Skylar woke slowly, like her body didn't trust the world yet. Every muscle ached, but it was a distant ache now, a memory of pain rather than the pain itself. Her skin felt too soft, too human, like something inside her had retreated… for now. Light filtered through the window, golden and low—early morning. She was warm. Not just from the blanket, but from something behind her. Someone. She blinked, breath catching when she realized Avery had fallen asleep curled against her back, one arm draped lazily around her waist, the other hand tucked under Skylar's. Her heart should've panicked. This wasn't something she did—this closeness, this softness. Not with anyone. Not with another stud. But her heart didn't panic. It beat steady and calm, maybe for the first time in weeks. Avery stirred behind her. "You awake?" The words were soft, raw with sleep. Skylar didn't answer right away. She just reached up and let her fingers brush over Avery's hand. "Yeah," she whispered. "I'm here." They stayed like that for a long time. No rush. Just quiet breathing, tangled fingers, and something sacred lingering in the silence. Skylar turned slowly to face her, and Avery didn't move away. Their faces were close now, noses nearly brushing, but there was no fear in Avery's eyes. No discomfort. Only… curiosity. And something else. "You should've run," Skylar murmured. "That night. I wasn't in control." Avery searched her eyes. "I did think about it." That earned the faintest smile from Skylar. "But then I saw you," Avery added. "Not the claws, not the teeth—you. And I couldn't leave you like that. Not when I knew you were still in there." Skylar swallowed hard. "You're not scared of me?" "I am," Avery said honestly. "But not because you're dangerous." Skylar's brow furrowed. "Then why?" Avery's voice lowered. "Because I think I care about you more than I'm ready to." That stopped the breath in Skylar's throat. No one had ever said anything like that to her before—not with that kind of honesty. It wasn't lust. It wasn't seduction. It was real. And terrifying. She sat up slowly, fingers dragging through her hair, needing space but not wanting distance. "I don't know how to be soft," she said quietly. Avery leaned on one elbow, watching her. "You don't have to be. I'm not asking for softness. Just truth." Skylar turned to look at her. "The truth is… when I thought I was going to lose myself in the woods, your voice pulled me back. I felt it like a thread wrapped around my soul. That's not normal." Avery's face was unreadable. "No. It's not." They sat in silence, staring at each other like neither of them knew what to do next. Then Avery spoke, the words hesitant but firm. "I think we're connected in a way that goes beyond any of this. Beyond school. Beyond our pasts. You're not the only one changing, Sky." Skylar frowned. "What do you mean?" Avery sat up fully now, revealing the journal she'd hidden under the pillow. She flipped it open, showed Skylar the page with the phrase burned into her memory: 'When the protector breaks, the mirror becomes the blade.' "I think this bond between us… it's not just emotional. It's old. Like we were meant to meet now, at this moment, for a reason." Skylar stared at the page, a cold shiver running down her spine. "So you're saying what? You're some kind of chosen… key?" Avery's lips quirked. "Don't laugh." "I'm not." Skylar ran a hand over her face. "I'm saying it sounds insane and also… it makes sense." Avery's voice dropped lower. "Sky… when I touched you during the shift, something inside me unlocked. I saw things. Visions. Past lives. Blood. Wolves. A silver tree with branches full of crows." Skylar blinked hard. "I saw that tree too." Their eyes met, locked, like something was folding in on itself between them—two pieces sliding back into place after years of being lost. Avery reached out slowly, carefully, and placed her hand on Skylar's bare back. Her fingers brushed the faint mark that shimmered beneath her skin now like an ember: the spiral. Skylar sucked in a breath at the touch, heat pooling low in her stomach, and not the dangerous kind this time. "It glows," Avery whispered. "Only when I touch you." Skylar turned her head slightly, cheek brushing against Avery's. "Do it again." Avery's breath caught, but she obeyed. This time, her fingers lingered. Tracing, exploring, daring. Skylar closed her eyes. "Feels like lightning." Avery moved closer, her lips near Skylar's ear. "Does it hurt?" "No," Skylar whispered. "It feels like I'm waking up." The space between them disappeared. Not in a crash. Not in a rush. But in a slow, magnetic pull—like gravity, like fate. When their lips met again, it was different. No panic. No fear. Just heat, and reverence, and the ache of two souls trying to remember something ancient. Avery pulled away first, barely. Her lips brushed against Skylar's as she whispered, "We're not just falling for each other." Skylar's eyes stayed closed. "We've already fallen." And in the quiet that followed, both of them knew… nothing would ever be the same again.
