Raven's POV)
The first time Darius touched me, I felt it.
Not just on my skin — but beneath it. Like something ancient stirred, something that had been waiting.
It was after school. The courtyard was empty, the jacaranda blossoms scattered like bruises across the pavement. I was walking past him, pretending not to notice the way his presence pulled at me like gravity.
"Raven," he said.
I stopped.
He stepped closer. "You've been avoiding me."
"I've been busy."
"With what?"
"Trying to be normal."
He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "How's that working out?"
I didn't answer.
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face. His fingers grazed my cheek — and the world tilted.
A jolt shot through me, sharp and electric. My knees buckled. My vision blurred.
And then I saw it.
A forest. A crown of bone. A circle of wolves, howling my name.
I gasped, stumbling back.
Darius caught me.
"Easy," he said, voice low. "It's starting."
"What is?"
He didn't answer.
He just looked at me like I was a puzzle he'd almost solved.
That night, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection.
My skin looked the same. My eyes, the same strange gold-flecked green. But something was different.
I could feel it.
A heat beneath my collarbone. A pulse that wasn't mine.
I pulled off my shirt.
And there it was.
A mark.
Faint. Silver. Like a brand pressed into my skin.
A crescent moon, cradling a flame.
I touched it.
It burned.