Selene woke the next morning with her ear still pressed to the ground listening to the sounds of Chasan. She could see the sunrise from the edge of the cliff and the endless expanse of trees that made up the Naiṭ araṇya. She could hear the wind whispering and the creatures scurrying and jumping between branches.

Aiden was still asleep beside her, bundled in the sleeping bag with only the top of his head showing. Selene snorted at the sight. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She didn't notice movement at the end of the clearing until a deep purr sounded behind her a moment later, making her go rigid. She didn't dare turn around, praying that Aiden would remain asleep.

If they ran, she was sure whatever predator was behind her would chase.

Something soft brushed against her back and she knew what it was, knew without looking what had found her again. She felt no fear as she turned to find the mysterious lynx watching her, the large man that accompanied it was nowhere in sight. It looked at her with its glowing eyes, depthless pits that radiated power.

Selene reached out with a hand to touch its pelt, hoping not to scare the beast off. Yet as she looked into those eyes, she felt as if it was just as smart as she, if not smarter.

"Did you know?" she asked it. It had appeared to her the day before Lily's death. Selene knew enough about this forest to know it worked in strange ways, and just like the sprites, this cat had known.

Its blue pelt was lighter in the day, the silver glowing pink against the rising sun. The tufts of its ears flicked in answer. She felt the sob rising in her body, too fast. The only response the wildcat showed was a slow blink.

"Why?" she asked, her throat tight.

The cat purred again and brushed along her side before disappearing into the trees.

"Wait," Selene whispered loudly. She glanced back at the still sleeping man across from the dead fire and quickly followed the cat. She could barely see it in the brush, only able to make out the glitter of silver between the bushes. She ran as fast as she could, her body still weak from the strain her magic had put on it. Her breathing grew labored, but she did not stop her pursuit.

"Please!"

The cat was in sight now, the stump of its tail twitching. She should not have been able to catch up to the lynx so easily; it was slowing down.

But why?

Suddenly, the cat vanished in a cloud of mist. Selene stopped so suddenly, her ankle gave a jerk of pain. She spun in a circle, looking for any sign of where it had gone. A sudden anger rose in her, bubbling up from deep within her throat. She let out a frustrated scream, one that held so much grief and anger and pain. She sank to her knees and put her hands on her head, her body shaking.

This pain would never end. This agony.

She was completely alone, and it was all her own fault. If only she'd been stronger.

A calloused hand touched her shoulder, making her jump up and turn. Her hands went directly to her knife, unsheathing it. A large man stood behind her, the Lynx's companion. He studied her, her dagger. He did not step away.

"Why do you feel such things, Daughter of Night?" His voice was deep, reverberating in her chest, and an accent thick on his tongue.

Selene couldn't catch her breath. Daughter of Night?

"I am no such thing," she said, the words barely more than a whisper.

The man's eyes bore into her, identical to the Lynx's. He stepped forward and lifted her chin with the same calloused hand until she could look nowhere but into those eyes. They looked of green fire, the same fire that had burn Lily to nothing. Selene tried to step away but found she was unable to. She didn't have the will.

"The scars littering your soul are endless, yet they will heal. You are needed in this world. The storms have been whispering your name for centuries, child. The stars have been waiting for longer. You are more than this mortal shell. When you realize that, I will come. Ophiel will come."

His words only stirred more questions, ones that will most likely never be answered.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He shook his head, his only answer, and stepped away. The man did not bid goodbye as he vanished into mist just as the cat had.

Selene did not know she had been crying until the biting wind chilled her wet skin. She stood alone in that clearing for a long while. She did not speak, did not move until she heard a voice calling her name. She turned slowly to find Aiden crash through the trees to find her. His eyes locked with her's and the amount of panic that filled them sent her spiraling over the edge.

Her knees buckled and Aiden caught her before she hit the ground. The dagger falling from her limp hand. She felt numb as the sobs wracked her body. She couldn't breathe past the spasms, couldn't see through the tears. All she could do was let Aiden, the stranger, hold her. He pressed her to his chest and stroked her hair.

She was alone in this world. Abused for years, a coward, undeserving to have made it this far when so many she knew were dead behind her. She had been falling down into a dark abyss so fast that she hadn't had the chance to try and save herself.

