- Eyes of the Storm-
Kael's POV
The world returned slowly.
Pain first. Then scent—lavender, ash, and something sharp like burned air.
Kael blinked.
He was in the infirmary. Still alive. Still breathing.
And someone was sitting beside him.
Her back was straight. Her posture still. Her face—when she turned to look at him—was unreadable.
"Selene," he rasped.
She looked up, startled. But only for a second.
"You're awake."
There was relief in her voice. But no tears. No trembling. Just a calm, quiet strength that hadn't been there before.
He studied her.
Her hair was unbound.
Her aura was glowing faintly, as if she hadn't fully returned from whatever she'd touched.
And her eyes—still golden—looked… older.
"What happened while I was out?" he asked.
Selene didn't answer right away. She stood, poured him water, helped him drink.
Only when he leaned back, watching her closely, did she finally speak.
"I went to the sacred chamber," she said. "I called the Moon Goddess."
Kael's brow furrowed. "She answered?"
Selene nodded.
"And I demanded the truth."
That was new.
That was not the Selene he remembered—soft-spoken, unsure of herself, always afraid of her own power.
"And?" he asked.
She met his eyes. "She wants me to save Lilith… or die trying."
Kael froze.
"Those were her words?"
Selene's jaw clenched. "She said the prophecy ends with one of us. That only one twin walks away."
Kael slowly sat up, ignoring the pain in his ribs.
"Selene… that's a death sentence."
"Not if I change it," she said, her voice steady.
"No one rewrites prophecies."
"Then I'll be the first."
---
Kael didn't respond.
Not immediately.
He just stared at her like he was seeing her for the first time.
This wasn't the girl who flinched at whispers in the hall. This wasn't the cursed child hiding behind her own shadow.
This was something else.
A storm held in human form.
"You're different," he said quietly.
Selene's gaze flickered.
"I feel it too."
She walked to the window. The moonlight hit her like a crown.
"Kael… I'm done asking for permission to survive."
He stood, slowly, wincing. "Good. Because the next battle might not give you time to ask."
Selene turned to him, stepping closer.
For a moment, something warm passed between them.
Not fire.
Not Moonlight.
Just understanding.
"Will you stand with me?" she asked. "Even if this path gets darker?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
"Even if it takes me to hell."
"It might."
He smiled weakly. "Then I'll bring extra swords."
---
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then she leaned in, resting her forehead against his.
"You're the only person who doesn't see me as a weapon," she whispered.
"That's because you're not," he replied. "You're a promise."
---
Outside, the wind howled.
The war drums hadn't started yet.
But they would soon.
And when they did…
Selene would no longer be afraid of the storm.
She was the storm.