Chapter 5 The Mark
240 Words
Morning sunlight slowly filtered through the forest canopy, warming the cool ground where Ava lay. Birds chirped high in the branches, and the quiet rustling of leaves surrounded her.
Ava stirred slowly, confused for a moment about where she was.
Then the memories returned.
The ceremony.
The rejection.
The humiliation.
Her chest tightened as she pushed herself into a sitting position.
Strangely, the sharp pain she had felt the night before had faded. The hollow ache of the broken bond remained, but something else had taken its place.
Warmth.
A steady pulse of energy seemed to move through her body like a quiet current.
Ava rubbed her arm absently—and froze.
A faint silver symbol glowed on the inside of her wrist.
It looked like a crescent moon surrounded by delicate, unfamiliar runes.
“What…?” she whispered.
She lifted her wrist closer to her face.
The mark pulsed softly, almost as if it were alive.
When her fingers brushed against it, warmth spread up her arm and across her chest.
Suddenly the forest around her sharpened.
She could hear distant birds miles away.
The scent of fresh water drifted toward her from a river far beyond the trees.
Even the faint heartbeat of a rabbit hiding nearby echoed clearly in her ears.
Her senses had become incredibly sharp.
Ava stared at the glowing mark again.
“What is happening to me?”
The symbol flickered softly in response.
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