Chapter 1 – Rebirth in Shadows
Page 3 (Part 4/5)
Friday afternoon draped Arcadia Oaks High in the sluggish weight of impending weekend freedom. Students spilled through the halls with chatter and laughter, but Seraphine lingered behind, waiting.
She had been watching Claire all day—how her usual sharpness had dulled, how she chewed her lip more than once, how she kept stealing glances at Seraphine only to look away when their eyes met.
She's slipping, Seraphine thought, satisfaction curling warm in her chest. Now to push.
She found Claire at her locker, alone for once, stuffing books into her bag.
"Claire?" Seraphine's voice was soft, hesitant, carrying just enough fragility to set the stage.
Claire stiffened, shoulders tightening before she turned. Her guard was there, but weaker now, thinned by the gnawing guilt Seraphine had planted days before.
"Yeah?"
Seraphine shifted her bag against her hip, letting her gaze dip nervously. "Can we talk?"
A pause. Then Claire sighed, shutting her locker with a metallic clang. "…Alright."
They stepped outside, the late afternoon sunlight spilling over the school steps. Most students had already gone; the air buzzed faintly with cicadas and distant traffic.
Seraphine sat on the low stone wall by the courtyard, hands folded in her lap. Claire stayed standing, arms crossed, her stance defensive.
Seraphine looked up at her with wide, unsteady eyes. "I wanted to apologize."
Claire blinked, thrown. "Apologize? For what?"
"For making things… tense between us. I never wanted you to feel like I was hiding something."
Claire's frown deepened, but uncertainty flickered behind it. "You are hiding something. I just don't know what."
Seraphine let silence stretch, let it coil around Claire like a tightening thread. Then she whispered, "Maybe I am. But… not for the reasons you think."
Claire hesitated, torn between suspicion and curiosity. "Then what reasons?"
Seraphine's lips trembled, carefully controlled. "Because when people know too much about me, they leave. Or worse, they use it against me. And I… I don't think I could handle that from you."
Claire's arms lowered slightly. The hard edge in her eyes softened, not gone, but chipped. "From me?"
"Yes." Seraphine leaned forward just enough, her voice dropping to a hush. "You're strong. You're smart. If you hated me, I don't think I'd survive it."
The words weren't true. They weren't even close to true. But Seraphine spoke them with such trembling sincerity that Claire faltered.
Her suspicion tangled with guilt, pulling taut inside her chest.
"That's…" Claire trailed off, struggling. "That's a lot to say to someone you barely know."
Seraphine smiled faintly, just sad enough to sting. "Some people, you just know."
Claire looked away, her composure slipping further. Her instincts screamed at her to stay wary, but guilt clawed at her, whispering that maybe she'd been too harsh, maybe she'd misjudged.
Seraphine saw the battle play out in the tightening of her jaw, the restless shifting of her weight. She said nothing more, letting the silence press until Claire filled it herself.
"…Maybe I came at you too hard," Claire muttered finally.
Seraphine's smile softened, victory hidden behind humility. "I don't blame you."
Claire exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "Still. I shouldn't… accuse you without proof. That wasn't fair."
"Thank you," Seraphine whispered, her power brushing gently against Claire's guilt, reinforcing it, reshaping it.
And just like that, the sharpest blade against her had dulled.
When Claire left, she looked unsettled, her usual certainty frayed. Seraphine stayed behind on the wall, basking in the glow of another thread tightened in her web.
She'll question herself now. Every instinct, every doubt. And the more she questions, the less she'll trust her own judgment.
The sun dipped lower, painting the sky in molten orange. Seraphine tilted her head back, eyes half-closed, and whispered, "One by one, they'll all belong to me."
The god's gift stirred in agreement, wrapping her in the dark warmth of approval.