All Chapters of The Mark Of Orathyn : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The future Lycan King was missing again. By the time Rowan Blackthorn crossed the eastern courtyard, he had already searched most of the fortress. Snow crunched beneath his boots as he strode across the grounds, irritation growing with every dead end. The training fields had been empty save for a handful of warriors finishing their drills. The library had offered nothing except an offended librarian who seemed personally insulted that anyone would interrupt her morning. The kitchens had produced three separate sightings of Evren, each contradicting the last. Even the stables, usually one of the prince's favorite hiding places, had yielded nothing. That alone should have worried him. Instead, it only narrowed the possibilities. Rowan found his father standing beside the central fountain, speaking with two guards. Dylan Blackthorn dismissed them as soon as he spotted his son approaching. One look at Rowan's expression was enough for him to understand. "You haven't found him." Rowan

By the second day of travel, Pearl Ashbourne had discovered that there were only so many ways a person could look at snow before it all started becoming the same snow. By the fourth day, she had given up entirely. The road stretched through an endless procession of mountains and forests, each one looking suspiciously similar to the last. Snow covered everything in sight, smoothing away distinctions until valleys blurred together and frozen rivers looked like pale scars carved through the landscape. Even the trees seemed determined to repeat themselves. The Eclipsed Order called it an important mission. Pearl called it proof that someone else should have volunteered. Unfortunately, Astrid remained in excellent spirits. That alone was enough to make Pearl suspicious. "You've been glaring at the scenery for an hour." Pearl adjusted her grip on the reins without taking her eyes off the road ahead. "The scenery started it." Astrid's laughter rang out across the trail. "The mountains

The following morning arrived beneath a sky heavy with clouds. Snow drifted steadily beyond the fortress walls, softening the mountains until they looked like pale shadows against the horizon. By the time Pearl stepped into the main courtyard, the fortress was already awake. Servants hurried between wagons carrying crates of supplies while soldiers moved through the gathering expedition performing final inspections. Horses stamped impatiently against the cold, their breath rising in pale clouds before vanishing into the winter air.The expedition would leave within the hour, which suited Pearl perfectly. The longer people waited, the more time they had to speculate, and she had already heard enough theories about the ruins to last several lifetimes. Five experienced Wardens had vanished without leaving behind bodies, evidence, or answers. Every explanation she encountered seemed to create more questions than it solved.Astrid found her standing near the supply wagons and handed her a

The staircase descended far deeper than any structure beneath the ruins had a right to. At first, Pearl had tried estimating how far they had traveled below the city, but eventually she abandoned the effort. The ancient passage seemed determined to lead them into the heart of the mountain itself. Torchlight flickered against walls covered in silver carvings that appeared untouched by age, their intricate patterns winding across black stone with a precision that felt impossible. Dust lingered in the corners, yet the corridor looked preserved rather than abandoned, as though someone had sealed it away instead of leaving it to decay.The expedition moved cautiously, their footsteps echoing through the vast silence. The deeper they traveled, the heavier the atmosphere became. It wasn't merely the weight of being underground. There was a strange pressure to the place, an awareness that seemed to linger just beyond sight. Even Astrid, who normally possessed an endless supply of jokes for ev

Morning settled gently over the ruins, softening the jagged edges of broken towers beneath a fresh layer of snow. From the center of the expedition's camp, the ancient city appeared almost peaceful, as though it had never hidden secrets beneath its streets or whispered through forgotten visions. Pearl knew better. The unease that had followed her since their arrival refused to disappear with the sunrise. If anything, it had become more difficult to ignore. The events of the previous day lingered over the camp like a shadow. Raven's collapse, the strange vision she had described, and the growing certainty that the ruins were reacting to certain members of the expedition had stripped away much of the excitement that had accompanied their discovery. Even breakfast was quieter than usual.Pearl sat near one of the fires with a mug of coffee warming her hands while pretending not to pay attention to the conversations around her. Astrid was currently attempting to convince Rowan that his ma