The sky above the campus shifted by noon, growing heavy with a kind of silver light that made everything feel colder than it was. Clouds curled in on themselves like secrets, and the wind carried the faintest smell of iron and wild things. Skylar felt it first. Not in her body this time—but in her gut. A tension, a tug, like something ancient was watching her from the edge of her awareness. She stood near the back doors of the student center, eyes fixed on the tree line just past the gardens. Avery had gone inside to grab coffee, promising to be right back. But Skylar couldn't shake the feeling. Her fingers curled and uncurled. Her shoulder blades ached—not painfully, but in memory. She could still feel where the claws had sprouted. Still feel Avery's fingers on her skin. But it wasn't that. This was different. A low hum beneath the world. "Something's coming," she muttered to herself. "It's already here," said a voice from behind her. Skylar turned fast. A woman stood under the shadow of the building. Older—maybe fifty, maybe ageless. Dreadlocks twisted into a wrap. Deep brown skin lined with stories. Her eyes were clouded, but she didn't move like someone who couldn't see. She stepped forward with purpose, her cane clicking softly against the cement. "You felt it," she said, nodding toward the woods. "Good. That means the bond is settling." "Who are you?" Skylar asked, instincts sharpening. "Friend," the woman said. "Protector of girls too brave to run." Skylar's body relaxed slightly, but her guard was still high. "You knew I'd be here?" "I knew she would be here." The woman smiled faintly. "And where the Mirror goes, the Beast follows." Skylar's breath caught. "What did you just say?" "Don't worry," the woman said, lifting her hands. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help. Before the others find you first." "What others?" Avery's voice cut in from behind them. She stepped out of the building, holding two coffee cups and wearing a look Skylar recognized: polite, but ready to throw hands. The woman turned toward her, and her smile widened. "Ah, there she is. The soul that remembers. The blade still buried." Avery froze. "You know me?" "I know pieces of you," the woman said. "The rest will come in time." "Okay, no offense, but that's creepy as hell," Avery said, handing a cup to Skylar. "What do you want?" "To warn you," she said. "You think the change was the beginning. But it wasn't. That was the test. The true beginning comes when the first hunter arrives." Skylar and Avery exchanged a look. "Hunter?" Skylar asked. "Someone's hunting me?" "No," the woman said softly. "Someone's hunting what's in you. And if they can't have it—they'll kill you to stop it awakening fully." Silence fell like a blade. Skylar looked toward the woods again. "How do we stop them?" "You don't," the woman said. "Not yet. First, you must become what you were meant to be." "Which is?" Avery asked. The woman turned to her. "Her balance." She reached into her coat and pulled out a small pouch. She handed it to Avery, who opened it cautiously. Inside was a smooth stone—blood red with a spiral etched into the center. The same spiral now faintly burned onto Skylar's skin. "Keep it near her heart," the woman said. "It will help contain the shift. For now." Skylar frowned. "And when it doesn't?" The woman looked at both of them. "Then you must make a choice." "What choice?" "Whether to become her anchor…" her eyes darkened, "…or her blade." And with that, the woman turned and walked away, vanishing around the edge of the building like smoke. Neither girl moved. Not for a long time. When Avery finally spoke, her voice trembled just enough for Skylar to notice. "What the hell are we caught in?" Skylar looked down at her coffee, then up at Avery. "Something bigger than both of us." "But why us?" Avery asked. "Why two girls like—" "Like us?" Skylar offered. "Like two masculine-presenting women who were never supposed to fall for each other?" Avery didn't smile. She was thinking too hard now. "This doesn't feel like just fate." "No," Skylar agreed. "It feels like war." And above them, the clouds broke just slightly—enough to let a single beam of light fall onto the grass beside their feet. A strange wind lifted through the trees. And from somewhere deep in the woods, a howl rose. Low. Long. And not quite human.
