Nero was laying on the floor in Willowbrook’s bedroom, in front of the fireplace with his eyes shut. His face was wet with tears, and he hadn’t moved from that spot all day. He had no energy to do anything, and he couldn’t sleep either.

Willowbrook was leaning against his dresser, in just some loose-fitting pants and his boots. He was supposed to be getting ready for some special festival happening that night, but he was watching Nero instead. He let out a long sigh, then went where Nero lay, kneeling on the floor in front of him. No longer feeling the warmth from the fireplace, Nero opened his eyes.

He looked tall and thin in his robes, but Willowbrook was large and muscular. His pale lavender skin was flawless, without even a trace of a scar. His jewelry sparkled in the sunlight that came through the small window on the other side of the room.

“Will you come to the festival with me?” he asked. “The sun will be setting in a couple of hours, so you have time to think about it.”

“Why bother?” Nero closed his eyes again. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing does.”

“I think it will make you feel better.”

“How?”

“The Full Moon will fill your spirit with strength and courage, and it can help to bring clarity to things that may be weighing heavy in your heart or mind. It’s also the Winter Solstice, which makes it even more powerful of a time. The Winter Solstice represents death and rebirth, and gives us strength that will grow with the passing of the seasons. It’s the beginning of light triumphing over the darkness of the winter, and turns us towards brighter days, both literally and metaphorically speaking. It’s rare for the Full Moon and Winter Solstice to occur on the same day, which is why it’s such a big festival. Come with me.”

That night, Nero attended the Cold Moon Festival with Willowbrook. It was held in the Faerie Circle beneath the Moon Apple Tree, illuminated by the strange blue mushrooms.

To the Faeries, it was a normal celebration, but Nero found it to be chaotic. Some Faeries were dressed in beautiful, elaborate robes, shimmering with Nephila’s golden threads. Others were completely naked, dancing around fires, bathed in moonlight, their wings glittering in the darkness. There was music and magic and it was probably the noisiest celebration Nero had ever attended.

Some Faeries even rested on top of the mushrooms, eating small bits of the crowns. Willowbrook explained that it was a powerful drug for Faeries, who used it both in medicines and recreationally.

“Is every festival like this?” Nero asked quietly, using his hand to block his own view of a group of naked Faeries off to his left.

“Pretty much,” Willowbrook told him. He moved carefully through the crowd, greeting some of the other Faeries. “Try to enjoy yourself at least a little bit.”

At one point in the night, Nero found himself separated from Willowbrook. He feared what might happen without him, but no one backed away from him in fear or disgust anymore. In fact, a few Faeries even approached him, offering their blessings. One took to decorating his face with a strange paint that glowed in the moonlight, painting a crescent moon on his forehead, and stars across his cheeks like freckles.

“May the light of the Cold Moon bathe you in her purifying light,” she said while applying the paint with her fingers. “And may the stars always guide you home.”

“Thank you,” he said softly. Home… He felt a pang of homesickness, and thought of his parents. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, but he did his best to blink them away.

He caught a glimpse of Willowbrook breaking off from the crowd. Where was he going?

He tried to follow, unable to catch up. He called out to him a few times, but the festival was too noisy.

The farther Nero followed him into the forest, the more the sounds of the festival faded away. The only way Nero was able to keep from getting lost was by following the distant glow of Willowbrook’s wings in the darkness.

He reached a small clearing where the ground was covered in soft moss. There was a brook, and a short waterfall that babbled softly. The whole area was bathed in moonlight, and glowing blue algae made it look like the water and rocks were glowing too.

Willowbrook was sitting on a rock at the edge of the water. He had taken his arms out of his robes, exposing the top half of his body, allowing his skin to be bathed in the moonlight. He turned his face to the moon, closing his eyes.

Nero went to him, but didn’t speak. He sat down beside him and removed the top half of his own robes, letting them fall loosely at his waist. The moonlight felt strange on his skin, sending a chill up his arms.

He lay back in a bed of moss and closed his eyes. Could the moon really give him strength like Willowbrook said, even if he wasn’t a Faerie? He certainly needed it.

