THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA
My reflection in the mirror sneered back—scar twisting from temple to jaw, flesh puckered and ruined, a jagged reminder of the night I’d buried so deep it might as well be dead.
I reached for the black bridal mask, traditional, beautiful, terrifying, its carved vines glinting in the dim light, when a cough rattled behind me, weak but sharp.
Anya’s eyes snapped open, violet and wild, locking on my unmasked face. She scrambled back, sheets tangling around her legs, breath hitching in a gasp of pure terror.
“Who—who are you?” Her voice cracked, hands clutching the sheet to her chest like armor.
I snatched the mask, slamming it over the scar, ties biting into skin as I knotted them tight. “Hey,