Chapter 2

Sera POV

My breath caught in my throat.

"What—" I spun around, searching the crowded boutique. A woman in heels brushed past me, a couple argued over scarves, a kid tugged at his mother's sleeve near the register. Normal life. Normal noise. No sign of the pale-eyed man.

My pulse hammered in my ears. "Where?" I twisted toward the entrance, scanning the steady flow of shoppers coming and going. Nothing. He was gone.

Had I imagined it?

"Sera!"

Bri's voice jolted me. I looked up to see my friend waving wildly from across the boutique, grinning at a window display of handbags. The sunlight caught Bri's hair, turning it gold, like she was posing for some magazine ad. Completely clueless.

I hurried toward her, weaving through the racks. My shoes squeaked against the polished floor as I closed the distance, my heart still slamming in my chest.

When I reached Bri, I grabbed her arm. "Did you see him?"

Bri blinked. "See who?"

"The old man. He was right next to me. He…he said something."

Bri tilted her head, frowning slightly. "Uh, you mean when you were tying your shoe? You've been standing by that rack for like five minutes. No one was there."

"No." I shook my head hard. "I swear, Bri. He was right here. He leaned down and said…" My voice dropped. "He said, 'The prophecy has awakened. Your time begins tomorrow.'"

There was a beat of silence.

Then Bri burst out laughing. Loud enough that a nearby customer shot us a curious glance.

"Oh my god, Sera. Are you serious right now?"

My face burned. "I know how it sounds…"

"It sounds like you ran into some crazy street preacher." Bri looped our arms together like she was rescuing me from embarrassment. "Honey, this city is crawling with weirdos. I once had a guy try to sell me salvation and a timeshare in the same sentence."

"I'm telling you, this wasn't like that."

"Uh-huh." Bri gave me a look that was equal parts fond and dismissive. "Well, either way, he's gone now. Let's not let Mr. Prophecy ruin your birthday shopping."

She tugged me toward another rack of dresses before I could argue further.

"But Bri—"

"Nope. We're not doing this." She held up a flowing sundress. "We're focusing on important things. Like whether this screams 'I'm competent and hire-able' or 'I'm trying too hard.'"

I wanted to keep arguing, to make her understand that something real had happened. But the way she looked at me, like I was being dramatic over nothing, made the words stick in my throat.

For the next hour, Bri kept up a steady stream of chatter, dragging me from store to store with the energy of someone on a mission.

"Try this one—ooh, no, not that, the cut's all wrong—okay, this is giving intern chic."

"Do you own anything besides black jeans? We're mixing up your wardrobe, darling."

"Shoes. Don't argue. You can't show up to Hoblox in those sad sneakers."

I tried to play along, tried to smile and toss back comments, but my mind kept slipping. Every mirrored wall, every window reflection, I found myself checking. Expecting pale eyes staring back. Expecting him to be there again.

He wasn't.

Still, the words wouldn't leave my head. The prophecy has awakened. Your time begins tomorrow.

What prophecy? What did that even mean? And why me? I was nobody special—just a broke college student trying to make it through another semester without falling apart.

At one point, Bri shoved a blouse into my hands and practically dragged me into a fitting room.

"Go. Try it. And don't you dare come out here and tell me it's too expensive."

Inside the tiny space, I stared at myself in the mirror, the blouse hanging limp from my hands. My own reflection looked pale, shaken. Dark circles under my eyes that makeup couldn't quite hide.

"Pull it together," I whispered to my reflection. "He was just…just some random crazy guy. That's all."

But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true. The way he'd appeared—not walked up, just suddenly there. The way he'd vanished into thin air. And his eyes…those pale, ancient eyes that seemed to see right through me.

I forced myself into the blouse and stepped out.

Bri clapped. "Yes! Okay, this one, definitely this one. Perfect for your first day. You look competent and hot. That's the dream."

I laughed weakly. "Is that the bar now?"

"For interns? Absolutely." She circled me, adjusting the collar. "Trust me, half the battle is looking like you belong there."

"And the other half?"

"Actually knowing what you're doing. But we'll worry about that later."

Despite everything, I smiled. This was Bri—always practical, always confident that any problem could be solved with the right outfit and enough determination.

"You're ridiculous," I said.

"Ridiculously helpful," she corrected. "Now go change. We have three more stores to hit."

By late afternoon, our arms were loaded with bags. Bri was practically glowing, buzzing with satisfaction as she rattled on about my "new and improved" wardrobe.

"You're going to walk into Hoblox and they won't know what hit them," she said as we exited the mall into the cooling evening air. "Power skirts, subtle-but-flirty tops, that navy dress—ugh, perfection. You're going to look like you stepped out of a magazine."

I shifted my grip on the bags, my arms aching. "And everyone's going to know none of it's mine."

Bri stopped short, fixing me with a sharp look. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Make me regret spoiling my best friend. You deserve all of it."

I swallowed hard. "I just don't want to—"

"To what? Be a burden? Newsflash: you're not. You're literally the only person who doesn't treat me like some spoiled rich kid. You keep me sane. The least I can do is make sure you don't walk into your internship looking like a scholarship case."

Despite myself, I smiled. "That was a little brutal."

"Brutally honest." Bri bumped my shoulder playfully. "Now hush and let me love you, okay?"

We reached the parking garage, the echo of our footsteps bouncing off the concrete. Bri was still talking, something about shoes versus boots, when I slowed.

I turned, looking back at the glowing mall entrance. People streamed in and out, laughing, talking, arms full of purchases. Completely normal.

So why did I feel like someone was still watching me?

A chill crept up my spine. I tightened my grip on the bags.

Bri glanced over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just—" I shook my head quickly. "Nothing."

But as Bri popped the trunk and began loading our purchases, I stole one last look.

No pale eyes in the crowd. No dark figure lurking.

Still, the unease stuck, heavy in my gut.

Whatever that man was, be it a street preacher, hallucination, something else, I still couldn't shake the certainty that it wasn't random. He hadn't just stumbled into my path. He'd been there for me.

And no matter how much I tried to dismiss it, I knew, deep down, that my life had already shifted. Tomorrow would come, and with it—something I wasn't ready for.

"Sera, you coming?" Bri called from the driver's seat.

I forced myself to turn away from the

mall, from the shadows that seemed to dance at the edges of my vision.

"Yeah," I said, climbing into the passenger seat. "I'm coming."