don’t look away.
I can’t.
Because for the first time in my life…
I don’t feel crazy.
I feel seen.
And whatever waits on the other side of that message—whatever world I just said yes to—I have a feeling it’s been waiting for me, too.
Prologue 2-Draugr
“Hello, Draugr.”
She doesn’t look up.
She never does.
Professor Kenna sits behind her ancient desk as if the world bends around her will, as if sight is unnecessary when the very bones of the Institute whisper its truths directly into her veins.
But I feel it.
The moment I cross the threshold, the wards stir.
They know me.
The basalt walls hum low and hungry, the runes etched into them flickering like embers disturbed by a dying wind. They recognize my cursed blood.
They always have.
