C8 We Were Never Just Mortal

Eli hadn't spoken for hours.

The wind howled outside, not with a storm, but with something else: as if the world itself was breathing and couldn't find a way to let it go.

He stood shirtless in front of the mirror in his bedroom, fingers tracing the skin over his heart. The mark was alive.

No more was it simply glowing gently.

It was now pulsing-dark gold in its center