Elena POV
Several days had passed since I had drawn the symbols in the forest and encountered Ryder there. The memory of that day still lingered, the mysterious symbols and the enchanting scene replaying in my mind. I thought of returning to the forest to sketch those symbols again, curious to see if it would evoke the same phenomenon. But on second thought, I decided against it; the last thing I wanted was to run into Ryder again. Yes, Ryder. He must have cursed me with his damn eyes and hot breath, both of which now frequently haunted my dreams. Every morning, I woke up flushed, needing cool water to calm myself down.
Despite the strangeness of that encounter, life at school carried on as usual—or as usual as it could be when your classmates shunned you at every turn. My days were toug
