CHAPTER 46
Raine’s POV
My legs barely held me as Rory helped me stumble into the forest clearing beyond the tunnel. The night sky stretched above like a dark wound, the moon glaring down like an unblinking eye. I could still feel Malrik’s bite burning at the base of my neck, branding me, seeping deeper like a curse etched into my bones.
“Raine… are you okay?” Rory whispered, glancing around with paranoid urgency.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat ached, not just from his grip, but from the weight of everything.
I wasn’t okay.
I was unraveling.
Marked. Claimed. Hunted.
Gatekeeper.
The word alone made my stomach churn. Aunt Liora said I was the last one—the key. And Malrik? He didn’t want to kill me. He wanted to use me.
But why me?
Why now?
And then I remembered
