NO REST FOR THE MARKED
Evelyn’s POV
The pain was a hum beneath my skin.
It came in waves—sharp, then dull, then sharp again. My side felt like someone had shoved a jagged icicle through it, and every breath scraped like it had teeth. My shoulder throbbed from where the creature had hit me, and I could feel a deep bruise forming under my ribs.
But at least I was alive.
I lay still in Sebastian’s bed, the room dark except for the soft orange glow of a single lamp on the table. The sheets smelled like pine and firewood and a little bit like rain. Safe smells. Warm ones.
But I didn’t feel safe.
Even with Sebastian sitting right there, just inches away, watching me like he expected me to fall apart again.
I turned my head slowly.
He was staring at the wall. Hands clasped together. Jaw tight.
“Sebastian,” I whispered.
He turned to me fast, leaning forward. “You need something?”
I shook my head. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Where you blame yourself even though it’s not your fault.”
He didn’t smile.
Didn’t deny it either.
Instead, he gently reached forward and checked the edge of the bandage across my ribs. His hands were warm and steady, but his eyes… they were storming.
“I should’ve been there,” he muttered.
“You were,” I said softly.
“Too late.”
“Just in time.”
He closed his eyes for a second, shoulders rising, then falling.
“I should’ve known something would come after you,” he said. “We let our guard down.”
I tried to sit up. Pain flared immediately, and he pressed a hand to my shoulder.
“Don’t,” he said. “The healer’s already pissed I brought you here instead of back to the ward.”
“Good,” I muttered. “That place is cursed.”
His lips twitched at that, like he wanted to smile—but couldn’t quite make it happen.
I sank back into the pillows.
“You’re not sending me back, right?”
“Hell no,” he said. “You’re staying here until the third gate.”
I nodded slowly, the ache crawling through my bones.
Two more nights.
Then I’d have to face whatever waited beyond that final gate.
Whatever lived in the Forest of Fear.
Whatever they planned to use against me next.
And worst of all…
Whatever part of me still remembered things I shouldn’t.
Later That Night
Reyna showed up with blood on her sleeves and her hair tied in a tight braid.
She looked tired. More than tired.
She looked furious.
Sebastian opened the door before she could knock. He let her in without a word, and she crossed to the foot of the bed, eyes scanning me.
“You’re lucky,” she said simply.
“Tell that to my ribs,” I muttered.
She actually snorted.
“Fair.”
She handed Sebastian a folded paper. He opened it, read it silently, then cursed under his breath.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Guard report,” Reyna said. “The creature tore through the warding spells. Completely. No traces left behind. Like it wasn’t even part of this realm.”
“Not of this realm?” I repeated, a cold chill sliding down my spine.
Reyna crossed her arms. “Whatever it was… it wasn’t just summoned. It was anchored. Blood-magic binding. Old. Illegal.”
“Someone sent it,” Sebastian said quietly.
She nodded. “No doubt about it.”
I swallowed hard.
“Why me?” I asked. “Why not someone else? Why not the Queen or... or the trial judges?”
Reyna looked me dead in the eye.
“Because you’re the only one who’s still a question.”
That hit hard.
Because I didn’t have an answer.
Not even for myself.
“Do they think I cheated?” I whispered.
“No,” she said. “They think you survived something you shouldn’t have. And they don’t understand how.”
Neither did I.
Not fully.
Not yet.
Later – Alone With Sebastian
Reyna left just past midnight. She had more people to interrogate, more spells to check, more rules to break.
Sebastian stayed.
He sat on the edge of the bed again, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked more exhausted than I’d ever seen him. Like he was holding too many thoughts in his head and none of them were good.
“You need sleep,” I said softly.
“So do you.”
I smiled weakly. “Not happening.”
He gave a tired laugh, then reached over and gently brushed a bit of dried blood from my cheek.
I leaned into his hand without thinking.
It felt safe.
Like maybe, just maybe, I didn’t have to keep every wall up right now.
“I’ll be fine,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to be fine,” he whispered back. “You just have to be here.”
I blinked hard.
Fought the sting behind my eyes.
This man—this fierce, angry, stubborn alpha—was looking at me like I wasn’t broken.
