Page 106 of Slayer

The shadow mark. The name alone made my stomach twist. I thought of the shadows that had danced above me on the ceiling as Akari tried to pull me from my vision.

“Okay,” I said, exhausted and overwhelmed. All I wanted was my bed.

I turned to leave, and his hand reached out, lightly catching my upper arm. When I met his eyes, there was nothing but compassion there. “Don’t worry about the mark. It’s just unexpected.”

I nodded and he let go.

As I walked back toward the dorms, I wanted to hold on to the hug, the words he’d said.

You’re loved. You’re wanted. You’re amazing.

But the look on his face when he’d seen the mark wouldn’t leave my mind. The shadow mark. Akari’s inability to meet my eyes. And those shadows. I’d thought they were part of the vision, but she’d seen them too.

“She’s back!” Harper screamed, and I snapped my head up to see her and Luna waiting for me in the doorway of the dorm.

I sighed. They were going to be amazing and supportive, and I felt like garbage.

“Hey.” I faked a smile and lifted my arm, making sure the sleeve covered the shadow mark.

“Holy rune sleeve!” Luna gasped, rushing over to inspect my arm.

Harper started counting. “I think that’s the most anyone has ever gotten.”

“Eight? It’s a record,” Luna agreed. “Second to Kitty who has seven.”

I actually had nine, but I wasn’t saying that.

I gently pulled my arm back. “It was intense. Did you guys…hear bad stuff about yourselves in your heads?” I asked, hoping they’d relate.

Harper nodded. “Body-shaming. Thinking my parents wouldn’t be proud of me. It was awful.”

That sounded awful but not like what I’d experienced.

“Yeah. It was awful,” I agreed.

“I had a vision that I walked up to the Veil Stone and touched it and then died,” Luna said, and we both stared at her.

“Yikes,” I offered.

“What did you experience?” Harper asked.

“Similar stuff,” I lied. She didn’t look convinced.

“Well, whatever it was, it’s in the past,” Harper said. “You get your marks and move forward.”

Right.

I yawned. “I’m exhausted. I think I need a nap.”

They nodded. “Meet us later for bowling.”

“Okay,” I said and headed back to my dorm.

I planned to lock myself in my room for hours, but when I passed Daphne’s room and glanced inside, I slowed. She lay on her bed with her hoodie pulled over her head, staring blankly at the wall.

“Are you sick?” I asked softly from the doorway.

She shrugged.