Marked by the Dark Lord

Marked by the Dark Lord The Twisted Court (Book One) Riley Storm Copyright ©2023 Marked by the Dark Lord Riley Storm All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, without written permission from the author. The sole exception is for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related. Edited by Olivia Kalb – https://www.oliviakalbediting.com/ Cover Designs by Jacqueline Sweet Covers Chapter One Mila Twelve years earlier … I clutched the well-worn book tightly to my chest as I hurried down the steps and out the library door as fast as my short little legs could carry me. I was careful not to let the loose-hanging flap of rubber on the front of my shoe catch on the steps. The week before, I’d fallen, adding another rip to my pants and earning myself a lashing from Mrs. Johnson’s hateful mouth. I could handle that and the beatings. Those I was used to. I carefully hid a smile as I remembered I was a big girl now. I’d learned how to roll my body to ensure the blows went everywhere instead of just in one place. I was pretty proud of myself for that. It meant I healed even faster than I used to, as long as I pretended as if I was hurt worse than I was. Yep, I was growing up! Soon, maybe, I would make Mrs. Johnson proud of me. If I kept up my reading, got a job, and brought money home, maybe she wouldn’t beat me. Anyways, it wasn’t her words or blows that hurt me. It was when she took away my books. If I was late or spoke out of turn or didn’t do something she figured I should’ve done, then Mrs. Johnson would take away my books. My stomach growled big time as I scurried down the worn sidewalk, a reminder that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Punishment for mixing sections of her TV dinner when I’d gotten on my tippy-toes to pull it from the microwave and burned my fingers on the hot plastic, letting it tip too far to one side. And maybe I’ll be able to buy some of my own food, so I can grow up big and strong like the other girls. The lights turned red, and I paused as cars zoomed down the double road, the lanes separated by large concrete boxes full of half-dead plants. I could remember several years ago when they were full of flowers and fresh greenery, though I didn’t know the names of any of the plants. Now, like me, nobody seemed to care about them. Just as the little hand started to flash, meaning the light would change soon, a noise I knew all too well made my ten-year-old body go tight. Girls laughing. Giggling, really, because they were too good to laugh. I turned my head slightly to the side, staring in horror as four of them emerged from the corner store on the other side of the street, heading in the same direction as me. I knew them all by sight and name for a good reason. No, please, not today. My book! I clutched the copy of the next Nancy Drew book to my chest as I turned away, hoping to avoid their notice. I’d been looking forward to it for two weeks, ever since I discovered the first book way in the back. What a time I’d had, reading about Nancy and the Tophams, the Turners, and the case of the missing will. What a read! I was hooked. Now I had the next book, which the library had needed to order, hence my wait. If the girls took it or broke it, I might never be able to repay the fine! And that would mean no more books at all! Why do they have to be here now? I moaned, a bead of sweat trickling down the back of my neck as the light began to change. I could still make it. They were holding slushies and sipping them gently instead of enjoying them before the heat melted the ice too much. They weren’t very smart. The light turned yellow, and I got ready to cross quickly. Maybe I would have to take a different way home. If only I could just get going. “Hello, Mila,” sneered Sarabeth, the leader of the group, as they crossed to my side just ahead of the light changing. “Hi,” I said, staring straight forward, trying not to draw their attention to the book. “Nice pants,” Margo snickered. “Another hole in them? Are you trying to start a new trend?” The light finally changed, and I hurried forward across the street. But the girls, with their longer legs, kept up with me, forming a half-circle, trying to force me to cross the street and onto the grounds of the Catholic school they attended. I didn’t let them. If I went, they could beat me up without being seen. By staying on the street, maybe someone would stop and help. Maybe. “What’s this?” Courtney hissed, yanking the book from my stubby arms. I tried to resist, but the blonde was the biggest of them all, and she easily pulled it free of my fingers. “A book?” “Don’t act too surprised,” I said angrily, still reaching for it. “Not everyone is still learning their ABCs like you.” “Hey, shut up!” Courtney screeched, shoving me while holding the book, bending its precious pages. I stumbled into the brick wall of a store that sold adult drinks, scraping my elbow off its rough surface