NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Mark of the Watchers
We didn't stop running.
Not even when the whispers faded.
Not even when the glowing eyes disappeared into the blackness of the jungle.
Because we knew—
They were still there.
Watching.
Waiting.
The air was thick with something unseen, a pressure that coiled around my chest.
Every instinct in me screamed to keep moving.
To never stop.
But then—
I felt it.
A sharp, icy pain—searing into my back.
Like something had touched me.
I stumbled, nearly falling to my knees.
Shira caught my arm, her grip strong. "What's wrong?"
I gasped, my vision blurring for a moment. "I don't know."
Then I saw her face.
The way her eyes widened in horror.
And I knew—
Something was wrong with me.
The Hidden Curse
Shira didn't speak.
She grabbed my shoulder, turned me around, and yanked the collar of my shirt aside.
Then she froze.
Her breath hitched.
I didn't need a mirror to know.
I could feel it.
Something was there.
Burned into my skin.
A mark.
A deep, swirling black symbol—pulsing like a second heartbeat.
It didn't hurt.
But it felt wrong.
Like it didn't belong to me.
Like it was alive.
Shira's fingers trembled as she traced the mark.
Then she whispered one word.
A word that sent a chill through my soul.
"Chosen."
A Fate I Never Wanted
I turned to face her. "What does that mean?"
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. "We need to leave. Now."
I yanked my arm free.
"No." My voice was firm. "Tell me. What is this?"
She hesitated.
Then, finally—
She spoke.
"The Watchers don't just kill," she said. "They don't just hunt."
She met my gaze, her expression dark.
"They choose."
I clenched my fists.
"Choose what?"
Her next words made my blood run cold.
"The next one to become one of them."
Silence.
The jungle pressed in around us.
I forced myself to breathe, but my hands trembled.
I had survived battles.
I had survived betrayals.
But this—
This was inside me.
And I didn't know if I could fight it.