The next morning, Marin woke with her heart still racing, the fog and the silver-eyed stranger imprinted on her mind. She rubbed her temples, trying to shake the memory. It had been a dream, hadn't it? The streetlamps, the shadow, the terrifyingly calm man… a dream. But the faint trace of cold on her skin told her it hadn't been.
She walked to school in a daze, her backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. Every corner she turned, every shadow she passed, reminded her of him. Silver eyes. The memory of his gaze felt like a weight pressing against her chest, both terrifying and magnetic.
During lunch, she tried to focus on the mundane chatter of classmates, but she couldn't. Every laugh and whisper felt hollow. Then she saw it: a figure leaning against the edge of the schoolyard wall. Black hair, posture so unnaturally straight it made her stomach twist, silver eyes that reflected the sunlight with an eerie brightness.
Averic Gray.
Her heart skipped, then thudded violently. He hadn't followed her, had he? And yet, here he was. Calm. Silent. Watching. She felt exposed, as though every secret she had been trying to hide had been read by those piercing eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered under her breath, more to herself than to him.
"And yet, here I am," he murmured, his voice as low and velvety as the night. "I told you… you would see the truth."