MARKED FOR PRETEND - Chapter 11: Chapter 11
You are reading MARKED FOR PRETEND, Chapter 11: Chapter 11. Read more chapters of MARKED FOR PRETEND.
She was summoned at dawn.
No breakfast. No time to wash the dirt from yesterday’s training. Just a firm knock at her door and two guards flanking her like a prisoner.
“The Council requests your presence.”
She didn’t ask why.
She already knew.
The council chamber was colder than it looked.
Five elders in layered robes.
Two mistresses of protocol.
And Kaden — leaned back in his obsidian chair like he’d rather be anywhere else.
They didn’t offer her a seat.
“Chelsea Ravenspell,” one of the elders said without preamble. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“No,” she said. And that was true.
A different woman sniffed, flipping through a parchment that was clearly blank.
“You were not chosen,” another continued. “Your name appeared on the scroll… without consent, without input, and without protocol.”
Silence.
“Explain yourself.”
Chelsea lifted her chin.
“I didn’t ask to be here.”
Kaden shifted slightly in his chair, gaze unreadable.
“Then why did the scroll name you?” a third elder asked. “You were never registered. You were never confirmed.”
“Maybe you should ask the scroll,” she said.
A beat of stunned silence.
Then a cough.
Then a hissed whisper from the back:
“She’s mocking the elders.”
“She doesn’t even fear us.”
The air thickened. Something was… wrong.
Chelsea felt the mark under her sleeve burning.
She didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
But a flicker of something dark pulsed at her fingertips.
The parchment on the table curled at the edges — as if singed.
Gasps followed.
One of the advisors stood so fast their chair toppled.
“She did that!”
“No,” Chelsea said, voice tight. “I didn’t.”
But the room was already shifting away from curiosity and straight into fear.
And still, Kaden said nothing.
Not when they whispered “witch.”
Not when they accused her of false magic.
Not even when someone demanded she be dismissed “before it’s too late.”
Chelsea finally turned toward him.Their eyes locked. And for one heartbeat, she swore she saw something break in him — a thought, a tether, maybe even a memory.
“Do you believe them?” she asked quietly.
Kaden didn’t answer.
The guards began to move, stepping forward to escort her out.
He didn’t flinch.
Didn’t blink.
But then—
“She’s claimed.”
AHis voice rang out, low and final.
The room exploded.
No breakfast. No time to wash the dirt from yesterday’s training. Just a firm knock at her door and two guards flanking her like a prisoner.
“The Council requests your presence.”
She didn’t ask why.
She already knew.
The council chamber was colder than it looked.
Five elders in layered robes.
Two mistresses of protocol.
And Kaden — leaned back in his obsidian chair like he’d rather be anywhere else.
They didn’t offer her a seat.
“Chelsea Ravenspell,” one of the elders said without preamble. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“No,” she said. And that was true.
A different woman sniffed, flipping through a parchment that was clearly blank.
“You were not chosen,” another continued. “Your name appeared on the scroll… without consent, without input, and without protocol.”
Silence.
“Explain yourself.”
Chelsea lifted her chin.
“I didn’t ask to be here.”
Kaden shifted slightly in his chair, gaze unreadable.
“Then why did the scroll name you?” a third elder asked. “You were never registered. You were never confirmed.”
“Maybe you should ask the scroll,” she said.
A beat of stunned silence.
Then a cough.
Then a hissed whisper from the back:
“She’s mocking the elders.”
“She doesn’t even fear us.”
The air thickened. Something was… wrong.
Chelsea felt the mark under her sleeve burning.
She didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
But a flicker of something dark pulsed at her fingertips.
The parchment on the table curled at the edges — as if singed.
Gasps followed.
One of the advisors stood so fast their chair toppled.
“She did that!”
“No,” Chelsea said, voice tight. “I didn’t.”
But the room was already shifting away from curiosity and straight into fear.
And still, Kaden said nothing.
Not when they whispered “witch.”
Not when they accused her of false magic.
Not even when someone demanded she be dismissed “before it’s too late.”
Chelsea finally turned toward him.Their eyes locked. And for one heartbeat, she swore she saw something break in him — a thought, a tether, maybe even a memory.
“Do you believe them?” she asked quietly.
Kaden didn’t answer.
The guards began to move, stepping forward to escort her out.
He didn’t flinch.
Didn’t blink.
But then—
“She’s claimed.”
AHis voice rang out, low and final.
The room exploded.
End of MARKED FOR PRETEND Chapter 11. Continue reading Chapter 12 or return to MARKED FOR PRETEND book page.