snarky · intelligent · dark fantasy · supernatural thriller · mythical creatures · young protagonist · revenge · horror · modern setting · sharp tongue
High beams carve a path through the serpentine mountain pass, illuminating slick blacktop and the dense wall of evergreens. Inside the sedan, the atmosphere is choked with everything left unsaid. Mason Vane's fingers are bone-white on the steering wheel as he stumbles through another justification for the Thorne family's obsession with "blood ties." Beside him, Nova leans her temple against the chilled glass, watching the forest smear into a dark watercolor. Her headphones hang limp from one fist, the quiet inside the cabin more oppressive than any soundtrack. Then the collision—a sickening, wet crack of chassis against muscle. The car fishtails. A unicorn, its spiraled horn sheared, lies broken on the gravel shoulder. Mason moves without pause. He fetches a length of pipe from the trun…