#Chapter 90: Marked by the Moon

Lauren The night air was thick with the famliaer scent of damp earth and pine, the trees stretching high above us like ancient sentinels guarding secrets we had no right to uncover. The path was one I remembered, until Alexander made a sharp turn and we were on a muc thinner one, one never used. My breath came hard and fast as I ran, my heels long abandoned, pounding against the uneven forest floor, dodging gnarled roots and fallen branches. Blood still lay thick on my hands as the moon above flickered in and out of view between the shifting canopy, casting silver streaks of light through the darkness. Abigail. Owen. Where are you? The anxiety burned in my chest, twisting like a vice as I pushed forward. Alexander ran slightly infront of me, his movements effortlessly fluid even at this breakneck pace, his focus razor-sharp. Liam trailed slightly behind, his presence irritating as always, but this wasn’t the time for petty grievances. “I saw them,” Liam said between breaths.