CHAPTER TWO — SHADOWS OF INTENT
LIORA
I wake up the next morning with Liam's voice echoing in my head.
"See you tomorrow, Liora."
It shouldn't make my chest feel warm. It shouldn't make me smile as I brush my hair or tie my shoes or step into the sunlight that spills across our front porch.
But it does.
I'm breaking the rule.
The one rule drilled into me since I could talk:
Stay away from humans. They destroy what they don't understand.
Yet here I am… thinking about one.
I touch the Heartseal Talisman, warm beneath my collarbone.
It pulses faintly — not cracking, not glowing — but as if it's awake. Aware. Watching.
"Liora," my mother calls from the kitchen, her tone sharper than usual. "Before you leave."
I step inside. Both my parents stand there, exchanging a look that makes the air feel heavier.
"There was activity last night," my father says. "Very close to the woods behind your school."
My heart drops. "What kind of activity?"
"Hunter movement," my mother answers quietly.
"And… something else. A pair of eyes watching our borders."
A chill spreads through me.
"Are you saying they found me?"
"We don't know," Father says. His voice is calm, but I see the tension in his jaw. "Just be careful. Don't trust anyone too quickly."
It's too late for that, my mind whispers.
But aloud I say, "I'll be careful."
Mother comes closer, touching my cheek the way she used to when I was little.
"You're our miracle, Liora. The world must never know what you are."
I nod, swallowing the guilt.
I walk to school with their warning pressed into my spine… but the moment I see Liam leaning against the gate, that heavy fear lifts just a little.
He looks up at me and smiles — an easy, bright smile that could melt steel.
"Morning," he says.
"Hi." I try not to sound breathless.
But something flickers in his eyes. Something unreadable. Something questioning.
I ignore it.
We walk down the hallway together, our shoulders brushing sometimes, and every touch sends sparks across my skin. I don't know if he feels it too, but he glances at me more than usual.
When we reach class, he pulls out the chair beside him.
"You can sit here," he says.
Casual. Friendly.
My heart answers him before my mind can.
I sit.
But the Heartseal Talisman gives a tiny pulse — so small I almost miss it.
It's warning me.
And I don't know if I should listen.
LIAM
She's too perfect.
That's the problem.
Every step she takes is too balanced.
Every sound around her — she reacts a split second faster than any normal human should.
And last night…
Last night, the hunter alarms in my blood rang like a siren.
A supernatural was nearby.
Close.
Dangerously close.
And then I thought of her.
Liora Vale.
The girl with strange eyes that shimmer in certain light.
The girl whose aura feels wrong in a way I can't describe.
The girl who makes my chest tighten with something I do not want to feel.
Get close to her.
That's what my father ordered.
Make her trust you… then expose what she is.
It should be simple. I was trained from childhood to do exactly this.
So why do I feel sick every time I imagine turning her in?
When she sits next to me in class, I feel the weight of her warmth through the tiniest gap between us.
She smells like sunlight and something wild.
Something ancient.
I shouldn't notice that.
I really shouldn't.
I open my notebook, pretending to focus, but I'm watching her from the corner of my eye — the way her lashes lower, the way she taps her pencil when she's thinking.
"Are you okay?" she whispers.
I blink. "Yeah. Just tired."
Lie.
I didn't sleep.
I spent half the night replaying her voice, the way she said my name.
She smiles — small, soft, dangerous.
And I swear my heart forgets its training.
LIORA
By lunch, the sky is gray, heavy with the promise of rain.
Liam and I walk toward the courtyard, but halfway there he stops suddenly and pulls me back by the wrist.
"Wait."
"What's wrong?"
His eyes scan the area. His body goes tense — too tense for an ordinary boy.
For a moment, the atmosphere shifts.
Danger.
"Do you… feel that?" he asks quietly.
My breath lodges in my throat.
Oh no.
He feels it.
The surge of supernatural energy.
The faint ripple from a creature hiding somewhere nearby.
A ripple that I feel easily… but he shouldn't be able to.
Unless—
No.
That's impossible.
Hunters always sense us, yes… but not this clearly.
