Leo sat on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Chloe was beside him, her head on his shoulder. They'd been quiet for a while. Thinking. The kind of quiet that happens when you're both circling the same problem but neither wants to be the first to say it out loud. "So," Leo finally said. "Something's up with Iden and Bella." Chloe nodded against his shoulder. "Big time." "They're both miserable. Won't talk about it. But it's obviously about each other. I mean, come on. Even a blind man could see it." "Obviously." Leo turned to look at her. Shifted so he could see her face. "We gotta fix this." "How? We can't force them to talk. You can't make people have feelings conversations. Trust me, I've tried. It never ends well." "No, but we can put them in the same room. Make them be around each other." He sat up straighter, the idea taking shape. "A party." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "A party." "Housewarming. We never had one. New house, new start. Invite Bella. Iden's already he

The sun was warm on Bella's face. She woke up slow, stretching in her bed. The RV felt different today. Not cramped like usual. Just right. Cozy.She made coffee. Got dressed. Looked in the mirror and felt okay for once. Not great. But okay.Groceries. She needed groceries. Normal people did normal things. So she grabbed her keys and went.The store was busy. People pushing carts, looking at lists, grabbing things off shelves. Bella moved through the aisles on autopilot. Milk. Bread. Eggs. Stuff she actually needed.Then she saw him.Iden. At the end of the aisle. Holding a box of pasta like he was studying it. He hadn't seen her yet.Her heart did a stupid flip. She looked away. Turned her cart around.Too late.He looked up. Saw her. His face changed. Soft. Sad. Hopeful maybe.He walked toward her."Bella."but she didn't answer him. she pretended she didn't hear him but he kept running after her."Bella, please wait."She kept walking. "Yeah. I'm busy.""Please." He caught up easy.

The bedroom was dark except for the small lamp on Chloe's nightstand. Leo lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Chloe was curled against his side, her head on his chest. Neither of them had spoken for a while."I can't stop thinking about her," Chloe finally said. Quiet."Bella?""Yeah." She shifted. "The way she looked at us tonight. Like we'd betrayed her."Leo sighed. Ran a hand through his hair. "I know. It was rough.""We just stood there. Let her walk out.""What were we supposed to do? She was wrong. Sarah's just a normal woman with a birthmark. There was nothing there."Chloe was quiet for a minute. Then she spoke slow, like she was thinking out loud."But here's the thing. Bella doesn't just make stuff up. She's dramatic sometimes, sure. But she's not a liar. And she's a Dreamer, Leo. What if she saw something? A vision? What if that's what this is about?"Leo turned to look at her. "You think she had a dream about Sarah? About the mark?""I don't know. Maybe." Chloe sat u

The library was dark. They moved through the stacks fast, pulling books, checking pages, looking for anything.Chloe found the first clue. A book on old buildings in the city. She flipped through. Stopped at a page."Here. There's a list. Places with lots of mirrors. Old dance hall on Third Street. A theater downtown. A funhouse at an abandoned fairground on the east side. And a chapel. Old chapel on Northridge.""But there's four places." Leo pointed. "Dance hall. Theater. Funhouse. Chapel. Which one would she pick?"Chloe kept reading. Turned more pages. Found another section."Listen to this. It says faceless draw power from mirrors. They can use them to strengthen themselves. But mirrors can also expose them. Show their true face. If you catch them off guard, make them look at their reflection when they're not expecting it...""They'd be revealed." Iden nodded. "That's what she's planning. Lure Sarah somewhere with mirrors. Expose her.""But there's more." Chloe read further. "It

Iden opened his eyes.Everything was white. Not bright white. Soft white. Like looking through fog. He was lying on something hard. Cold. He tried to move but his body felt strange. Light. Like he weighed nothing.He sat up. Looked around.He was in a hospital room. But not the one he remembered. This one was empty. The bed was made. The machines were off. No nurses. No doctors. Just quiet.Then he saw it. The bed in the corner. A shape under a white sheet. A body.He stood up. Walked toward it. His feet made no sound. No footsteps at all. He reached out. Pulled the sheet back.His own face stared up at him. Eyes closed. Skin pale. Peaceful. Dead.Iden stumbled back. Looked down at himself. He was wearing the same clothes from the chapel. Jeans. Shirt. Jacket. But he could see through them. Just a little. Like looking at old, dirty glass."No," he whispered. His voice came out but it was thin. Far away. Like someone talking in another room.He reached out to touch his own face. His ha