Hunted: A Vampire Romance (Marked by Night Book 3)

by Sara Thorn

  Hunted

  Marked by Night Book Three

  Sara Thorn

  Edited by

  CGW

  Copyright © 2020 by Sara Thorn

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Hunted

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Thank You For Reading!

  Join The Marked!

  About the Author

  Hunted

  Old friends, new jealousies, and a foe no one expected… Return to the Captivating world of Mystreuce in Hunted, Book Three in the Marked by Night Saga.

  I’m the only person who can save Quinn from the Shadow Magic that’s consuming him, and I’m working as hard as I can to master my new powers, but I can’t do it alone. Unfortunately, Cassius’ jealousy is clouding his ability to help me.

  As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, Mystreuce seems to have gone completely haywire. If the three of us can’t work together, then this magical land will spiral into darkness.

  With Quinn on his deathbed and Cassius lashing out over a kiss that I should never have given, my only hope is to put my trust in Bree. But she is more than just the Fae she claims to be, and her meddling in the affairs on Mystreuce hasn’t gone unnoticed.

  Now, it’s much too late to stop the monster that is coming for her.

  Coming for all of us.

  Hunted is the third book in the New Epic Vampire Romance Saga, Marked by Night from Author Sara Thorn. Perfect for fans of Stephanie Meyer, Bella Forrest, Cassandra Clare, and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

  Chapter One

  The castle's library was dank and dark. It was the type of place that I would imagine held an abundance of important and foreboding secrets. Its shelves were so crammed full of books that the wood beneath them buckled and bowed from the weight, and with that had to come hidden legends and fantastical folklore.

  The incident with the vines that had happened during my training session with Cassius had me both worried and curious, so I thought I would go down to the library archives within the castle to research some of Mystreuce's history for some answers.

  I knew there was an organic and carnal power running through me now; I could feel it. But I didn't know what it was or how to understand it. If the land were trying to protect me, why hadn't it saved me before instead of making me sick? Besides, Cassius was bound to the Mystreuce, too, so it should have known he was not a threat to me. The last thing I needed was for Mystreuce to try to attack Cassius any time he laid a hand on me. I wanted him to put his hands on me.

  I walked around the small, circular room until I found a handful of leather-bound books that seemed intriguing and then sat down in one of the large armchairs that had a red, quilted back that reminded me of the curtains in old movie theaters.

  The pages were so worn and time-tested that they felt soft beneath my fingers as I turned them. After I had made it through the whole pile in my lap, I got up to go get some more. By the time I had read—or at least skimmed—through nearly every book there, hours had passed, and I was nowhere closer to finding any answers than I had been before. Bree came down to see how I was faring, and I think she could tell by the look of frustration on my face that it wasn't well.

  "I just don't understand how there could be no information on what has happened to me," I said, discouraged.

  "Well, you are the first human known to have ever been tied to the land," Bree said. "I think."

  "What do you mean, you think?" I asked. "Is it possible there was another?"

  "Maybe. Anything is possible, really."

  "But wouldn't there be a historical record of it somewhere if there had been?"

  "Not necessarily here," Bree answered. "The vampires have less knowledge of that than others do. Vamps have been around a long time, but they aren't the oldest species on Mystreuce."

  "Then who is?" I asked.

  "The fae."

  "Do you think the fae might be able to help me?"

  "It's quite possible," she said. "You should go to visit them. They have much more knowledge about the land, not only because they've been here the longest, but also because they are a part of the land. The vampires just live on Mystreuce, but the fae derive magic and life from the world. I'm sure there would be at least one or two of the fae in the forest who would be able to give you a little bit more information than what you're finding here."

  "Well, considering I've found nothing here, that sets the bar pretty low," I laughed. "But thank you, I'm going to go there right now."

  "Just stick to the path that leads out of the castle and runs straight into the heart of the forest," she warned. "I wouldn't stray too far from it if I were you."

  "Why not?" I asked.

  "Some strange things are going on in the forest now that I'm not really sure about, could be nothing, but if I were a human like you, I'd still stick to the path."

  "What kind of things?"

  "The forest is just acting a bit darker than usual," she said as she started to walk back upstairs.

  Weren’t forests supposed to be dark by nature?

  The path wound out from the clearing at the edge of the castle and then disappeared into the woods past what I could see. As soon as I stepped inside the trees, it already began to feel magical. I loved the entire aesthetic of the fae, their magic and organic nature, and their seductively secret power, which hid behind a poisonous beauty that you didn't see coming.

  They also seemed to be so intuitive and intelligent. I remembered Sen and how calmly wise and strong she had been. I wished she were still here. She would have been able to help Quinn. As much as I wanted to help him, I couldn't. I was too close to the problem for him to listen to, and I felt like even when I tried to reach him, I ended up making things worse.

