Page 32 of What Whispers in the Dark (Promises of the Marked)

C amp stretched endlessly before them; each step weighed down by the belief he was irredeemable. A Made for Magnelis. Born from blood and mindless obedience …

A monster.

The word flamed hotter than the burn on his chest. Alora’s burn.

And now, she walked behind him. Far enough he could not feel her warmth.

Would he ever feel it again? Did he even deserve it?

In the silence of the night, her thoughts bled into his mind. Pleading. Reaching for him . Searching for the male they thought was worth saving. But she did not need to beg a beast. Not when she had spoken the truth.

This bonus chapter is a POV shift from Chapter Fifty-three hours after Thalon, Garrik, and Alora convinced two young Mystics in Alynthia to trust them, but not before Garrik would seek out the legend in the Mountain, saving their grandmother.

Exhausted, magic depleted, they returned to camp with new scars engraved on the outside … and within.