The days that followed blurred into a restless haze. Luna had thought the night encounter would fade like a dream, but instead it haunted her. Kael's voice lingered in her ears, his touch burned at her wrist, and her heart betrayed her each time her thoughts strayed toward him. She didn't know why she felt this, this... strange and dangerous feeling for someone she just met, a guy she looked at clearly, for the first time, the night before.
The Forest Court bustled with its usual rhythm—elders weaving garlands, children chasing fireflies, and Selene gliding among them like the perfect daughter she's always strived to be. Yet to Luna, everything felt… dull. As though the world had dimmed, save for the memory of midnight eyes watching her in the shadows.
She found herself wandering the borders more often, under the pretense of gathering herbs or listening to the river spirits. Each time, she told herself she would not look for him. Each time, she lied.
It was on the third night that she saw him again.
He stood at the edge of the clearing, half-hidden by branches, his cloak a ripple of shadow. This time, he did not vanish when she approached.
"You came back," Luna whispered, breathless though she'd barely run.
Kael's eyes glinted. "So did you."
Their gazes locked, and though no more words passed, something unspoken swelled between them—an invisible thread tugging them closer.
They walked together along the riverbank, the forest strangely silent as if granting them permission. Luna dared to ask what she should not.
"Why do you come here, Kael? The Umbra are forbidden."
He skimmed a pebble across the water, the ripples warping the reflection of the moon. "Because I wanted to see you again."
Her chest tightened. "You hardly know me."
"Sometimes a single glance tells more truth than a lifetime of words."
His voice was steady, but she caught the faint tremor beneath it—an echo of the same fear that consumed her. Fear of this bond, of its cost, yet also the desperate unwillingness to sever it.
They spoke until the stars burned pale and dawn threatened the horizon. Luna learned fragments of him: that he was a warrior of the Umbra, marked by shadows from birth, that he carried secrets heavier than steel. He, in turn, listened when she spoke of her restless heart, of feeling caged even in her own home.
When at last he touched her hand, it was tentative, almost reverent. And Luna let him. The forest shivered, leaves whispering disapproval, but she ignored it.
She should have pulled away. Instead, she whispered, "I don't know what I'm doing, Kael. I don't know why you..."
His thumb began traced circles against her skin, shushing her. "I'll be damned if I say I do."
---
But the forest was not blind. Nor was Selene.
Her sister had long known Luna's wandering habits, but when she noticed the gleam in her eyes—the way her smile carried secrets—it gnawed at her. Luna had always been the adored one, the golden daughter, the pride of their father. Her own quiet rebellions had only ever earned scolding, making her feel so disappointed that her strives gets close to nothing at pilfering that position from Luna. But this? This was different.
On the fourth evening, Selene followed. She cloaked herself in silver silks that blended with the mist and trailed after Luna's steps with the patience of a hunter. She kept her distance, watching as her sister disappeared toward the borders.
From the shadows, Selene saw them.
Luna and the Umbra boy. Together. Close. Their heads bent, their hands brushing.
Rage coiled through Selene's chest, though she did not yet understand why. It was not merely disgust for Luna's defiance, nor loyalty to the forest's laws. No—it was the look in Kael's eyes. The look he gave her. The look of a born love.
Selene pressed her nails into her palms until they drew blood. She would not expose them yet. Not until she knew more. Secrets, she knew, were weapons. And she had just discovered one sharp enough to cut.
"Step sisters are always stupid," she hissed. "Because why in the forest's name would you look around this whole forest and yet chose a boy so forbidden!?"
She was a little bit loud without her knowledge. Luna turned immediately from where she was as a twig snapped fearfully.
"What's the matter?" Kael asked, his eyes searching her warily looking face.
"Did you hear that sound? Like the voice of a human." She turned to Kael swiftly.
"I think someone is here, watching us. I have to go."
"Wait."
"I'll be in trouble, Kael. And so will you. You have to go now."
"So when are we going to be seeing each again?" There was a harbour of sentiment in his hushed tone. His arms gently held hers, forcing her to look into his piercing black eyeballs.
"I don't know. But we can't keep meeting like this...in secret. We'll definitely be caught one day, if not already, and it'll be the end of us."
A tear had made its way already up to her cheek without her consent.
"But we can..."
"We cannot, do anything Kael. " She cut in, withdrawing from him. "I have to go now. And if there's ever a chance for us to see again, I know where to find you."
And with this, she fled.
Later that night, as Luna slipped back into their chamber, Selene feigned sleep. She waited until Luna lay down, her lips curved in the faintest of smiles, a little sadness in her eyes, before opening her eyes to the dark.
"Selene."
She was startled. She shut her eyes immediately and tightened her fists in between her thighs. Luna turned to her bed slowly. Lately, they had been sharing the same room because Selene said she wanted her room refurbished. Luna has wondered what was taking the change so long.
"I know you're awake, look at me." Luna said softly, her arms folded and as if hugging herself. Selene hesitated, then prised one eye open, sighed exaggeratedly, and open the two fully.
"What?" She dragged the word, sitting up. "I was about to slip into the main sleep."
"Or you already slipped into the woods a while ago?"Luna questioned, her gaze intent.
"What? What're you accusing me of?"
Luna sighed and sat at the edge of the bed. She took a minute to calmly study Selene's face. She knew her well.
"Selene, even though we're not from the same mother, I see you as one. I see you like a beautiful younger sister, who's dear to me."
Selene cleared her throat. Ofcourse, she has started again, playing the perfect, good and kind daughter.
" I know you saw me out in the woods tonight. I know you saw what no one should've seen."
Selene widened her eyes. Did she really know it was her or was she trying to get her speak?
"Me? I don't know what you're talking about Luna," she feigned confusion. "Explain, what did I see that I shouldn't have and how?"
"I saw you!" Luna almost snapped. "Please, stop pretending."
Selene opened her mouth and closed it.
"I didn't see anything. Good night Luna." And she lay back and drew her mossfur (a kind of blanket made from animals), closer to her shoulders, her eyes still open as Luna sat behind her. She felt her stand up from the bed, went to her own at the edge, before the window where the moon rises, and laid down quietly.