  I continued walking along the path, looking around as I went at the lush, green flora seeped in deep-green moss and dotted with colorful mushrooms and berries. I didn't really know how far into the forest the fae lived or if there were one single section that they gathered together. For all I knew, they were more scattered and nomadic throughout the woods. I figured I would just follow the path as Bree had said, and eventually, I would find them, or they would find me.

  I did start to notice what Bree had been talking about, though. Off to the far right of the path stood a darker section of the woods. The tree trunks were almost blackened, and the branches seemed to be contorted into shapes that were more curvaceous and twisted than the other trees around them. I wanted to step off the path to take a closer look, but I tried to heed Bree's warning and stayed the course toward the fae dwelling.

  The dark part of the forest seemed to follow me, though, like one of those portraiture paintings in which the eyes appear to move and follow you no matter where you walk in the room. At last, my curiosity got the better of me, and I had to go see what it was. I stepped off the path and walked toward the inky collection of trees. When I go
t close enough to see it better—but not too close since I didn't know what had made the trees look like this—I stopped a few yards away. It wasn't just the trees that were different; it was the whole section of the forest. Everything from the leaves to the grass to the small flowers on the forest floor looked as though it were putrid and sick.

  Instead of vibrant greens and colorful deep hues of wildflowers, all of the flora had morphed into a shade of black or a deepened, dark purple that resembled a fresh bruise. It wasn't just the color that was off, either; the textures and shapes of everything around me were…off. The plants were wilted and diseased, and there was a silence in the area indicative of a lack of any animals or birds. Whatever had happened here was bad, and I hoped it didn't spread to the rest of the forest. I would need to remember to mention it to the fae, who I was sure were already aware of it, and also to Cassius to see if there was anything we could do to help it. That part of the forest looked like it was dying.

  When I got back onto the path and started walking again, I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me on my way. No one had been there before, at least I didn't think anyone had, but when I looked around, I couldn't find anyone. It wasn't like I could see or hear anyone, but I could definitely feel eyes on me and sensed another presence lurking. I quickened my pace and hoped the fae dwelling wasn't much farther off.

  Maybe Bree was right and I shouldn't have wandered off the path. Perhaps whatever had caused the sickness in the forest was now following me with the same intention of infecting me with whatever plagued the woods. But the more I walked and the more I sensed the presence still following me off behind the thicket of trees somewhere, the more I also began to feel a sense of easing familiarity, as if whatever was watching me was doing so to look after me in a curious way instead of a harmful one. I slowed my pace back down to a regular walk and kept on toward my destination, hoping that whatever it was might show itself if it knew I weren’t afraid and wasn't a threat. Finally, I glanced around, and just behind my right shoulder, I found Quinn standing among the trees.

  He looked terrifyingly horrible, and my heart felt as if it were being shattered into a thousand tiny glass pieces when I laid eyes on him. He so closely resembled the dying part of the forest that I shuddered under his gaze. Quinn’s skin was the dark-purplish color of a new bruise, and his eyes were sunken into his skull. His limbs hung off of him in curled and unnatural positions that looked extraordinarily painful, and even though he had become so thin that the angle of his jaw protruded out from his neck like a bony bird, he was still undeniable handsome in an eerie and shadowy sort of way. I was scared, not by how he looked but by whatever had inflicted him so potently that it had the power to render him like this, but I approached him anyway.

  He stood at the edge of the tree line, bare-chested with one hand tucked gingerly inside the pocket of his torn jeans as if his body were hurting him. There was a strange and agonizing mix of pain and power that rose off him. The shadow magic had taken hold inside of him and stretched up inside his body like a network of roots slowly changing him from the inside out. Once I was close enough to reach out and touch him—which I didn't do—I stopped. Quinn was still in there; I knew it was still him. But there was definitely a darker something there, too, and that part I didn't want to touch or even get near. I didn't know what to say, so I stood there and stared into his hollow eyes and hoped that he would talk to me.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked after a long silence.

  "I'm going to see the fae," I answered. I didn't really think it was a good idea to give him too much information yet. I didn't know what he wanted or why he had been following me through the woods.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked him in return. "You don't look well, Quinn."

  I couldn't help it; I reached out to touch his chest, and he held painfully still when the pads of my fingers grazed his flesh as if it burned. Sadness cut straight through me as his expression contorted into unimaginable pain. He didn't flinch or back away, and I didn't withdraw my hand.

  "What's happened to you?" I asked him.

