Chapter 3 The Words That Changed Everything (Ember's POV)

"When silver eyes meet crimson moon," I began, and the first line rolled off my tongue like it belonged there. "The wolf-born child shall rise too soon."

A strange hush fell over the assembly. Not the polite quiet of students listening to another boring presentation, but something deeper. I could feel the attention shift, becoming sharp and focused in a way that made my skin tingle.

Trey sat frozen in his seat, and I watched his expression transform as I continued. Casual interest became recognition, then something that looked almost like terror.

"In blood and bone and ancient stone," I read, my voice growing stronger with each line. The words felt powerful on my tongue, like they were awakening something that had been sleeping deep inside me. "She'll claim the power, stand alone."

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the usual shuffling and whispering had stopped. I looked out at the sea of faces and saw something I'd never noticed before—scattered throughout the crowd, maybe two dozen students sat with the same rigid posture as Trey, the same barely concealed tension.

Then Trey stood up.

He didn't speak immediately, just rose from his seat with that fluid grace I'd always admired. But now there was something predatory about it, something that made every instinct I didn't know I had scream danger.

"This is embarrassing, Ember." His voice carried just as clearly as mine had, reaching every corner of the great hall. "Maybe stick to sports instead of whatever dark fantasy this is supposed to be."

The words hit me like physical blows. Not just the rejection, but the casual cruelty in his tone, the way he'd used my first name like it was something distasteful. Snickers rippled through the audience, and I felt heat flood my cheeks.

"I just thought..." I started, but he cut me off.

"You thought what? That some weird poetry would impress me?" He shook his head, and the disappointment in his expression was worse than anger. "This is pathetic, even for you."

The humiliation crashed over me in waves. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The lyrics were supposed to mean something, supposed to connect us. Instead, I was standing here like an idiot while he tore me apart in front of the entire school.

Something hot and sharp built in my chest, spreading outward like liquid fire. My vision blurred at the edges, and for a moment the great hall's gothic architecture seemed to waver and shift.

"She doesn't know what she's saying." Knox's voice cut through the buzzing in my ears as he stood beside his cousin. "Just some kid with an overactive imagination."

But several of the football players were on their feet now too, and the tension radiating from their group felt like a physical force. I caught fragments of whispered conversations around the hall—words like "impossible" and "how could she" and "the prophecy."

"Sit down, Ember." Trey's command carried an authority that belonged to someone much older, much more dangerous. "Before you embarrass yourself any further."

That's when it happened.

The rage that had been building in my chest exploded outward, and suddenly I wasn't entirely myself anymore. The great hall came into sharp focus, every detail crystal clear. I could hear individual heartbeats in the crowd, could smell fear and confusion and something else, something wild and animal.

My hands, still gripping the podium, didn't look quite right. My nails had grown longer, sharper, and when I looked up at Trey, the world took on a silvery cast that made everything look different.

"I'm not embarrassing myself." My voice came out lower than usual, with an edge that made several students lean away. "I'm telling the truth."

Trey went dead still, and for the first time since this disaster started, he looked genuinely afraid. "Ember." The mockery was gone from his voice, replaced by something urgent and warning. "Stop."

But I couldn't stop. The words, the humiliation, the way everyone was staring at me like I was some kind of freak, it all swirled together into a fury I'd never felt before. The ancient hall around me seemed to pulse with some kind of recognition, like the stones themselves were responding to whatever was happening inside me.

"You wanted to know what this is?" I held up the paper, and my hand was definitely not human anymore.

Trey's face had gone white. "Jesus Christ, Ember. You have no idea what you're doing."

He was right. I had no idea. But whatever was happening felt like coming alive for the first time in my life, like I'd been sleepwalking through seventeen years and was finally awake.

"Miss Thorne." Principal Keagan's voice cracked like a whip. "That's quite enough. Please return to your seat immediately."

But I was already moving, backing away from the podium on unsteady legs. The great hall felt too small, too crowded, too full of staring eyes and whispered fears. I needed air. I needed space. I needed to get away from Trey's horrified expression and the way Knox was watching me like I was a bomb about to explode.

"Ember, wait!" Sage's voice called after me, but I was already running.

I bolted for the exit, pushing through the heavy wooden doors and into the corridor beyond. The stone walls felt cool against my burning skin, but they couldn't contain the wild energy coursing through my veins.

Behind me, the great hall erupted in chaos. I could hear Principal Keagan trying to restore order, students talking over each other in excited whispers, and underneath it all, Trey's voice saying something sharp and urgent to Knox.

But I didn't stop running until I reached the main hallway, where the trophy cases lined the walls like silent sentinels. The polished metal surfaces reflected the late afternoon light streaming through the windows, and when I stumbled to a halt, gasping for breath, I caught sight of my reflection.

The girl staring back at me had my face, my hair, my clothes. But her eyes were glowing silver, bright as molten metal, and they definitely weren't mine when I'd woken up this morning.

I pressed my palms against the cool glass, staring at the impossible sight, and whispered the only words that made any sense.

"What the hell am I?"