Sienna's POV
There it was again, That same look. Their eyes met across the corridor it was brief, but undeniably aware. Riley's gaze locked with hers, sharp and steady, and this time… Sienna didn't look away. She should've felt awkward. Maybe even embarrassed. But all she felt was stillness. Like the moment was holding its breath between them. And then it happened. Quietly, as before. Her name. It echoed in Sienna's mind like a whisper spoken directly into her ear. Riley.
She blinked, and the name stayed.
She hadn't asked. No one had told her. No one had needed to. She knew it. Just as she knew the color of the sky or the pull of moonlight in her dreams. And that's what frightened her not in a panicked way, but in a deeper, older sense. The kind of fear that comes from knowing something is waking up inside you and you don't have a manual to stop it. Not that she wanted to know it that bad she just had that thought of knowing her name and here it is.
She said the name quietly under her breath. "Riley."
It felt right. Familiar, somehow. Like it had always been part of her vocabulary. Her fingers grazed the edge of her notebook as if hoping for answers in the pressed paper. She glanced around no one had noticed. No one saw how her shoulders subtly tensed or how her hand trembled for just a second.
She'd read about this in whispers Fae children who carried echoes of old magic in their blood, magic that surfaced without warning. Fragments of insight. Pieces of forgotten memory. The ability to know things… before they made sense. She didn't know who Riley was.
But her presence rang like a bell through Sienna's senses faint, but resonant. Something tied them together. She wasn't sure if it was past or future. But it was there.
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Damien's POV
Second day.
He wasn't late this time, just… unhurried. Damien wandered the halls like he owned the place, even though he still had to double check the class numbers carved above each door. His earbuds were in, but the music was low just enough to drown out the small talk and locker slams. He liked to watch people when they thought no one was paying attention. Most were forgettable. Same routines, same energy, same "try not to be weird" expressions. But there were always outliers. And today, he noticed two.
He didn't know their names. They weren't in his classes, but he caught glimpses of them during passing periods. In the courtyard. Near the science wing. One had silver hair and the kind of presence that didn't need volume. She moved like she belonged in some ancient painting soft, deliberate, eyes far away. There was something unreal about her. Damien couldn't put his finger on it, but she gave him a weird gut feeling. Not bad. Just... different. The other girl had this sharper vibe. Walked fast, looked around a lot, like she was sizing the whole school up for weaknesses. There was tension in her shoulders, like she was always ready for something to go down.
Damien didn't stare. He never stared.
He just noticed. He'd always been good at reading Movements, tones, shifts in people Something about those two made his instincts tilt a little. He didn't know who they were, and they definitely didn't know him. But eventually?