Chapter 6 Touched by fire

Maxine returned to Branesti Hollow long after dusk, her boots soaked and heart heavier than when she'd left. The strange boy's warning echoed in her skull, refusing to be silenced.

None of them want you alive.

Aurel hadn't returned her messages. No ravens. No signs. Just silence.

In the quiet of her attic room at the orphanage, she lit a single candle and placed it beside the family crest her mother had left behind-a scorched emblem with a raven, a wolf, and a serpent knotted into one.

Three bloods.

One soul.

Just like her.

She stared at her reflection in the window-pale skin, violet eyes, hair like ink. She looked human. But she wasn't. Not really. And now... the world knew.

A knock startled her.

She bolted upright, reaching for the dagger under her bed.

Another knock-firm this time.

Maxine opened the door slowly.

It was him.

The boy from the woods.

His hood was down, and moonlight clung to his cheekbones like frost. His eyes-storm-gray and unblinking-met hers without apology.

"You followed me," she said.

"No," he replied. "I waited."

"For what?"

"For you to realize you need me."

Her jaw tightened. "I don't need anyone."

He looked past her shoulder, into the room she thought she'd hidden. His nostrils flared slightly, wolf-like.

"They're coming," he said. "Not the vampires. Not yet. The wolves. The old pack. They've sent trackers. You're being hunted."

She stepped outside, shutting the door behind her. "Why tell me this?"

"Because they'll kill you before you ever understand who you are. And because..." His voice faltered.

She crossed her arms. "Because what?"

He met her eyes again, softer this time. "Because I know what it feels like to be a mistake."

Her chest constricted.

She didn't know his name. Not yet. But something told her she would. That fate had twisted them together for a reason.

"Come," he said, offering his hand. "If you want answers, you'll have to burn the lies first."

She stared at his hand for a long moment, then placed hers in it-warm, solid, real.

And just like that, the fire began.