  Sorrow and regret engulfed his eyes, and for a single, delicate moment, it felt as though we were sitting back on the chamber floor of Cassius's vampire den while Quinn told me about how he would always protect me. Now I needed to protect him—it was obvious just how much he needed my help.

  "I'm dying," he said plainly as he visibly tried to hold in his emotions. "I'm dying, and a part of the forest is dying with me."

  "What? Why?" I asked in horror. Quinn couldn't die. I wouldn't let that happen. "I thought that fae could live indefinitely."

  "We can," he answered. "But the shadow magic is too powerful for me. I thought I was strong enough to contain it, but I was wrong."

  "Then let it go!" I said as my voice raised into a panicked and desperate shout. "Stop using it or take it out of you or something. Make it go away so you can go back to being yourself." I didn’t understand his reluctance to release something so deadly.

  For a brief moment, it seemed like I had been getting through to him. It seemed like he had wanted me to try to help him, like he was silently begging me to reach inside him and pull him out from his self-induced prison, which was choking the life out of him with every passing breath. But that moment passed, and then he quickly went back to being the twisted, hurt, and power-hungry version of himself that I knew I was partially responsible for creating.

  "No," he said as he took a step backward and let my hand drop from his chest.

  This time, when my hand fell, it did seem to hurt him, and he made a faint sound like that of an injured animal.

  "I am this way for a necessary reason, and that reason is the power that runs through me now. I'm coming for Cassius, and there's nothing you nor anyone else can do to stop me. Mara, I'm giving you a final chance to join me."

  Quinn held out his hand toward me. It was more of a gesture than anything else; he could have reached me if that had been his intention, but he was waiting to see if I would accept his offer and take his hand first.

  "You and I can be together like I always thought we were meant to be. I know you have feelings for me still, Mara. You can try to hide it if you want to, but you and I both know they exist, even if they are quieter and deeper buried than your feelings for Cassius. When I come for him, he won't survive me. So join with me now, and we can be together. You can be by my side throughout all of it."

  He had to have known that I would refuse him, and I knew how much it would hurt him to be rejected by me yet again, but there was no other thing to do.

  "No," I said, "I can't do that."

  The look on his face, although pained, was laced with anger. "Why are you visiting the fae?" he asked.

  I didn't think there was any reason for him not to know about the vines. It didn't seem to matter in the scheme of things. Besides, maybe it would make him see that I was a force to be reckoned with, too, and perhaps that would help deter him from attacking Cassius.

  "The power that ties me to Mystreuce is acting unpredictably," I said. "And I would like to know why."

  "What do you mean unpredictably?"

  "Vines came out of the ground while I was in the middle of a training match with Cassius. I think Mystreuce thought I was in danger of being harmed—although I'm not sure what would have given it that idea—so the vines attacked Cassius until I was able to get them off."

  Quinn snickered as if he thought it was amusing to picture Cassius being strangled by magical foliage. But then, after he got over his entertainment of the idea, he became more serious again and actually looked to be concerned. "Has your power done anything else?" he asked. His voice had an edge to it that sounded almost protective and wary.

  "No," I answered. "Not that I can think of, nothing like that, at least."

  Quinn turned and walked back toward the trees without saying another word, not even a goodbye. When he was too far into the thicket for me to see anymore, I started to slowly continue
on my walk toward the fae. Even though I could no longer see him, I still felt him following me from a distance.

  Chapter Two

  The fae enclave in the forest was every bit as deliciously magical as I had expected it to be. My encounter with Quinn along the way had put me off a little bit, but once I saw the fae forest, I was immediately enchanted and regained focus on my purpose for coming.

  The few fae who first saw me seemed inquisitive but not upset that I had come. A beautiful girl came toward me and asked about the purpose of my visit. Why were all of the fae so exquisitely beautiful? I wondered if they glamoured themselves to be that way or if it was just truly how they were.

  "I came in the hopes that someone here might be able to tell me more about my connection to the land of Mystreuce and about the power I now seem to have," I said as she smiled at me. I never knew if their smiles were friendly or if they were meant to lure you into a false sense of security.

  "There is someone here who can help you," she said as she turned and bade me follow her.

  Walking through the fae enclave was a sensory treat. The trees were all illuminated with fae magic, so they seemed to sparkle with tiny white specks of light. More mushrooms were growing along with the bases of the trees than I had ever seen concentrated in one spot before, and the caps of them glowed in shades I didn't even know existed.

  Trying to describe the visual feast before my eyes would have been impossible. Several dwellings looked like treehouses except with an ornate amount of detail woven together with vines and branches, and inside the homes, eyes peeked out at me as we passed. Even the animals stopped to stare at me as I went by, which reminded me that the fae were shapeshifters, so some of the rabbits, squirrels, and birds might have actually been fae.