Later that night, Avery sat cross-legged on her dorm bed, the red spiral stone resting in her palm like it was alive. The room was dark, except for the faint glow coming from her desk lamp, casting shadows that moved with the wind pressing against the window. Skylar sat across from her in the desk chair, arms folded, jaw tense. She hadn't spoken much since the strange woman left. But she hadn't gone far, either. Avery kept sneaking glances at her—at the way her frame barely fit in the chair, her body built like armor but her eyes distant. And yet, she stayed. That meant something. Avery closed her hand around the stone. "Do you think she meant it? About the hunter?" Skylar nodded once. "Yeah. I felt it. Something's shifting. Like the air is tighter." Avery drew in a breath. "Okay… I'm gonna try something." "Try what?" Skylar's voice was low, cautious. Avery didn't answer. She pressed the stone to her chest, just over her heartbeat, and closed her eyes. She didn't know what she expected—heat, light, maybe pain. What she got was a plunge into darkness. The world fell away, and suddenly she was nowhere. Or everywhere. It was hard to tell. Wind rushed past her ears, and whispers curled through the air like smoke. Then she saw it. The tree again—the silver one, with crows perched on every branch. But this time, something hung from its limbs. Bodies. Hers. Over and over. Different lifetimes. Different clothes. But always her. And always the same wound: a spiral burned into her chest. "You are the blade," a voice whispered in her mind. "You are the mirror. You reflect the beast. And when it breaks, you must choose—contain it, or cut it loose." A howl split the sky. Avery gasped. Her eyes snapped open. Skylar was kneeling in front of her now, gripping her shoulders, eyes wild. "Avery—hey, look at me. What did you see?" Avery couldn't speak. Not yet. Her hands trembled. The stone had gone cold. "I saw me," she whispered finally. "I saw… versions of me. Dying. Again and again." Skylar's grip tightened. "What killed you?" Avery looked up. Her voice was barely audible. "You." Skylar flinched like she'd been slapped. She stood, pacing the room now, hands buried in her hair. "I told you. You shouldn't be near me." "Sky—" "No," she said, voice sharp. "Whatever this bond is, it's wrong. It's gonna get you hurt. Or worse." Avery stood too, stepping in front of her. "Look at me. Right now. Do I look afraid?" Skylar's jaw worked, but she didn't answer. "I'm not leaving," Avery said firmly. "Not when you're in the middle of something this big. And definitely not when I'm part of it too." Skylar looked at her finally. "Why?" "Because I feel it, Sky." Avery's voice cracked, real and raw. "I feel you under my skin. I feel you in my blood. And even if this bond ends in fire—I'd rather burn than walk away wondering what we could've been." The words landed like thunder. Skylar stepped back once, breath trembling. Her hands curled into fists at her sides. "You don't know what I am when I shift. It's not just teeth. It's rage. Hunger." Avery reached out slowly, gently, and placed a hand against her cheek. "Then let me be the one who reminds you what's human." They stood there for a moment, everything tight between them, electric and unspoken. And then a knock shattered the silence. Three knocks. Firm. Heavy. Skylar's head snapped toward the door. Avery felt it too—a shift in the air. "Did you invite anyone?" Skylar asked. Avery shook her head. "No one knows we're here." Another knock. Then silence. Skylar stepped forward, pulled the door open slowly. A girl stood there. Tall. Light skin. Slick curls, perfectly shaped brows, and a calm that didn't match the storm outside. She wore a leather jacket and combat boots like she wasn't a guest but a warning. Her smile was sharp. "Hi. Sorry to barge in. I'm Neveah. New transfer. Mind if I come in?" Skylar's body went rigid. Avery watched her posture shift. Not just alert—ready. "You're not a student," Skylar said. Neveah tilted her head. "Technically, I am." Her gaze flicked past Skylar to Avery. "You must be the Mirror." Avery stiffened. "Excuse me?" Neveah stepped in like she owned the room. Her presence was undeniable, every movement calculated. "You've felt the visions, right? The pull in your chest when she's near?" "How do you know about that?" Skylar asked. "Because I've been chasing her through lifetimes," Neveah said, eyes locked on Avery. "And this time? I'm not letting the beast win." Skylar moved instantly, stepping in front of Avery, teeth clenched. "You so much as look at her wrong, and I'll rip your throat out." Neveah smiled like that was the exact reaction she wanted. "Good. That means it's close." "What is?" Avery asked. Neveah looked her dead in the eyes. "The breaking."
