Moonlight draped the courtyard in silver, tracing every stone and branch in a hushed glow. The wind whispered through the runed cherry trees, their blossoms frozen mid-fall by a light time-slow enchantment. Silent beauty—fragile, suspended.
Selene stood alone near the fountain, fingers wrapped around a cup of bitter herbal tea. Not for comfort. For clarity.
She'd known Seraphine would come.
She was already here.
The girl stepped out from the shadows behind the ivy wall, barefoot, her dark cloak trailing behind her like mist. There was no sound to her steps. Just presence—quiet and exacting.
"You've been watching him," Selene said without turning.
Seraphine didn't deny it. "So have you."
Selene let out a quiet breath, steam rising in the cold. "Difference is, I don't hide behind walls."
"Don't you?"
Selene finally turned. "What do you want from him?"
Seraphine's eyes—those sharp violet mirrors—studied her carefully. "I want him awake."
"Awake?"
"To who he is. To what he carries. He walks blind toward a storm that was written long before either of us."
Selene crossed her arms. "He's not a tool."
"No. But he's also not yours to shield forever."
Something cold flickered between them.
For a moment, they were two towers facing one another, each built for war but carved with meaning.
Selene stepped closer. "You think I'm just protecting him?"
"I think you're afraid of what he'll become without you."
"And what do you think he'll become with you?"
Seraphine tilted her head, just slightly. "Someone who doesn't need saving."
Selene's jaw tensed.
"He's kind," she said after a pause. "He listens. He learns fast. But he trusts too easily. That makes him dangerous in a place like this."
Seraphine took a step closer, the space between them now only a breath apart.
"And still… you like him."
That wasn't a question.
Selene didn't blink. "You do too."
Neither of them flinched.
Somewhere far off, a ward shimmered with distant footsteps.
But the silence here was thick and held.
Then, Seraphine's voice softened, almost breaking the air instead of shaping it.
"He doesn't know how much weight he carries. But he will. The question is… who's standing with him when it all burns."
Selene studied her, truly this time.
There was no hate in Seraphine's eyes.
Just quiet conviction. And something soft beneath it. Something almost… longing.
Selene lowered her cup.
"I'm not standing behind him," she said. "I'm walking beside him. Whether he sees it or not."
Seraphine looked away, the moonlight catching her lashes.
"Then maybe we're not so different."
The breeze stirred, blowing a single frozen blossom between them.
They both turned as it passed.
By the time Selene looked back, Seraphine was already gone—folded into shadow.