When Willowbrook finally opened his eyes, he was surprised to find Nero fast asleep in the moss beside him. The paint on his face glowed brightly in the moonlight. He might have passed as a Faerie if he had wings. Nero’s face was wet with tears, but he didn’t look sad as he slept.

He eyed the scar on Nero's stomach from when he fought a wasp, and decided not to bother him. He closed his eyes and said a small prayer for Nero. He’d suffered so much in the last few months, and Willowbrook hoped someday he could help him find his way home.

Nero woke with a start, and he was still laying in the bed of moss. What had woken him? There was a faint orange glow in the cloudy sky above the trees, but it couldn’t already be sunrise, could it? The moon was still high above him.

“Get up!”

Willowbrook rushed past him without another word, back in the direction of the festival. Nero watched him, and his eyes went wide and his heart started to pound.

The forest was on fire.

Nero rushed back to the Faerie Circle after Willowbrook. All around, everything was up in flames. Many of the Faeries lay scattered around the clearing, weakened by the smoke and heat. Ombra Faeries thrived in moonlight and water.

The only Faeries left standing were Aiken, who attended to Queen Tana, the few Sunlight Faeries who worked for him, and Willowbrook, who was trying to use his own magic to put out some of the flames.

“Willow!” Nero covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve as the wind blew black smoke in his face. What was happening?

“I can’t put them out,” Willowbrook said with a scowl as he backed away, covering his own face. “These flames reek of magic.”

“Someone is trying to kill the Faeries?”

“No. They’re probably just trying to weaken us, to steal the Faeries away and auction them off. Moonlight Faeries can’t fight against fire-based magic.”

Just then, three Humans approached the Faerie Circle, and Nero finally understood why Faeries were so fearful of them. At his current size, the Humans were enormous and terrifying, causing tremors underneath his feet with each step. The Faeries were powerless as they were scooped up into sacks.

What could Nero do? What could anyone do?

“Prince Willowbrook!” a guard called out to him. “Look out!”

Willowbrook shoved Nero out of harm’s way before he was struck by one of the Humans’ hands. He slammed against the Moon Apple Tree and collapsed in the dirt, bloody and unconscious, before he was swept away with the others.

Nero’s heart was racing, his breath coming out in quick, panicky huffs as he looked around the circle. They took Willowbrook. They were stealing everyone. Someone needed to save them.

“Queen Tana!” Nero rushed over to her, throwing himself on the ground at her feet. She looked tired and weak, and there were tears on her face. Aiken had to support her, one arm firmly around her waist so she was able to keep standing. Nero grabbed her hand between both of his and bowed his head. “Please… you have to release me!”

Aiken pulled her hand away from him, looking down on him with rage and disgust.

“Our kingdom is on the brink of destruction… Our people are being stolen away… They just took Willowbrook! And you have the audacity to ask the Queen to let you run away?”

“I’m not asking to run away! Please… I can stop them. I can save the Faeries!”

“Save your lies!”

“Please!” Nero bowed on his hands and knees, tears running down his face. His entire body was trembling, and his chest ached while he willed himself to calm down and stop crying. “I’ll do anything. I’ll give you my name, my life, everything I have. Just let me save them!”

“Why would you do such a thing?” Tana questioned. Her voice was quiet and hoarse, and she looked hurt and confused.

“Please…” Nero took a deep breath that sounded more like a sob, and his voice shook. “As the former Prince of Anzino, I know how much you love your kingdom and your people. I’ve been here for so long... I can understand it too. I love Ombra. I love Willowbrook. Release me and I’ll save him!”

Tana and Aiken were both silent, looking around. They were distraught as their people were rounded up by Humans with no way to protect themselves. They couldn’t fight them. Could Nero?

“I’m begging you,” Tana said, pressing two fingers to the moon painted on Nero’s forehead. “Save us.”

In the blink of an eye, Nero was restored to his full size, thankfully along with his clothes. The mages were all knocked back, and two of them dropped the Faeries they had gathered.

Nero snatched them up and returned them to the Faerie Circle, where Aiken’s Sunlight Faeries attended to them and helped them get to the safety of the Moon Apple Tree.

“Who are you?” one man asked, still clutching the last bag of Faeries—the one with Willowbrook in it. “Some Faerie sympathizer?”

