Seraphina (pov)
The morning bell echoed through Westvale High, bouncing off the lockers and classrooms like a drumbeat that signaled another ordinary day. I tugged my backpack strap tighter and navigated the crowded hallway. Students laughed, lockers slammed, sneakers squeaked — all normal sounds, yet my stomach twisted with unease.
"Seraphina, did you finish the Langley homework?" Mia asked, nudging me playfully, her notebooks clutched tight to her chest.
"I… kind of. Hopefully, I'll survive," I said, forcing a smile.
Everything seemed normal. Too normal.
Then I saw it — a shadow flickering at the edge of my vision, moving too fast to belong to any student. My heart skipped a beat. I turned, expecting to see someone there. Nothing.
"Seraphina?" Mia's voice brought me back. "You okay?"
"Yeah… just tired," I muttered, but the chill crawling down my spine didn't leave me. Something was watching. I could feel it.
I tried to shake it off as we approached my locker, but then a black cat darted across the hall, fur puffed up, eyes glowing faintly. It hissed at something invisible, crouched as if ready to pounce. Students barely noticed. I froze. My pulse accelerated.
"What's wrong with that cat?" I whispered, glancing at Mia, but she waved me off, absorbed in chatting about the math test.
I turned the corner toward the stairwell. That's when I heard it — a low metallic scrape followed by a screech that made my stomach lurch. My instincts screamed danger.
Before I could react, a tall bookshelf near the stairwell tipped violently, threatening to crush anyone nearby. Books spilled to the floor. My foot caught on a loose tile, and I stumbled forward.
"Mia!" I shouted. She froze, eyes wide, frozen in shock, her hands halfway raised as if she could do nothing. My heart raced.
Then — hands. Strong, steady hands grabbed me by the shoulders, yanking me out of the way just as the bookshelf toppled. Dust and paper flew everywhere, but I was safe.
I looked up into eyes that made my chest seize. Golden, glowing faintly in the fluorescent light. The figure was tall, imposing, yet there was something oddly familiar about the way he moved — fluid, precise, confident.
"You're safe," he said softly, his voice low and calm. "But you need to pay attention."
I could barely speak. "Who… who are you?" I whispered, heart hammering.
He leaned close, brushing his fingers against my neck. A warmth spread across my skin, a faint mark forming — subtle, tingling, almost alive. My breath caught.
"What… what is this?" I murmured, touching the mark. It pulsed faintly beneath my fingers, like it had a heartbeat of its own.
Before I could ask more, he stepped back and melted into the crowd. Golden eyes vanished, leaving me dizzy, my heart still pounding.
I glanced at Mia. She was staring at me, wide-eyed, frozen. "Are you okay?" she finally asked. Her voice trembled slightly, as if she'd just witnessed something she couldn't explain.
"I… I think so," I said, trying to sound convincing, but my fingers kept drifting to the mark at my neck. It pulsed faintly, warm and insistent, a pull I couldn't resist.
Every step toward my classroom made it throb stronger. I couldn't shake the feeling he was still watching. Protecting. Waiting.
By lunchtime, I could barely focus. Math formulas blurred on the page, history dates slipped away, and every shadow in the hallway seemed alive. My friends laughed and joked around me, but I felt… isolated. Like something unseen was threading its way through the school, waiting for me.
And then I realized — my ordinary life, predictable and safe, was gone.