Like I wasn’t dangerous.
Like I was worth saving.
And gods, I didn’t know if I was.
Unknown POV – Elsewhere
The woman sat in silence, staring at the charm in her hand.
It was darker now.
Not red.
Black.
Dead magic.
Used and spent.
“I told you it wouldn’t work,” the man said behind her. “They’re too close. He’ll protect her.”
The woman didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
“Next time,” she said softly, “he won’t get the chance.”
“You mean the gate?”
She nodded.
The man stepped forward. “You’re going to use the curse?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“But she might survive it. She’s stronger than we thought.”
“She won’t,” the woman said coldly. “Not when the gate turns against her. Not when it shows her what she buried.”
She turned then.
And in her violet eyes, there was no doubt.
Only hunger.
“She thinks she’s strong now,” she whispered. “Wait until she sees what it cost.”
Evelyn’s POV – Morning Before the Gate
I woke with pain still curling in my ribs and a pressure in my chest that wouldn’t ease.
Sebastian was gone—but a note sat on the table beside a steaming mug of tea.
Gone to deal with the council. Don’t move unless you’re on fire. Love, S.
I smiled. Barely.
I stayed in bed for a while, sipping the tea, letting the heat sink into me.
But I couldn’t rest.
Not now.
Not with the gate just hours away.
And not with that voice still echoing in my head.
You never left.
I got up slowly, wrapped myself in one of Sebastian’s long coats, and moved to the window.
The sky was gray. Thick clouds rolled in from the east.
Storm coming.
It felt right.
Something was coming.
And it wasn’t just a test.
It was the reckoning.
For all of it.
For who I was now.
And who I used to be.
Before the Gate
I was sitting on the stone bench just outside the trial hall, cloaked in Sebastian’s coat, trying to calm the shaking in my hands, when I heard footsteps approaching—light, quick, familiar.
Damian.
He wore his usual charming smirk, but his eyes held something softer.
“Hey, warrior,” he said, hands in his pockets. “Heard you’ve got one more nightmare to walk through.”
I stood carefully. “Two, actually—if you count the spectators.”
He chuckled and stepped closer. “Just wanted to say good luck. And… thank you. For being here. For still fighting.”
His words hit harder than I expected.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
Then someone else stepped forward behind him.
Lyra.
Beautiful in soft violet robes, her dark curls pulled back in a simple twist. She looked radiant. Newly wed. At peace.
She opened her hand, revealing a delicate silver necklace with a small crystal charm shaped like a drop of glass.
“I wanted to give you something,” she said gently. “You gave me that charm for my wedding day. This… is mine to you.”
I blinked at her.
“It’s more than pretty,” she added, placing it in my hand. “There’s a twin to it. It glows if the wearer is in danger—serious danger. Life-threatening. It’ll call to the one who holds the second piece.”
She turned, and handed something small to Sebastian.
A ring. Silver and black, simple but warm.
“The two pieces are bound. If Evelyn’s in trouble,” she said, meeting Sebastian’s eyes, “you’ll know.”
Sebastian clenched the ring in his fist.
“Thank you,” he said, voice rough.
Lyra smiled and leaned in to hug me lightly. “Come back safe.”
I nodded.
I would try.
But deep down, I wasn’t sure anyone could promise that—not in a place like the Forest of Fear.
Hours Later
The courtyard outside the trial hall was quiet.
Too quiet.
Reyna walked beside me. Dressed for battle this time. Just in case.
Sebastian was ahead of us, talking with the Queen.
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.
Council members.
Guards.
Servants.
All watching to see if I would crack.
If the girl who’d walked through illusion and flame could walk through fear and come out whole.
I wasn’t sure.
But I knew I had to try.
Sebastian returned, his face unreadable.
“They’re ready,” he said.
I nodded.
Reyna touched my arm once. “We’ll be just outside. No matter what.”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
But we all knew they couldn’t follow.
Not into that place.
I stepped up to the third gate.
The Forest of Fear.
And as the wind howled and the magic shimmered before me—
I whispered to myself:
“I am not afraid.”
It was a lie.
But I stepped forward anyway.