The Hunted

Sasha Marek is the kid everyone at Ashmoor avoids. His bond is too loud, his Passenger too angry, his power flagged *volatile* in red ink. Dangerous jobs go to Sasha, because who else? So when something escapes the East Wing, he tracks it alone. What he finds isn't a monster. It's Ferry: ancient, unbonded, and full of truths about the academy that nobody wants to hear. Then the sirens start. Someone has sold them out, and suddenly it's four kids, one legend, and a moth against a school with a navy. The only way out is south, to a drowned refuge Ferry swears is real, with hunters on every road and their faces in every channel. Sasha volunteers for the worst of it. He always does. It's easier than letting anyone look at him softly. But running for your life with a family teaches you things. Like what the power actually costs. Like who's still feeding the hunters your route. They wanted him for a weapon. He's going to show them what they made.