That scream didn't sound friendly. Startled, Hayden cracked the glass he was holding. Tea mixed with blood coursed down his tensed arm. The twins frowned, watching the silver smoke around the ceiling tangling into a confused mass. When they rushed to the door, their jaws almost dropped to the floor upon seeing the unconscious Melvin. His arm was draped over Miracle's shoulder. "What happened?" Hayden asked, keeping his scratched palm behind his back. The wound was closing. What should she say? If she were to say the truth—that this human boy could see the barrier when he wasn't supposed to—he was surely getting chased out of the house. "Nothing serious. Just a mild heatstroke," she said simply. She didn't want to tell them what exactly happened yet, though it might be a mistake keeping them in the dark. Lyn raised a brow. "Mild? The scream—" "Now that we don't have to worry about the mortal overhearing us," Miracle cut in before she had a chance to further her doubts, "let's c

Standing in front of Stellaerio, Miracle stared at the peculiar building with complicated feelings. The stained white crescent hung on the main block resembled the loss of hope in starting afresh. Caws of crows flying past the swaying trees further gloomed the surroundings. Rather than a school, it looked more like a place of life and death. When Miracle reached the second-floor corridor, she headed to the punch card rack and heaved a sigh of relief. It was a Saturday, and Maddie was in the school. While she was still feeling good that her trip to Stellaerio on the weekend didn't go down the drain, a piece of paper flew in her direction and landed next to her feet. A shiver ran down her spine the moment she flipped it over. Her throat constricted, and a twinge of guilt gripped her heart as the words read aloud in her mind. It was the same announcement from that day. 'Xiao Xun, they were the ones you died protecting…' Right then, pictures of the deceased started to merge into

"She went to Stellaerio? On a Saturday?!" Lyn freaked out. "Did she tell you why?" Hayden flashed him a questionable look. The decrease of warmth in his voice slapped hard on Melvin's face. Kingsley leaned against the couch; his legs outstretched. "I hope it's not a trap you set." "I swear upon my life," Melvin hissed, "… that I'll never do a thing to hurt her again." The Watsons were back just a few minutes before Miracle did. She was outside, hesitating to enter as she lowered her eyes to the bamboo scroll in her hand.'Should I let them know?' she thought. When the noise in the house turned louder, she quickly unrolled the piece and tucked it inside her pants. She pinned the hook of her vintage belt to an inner notch, securing it tightly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself together and creaked open the door. "I'm back." Four pairs of eyes switched to her as one. The sudden change of pressure crawling in the air put a pause to their heated conversation. Miracle choked on

Silver fronds swayed, more when they sensed the dragon girl approaching. Veins at the midribs lengthened, transforming into fine little hairs along the edges of the pinnules. Detaching from the plant, they turned into layers of smoke and joined the rest lingering around the house. A silver puff leaped forward and caressed her forehead like it owned five fingers. When Miracle stroked the gray blades, she felt an instant replenishment of the elements in her body. "I didn't know you're interested in decorative flowers." "Hmm? Decorative flowers?" Glancing back, only then did she realize that these plants must've seemed dead in the eyes of a mortal. "Oh." She chuckled. "Yea. A… A little." Rubbing his palms against the three-quarter pants on him, he stammered, "Miracle, I..." When he failed to deliver the words, he went behind her and dropped a piece of black cloth over her eyes before she had a chance to say no. "I want to bring you to a place," he muttered, adjusting the blindfol

'It's time to wake up, Melvin.' "Who are you?" 'You know I hate failures.' "WHO ARE YOU?!" 'I am you. You're me. We're...' "Melvin!" He jolted awake to Miracle's breaths brushing past his skin. He pulled back his arm, retreating from her whisper at once. Too close. 'A dream?' he thought. Glancing around, he realized that the lesson was still going on. And he, was still in class. Their literature teacher, Mr. Sam, didn't notice that one of his students had just woken up from a doze. He was so engrossed in copying the notes onto the whiteboard with his calligraphy handwriting. The extra curve he put on the letter "F" had turned it into a "P" in everybody's eyes except his own; the missing dot on the "i" made it seem like it was joined with the next letter "n", forming an "m". He claimed it was stylish when it was just a bunch of messy chains of alphabets grouped together to form words. Melvin dropped his eyes back on Miracle, the deskmate he requested to be with on his first