Halia's POV
Today was Chloe's birthday party, and somehow, I had been invited.
I was getting ready in my room, having my hair done, my nails fixed, and adding a few accessories to complete my look.
I was still a little shocked that Chloe had invited me.
Chloe was one of the popular girls in our school. She wasn't exactly mean, but she had an attitude. She was pretty, confident, and her parents were ridiculously wealthy.
As far as I knew, she was the only popular girl in school who didn't have a boyfriend. Maybe it was because she believed most people only wanted to be around her because of her wealth, but she was surprisingly nice to almost everyone.
A few days ago, I received a message from her on Instagram asking if I would come to her birthday party.
I had agreed anyway.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn't help but stare at myself for a few seconds.
I actually liked how I looked.
My eyes stood out the most, and honestly, that bothered me a little.
Ever since my encounter with Selora and finding the pendant, my appearance had been changing in ways I couldn't explain.
My usual silver eyes now had a faint metallic gold mixed into them. All my acne had cleared from my face, and I looked more attractive than I used to.
Normally, I would have been happy about that.
But now, it just made me uncomfortable.
There were still a whole lot of questions I had to answer.
I needed to find out what I truly was after finding out I was partially human. That meant either Mom or my late dad had something hidden from me.
I also needed to find out who the man from my dream was, why he marked me, and what had happened to those sixteen girls who died seventeen years ago.
A whole lot of questions were running through my head, and it was honestly stressing me out.
I grabbed my phone and tried texting Maggie again.
Delivered.
No reply.
I sighed.
Ever since what happened to us at the library, she had completely avoided me. She wouldn't even spare me a glance at school.
I had tried going to her house last time to talk things out, but she had closed the door on me in fear.
I understood why she was scared of me. Any normal person would be, after seeing what happened.
But Maggie wasn't just any normal person to me.
She was like a sister.
And losing her hurt more than I wanted to admit.
I shoved my phone into my purse and sprayed some perfume before leaving my room.
Mom was on her night shift, leaving me alone in the house.
After locking the main door and keeping the keys safely in my purse, I took a cab to Chloe's house.
The ride wasn't long.
I sat quietly in the back seat, staring through the window and getting lost in my thoughts.
When I finally arrived, I understood why everyone talked about Chloe's family being rich.
Her house was huge.
The outside was decorated with beautiful lights, and several expensive cars were already parked along the driveway. Music could be heard from inside, and people were standing around the entrance, laughing and talking with their friends.
Getting out of the cab, I watched it drive away before turning my attention back to the house.
Being rich would be so cool.
I adjusted my purse on my shoulder and started walking toward the entrance.
Then the pendant around my neck burned.
I stopped immediately.
My hand went to my neck.
"What the hell?
The pendant was hot against my skin.
Not painfully hot, but enough to make me uncomfortable.
I looked around.
Nothing.
People were everywhere. Some were talking outside, others were walking into the house, and loud music was playing inside.
Everything looked normal.
But something didn't feel normal.
The air felt... different.
Wrong.
I touched the pendant again, but the heat suddenly disappeared.
Maybe I was imagining things.
I looked around one more time before shrugging it off.
Maybe I should relax and have fun.
I wouldn't stay long anyway.
It was just a birthday party.
I continued toward the entrance.
The moment I stepped inside, the pendant heated up again.
I froze.
Okay.
Definitely not my imagination.
I slowly looked around the crowded room.
People were dancing, talking, taking pictures, and laughing.
Then I felt it.
Someone was watching me.
I turned my head.
Across the room stood a guy in a black shirt.
He wasn't talking to anyone.
He was just staring at me.
I frowned.
Who the hell was he?
There was something strange about him, but I couldn't figure out what.
I took a step to the side.
His eyes followed me.
My hand slowly moved towards the pendant.
It was warm again.
I looked away for a second, pretending not to notice him.
When I looked back, he was gone.
I frowned.
What?
I scanned the room.
Nothing.
Maybe he had left.
"Hey!"
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I turned around and saw Chloe standing behind me with a huge smile on her face.
"You actually came!"
"Of course I came," I said, forcing a smile.
She pulled me into a quick hug.
"I'm glad you did. Come on, I want you to meet some people."
I glanced over her shoulder.
"Who was that guy standing over there?"
"What guy?"
"The guy in the black shirt."
Chloe looked in the direction I was pointing.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
"I don't know."
I stared at her.
"He's been watching me."
She looked back at me.
"Maybe he thinks you're pretty."
I rolled my eyes.
"Very funny."
"I'm serious."
Before I could reply, someone called Chloe from across the room.
"Coming!" she shouted before turning back to me.
"Stay here. I'll be right back."
She disappeared into the crowd.
I sighed and looked around again.
The guy was nowhere.
I decided to get something to drink.
Maybe I was overthinking everything because of the past few days.
I walked towards the kitchen, but as I passed the hallway, I heard voices.
I stopped.
Two people were talking somewhere nearby.
I couldn't make out everything they were saying because of the music, so I moved a little closer.
"...she survived."
My eyebrows pulled together.
Someone answered in a low voice.
"She wasn't supposed to."
I froze.
My heart started beating faster.
I knew that voice.
Or at least... I thought I did.
I moved closer, trying to hear them properly.
Then I heard the words that made my entire body go cold.
"The girl with the mark."
My hand immediately went to my neck.
No.
That was impossible.
Nobody here knew about my mark.
Nobody.
I took another step forward.
The voices suddenly stopped.
I looked toward the end of the hallway.
Empty.
I rushed forward.
Nothing.
They were gone.
I stood there, breathing heavily, trying to understand what the hell had just happened.
Then the pendant around my neck became scorching hot.
I grabbed it through my clothes.
And for the first time that night, I wasn't wondering whether something was wrong.
I knew it.
Someone at Chloe's party knew exactly who I was, which wasn't Maggie.
And somehow, they knew about my mark.