Chapter One

Helena’s eye shot open. Those eyes. She couldn’t forget them. They 

watched her in her dreams, making it impossible for her to sleep for long. Knowing she wouldn’t fall back asleep, Helena got up with a groan and started getting dressed. 

She had always wondered why she didn’t live with her mom and dad. 

Everytime she asked Mallory about it, Mallory would smile sadly at her and say, “That’s a whole other conversation, Elina.” Mallory called her Elina because it meant “pure” which didn’t make sense to her. She hoped Mindy would tell her about her mother tonight since she was turning seventeen tonight. Once Helena was dressed, she looked at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. With her long black hair and her bright grey eyes, Helena also wondered if she looked more like her mom or dad.

She opened her bedroom door and almost ran into Mallory.  

“Oh, Elina, you startled me!” 

Helena laughed. “I’m sorry, Mallory.”
“Don’t apologize. I was coming to wake you up. Why are you 

awake so early?”

“I had a dream and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

“A dream? About what?”

“Just this pair of yellow eyes. I’ve been dreaming about them for a

while now.”

Mallory’s eyes widened and she stuttered, “Y-Yellow eyes?”

Helena frowned.

“Yeah, yellow eyes. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I-I’m fine, dear.”

“Are you sure? You look kind of pale.”

Mallory nodded her head reassuringly, “I just thought… It doesn’t 

matter. Now come, breakfast is ready.”

Helena noticed that Mallory seemed to know something about the 

yellow eyes. How? Now she was staring into space.

“Are you coming, Mallory?”

Mallory snapped out of it. 

“Yes, I’m coming!”

When Helena saw all the food on the table, she gasped in shock. All 

her of her favourite foods were here: bacon, scrambled eggs, waffles, buttered toast, and more. 

“Mallory, what is all of this?”

Mallory stood next to Helena smiling. 

“Well, tonight you’re seventeen, so I decided to make all your 

favourite foods.”

“You didn’t have to do this!”

“Yes, I did. You’re almost seventeen. You’re practically an adult, 

Elina.”

Helena turned to Mallory and hugged her tightly. 

“Thank you, Mallory!”

“You’re welcome, dear. Now sit down and eat.”

Helena immediately sat down and started eating. As Mallory ate and 

smiled at the beautiful girl she had raised, the yellow-eyed man’s words crossed her mind. 

‘When the time comes, you won’t be able to help her. When the time 

comes, you’ll die, Malloriana.’

Those words were so clear that it seemed like he had said them to 

her yesterday. Mallory let the words fade in her mind as she slowly cleared her plate.

“Mallory, this is delicious!” Helena complimented.

Mallory chuckled. “Thank you, dear.”

Helena smiled and kept eating.

In a few minutes, both Helena and Mallory were full.

“Wow, that food was so amazing.”

“Clearly. You basically inhaled all of it, dear.”

Helena blushed.

“Now, are you ready? We have a long day ahead of us.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going into town and you can getting absolutely anything 

your heart desires.”

“Mallory! I can’t-- I can’t let you do that!”

“Too bad. You’re seventeen tonight, Elina. You deserve to get 

anything you want.”

Helena stood up. “Mallory, you--”

She shook her finger at her, interrupting her.

“It’s already decided. Go put on your shoes and we’ll head out.”

“Fine.”

Helena turned around and went upstairs to her room. She walked into 

her room, slipped on her flats, and began to leave when she heard it. 

“It is almost time, Helena Spencer. Almost time, and then we will come to 

kill you.”

It was gone as fast as it had come.

With wide eyes, Helena ran out of her room and downstairs. She 

leaned against the kitchen counter so she wouldn’t fall because of her legs shaking.

“Are you alright, dear?” Mallory asked her.

Helena could see that Mallory noticed her breathing faster than 

normal.

“I’m fine, Mallory.”

It was obvious by Mallory’s expression that she didn’t believe her.

“What happened?”

“It-- It was this voice, I guess. A guy’s voice. He said my name and 

something about it almost being time, and killing me.”

Mallory knew that fear was showing on her own face and replaced 

it with pretend confusion. 

“Who’s ‘we,’ Mallory?”

“Nobody, dear. You probably just imagined it. It’s time to go.”

Mallory turned and opened the front door, Helena following her. She 

momentarily flashed back to that night just barely seventeen years ago. Before leaving, Helena looked around the room, wondering if the voice would come back. If what it had said earlier was, for some reason, true.

“Elina?”

“Coming, Mallory!”

And with one final glance, Helena shut the door.