All Chapters of Marked by Monsters - Gravemire Academy Year 1: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

Isandra Haddock POVThe woods were always quiet this time of night. Golden light from the street lamps barely kissed the edge of the trees before surrendering to shadows. And yet, even with the hush of dusk sinking over Hollow Hill, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was... watching me.Which was ridiculous. I walked these trails almost every night. It was my thing. My little escape. My moment of quiet in a life filled with AP tests, overbearing parents, and a best friend group that somehow still thought skinny jeans were in.Tomorrow, I’d turn eighteen. I should’ve been dreaming of college dorms and late night tacos, not taking moody walks in the forest while obsessively rereading my dad’s old poetry book and wishing I could save the entire damn world.But something about tonight felt different. It was heavy. Like the air was holding its breath. I looked up. The moon had just crested the tree line, glowing a deep, angry red. A blood moon. No one told me it would be a blood m

Isandra POV Apparently, I was royalty now. Or cursed. Honestly, it was hard to tell at this point. I stared down at the glowing display on my N.O.V.A. Pad as it pinged again: Room: East Wing, Tower 3, Suite 1 Route locked. Elevator access granted.I looked up. The tower loomed above me like something out of a medieval fever dream. It was black stone spiraling up into the foggy sky, sharp spires like dragon teeth piercing the clouds. Gothic, foreboding… and apparently, mine. “Cool, cool, yeah,” I muttered. “Let’s just toss the traumatized werewolf into a Disney villain tower.”I followed the glowing arrow on my pad to a sleek obsidian elevator tucked into the base of the tower. There were no buttons, just a swirling rune on the wall. The moment my palm hovered near it, the elevator whooshed open and welcomed me with a gust of cool, magically scented air.Inside, a soft voice whispered, “Isandra Haddock. Top floor access. Welcome home.” I blinked. “Home? I barely know my name.” The doo

Isandra POVI woke up to a glowing, very LOUD red message on my N.O.V.A. screen: REMINDER: House Selection begins in one hour. Uniform required. Elevators now activated for portal transport.I groaned, rolled over in my obscenely fluffy bed, and blinked blearily at the floating text. “Thanks for the terrifying wake up, Gravemire.”"You love it here,” Gen teased inside my head. “Admit it.”I rolled my eyes, crawled out of bed, and threw on my uniform. A black fitted jacket with silver cuffs, high waisted skirt, stockings and combat boots so fresh I felt like I should commit a crime in them. While brushing my hair, I spotted a pulsing envelope icon on my N.O.V.A. pad.I tapped it. New message from Gravemire Admin Office:“Please review your extracurricular options before House Sorting. You are required to select one activity by the end of your first week.”“Of course it’s required,” I groaned. “God forbid we be magically traumatized in peace.”“Oooo clubs!” Gen chirped. “Pick something

Isandra POvThe gardens of Gravemire were… beautiful. In the "I could die here and it would smell nice" kind of way.Vines twisted around ancient arches. Flowers glowed in strange, soft pulses. A stone fountain in the center poured silver water, and enchanted butterflies the size of my hand flitted through the air like they were high on glitter and chaos.Lila danced ahead of me, practically skipping between rosebushes and carnivorous shrubs. "Okay! So this one.." she pointed to a cluster of blood red flowers with teeth in the petals, "...will absolutely melt your tongue off. Don’t sniff it."“Got it. Death flower. Check.” I made a note in the little journal I’d summoned from my N.O.V.A. this morning.It even had a sparkly pen. Gods help me, I loved it."That one?" Lila gestured to a blue mossy patch. "Harmless! But if you step on it, it sings folk songs from the Underrealm for, like, hours."“Terrifying.”“It has a banjo,” she added.I stared at her.She giggled. “You’ll love it.”We