The Academy grounds were silent under the cloak of night. Moonlight spilled like silver ink across the marble courtyards and enchanted gardens, casting elongated shadows across the sculpted hedges and glowing runes. Most students were asleep — but not all.
Rynn moved with purpose, her boots light on the stone path that led to the central dueling coliseum. She'd found the note slipped under her door — unsigned, precise, and unmistakably laced with magical residue.
"If you care for him, meet me. Midnight. No interruptions."
She didn't need to ask who had sent it. She already knew.
When she stepped into the moonlit coliseum, the temperature dropped.
Selene was waiting.
The elven illusionist stood at the far edge of the ring, robes flowing like shadows, silver hair catching the moonlight like blades. Her violet eyes gleamed, unreadable and cold.
"I was wondering if you'd come," Selene said, voice calm — too calm. "But I should've known. You cling to him like a parasite."
Rynn stepped into the circle, arms crossed. "You asked for this. So let's not waste time."
A smirk curved Selene's lips. "Of course. But know this — this isn't just a duel. It's a warning."
Without another word, Selene raised her hand.
The coliseum shimmered — then vanished.
In its place: a blood-soaked battlefield. Screams echoed in the distance. The scent of ash and fire filled Rynn's nostrils. She spun on her heel, blades drawn. But it was all wrong — none of it was real.
"Impressive," Rynn growled. "But you'll have to do better than illusions."
"Oh, I will."
The ground beneath her feet shifted again. Suddenly, Rynn was standing in Kael's arms, his face inches from hers — warm, real, tempting.
"I missed you," he said, voice dripping with tenderness.
Her eyes widened, her heartbeat spiking.
Then she saw it — just a flicker — Selene's eyes, watching through Kael's face like a curtain drawn aside.
Rynn slashed at the illusion, breaking it like glass.
"You're sick."
"I'm in love," Selene snapped, all pretense of calm gone. "I see him. Truly. You're just convenient. Familiar. Weak."
Flames sparked along Rynn's blades. "Say that again."
Selene's hands moved in a dance, runes swirling in the air — illusions layered over illusions. Rynn blinked — and she was back in Virestead, her village burning, her father's scream echoing across the sky.
"No—!" Rynn dropped to a knee, heart hammering.
"Kael deserves someone strong," Selene whispered, stepping closer. "Someone who doesn't cling to the past. Someone who understands the truth of his power. Of what he could become."
Rynn grit her teeth and drove her blade into the illusion beneath her — and the vision shattered like smoke.
She surged to her feet, blades burning.
"I don't need magic to fight you," she snarled.
"Then let's see," Selene hissed — and the illusions stopped.
Just the two of them now. Magic against steel.
Rynn dashed forward, cutting through the air like a tempest. Selene threw up barrier after barrier — veils of illusion, phantoms of Kael, even twisted versions of Rynn herself — but none held.
Steel met skin.
Blood blossomed along Selene's shoulder as one of Rynn's blades struck true. The elf stumbled, gasping, her illusions flickering.
Rynn stood over her, breathing hard, flame dancing along her wrists.
"You don't know him," she said coldly. "You know his power. That's not the same thing."
Selene's lip trembled — then curled into a smile. Not defeated. Possessive.
"You'll see," she whispered. "He'll come to understand. When the others fall away, when you fall away... he'll see me."
Rynn raised her sword — but held back.
"No. He'll see what you are. Eventually."
She turned and left, heart still pounding, the night heavy with unresolved heat.
Selene sat alone in the moonlight, cradling her bleeding arm, smiling through her pain.
"Eventually," she echoed. "He'll see."