The Prey and The PredatorChapter 1: Rooftop Freak and Cinnamon Roll Coroline Blackthorn had no soul. Literally—she’d sold it, misplaced it, and occasionally ate other people’s to make rent. It was complicated.Now she was half-ghoul, half-sarcasm, and fully over this mortal nonsense.Her current gig? Eat bad people, hand their souls to a perpetually annoyed Grim Reaper, and maybe—maybe—earn her humanity back. Like a cosmic loyalty program, except with more blood and fewer points.So here she was, perched on the school rooftop, legs swinging in the breeze, chewing gum like she wasn’t technically a monster with a body count.“Okay, Coroline,” she muttered to herself. “One more creep soul, and maybe you’ll finally feel something. Joy? Satisfaction? Hunger that doesn’t taste like ashes?”Down below, shouting interrupted her self-pity.She peered over the edge.Three steroid enthusiasts were busy shoving a scrawny kid against the wall.Luis Vega.Quiet. Glasses. Permanent expression of “I baked cookies, please don’t hurt me.” He had the emotional resilience of a golden retriever in a thunderstorm.Coroline sighed. “Not my circus. Not my souls.”Her stomach growled.“…Fine.”She dropped down from the roof like a shadow made of caffeine and bad decisions, landing between Luis and the bullies.“Three-on-one?” she said, cocking her head. “How noble. Planning to kick a puppy next?”The bullies laughed. Then they didn’t.In under five seconds, they were on the ground—soulless, heartless, and very, very dead.Coroline wiped her mouth, disgusted.“Ugh. They taste like vape juice and insecurity.”When she turned, Luis was still standing there, frozen, clutching his backpack like it was a holy relic.“Don’t freak out,” she said. “I only eat bad people. You’re fine. Probably.”He blinked. “You… eat people?”“Only the terrible ones.” She shrugged. “It’s called ethical consumption.”Luis’s lips twitched—like he wanted to smile but knew that might be a bad life choice. “Thanks.”Coroline frowned. “What?”“For saving me.”“I didn’t do it for you. I was just hungry.”“Still,” he said softly. “No one’s ever stood up for me before.”She stared at him. “Dude. I just ripped out three hearts. And you want to… what? Be friends?”He nodded. “Yeah.”“You’re insane.”He grinned. “I get that a lot.”The school bell rang, cutting through the awkward silence.Luis grabbed his books and, before she could vanish into a puff of existential dread, said, “See you after school? I want to give you something.”Coroline blinked. “What, a friendship bracelet? A restraining order?”“You’ll see,” he said, smiling like sunlight shouldn’t look that innocent. Then he ran off—probably to algebra, or to rescue a bird, or whatever cinnamon rolls did between classes.Coroline stood there for a long moment, completely unsure how she’d gone from “murderous rooftop ghoul” to “accidental savior of the school’s softest boy.”She looked down at her blood-stained hands.For the first time in forever, her chest felt weird. Not hunger. Not pain. Something annoyingly close to… warmth.“Dumb kid,” she muttered, rubbing her sternum. “Why didn’t I eat you?”She didn’t realize it yet—but that question would haunt her far longer than any soul ever could.