MAREN’S POV
The bell above the café door tinkled, announcing my entrance, but to me, it sounded like a death sentence.
I stopped right at the threshold, my hand trembling on the brass doorknob.
In the distance, by the large window overlooking the main street, I saw James. He was leaning over his phone, the afternoon sunlight highlighting the light brown of his hair and the relaxed line of his shoulders.
I sighed deeply, feeling my lungs burn. Every cell of my body screamed for me to turn around and run back to Thorne’s office, to throw myself at his feet and beg him to mark me even if the whole world collapsed.
"What the hell am I about to do?" I asked myself, as a knot of guilt tightened in my throat.
This was a betrayal. A profanation of the bond the Moon Goddess had granted us.
B
