Beneath the Crescent Mark

Chapter three

Eryx stepped back into the shadows between the trees as quietly as he’d emerged, leaving behind only the lingering tension of his brief appearance. Ravyn watched him go, her heart still hammering with confusion.

Why had he even come? Just to make that cryptic announcement and disappear again? And why did she get the distinct feeling that he and Cassian had recognized each other—not as strangers meeting for the first time, but as something else entirely?

“Well,” Marissa said, breaking the silence with forced brightness, “that was… unexpected.” She moved closer to Ravyn, lowering her voice. “So, since when is your dad around? Because last I checked, you told me he’d been out of the picture since you were a baby.”

Ravyn’s mouth went dry. Around them, her other friends were pretending not to listen while obviously hanging on every word. Even the guys had stopped throwing the frisbee.

“It’s… complicated,” she managed, glancing toward Cassian for support. But his blue eyes were still fixed on the spot where Eryx had disappeared, his jaw tight with something she couldn’t read.

“Complicated how?” Marissa pressed, her brown eyes bright with curiosity. “I mean, he just shows up on your eighteenth birthday like some kind of movie scene. That’s not complicated, that’s dramatic.”

*You have no idea,* Ravyn thought, touching her collarbone where the mark still burned beneath her shirt.

“Maybe we should focus on the party,” Cassian said smoothly, finally turning back to the group. His charming smile was back in place, but Ravyn could see the tension in his shoulders. “It’s Ravyn’s birthday, after all.”

“Oh, come on,” said Jake, one of the guys from her track team. “You can’t just drop that bombshell and expect us to go back to eating cake. Your dad looked like he could bench press a car.”

Several of her friends laughed, but Ravyn noticed how Cassian’s smile flickered at the description.

“He’s just… big,” Ravyn said weakly.

“And mysterious,” added Sarah, another friend from school. “I mean, the way he moved, the way he looked at everyone… it was like he was sizing us up for something.”

*He probably was,* Ravyn realized with a chill. Her father had been assessing threats, looking for dangers she couldn’t even see yet.

“So, where’s he been all this time?” Marissa wasn’t letting this go. “And why show up now? Did you guys reconnect recently, or…?”

“Marissa,” Cassian’s voice carried a subtle warning. “Maybe Ravyn doesn’t want to get into family stuff right now.”

But Marissa shot him a look. “Since when do you speak for Ravyn? She can answer for herself.”

“It’s okay,” Ravyn said quickly. “It’s just… he reached out recently. Said he wanted to meet me. I guess eighteen felt like the right time to him.” The lies tasted bitter on her tongue, but what was she supposed to say? *Actually, he’s been hiding from vampires for eighteen years and only came back because I sprouted a supernatural mark that apparently makes me incredibly dangerous?*

“That’s so weird though,” Sarah chimed in. “I mean, what kind of father just decides his kid is finally old enough to matter?”

The casual cruelty of the words hit Ravyn like a slap. Because that’s exactly what she’d believed her whole life—that her father had simply decided she wasn’t worth staying for.

“Maybe there were things she doesn’t know about,” Cassian said quietly. “Reasons that had nothing to do with her.”

“You guys are being weird,” Jake announced, grabbing another soda from the cooler. “Parents are complicated. Trust me, I’d be thrilled if my dad disappeared for eighteen years.”

“Jake!” Marissa swatted his arm. “That’s horrible.”

“What? I’m just saying, sometimes the parent who leaves is doing you a favor.”

The words were meant to be lighthearted, but they settled over Ravyn like a weight. Because according to Eryx, that’s exactly what he’d done—left to protect her.

“Can we please just enjoy the party?” Ravyn asked, forcing a smile. “I promise the family drama is way less interesting than you guys are making it out to be.”

But even as her friends gradually returned to their conversations and games, Ravyn caught Marissa watching her with sharp, concerned eyes. Her best friend knew her too well, could probably sense that something bigger was happening.

And Cassian… Cassian kept glancing toward the treeline like he expected something else to emerge from the shadows.

The party wound down as the sun began to set, painting the lake in shades of gold and crimson. One by one, her friends packed up and headed home, each offering birthday hugs and promises to text later.

“You sure you’re okay?” Marissa asked as she gathered her things. “Because you’ve been acting strange all day. And I’m not just talking about the dad thing.”

Ravyn forced another smile. “Just tired. It’s been a long day.”

Marissa didn’t look convinced, but she nodded. “Okay. But call me if you need to talk, alright? About anything. I mean it.”

“I will,” Ravyn lied.

Soon it was just her and Cassian by the water’s edge, the remnants of the party scattered around them like the debris of a normal life she was rapidly leaving behind.

“So,” Cassian said quietly, not looking at her. “Your father.”

“Yeah.” Ravyn picked up a smooth stone and skipped it across the water, watching the ripples spread outward. “That was… unexpected.”

“Was it?”

The question made her turn to face him. “What do you mean?”

Cassian was quiet for a long moment, his blue eyes reflecting the dying light. “I mean, today’s your eighteenth birthday. And he shows up today specifically. That doesn’t strike you as… planned?”

“Planned how?” Ravyn asked, thrown off by his questions. It was almost as if he knew the answers that he was asking.

“I don’t know,” Cassian said, but his tone suggested otherwise. “Just seems like a big coincidence.”

They stood in silence, watching the last light fade from the sky. Above them, the moon was rising—nearly full, hanging heavy and bright above the treeline.

“Cassian,” Ravyn said suddenly. “How did you know? That day you saved me from the truck. How did you know to be there?”

He went very still beside her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. And you moved so fast…” She trailed off, remembering the impossible speed, the way he hadn’t even seemed winded afterward.

“I got lucky,” he said quietly. “We both did.”

But there was something in his voice—the same careful tone he’d used when deflecting questions about his family, his past, anything that mattered.

“Cassian.” She turned to face him fully. “Tell me the truth. Do you know who my father is?”

The question hung between them in the gathering darkness. For a moment, she thought he might actually answer. His lips parted, and she saw something like pain flash across his features.

Then he stepped closer, reaching out to cup her face in his hands. “Ravyn, I—”

A howl echoed across the water, low and haunting and impossibly close.

They both froze.

“What was that?” Ravyn whispered.

Cassian’s hands dropped from her face, his entire body tensing. “We need to go. Now.”

“Why? It’s probably just—”

Another howl answered the first, and this time Ravyn felt it in her bones. A pull. A recognition. Something deep in her chest responded to the sound with a yearning she didn’t understand.

“Ravyn.” Cassian’s voice was urgent now. “We need to leave. Right now.”