Selene savored the feeling of Kadan beneath her as they ambled towards Aiden's destination. She untangled the knots in his mane while thinking over what she and Aiden had discussed.

An important question remained: Why did this vile king attack her home?

She was still trying to comprehend what Aiden had told her. She had magic. Summoning magic. That fact hung in the air before her like a viper on a branch, not sure whether to attack or to stay put. She opened her hands and looked at her palms, watched the small scars move as she flexed. She thought back to when her fingers had been white with cold.

Could she summon ice? No, she knew that wasn't it. When she had released herself on that thing she had burned, burned so brightly and hot she almost killed herself in the process.

Yet the cold...

She voiced her opinions to Aiden. He cocked his head, looking at the tops of the trees as his mind worked. After a few minutes, he said, "I think--I must be crazy-- but I think you have the power of Moonfire."

His words were soft, as if he didn't quite believe himself.

"Is that not common?" Fear tapped at her head with one of its sharp talons. Aiden reined in his horse back to walk by Kadan's side and said, "No it is not. In fact, it hasn't been wielded by anyone in many millennia."

Selene clutched the reins so hard her knuckles turned white. "What is it exactly?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer, but a voice deep in her urged her to learn.

"Moonfire was first said to have been wielded by the warrior Lysandria during the war between the Angels and Council of Six--," He stopped when he saw Selene's confusion.

"Have you not heard the story of the War?" he asked, and Selene shook her head.

Aiden adjusted himself in his saddle and began.

"Eons ago, this world was watched and protected by the Archangels: Anaiel, Ophiel, Chasan, Uriel, Seraph, Adoel, and Dahlia. They were power incarnate, Ophiel with her vigil in the night sky, Chasan's storms and land for us to walk upon and raise cities, Uriel with his flame that brought forth life and love, Seraph covering Chasan with a blanket of blue and giving us the air to fill our lungs, Anaiel with her power to bring people together in love, Adoel with his strength to demolish enemies through war, and Dahlia with her eternal sleep, a haven for the short mortal life. Nothing could conquer them. Yet there was a Council, each deadlier and more brutal than the last. If the Angels were salvation, the council was damnation. They had been asleep for thousands of years, slumbering so deep within the Earth that not even Chasan could sense them. But they were awoken, somehow, and when they severed themselves from Chasan with such unending power, the Angel was torn apart.

"They ravaged and destroyed everything in their path, thousands died, from all races. The angels knew the Council was coming to destroy them and take this world, so Adoel led them to battle. The two powers met on a field in the heart of the continent, and as they clashed the world shook and groaned. They fought for three years upon that field, neither side giving in until one by one the Archangels fell. The Council ripped them into pieces and spread their bodies across the universe. The light left, for there was no sun and moon, the warmth left because there was no flame, the air filled with haze and crops withered. The only Angel left was Dahlia. She was bound in chains of enchanted blood and forced into slavery by the council. A plague hit, and the human population was cut in half. It seemed the world itself would end. Yet there was still hope. The dragons had a kernel of Uriel's flame in them, the only life left. They took their power and wielded it to craft a warrior, whom they called Lysandria. The warrior was brutal and showed no mercy to the whelps of the Council. But to those who had suffered, she healed and protected. This warrior became the only force between the Council and the remaining survivors. Yet she was not enough. The stars had been watching from above, powerless against the Council that ruled from their castle in the Rien mountains. Slowly, as their hope vanished, they blinked out one by one until only one was left."

"Nótt."

Aiden nodded, "She was Ophiel's lover, and when she had been cast away from this world, Nótt had vowed to end the Council. She threw herself down to Earth and became a beacon for those lost angels. They followed her light back and when they saw what the Council had done to their world, they shed their skins and turned into what they truly were."

"What was their form?"

"No one really knows, it happened so long ago and there are so many different descriptions. But they were huge, bright, and powerful. Nótt had wasted her life's energy to bring the Angels home. When Ophiel reached her, she was close to death. Nótt told Ophiel to bring her to their castle, to release her upon them. So, she did. The Archangels fought the Council once more, but the battle only lasted a few days. Ophiel had gotten through the castle's defenses and laid Nótt before the six dark thrones. Before Nótt could release herself, Neriah, the most powerful of the six, discovered their plot. She and Ophiel clashed and nearly brought that castle down, but Neriah got the upper hand and Ophiel fell. Weak and unguarded, Nótt was powerless as Neriah approached her.

