Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Angel?
As I waited for a response, I mentally replayed the timeline of the latter half of my day, starting with my last class, then meeting up with Layla, and then the drive to the store and back with Ryder. It was nearly 9 PM now, and the sky outside was pitch black. Then I thought about it again. Why would his dad call him to help with something when he was well aware of how far a drive it was from their home to Crowsfell? I wasn’t the brightest girl on the block, but I wasn’t entirely dumb either.
Something wasn’t adding up.
Lucky for him, I had bigger things to worry about.
I returned to my bedroom to help clean it up, but the mess had already been dealt with. The glass was gone, the ominous crow removed, and someone had taped a black trash bag over the busted window. Leave it to the girls to tidy up like a crime scene crew on autopilot. It wasn't hard to imagine Roxxi going into full drill sergeant mode to make it happen.
I turned around and headed downstairs. Cloe glanced over her shoulder when she heard me coming. “The bird is double bagged and outside the patio door. I’ll toss it in the trash bin in the morning.”
“I still think we should bury it,” Layla murmured.
“You are more than welcome to take it with you and do that,” Roxxi replied sweetly.
“Thanks for cleaning up,” I cut in brightly, hoping to avoid another potential argument. We needed a distraction, something else to focus on, and the smell of Arianna’s cooking was already making my mouth water. Being scared out of my mind and saddled with a stalker wasn’t enough to curb my appetite.
“Smells delicious,” I complimented, moving to join them.
“So do you,” Roxxi teased as she plated another dish with garlic bread. “The post-traumatic shower glow suits you.”
I laughed lightly. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”
Cloe turned and passed me a fresh glass of iced tea. “You’re okay, though?”
I nodded, accepting the drink and taking a slow sip. “As okay as I can be, considering.”
“That was seriously messed up. What if it had hit you?” Layla asked, sitting down a pile of napkins on the table.
Cloe cringed. “I don’t even want to think about that. It’s bad enough that someone did this in the first place. When we know who it was, I got something for their sadistic ass.”
“Period,” Roxxi gestured.
I began gathering silverware for each of us. “Has anyone posted about being Marked yet?”
Cloe skirted around me. “Some have, and all I’m going to say is, these Huntsmen got creative with it.”
Roxxi nudged her with her hip as they passed each other. “Well, don’t hold out. Tell her so she can feel better about her situation.”
“Yeah, Cici. Let me revel in the despair of strangers,” I joked.
She picked up her phone off the counter and tilted it toward us after unlocking it. “Aaron Winchester, he’s a point guard on the basketball team, found a noose made out of barbed wire hanging in his dorm closet. His Marked note was stitched into the lining of his jersey.”
Ari stirred the pasta once more before turning the burner to warm. “From what I’ve gathered so far, there’ll be another couple of Hunt announcements and a few more pieces coming together. Then it kicks off full swing next week. No official start date has been announced yet. Only that initial statement has gone up. A text from the school should be coming next.”
“Is there any way to know who our Huntsmen are?” Roxxi asked.
Ari winced apologetically. “Uh—no. Not until it’s over or you let them close enough to unmask, but then you risk the chance of losing.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Last year, it could literally be anyone. The guy next to you in class, someone in your dorm building, or a random student who had never interacted with their Marked before the Hunt.”
“Talk about keeping enemies close,” Roxxi mused.
Layla frowned. “This is like Senior Assassin all over again.”
“Yeah, if you swap water guns for psychological warfare.” I laughed.
We carried everything else to the dining nook and settled around our table to eat.
Ari took a bite of pasta and then tapped away on her cell a few times. “Like I suspected, they’ve added onto the official site about a rule change being announced, but it isn’t up yet.”
I sighed, taking another bite of my food, covering my mouth before speaking. “I don’t think I want to know. This is really good by the way, Ari.”
She beamed. “Thank you.”
Layla set down her fork, fidgeting with her napkin. “How exactly is The Hunt won? What’s the benefit of holding out instead of withdrawing?”
Cloe pushed her plate aside and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “From what I’ve read so far, Huntsmen have to actively pursue their assigned target for a minimum number of set hours. I haven’t seen how many yet. Not consecutive. It has to be documented in some way. Then, once they have the green light from the faculty overseeing this whole ordeal, they have to ‘capture’ their target in front of at least one non-Marked student witness.”