"Liora?" he whispers. "Did you feel that or was it just me?"
I force a laugh. "Feel what?"
He studies me.
His gaze heavy.
Searching too deeply.
The Heartseal Talisman flares — not breaking, not burning — but pulsing like a heartbeat.
Warning me:
He knows.
He's close.
Too close.
Liam finally shakes his head. "Maybe I'm imagining things."
But something in his voice says he doesn't believe that at all.
LIAM
She's lying.
Why?
Why pretend she didn't feel it?
Humans don't sense supernatural energy.
Only hunters and the creatures themselves.
So either:
Liora Vale is a hunter,
Or
Liora Vale is something else.
And I already know she's not a hunter.
I watch her while she bites into her sandwich.
She laughs at something a girl says.
She pushes her hair behind her ear.
She looks painfully, dangerously human.
But the pulse I felt in the hallway?
That wasn't human.
I text my father under the table.
Found possible lead. Getting closer. Continue observation?
The reply comes instantly.
Observe. Do not engage. Confirm before moving. Do NOT get attached.
My stomach twists.
Too late.
LIORA
School finally ends, but Liam doesn't walk home immediately.
He lingers.
"Want me to walk you?" he asks.
I should say no.
I should run the other way.
Mother's warning beats in my head like thunder.
Don't trust anyone too quickly.
Hunters are everywhere.
But my heart speaks faster than my fear.
"Yeah. I'd like that."
His smile looks sincere.
Real.
Warm enough to melt every rule I've ever been taught.
We walk side by side along the quiet road. Leaves swirl around our feet. The world feels balanced — almost peaceful — until a sudden gust of wind rushes between us.
My senses snap awake.
Something is behind us.
Watching.
Hunting.
I'm about to turn when Liam suddenly steps in front of me.
"Stay behind me."
The words hit me harder than any warning.
Why would a human boy—
He looks into the trees with a sharpness no normal person should have.
Then I see it too — a shadow moving unnaturally fast.
A supernatural.
Not hunter.
Not vampire.
Not wolf.
Something else.
My talisman pulses hard enough to sting.
"Liam," I whisper, grabbing his arm. "We need to go."
"How did you know something was there before you even looked?" he asks softly.
Ice floods my veins.
I said too much.
Reacted too fast.
He turns to me slowly, eyes narrowing.
"Liora… what are you?"
The world freezes.
He asked it.
He asked it.
My heart pounds so hard I can barely breathe.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about—"
"Don't lie to me."
His voice is low.
Sharp.
A hunter's tone.
I step back.
He follows.
Every instinct in me screams danger — but not the kind that wants to kill me.
The kind that wants to know me.
Which is worse.
LIAM
She reacted before she saw the creature.
That confirms it.
My father would say:
Strike now. Capture her. Don't let her escape.
But my heart says something entirely different.
She looks terrified — not like a monster caught in a trap, but like a girl who doesn't understand why the world hates her.
"Liora," I say gently, "I'm not going to hurt you."
Her eyes widen.
Her hand flies to her chest — to the necklace she always hides.
"Please," she whispers, "just let me go home."
Her voice hits me like a punch.
I lower my hands slowly.
I step back.
The creature in the woods screeches and flees, but I barely hear it.
All I see is her.
Afraid.
Shaking.
Trust slipping through her fingers.
"Okay," I whisper. "Go home."
Her breath catches.
Shock flashes across her face.
She didn't expect me to spare her.
She turns and runs — not fast enough to expose herself, but faster than most humans could manage.
And as she disappears into the distance, I press my hand against my chest, feeling my heart pounding like a drum.
Damn it.
I'm in trouble.
Because I just let the creature go.
And worse…
I'm falling for her.
LIORA
I slam the door behind me when I reach home.
My mother rushes toward me. "Liora? What happened?"
My voice cracks.
"I think… he knows."
Both my parents freeze.
"Who?" my father demands.
I swallow hard.
"Liam."
The room falls silent.
The Heartseal Talisman throbs painfully — as if mourning the trust that just shattered.
And all I can think is:
I'm falling in love with someone who might destroy me.