"But that warrior had heard the sounds of the battle from across the continent and raced to the castle on a wind summoned by Seraph herself. She arrived just as Neriah was to make the killing blow and launched all the power left in her veins at her. Neriah fell. So did the warrior. Nótt had been granted enough time to release herself, and she destroyed the castle in a nebula of power. And in the wake of her destruction, the Council fell as well. The eruption woke Chasan and he began to heal the Earth and all that had been done to it. Uriel revived Ophiel and when he told her what had happened to her lover, she fell into a deep sadness. She buried the warrior's body with her own hands, no magic used. From the warrior's grave, an enormous willow grew, large enough to hold a castle, and under its twisted roots, the angels met with delegations from each race to decide what they were all to do with this new world. When they met with the dragons, they asked for their help to create more of the warrior. The dragons agreed and assisted Ophiel in creating the race of Fae, the same as the warrior. This race was not as powerful as Lysandria, but their speed and strength were almost unmatched by anything in the world. From that willow, the Faeries were born and from there they created their city.

"The angels left the races there to delegate themselves and returned to their vigil. Yet Ophiel never forgot her lover and in her grief, she watched over the Fae race, the children of that warrior that had not left her love to die in vain. There they remain."

Selene had not taken her eyes off Kadan's mane for the entire story. She could almost see the pain and violence and victory Aiden had described.

"You'd make a fantastic Story keeper, you know?"

Aiden barked a laugh, "I'd rather not spend my final years trapped in some village."

Selene pondered his story but still had one question.

"Where does Moonfire come into this?"

"It was Moonfire that Lysandria released upon Neriah. She had been made from flame yet in the shadow of the world's demise, the power so cold that it burned. Inescapable agony."

Selene flinched. Inescapable agony to everyone I touch.

He saw the effect of his words and softly said, "You can learn to control it, Selene. That's why I'm taking you to my friend."

She only nodded and looked back down at her hands. If she had been aware of this power, would she had been able to stop Arthur from hurting her? Would she have been able to save Lily? Jack?

They rode in silence for the remainder of the day, both of them content. They emerged from the dense forest to a clearing that sat at the edge of a cliff. Selene dismounted and dared a look over to see a long drop to a canopy of pines. She swallowed and stepped back. Together she and Aiden untacked the horses and let them graze at the edge of the clearing. Aiden pulled a sleeping bag from his pack and held it out to Selene.

She thought about all he had done for her, how she had treated this stranger in return and shook her head. "You need it more than I do. Plus, I'd like to listen."

Aiden's brows rose, but something in her eyes made him nod. He laid it out and began to pile nearby sticks together for a fire.

"The Moonfire makes you immune to cold, unfortunate for me considering the nearing winter," he said with a smile.

Selene cocked her head, "Immune to the cold?"

Aiden nodded, "Why are you giving me that look?"

She recalled a barefoot winter and nights spent outside in the cold.

Selene bit her lip and said, "There have been moments in my life that I would not have survived without this magic. I didn't even know it was there."

He nodded in understanding and sparked the fire. Quickly the flames rose and the crackling of fire filled the silence. Selene was still mulling over everything Aiden had told her before she realized she was speaking, "If the Fae and the Dragons were granted magic from the Angels themselves, how do I possess it?"

Aiden thought about it for a moment before he replied, "Before the borders of the kingdoms went up, it was not uncommon for interracial breeding to happen. Sometimes it was consensual, others it was not. Humans don't have magic, so it's either that or you're a one in a billion."

Selene shivered. She may have Fae blood in her veins. Selene was glad the borders were set, she didn't want to imagine a human girl being victim to a powerful Fae male.

She shut the thought out.

Something in the fire popped and Aiden laid down on the bedroll, his hands under his head. Selene couldn't look away from the fire, the way it moved. It reminded her of the illusion she saw under the hill. She hadn't let herself think about those moments when those sprites showed her Lily's death.

If only she had listened.

She laid on her side, savoring the ice-cold ground. She looked over at Aiden, still in the same position as he watched the stars between the trees.

"Aiden."

"Hmm?"

She hesitated, "How did you get that scar?"

His body locked up, his eyes still glued to those stars. He was silent for a long while before speaking, even then his words were strained as if he had to force them out.

"I had a family once," he smiled painfully, "of course I had a family, but ours was... special. Something came and killed them all, like the demons that massacred your town. I was the only one that survived and as a parting gift it gave me this," he gestured to his scar.

He turned away from her obviously not wanting to talk about it, Selene didn't push him. She only asked, "Will you teach me how to fight?"

That got his attention he turned back around, his eyes settling on her.

"What dwells in your veins, Selene?"

She didn't smile, couldn't. Instead, she let the fire in her spark once again. But this time, it spread to every corner of her body, igniting her hair and shining in her red eyes. And it was ice cold.

"Vengeance."