“Yes,” Nero said firmly, and took a fighting stance. He could do it. He had to. “I’m going to stop you and take those Faeries back where they belong.”

“We’ll see about that!”

The man threw fireballs at Nero, who stuck out his hand. Before the flames even reached his palm, they dissipated, and the mages all stared in shock.

“That won’t work on me,” Nero told him. The flames around them reflected in Nero’s silver eyes, making them look as fierce and ominous as the Blood Moon.

“Try this, then!” One of the other mages launched spikes of ice at Nero. He struck them with his fists, and they turned back into water, which helped to put out some of the flames closer to the Faerie Circle. One got past his defenses, though, and he hissed as it pierced his shoulder.

“You can’t beat me with cheap moves like that,” Nero said, ignoring the blood running down his arm. He barely even felt the pain. “Give those Faeries back!”

“Come and get them!”

Nero was thrown back against the Moon Apple Tree by a powerful gust of wind, conjured by the third mage. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. It was difficult with all the smoke around them that kept getting blown in his face.

Thankfully, the Faeries had cleared out of the circle. They were all hiding in the branches of the tree, watching Nero intently.

“Why is a Human fighting so hard to save a few Faeries?” the fire mage questioned. He tucked the bag of Faeries he’d collected into his belt, then cracked his knuckles. “Even if my magic won’t work against you, it doesn’t mean you can win. You’re outnumbered and outmatched. You should have brought some magic to this fight.”

“I won’t lose.” Nero forced himself to his feet. He clutched his injured shoulder and hissed in pain. He had to push through it. He couldn’t let them win—he promised he would save Willowbrook. “You won’t take them away from here!”

The mages sighed. With a flick of his wrists, his hands became engulfed in fire magic, and he rushed at Nero with murderous intent.

Nero was trained well in hand-to-hand combat, but it was difficult to defend himself and dispel magic at the same time, especially with his injured shoulder. Some strikes made it past his defense, leaving his skin and clothes burned up. He did his best to stand his ground, but he wondered if he really could do it, or would he give his life up for the Faeries right then and there?

“You’re almost out of time,” Nero stated. He noticed the hits were getting weaker, and there wasn’t as much fire as before. He caught the man’s fist in his hand, and the flames were dispelled with a hiss. “There’s a limit to your magic, and you chose the wrong day to pick a fight with Moonlight Faeries.”

Nero tightened his grip on the man’s fist, then snatched the bag of Faeries away from him. He tried to pull free and grab it back, but Nero spun around and flipped him over his shoulder. He hit the ground in the center of the Faerie Circle, the wind knocked out of him.

The mushrooms around the Faerie Circle began to glow brilliantly, and the mage was caught. He was shrunk down to the Faeries’ size and apprehended by Aiken’s men. The other mages were just staring in shock.

“Who’s next?” Nero asked. “You can put out the flames or join your friend.”

The wind mage tried to knock him back with a gust of wind again, but Nero diverted it, knocking the water mage into the Faerie Circle instead, where he shared the same fate as the other mage.

Nero and the last mage faced each other down in tense silence, their hands raised defensively. He was nervous and unsure—he didn’t know if he could defeat him. The force of the wind made it difficult to get in close. He’d watched Daemon in training a few times, and knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“Just give up before you get hurt,” the mage told Nero. He eyed Nero’s injured shoulder too. “You might be able to stop my wind, but you obviously can’t stop everything.”

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Nero hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. “My brother is a powerful Sorcerer with weather magic. Out of anyone here, I’m the one best equipped to defeat you.”

“I’d love to see you try!”

The mage threw a handful of dirt into the air, and used his magic to blow it at Nero. Bits of rocks cut into his skin, and he hissed in pain as he got sand in his eyes. While he was trying to rub them clean, the mage got in close, attacking with both wind and physical attacks.

From a distance, he would use his magic to hit Nero with dirt and stones, then rush in to attack him.

It was difficult for Nero—he could defend himself easily against magic, but there wasn’t much he could do besides guard his body from the large stones and sharp bits of rocks that struck him. He was knocked around. It was hard to catch his breath before another hit would come. He bare arms and face were dirty and scratched up. He needed to figure out some way to win. For the first time since he left Anzino, he wished he was able to use magic.

Don't think about it, he told himself. Just win.