CHAPTER ONE: The Boy in the Corridor
The first time Raya saw him, she thought he was a hallucination.
The corridor was crowded, noisy, alive — yet he stood perfectly still, like the world around him didn't exist.
Silver eyes. Dark hair. No expression.
And everyone walked past him like he wasn't even there.
Then he looked at her.
Not around her.
Not through her.
At her.
Her blood reacted instantly — hot, sharp, like something ancient had woken up in her veins.
She gasped, clutching the railing.
He tilted his head slightly, almost curious.
"Found you," he whispered.
The words didn't leave his lips.
They echoed directly inside her mind.
Raya blinked—
He was gone.
Just vanished.
No footsteps.
No sound.
Nothing.
But the burning in her blood stayed.