SOPHIE STARTED TO meet with Finn every afternoon.

The first meeting was a bit awkward. Finn spent about an hour staring intently at her throat and loosely sketching copies of it into a small sketchbook. After a few days, however, she got used to the attention and actually started to enjoy her time in the library. She found that, so long as she stayed as still as possible, she could read through various books and search for more information on the Revenants.

As she entered the library, about a week after their initial meeting, she noticed that Finn had gathered a collection of scrolls. Said scrolls were strewn out all across the table that they normally sat at, some unrolled and some pushed into a giant mountain.

He smiled cheerfully at her as she approached the table.

"What's all this?" she asked, taking her usual seat across from him. She lowered her own book —an interesting take on mythical creatures from the Middle Ages— and stared intently at the scrolls.

Finn's smile widened. "Progress! I haven't found an exact match to your marking yet. But there are several scrolls that appear to have pieces of your marking illustrated within them," he explained.

Her eyes widened as he handed her one of the unrolled scrolls. Scribbled on the parchment was a slender pattern. It was beautifully depicted. Small snippets of the design appeared similar to her own. She lifted her fingers to her throat, touching the ragged skin. "This is very interesting," she said. "Have you found anything that explains what it could mean?"

That caused Finn to sigh. He leaned back in his seat and scratched the back of his head. "I haven't found anything on that yet," he admitted.

Sophie smiled. "Still," she said, gesturing toward the unrolled scrolls, "We've made some progress and that's exciting!"

Finn chuckled. "Very much so," he agreed.

She smiled and leaned back in her own seat, propping her feet up on the chair beside her. She picked up her book and flipped it open to the page she left off on.

As she read, she half-listened to Finn murmur under his breath. His gaze remained focused on the scrolls surrounding him. He rolled a few back up and added them to the mountain of rolled up scrolls that was growing beside him. Thirty minutes of this passed —Sophie just reading her book and Finn going through scroll after scroll. Then Finn sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat again. His gaze zeroed in on her face. "I apologize for interrupting you," he said quietly, as though he were afraid of startling her.

She glanced up at him, an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

He leaned forward. His elbows rested atop the tabletop, his hands clasped together in front of his mouth. "It's quite fascinating," he said, his voice soft. "I've spent a week pouring through various scrolls and books. I haven't found a single sketch that is a carbon copy of your curse mark. I know I have asked you a little about it over the last week. But I don't believe that I've asked how you acquired it."

Sophie's lips pressed into a tight, wrinkled line. Her gaze flicked back down to the open book that sat in her lap. She twisted a strand of hair between two fingers. "It's kind of hard to explain," she admitted.

Finn cocked his head to the side. His brows furrowed in confusion. "How so?" he asked.

She hesitated. She knew that Finn had been close to the old Headmaster —it might be weird for him to find out that his crazy friend was the person who cursed her with the mark.

Excitement radiated off of Finn in massive waves. He leaned forward even more, folding his arms across the table. "Please," he begged. "It would be very helpful in our investigation."

"The old Headmaster is the one who cursed me," she admitted after a few moments of pressure-filled silence. She fiddled nervously with the edges of the book in her lap. "I'm sure my mother told you about the big fight that happened here. I was the one that messed up his big plans for world domination. And before he died, he did this to me." Her fingers brushed against her scarred skin.

Finn's eyes widened. He watched her expression for a moment, seemingly processing the information that she'd provided. Then his gaze lowered to her mark. "Do you remember what he did? Like did he say anything? Or do anything in particular?"

Sophie shifted around in her seat uncomfortably. Naturally, she remembered what had happened. The event was pretty hard to forget. "He shoved his hand through my throat," she said. Her jaw clenched. She sucked in a sharp breath, reliving the moment in her head. "He said that he infested me with his blood, his darkness. That even in death, he would be victorious, because his blood would grow stronger over time and eventually destroy my own."

"Oh my," Finn gasped. His eyes were even wider now, zeroed in on the scarred skin that wrapped around the base of her neck. "You were infested with his blood?"

"Is that even a thing?" Sophie asked. Her face twisted with disgust. She'd always written the phrase off as a poorly worded metaphor.

Finn frowned. "It's never been performed before," he said quietly. It was as if he were speaking more to himself. "At least not successfully. I don't believe that many people are aware of it. It's mostly just considered a myth."

She just stared intently at him, that disgusted look still very present on her face, and waited for him to continue.

He hastily started to explain. "Records of it do exist. But more so in the form of fictional accounts. It's a myth that dates back to the olden days, to when vampirism was a new concept. When your mother, Caius, and I were younger, it was one of the stories that was told to us at bedtime."

Finn hesitated, watching her expression carefully. She arched an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. He sighed.

"It was a simple concept, really. You force your blood into another being. The strongest blood wins control. So essentially, if the curse even worked, Caius would eventually be able to take control of your body. But again, I've never heard any true accounts of it —only fictional fairytales."

Sophie harrumphed. "That's comforting," she muttered under her breath.

Finn cracked a small, pitiful smile. "I am genuinely sorry that my old friend has put you through so much trouble," he told her. "Thank you for sharing this information with me. I will do more research on that type of curse to see if I find anything else."

"Thank you for you help," Sophie said.

"Would you mind if I tried something?" Finn asked. He stood and moved around the table until he could crouch down in front of her.

Sophie eyed him weirdly. "That depends on what you are planning to try," she said.

He chuckled. "I want to try to see if the curse will react with my own blood. It sounds gross and weird, but I promise that it won't hurt. It's purely for scientific purposes."

"That really does sound gross," she muttered under her breath.

Finn had already lifted his thumb to his mouth. His fang pierced through the skin and a pearl of blood appeared. Sophie cringed and looked away. She didn't want to watch Finn put his bloody thumb against her scar.

She didn't feel his thumb touch her skin —but she did see it. The moment his skin touched her scar, a pale red glow appeared in the corners of her eyes. It almost blinded her. She squinted, her brows furrowed, and locked eyes with Finn. "What did you do?" she demanded.

Finn looked just as shocked as she felt.

"I honestly have no idea," he admitted. He pressed his thumb against her throat again. This time, nothing happened. Her throat continued to glow like a demonic night light.

He stepped back, his hand pressed against his mouth. He watched her for a few moments and then reached across the table, grabbing his sketchbook. His hands moved quick as he scribbled several notes down. "This is fascinating," he said.

Her hand lifted to cover her throat. "Please turn it off," she begged.

He flashed her smile that was more of a grimace than a smile. "I will certainly try," he assured her.

Yet, despite his reassurance, the pure uncertainty that swam within his eyes pretty much killed any hope Sophie harbored.