Chapter 8 | Hello, Past, Present, and Future
1138 Words
Seraphine’s POV
Lucian stood at the front of the classroom, but to me, it felt as though the entire world blurred into the background. His presence was magnetic—each movement, each word he spoke seemed to pull at the edges of my soul. There was something about him I couldn’t ignore, even if I tried. My eyes refused to look away, no matter how hard I willed them to. Every so often, our gazes met, and in those fleeting seconds, he would narrow his eyes just enough to make my heart seize in my chest. His intentions were cloaked behind that cold expression, unreadable to everyone—except, maybe, to me.
But I wasn’t the only one he watched. I could feel the weight of other eyes on me—his pack members. A few were scattered around the classroom, their attention too focused to be casual. It was no coincidence. Lucian had them watching me, subtle as it was. He didn’t trust me.
Their vigilance, though annoying, was wasted. I hadn’t come here to play vampire politics or stir supernatural drama. I came to understand the woman whose blood ran through my veins—my human mother. She died giving birth to me, and all I had were the scraps of stories James told me—my father's closest friend and the only link I had to her.
Her memory was a mystery tangled in silence. My father never spoke of her. His name alone could shut down any question. No one dared defy him. So instead, they turned their resentment on me. They thought I didn’t deserve to live—half-blood freak that I was. They said I should’ve died alongside her. That I had no right to the immortality I inherited. And so, even among the supernatural, I was alone.
The bell rang, jolting me out of my thoughts. Class was over, but my eyes still clung to Lucian, tracing his every move. It was like I was under a spell, his energy drawing me in even as I told myself to look away.
I didn’t notice the three girls until they were standing right in front of me. The one in the center extended a pale hand, and between her fingers was a card, delicate and strange, covered in intricate symbols. I glanced down, then looked again—drawn not just by the card but by the symbols etched into her skin.
Each finger bore a different mark: a crescent moon on her index—mystery and intuition. A pentacle on the middle—balance and elemental force. A spiral on her ring finger—growth and rebirth. A knot on her pinky—protection. And in her palm, the all-seeing eye, unblinking and eternal.
They weren’t just ink. These symbols hummed with magic, real and ancient. They weren’t human.
Then I noticed the others—two girls flanking her, with the exact same symbols glowing faintly on their fingertips. And around the neck of the center girl, a pendant rested, old silver alive with pulsing glyphs. It shimmered with meaning I didn’t understand, yet felt deep in my bones. A witch’s pendant. Not just jewelry—power.
Recognition clicked into place. These weren’t ordinary witches. These were them—the embodiments of Past, Present, and Future. Time and Death’s daughters.
Almost without thinking, my fingers reached out to take the edge of the card. I whispered the only greeting fitting for such beings. “Hello, Past, Present, and Future.”
Their voices, in eerie unison, answered like a spell being spoken. “Hello, Seraphine.”
A strange warmth bloomed in my chest. I didn’t know how, but I could feel it—some thread connecting us. They offered me a smile, soft but knowing, before gliding away like they didn’t belong to this plane. Their presence was like a dream, already fading, except for the card they’d left in my hand.
An invitation.
To a tarot reading. Tonight.
The address on the card stopped my breath short. It was connected to Lucian’s pack.
Why were the embodiments of time mingling with werewolves?
I hadn’t even realized they attended this school. What had brought them here—what future were they shaping? My curiosity sparked like a match to dry kindling. The answers wouldn’t come easy, but I had to know.
Legends said they were more than seers. Past could see everything someone had been, just by touching them. Present could read someone’s soul by looking into their eyes. And Future... she had to kiss someone to glimpse their fate. Not necessarily on the lips—any touch would do. But the intimacy of it was what made her dangerous. And powerful.
I searched for Lucian in the room, suddenly needing to see his face. But he was gone. Vanished, like mist at dawn. I blinked, trying to shake the disappointment. I wasn’t sure why, but some part of me had hoped he’d still be there, just long enough for me to read something—anything—in his eyes.
As I walked down the hallway toward my locker, my thoughts tangled like vines. That’s when it hit me.
A vision.
Not like a dream, but real. Sharp and immediate. Two people locked in an embrace. Their lips crashed together with hungry desperation. The male’s shoulder—marked by a vampire bite. And the girl—her lips lingered on that wound like a lover’s promise. The taste of blood and longing lingered in the air around them.
A gasp escaped me. I blinked. The vision was gone.
And there he was.
Vesperus.
He stood in front of me with a crooked smile and that aggravatingly perfect face, holding a card. The card.
Another invitation.
“To the tarot party?” I asked, incredulous.
He nodded, smirk widening. “Looks like I’m on the guest list.”
I scoffed. “Why would they invite you?”
He winked. “Why wouldn’t they? Look at me.”
I rolled my eyes, already regretting opening my mouth. Arrogance radiated off him like heat from asphalt. I turned back toward my locker, hoping that would be enough of an answer.
It wasn’t.
He followed me, footsteps silent but persistent. “We should go together,” he said casually. “You know, since we’re roommates.”
I froze.
Then slowly turned, eyes narrowing. “No.”
He grinned wider, somehow looking even more pleased. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
I didn’t respond. I just glared.
And then he walked away, leaving me smoldering by my locker, fists clenched and jaw tight. He knew exactly how to get under my skin—and he loved it.
In that moment, more than anything, I wished I had the power to erase him from my existence entirely.
- Writer