For a moment, all three of them just stood there, the air thick and waiting. Avery's heart slammed in her chest, her body frozen between fight and fear. Skylar hadn't taken her eyes off Neveah since the girl stepped into the room. Her shoulders were square, her jaw clenched, but Avery saw the twitch in her hand. The restraint. The shift pressing just beneath her skin like a storm waiting to burst. "What do you mean, the breaking?" Avery asked, voice steady despite the dread twisting in her gut. Neveah's eyes flicked to her, softening just slightly. "It's the moment the beast inside her stops asking permission. It's already close. You've felt it, haven't you? The change in the wind. The pressure in your chest." "I thought that was the bond," Avery said. Neveah nodded. "It is. But it's also more than that. When the Mirror and the Beast meet, the world has to shift around them. It always has. In every cycle." "What cycle?" Skylar snapped. "What the hell are you talking about?" Neveah stepped forward. "This isn't the first time you've been born into this power. And it won't be the last. But if you don't survive this one, there won't be another." Avery stepped between them now, holding her hands out. "Wait. Wait. You've been watching her? Through what—some kind of reincarnation?" Neveah tilted her head. "Something like that. My bloodline remembers. We've always followed the Beast." "You're a hunter," Skylar said darkly. "Not quite." Neveah smiled without warmth. "I'm a breaker." Silence cracked through the room. Skylar moved fast. Her hand shot out, slamming Neveah into the wall, forearm pressed to her throat. Avery gasped. The room buzzed with static, the heat rising in waves off Skylar's skin. Her eyes had begun to darken again. Not entirely—but enough. "You're not touching her," Skylar growled. "You're not breaking anything." Neveah didn't flinch. She looked down at Skylar with something like respect. "See? It's already begun. You're holding yourself back for her. That's rare. But dangerous." "Why are you here?" Avery demanded. "What do you want from us?" "To warn you," Neveah rasped. "To prepare you. Because if I don't, someone else will find you first. And they won't be kind." Skylar backed off just enough for Neveah to breathe. Her chest heaved once before she straightened her jacket, completely unfazed. "There's a group," she said. "They call themselves the Ash Circle. They want what's inside her—Skylar's power. Her bloodline. But they can't access it unless the Mirror allows it." "Allows what?" Avery asked. "The shattering," Neveah said. "It's when the Mirror willingly breaks the beast's control. Tears down her walls. It gives them a window to steal everything she is." Avery's stomach turned. "You're saying I'm the only one who can stop them from taking her." "Yes," Neveah said. "Or… you're the one who hands her over." Skylar looked stricken. "No. She'd never—" "Wouldn't she?" Neveah cut in, eyes narrowing at Avery. "You just met her. You don't know how far this goes. What happens when she shifts in front of you again? What happens when she kills?" "She won't," Avery said, jaw clenched. "Because I'll be there. I'll keep her grounded." "Can you swear that?" Neveah asked. "When your own visions show her destroying you?" Avery hesitated, just for a breath. And that breath cut Skylar deeper than any blade. She stepped back, away from both of them, shaking her head. "I need air," she said hoarsely. "Sky—wait," Avery said, reaching out. But Skylar was already out the door. Avery stood there, caught between panic and fury. Neveah leaned against the wall, watching her. "That was cruel," Avery said. "Truth usually is." "Why are you really here?" "Because I care," Neveah said, and for a second, Avery saw something vulnerable slip across her face. "In one of the old lives… she loved me." That knocked the breath out of Avery. "What?" "Not in this one. Not yet. But I remember it. We were wild. Powerful. Untouchable." Her voice lowered. "Until she lost control. And I died." Avery's mouth went dry. "You remember that?" "Every detail." "Then why come back?" "Because something's different this time," Neveah said. "She's already changing. You've softened her. And that means we might have a chance to rewrite what comes next." Avery stared at her, pulse thudding. "So what do we do?" Neveah's face turned serious. "Find her. Tonight. Before the breaking takes her." Avery didn't wait. She grabbed her hoodie, bolted out the door, heart racing. She didn't need to guess where Skylar had gone. The woods. Of course the woods. It always came back to the trees. The wind had shifted again. Sharp. Cold. The clouds above had gone from silver to black. Thunder rumbled somewhere distant. Avery's feet pounded against the damp trail, breath heavy, chest aching. "Skylar!" she shouted. No answer. Just wind. Leaves. And the rising sense that something was wrong. Then she saw it. A flicker of movement up ahead. A figure on their knees in a clearing. Skylar. Trembling. Her hands were clawed again, but her back was hunched, her body fighting the change. Her voice—guttural, raw—carried through the trees. "Stay back!" But Avery didn't listen. She rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside her. "Sky—look at me." "I can't—control it," Skylar growled. "It's ripping me apart." "Then let me help you," Avery said, reaching into her hoodie, pulling out the stone. She pressed it against Skylar's chest, just like before. The spiral lit. White-hot. But Skylar didn't calm. She screamed—pain and power and something else, something ancient. Her body convulsed. Her eyes snapped open—glowing now, not gold, but silver. Avery held her tighter. "Don't let go. Please. Don't leave me." "Avery," Skylar gasped, voice distorted, "I see you now. I remember." And then she collapsed. Silence. Stillness. Avery's tears fell fast now. She held Skylar's body close, breathing hard. "I've got you," she whispered. "I've always got you." Behind her, footsteps approached. Neveah stepped into the clearing. Her eyes widened at the glow still pulsing beneath Skylar's skin. "It's started," she whispered. Avery looked up at her. "What?" Neveah's face was pale. "The final cycle. The one that ends the others. Whatever happens next—there's no going back." The wind howled through the trees like a scream. Above them, the moon broke through the clouds—full, high, and burning white. The spiral on Skylar's chest flared once more. And the ground beneath them trembled.