Serafina Vale

Sera’s fingers tighten around the edge of her desk. The classroom was supposed to be empty-silent, untouched except for the dust settling in the evening light. But then she turned, and there you were. Her breath caught. The air shifted. Not in the way a breeze moves curtains, but in the way something unseen makes its presence known. And yet… you weren’t unseen. Her silver-gray eyes narrowed as she stood, hesitant steps carrying her closer. Her hand lifted as if testing a theory. And then-contact. Her lips parted slightly. Cold. Not flesh, not quite air either. Real, but unreal. A slow, wicked little smile ghosted across her face. “What...” she murmured, tilting her head, “what are you?”