Chapter 1
The Prey
Iwas tired, so tired I couldn’t even lift a finger. My back was screaming at me for being a superwoman last night, and my butt was sore. God damnit! Not even a week and I already wanted to go back.
Lord knew why I decided to be a saviour when I knew I was a blind owl.
Couldn’t even see without my glasses, and now, not only was I left with a broken elbow and sprained foot, but broken glasses too.
I’d gotten them fixed before moving to Russia, and now it’d take another sum of money to repair them. Great.
“You up, Dorogaya?” She walked through the bathroom door wearing nothing but a towel. I quickly averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks warming. Despite the Russian cold, Alina preferred wearing fewer clothes than a sunbathing lizard. “Had breakfast?”
I continued packing my bag in a hurry, realizing I had less than twenty minutes left for class. “I don’t have enough time for breakfast,” I grabbed the assignments before stuffing them into the bag.
I hoped I hadn’t missed anything.
“Have some coffee before you leave, okay?” Alina extended the coffee mug to me.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” she winked, sauntering away to blow dry her hair. “You can help me with assignments later though,” she added over her shoulder.
I took gulps of the coffee and gagged, feeling like I’d just ingested rocket fuel. Just what I needed—a double shot of caffeine and anxiety.
Instead, I focused on Alina.
“...Of course...” her green eyes brightened, and I facepalmed myself. Why did she have to look like a goddess while I resembled a sprouted potato? Life really wasn’t fair sometimes.
“Are you free this Friday; we can hit the club or go to a bar.”
Trust me, nothing was more blissful than hitting the club, getting drunk, forgetting all the problems, even if it was for just one night, and being the cool girl.
Having a group of friends to chill around, having cute coffee dates, going on shopping sprees, falling in love, having my heart broken, then finding another boy, being the girl everyone desired to be.
But I neither had the time nor the money to be that girl.
“Can’t. I have assignments.”
I envied girls who made living look easy. I wasn’t different from other girls. I was just one of the many who spent their lives surviving instead.
“You’re so boring, but I like you.” I managed a small smile and resumed packing my bag.
Alina hummed some song as she styled her hair. And the void in my chest deepened.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want those things—the laughter, the freedom, the feeling of belonging. I wanted them as much as anyone else.
Life just kept reminding me they weren’t meant for me.
Ever since my father died and our world fell apart, surviving had become more important than living. Bills replaced birthdays. Responsibility replaced dreams. My friends slowly drifted away, and somewhere along the way, I stopped expecting life to be kind.
With a sigh, I pulled on my jacket over my sweater and jeans and slung my bag over my shoulder, forcing my thoughts away from home.
I’d promised Mama I’d make everything better.
I just never realized that sometimes the people trying hardest to save everyone else are the ones quietly falling apart.
?
By the time I limped toward my class, I was tired and already wanted to go home. A bittersweet ache settled in my chest. There’d be no home for the next two years.
I sank into the last empty seat I’d been occupying since last week. The professor was already twenty minutes late, enough time to map out my evening plan: a job hunt through Moscow’s streets.
Laughter echoed around me.
To my left, a redhead animatedly recounted her latest date while her friends melted into laughter. To my right, a group of boys argued over last night’s football match like their lives depended on it.
Everyone had someone.
I had my books.
I tightened my grip on them and slipped in my earphones, letting a podcast drown out the reminder that I didn’t belong.
“How would you rate your life on a scale of ten, Ms. Polani?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“Coffee. The weather. Whether someone spoiled the ending of my favorite book.”
“And today’s score?”
“A generous three.”
Laughter rippled through the audience, and I found myself smiling faintly, lost in the conversation. I was still in my bubble, oblivious, until a tap on my shoulder yanked me out of it. My body jolted on instinct, and a hand caught mine mid-air.
My earbuds slipped free, and hesitantly, I looked around. To my dismay, every single pair of eyes was on me.
Ms. Olga’s sharp gaze pinned me in place.
“Done with your daydreaming, Ms. Rosewood?”
I snapped back to reality so fast my cheeks burn. “I... I am so…”
“Yeah? Careless American blood.”
Some students snickered, and I lowered my head. “I apologise.”
She released my wrist, and I cradled it instinctively. “Next time, be mindful.”
I nodded, avoiding her gaze as she adjusted her glasses and strode to the front. Swallowing the embarrassment, I bent to grab my earbuds, only to fumble and drop them again. One rolled just out of reach.
For heaven’s sake.
The earbud slipped from my fingers and rolled under the bench. Muttering under my breath, I crouched and reached for it, only for another hand to snatch it first.
Startled, I jerked upright.
Thunk.
“Ow!” I hissed, clutching my head after smacking it against the underside of the desk.
A soft tug on my sleeve made me look down again. A boy was crouched on the other side of the bench, grinning.
“Looking for this?” he asked, holding up my earbud just out of reach, amusement dancing in his eyes.
For a second, I just stared. Then I reached for it. Our fingers brushed, and I recoiled so fast you’d think I’d been burned, stuffing the earbud into my bag without meeting his eyes.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, rubbing the sore spot on my head.
“Ivan.” He held out his hand.
I stared at it for a beat before giving it the quickest handshake in human history. “Seraphina.”
“Exchange student?” he asked.
“Scholarship,” I managed with a small nod.
“Seriously?” His eyebrows shot up. “That’s impressive.”
I looked down at my notebook, pretending to take notes. Instead, I filled half a page with meaningless squiggles.
Smooth.
“So... where are you from?” His voice came a little closer. Close enough for me to notice the flecks of gold in his green eyes through the broken glasses, and I catch the clean scent of rain and cedar clinging to him.
I forgot whatever Ms. Olga had been saying about genetics as I scooted to the edge of my seat, heat creeping up my neck.
Then, because the universe clearly wasn’t done humiliating me, my elbow caught my water bottle. It rolled across the desk.
No. No, no, no—
Before it could crash to the floor, Ivan caught it with one hand.
“Thanks,” I muttered, my face burning.
“I’m from Moscow,” he said. “What about you?”
“Originally the States,” I replied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “But we moved around a lot.”
“So you’ve been here long?”
“Just a week,” I shrugged. “Still getting used to everything. The culture’s so different.”
“I bet,” he murmured. “If you ever need help—or just want to hang out—let me know. I’ve been here a semester already, so I kinda know my way around.”
Relief flooded me. “That would be great, thank you. I could use a friend here.”
“Consider it done.” He smiled playfully. “Maybe I could show you some places?”
“I’d love that.”
“Deal.” He grinned. “Looks like we both have a lot to share.”
“Definitely.” Excitement and nerves swirled in my chest.
Just as I turned to say something else, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
“Medusa’s leaving,” Ivan murmured under his breath.
I stifled a laugh. “Quick, before she turns us all to stone.”
My heart thumped as I met his gaze, and a nervous nerve flickered.
“Well, see you later,” I stuffed my books into my bag.
“Ivan!” someone called from across the class.
He hesitated. “I should go, or… do you wanna—?”
“That’s all right,” I cut in quickly. “I need to check out the library.”
It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth.
For one reckless second, I almost asked him another question. Kept the conversation going. Maybe even made my first friend here. Then the familiar voice in my head spoke up.
Don’t.
People always left eventually. Better not give them a reason to notice you in the first place.
“Okay,” Ivan said with an easy smile. “See you around, Seraphina.”
“See you.”
I watched him disappear into the crowd before letting out a slow breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
My pulse was still racing. A five-minute conversation shouldn’t have felt like surviving an interrogation. I hugged my books to my chest and headed for the exit, slipping back into the sea of unfamiliar faces.
Invisible.
It was safer that way.