All Chapters of MARKED BY BLOODLINE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

The cafeteria buzzed with chatter, forks clinking against plates, and the faint hum of students swapping gossip after classes. The smell of overcooked pasta and fried potatoes mingled in the air, clinging to the tiled walls and fluorescent lights that hummed faintly overhead.Evelyn sat at the far end of the room, her tray untouched. She wasn’t hungry. Not really. Not with the storm of unease that had been building in her chest ever since she found herself caught between Elias and Lucien. Every sound around her felt distant, muffled, as though she were sitting underwater.Elias sat two tables away, his posture stiff, his tray abandoned in favor of watching the room with quiet vigilance. His gaze flickered toward her every so often, never lingering long enough for others to notice, but always sharp, always searching—as if checking she was still there.Lucien, on the other hand, leaned casually against the wall near the exit. His dark eyes didn’t glance or flicker. They fixed. They pier

The night after the duel should have been quiet. The academy’s halls usually swallowed sound after curfew, the oil lamps dimmed to a dull glow and the patrolling wardens heavy-footed in their rounds. But for Evelyn, silence had turned into something suffocating.She lay in her narrow bed, staring at the high ceiling beams. Elias’s words still echoed in her mind, low and sharp, as though he’d whispered them against her ear instead of across the sparring ground. “You’re stronger than you think, Evelyn. Stop letting him get to you.”Him. Elias hadn’t named Lucien, but he didn’t need to.Her chest tightened as she turned on her side, burying her face into the pillow. Lucien’s expression during the duel had been unreadable, but his presence lingered in her memory—his eyes catching hers even as sparks of energy arced between them. He was a riddle she couldn’t solve, a storm that drew her closer even when she knew she should retreat.Why am I thinking of them both? she scolded herself. But t

The academy was never quiet at dawn. Bells rang across the courtyards, students hurried to lessons, voices clashing like waves. But for Evelyn, everything felt muted, distant, like she was moving through water.Her dreams had been relentless—whispers coiling in her ears, shadows crawling across her skin, and always that mark on her wrist burning like fire. She woke gasping, certain someone had been standing at the foot of her bed.Now, as she crossed the stone path toward the main hall, she couldn’t shake the unease. Her eyes kept drifting to the corners where the sunlight didn’t reach.“Did you even sleep?” Ava’s voice slipped beside her, soft and curious.Evelyn jumped. “Gods, you scared me.”Ava’s smile was small, knowing. She tugged her cloak tighter. “You look pale.”“I’m fine,” Evelyn lied.“Fine,” Ava echoed, though her gaze lingered on Evelyn’s wrist where the cuff of her sleeve slipped. “Careful, Evie.

Darkness swallowed the library.The silence was suffocating, broken only by the erratic rhythm of Evelyn’s breathing. Her pulse roared in her ears as she stumbled backward, clutching the folded letter in her fist like it was a weapon.Then—light.A small flame bloomed, revealing the stranger’s face. The green-eyed boy held a single candle, its glow illuminating sharp features and a half-smile that seemed too calm for the situation.“Who are you?” Evelyn demanded, her voice unsteady.“Names are dangerous,” he said, tilting his head. “But since you insist—call me Caden.”Caden. She had never heard of him. And yet, the way he said it carried weight, as though she should know.“What do you want from me?” she asked.He studied her, his gaze lingering on the crumpled letter in her hand. “I see you’ve received your first warning. Good. That means they’re starting to notice you.”Evelyn’s grip tightened. “Who is they?”Caden’s smile faded. He stepped closer, and though instinct told her to mo