Labyrinth of Twisted Games (The Order #2)

by Katerina St. Clair

May this world bring you comfort in light of the chaos unfolding around us.

For there are no heroes or villains in this story. Only victors.

Let the games...

Anxiety

we all have a mutual agreeance to not acknowledge where I came from before my parents

decided to take guardianship.

"None of the other Marked have been able to withhold your...

Youthfulness in the same ways you have.

Killing other Marked is not something I take pride in.

first, it was a freak accident brought on by rowdy teens pushing too far

The minute I am inside that ward, the chips range is reactivated,

and I am left being nothing but an empty shell once more," Andrew says.

"Then I am wrong about the part I think you play in all of this."

So the father knew Xavier and Forest would be connected

"The more blood you consume, the more longevity and strength you receive."

"Your blood was a constraint." "I prefer the term bond.

Once I have determined you have fulfilled your purpose, you may have your freedom back."

Each time you try to think or speak defiantly, a new wound will paint your skin."

My hair is filled with gray. No longer do I house my mother's rich hair color.

My eyes, once green like the forest I was named after,

have now begun to fill with fle...

The disgusting X Xavier had carved into my skin mocks me.

The X is large, meant to be seen whenever I am alone with myself.

Glancing down, I see a green and blue one clung to my own.

"It's how they divide people here. More than half of the individuals in this compound are Marked.

"Winnowing and The Call. It's what they named your ability to navigate space in the blink of an eye

and your skills in navigating others' mind space," Kai says.

"And white? what does that mean?"...

"It means we are...

"My name is Elyon Morgan, and I promise, I am no dictator.

"Deception and the Hold are the traits I have been blessed with.

"The Apparatus. The mother to the Marked. It has many names.

Marked housing all four traits, the fifth trait being the ability to create more Marked-

"Being Marked derives from...

"Forest Blackburn, though young, has some of the most potent Marked blood I

If Forest is the Apparatus, she is the key to Xavier's immortality, as well as the end of the order."

"You think Forest's blood is capable of producing Marked without conception?"

"We call the mind navigation the Call.

the Apparatus is a Marked that carries all the traits our kind may have."

"Your blood, Forest. If we're right about you, a mere few drops of your blood

could convert the most mundane human into someone like me and you."

Specifically the blood of the one who began our kind.

most Marked, their altered blood only makes up 1/4th of the supply they have,

Our blood heals wounds, making us more adapt...

The more Marked blood one has, the greater chance they have of holdin...

The ability to return to one's true form with the use of Deception is essential.

"That blonde bastard has another thing coming if he thinks you're his to mark.

I will gladly devour you and look at his handwork with a smile," Fallan says,

"The longer a Marked walks this earth, draining the blood of its kind,

the more their hair loses pigmentation.

"I will fight for you till my end," She whispers.

I will choose you every time," I say. Her face contorts from fear to undying love.