Page 1 of Without a Trace
Prologue
The Hollow Order
They stood in a ring of fire, bare-chested and breathless,
cloaked in silence, smoke clinging to their skin.
The lake behind them was still—watching, waiting.
The moon above nothing but a slit of judgment.
Their wrists bled. Their arms bore the mark.
Inked over bone, a swirling sigil pulsed with old magic.
One by one, they stepped forward.
One by one, they spoke the vow.
"My blood for the bond.
My body for the Order.
My silence for the flame."
The last to speak was the oldest.
He was steady. Sharp. Already half-shadow.
The others looked to him, even then.
Bowing his head, he let the smoke curl into his mouth,
speaking it like a promise no one would survive.
"And my soul—
if she asks it."
Wind surged through the trees like breath held too long.
The fire hissed. The oath took root.
Five boys bound by flame.
Five futures bled into one.
And somewhere—unseen, unready, untouched by the curse—
a girl slept with silver on her wrist,
a storm blooming behind her ribs.
They would die for her.
They would kill for her.
And in the end,
