The Mask the Skin

The mirror shattered without breaking.

It pulsed—rippling like water, bending light, distorting her reflection. Lena leaned forward, breath catching in her throat. For a moment, she swore she saw hundreds of versions of herself staring back. Each one wore different clothes, different expressions. Some wept. Some bled. Some… glowed.

But only one stood still.

Her.

The Lena that chose to remember.

And then the mirror cleared.

The glowing version of her returned—the one from her dream. Golden-eyed, marked with a radiant, pulsing glyph that crawled from the base of her throat to her collarbone.

"You're close," she said from behind the glass. "But not yet ready."

"I don't understand," Lena whispered.

"You will. When the seal breaks. When the first betrayal comes."

Lena stepped back, but the glyph—the same one she saw on her reflection—burned onto her skin, a faint warmth settling over her collarbone. She gasped and yanked down her shirt slightly.

A glowing sigil now marked her skin.

Real.

Permanent.

---

The Next Morning

The school hallway buzzed with festival fever. Banners were being strung across classrooms. Girls bustled in silk and sequins, their bindis glittering like constellations. Boys competed in mock dance-offs, loud music vibrating through walls.

But Lena walked through it like a ghost.

Every movement of her shirt brushed against the glowing mark beneath, sending shivers up her spine. Nobody else could see it—but she felt it. It was alive. Breathing with her. Watching.

Aarav wasn't in school.

Rhea stuck by her side, eyes flicking to Lena's tense shoulders. "You're acting like you've seen a ghost."

"Worse," Lena muttered.

"Don't tell me it's Aarav again," Rhea groaned. "He's like some tragic prince from a fantasy serial. Hot, mysterious, and probably cursed."

"You're not far off."

They reached the classroom, and Lena froze.

Meher was waiting inside.

Alone.

She looked up and smiled. Not her usual smirk. This smile was cold. Sharp.

"Lena," she said sweetly. "We need to talk."

Rhea's eyes narrowed. "I'll wait outside."

"No," Lena said quickly. "You stay."

Meher stood. "I'd prefer it's just us."

"Well, I'd prefer not to be manipulated by people who pretend to be human," Lena snapped, surprising even herself.

Meher's eyes darkened, and her facade cracked.

"So you are awakening," she murmured.

Lena didn't flinch. "I know who you are. Or at least, what you're part of."

"Then you should know," Meher said softly, "that you're walking into a war. Aarav's lies won't save you. He's already chosen his side."

Lena's breath caught.

"What are you talking about?"

Meher stepped forward. "He's a Watcher. Or was. And you're his assignment, Lena. His final one. He was supposed to bring you in… or eliminate you if you became unstable."

Lena's heart twisted. "You're lying."

Meher's smile returned. "Ask him yourself. That is… if he hasn't already run."

---

That Evening

Lena sat on the rooftop of her building, knees pulled to her chest, the mark on her skin glowing faintly under the setting sun.

Aarav had lied to her?

No.

No—he had tried to warn her. Tried to keep her away.

But if what Meher said was true, then everything—the kiss, the confession, the silence afterward—was part of a game. A mission.

Her hands clenched.

A breeze swept her hair across her face.

Then she heard his voice.

"I told you not to trust me."

She didn't turn around. "So it's true?"

He didn't answer.

"That I was just a task? A problem to be solved?"

His silence sliced deeper than any confession.

Lena stood, spinning around. "Say something, Aarav!"

He looked… broken.

"I didn't choose this. They trained us to see Vanished as threats. Monsters. But you—" His voice cracked. "You weren't like anything they told me about."

"Then why did you pretend? Why kiss me?"

"I didn't pretend!" he shouted. "I broke the code. I left them for you."

Lena stepped back, shaking.

"Then why does it feel like betrayal?"

The mark on her chest flared, golden lines expanding across her skin.

Aarav's eyes widened. "The seal—you're activating it too fast!"

Lena stumbled. Her vision blurred.

The rooftop bent around her like liquid.

"Lena—!"

She collapsed into his arms.

---

Somewhere Else

She floated in darkness.

No weight. No noise. Just a pulse—a steady rhythm echoing through her chest.

A voice whispered: You are the key.

Another voice: You were never meant to stay asleep.

A final one, ancient and infinite: The first betrayal awakens the first gift.

Lena opened her eyes.

And the world changed.

---