Yet from the bottom of that abyss, Selene could hear him. The stranger that had lost those he loved as well. The man that had saved her more than once. Her friend. She heard his voice, whispering to her the only words she needed to hear.

"I'm here."

***

Selene remembered Aiden staying with her until the sun reached its peak and her tears had stopped. Then he had gently helped her stand and walked back to their makeshift camp. It looked the same from when she had left except for the sleeping roll now thrown across the clearing.

They spent the entire day riding, making their way through the dense forest. Aiden tried to keep the atmosphere light with jokes and stories about his childhood, the good ones. But they did nothing to take Selene's eyes off the forest floor. Once they had settled down that night, she didn't bother with words as she curled up on the ground and stared at the endless dark until she drifted to sleep. She woke with the bedroll laid on her like a blanket and Aiden shivering beside the dead fire.

She knew it hadn't been for warmth, but comfort. It was because of that act that she tried, though difficult, to befriend this man. Despite herself, she found he was easy to like.

It was days later when Aiden brought up the events of that morning. They were both sitting by the fire, the air frigid around them. Aiden held his hands close to the flames with a warm cloak wrapped around him when he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Selene wrapped her arm tighter around herself and said, "No." Aiden left it at that.

The winter had made itself known as the air grew close to freezing and their breath turned to clouds of white. Aiden pushed them harder every day, hoping to make it to his destination before the first snow fell.

Soon, the trees began to thin. The forest morphed to what she had expected it to be, full of life and beauty. She spotted a doe between the trees during one of their long treks. Her winter coat had already grown in and she nibbled at the remainders of a bush. Kadan snorted and the doe's head shot up to look at them. Selene nodded her head and the doe blinked in acknowledgment before disappearing into the trees.

Aiden chuckled. Selene turned towards him, "What?"

She shook his head, "Nothing. Just the way to speak to animals, it would seem as if you had the gift for it." Selene's eyes flickered to his for a moment to see him peering at her with a grin.

She kicked Kadan and sent him into a trot, turning to yell, "If you don't strive to please me, maybe I'll use that gift to send mice into your bed."

He caught up to her and retorted, "Then I'll have to climb into yours."

Selene snorted. "You'd regret that in the morning," she joked, tapping her dagger with a finger. Aiden just laughed, heartily. It was a nice sound to hear and made her smile as well.

"So, what is the place we're heading exactly?" Selene asked. She brushed through Kadan's mane and began to braid it into tiny strands, her boredom becoming visible.

"It's the home of a tribe. Every time I come to this forest, they give me shelter as long as I don't hunt on their territory and respect their customs, which I will gladly do. Some may not take kindly to you, but I can assure you that most will accept you with open arms."

She undid the braids and redid them in a different style. "What do they call themselves?" she asked.

"Sev Atamnër."

"What does it mean?"

Aiden grinned at her, a devilish look, "You'll know."

Selene turned forward again and saw that Kadan's hair was completely braided. She recalled when Lily had woven flowers through his mane and forelock, transforming him into a woodland stallion. Selene felt pain in her chest as if her heart were collapsing on itself.

She didn't notice the movement next to them, the stirring of the trees without wind. The leaves paused as if the forest were holding its breath. Selene paused as well. They had left the thickest part of the forest, yet Selene did not doubt that the monsters that dwelled there sometimes ventured out of their territory.

"Aiden," Selene said. Her voice was still, steady. Aiden turned in his seat to look at her and followed her gaze to the forest around them. He put a hand to the hunting dagger at his hip, his eyes alert and studying their surroundings.

Yet, there was no sound save for their horses. Kadan's ears turned forward as he listened for their new company. Aiden's horse pranced on her feet, her eyes wide. Selene saw nothing in the brush, nothing but the greenery that shone in the daylight. Then as if coming on a wind, a woman emerged.

She was the most beautiful woman Selene had ever seen. Her eyes were as green as the leaves that surrounded them, glimmering in the sunlight. Her skin was pale and freckled, the dots decorating her skin from her cheeks to her nose and following down beneath her thin tunic. Her hair was the brightest red, seeming to burn even in the day, shimmering and blazing.

Yet what stood out the most was the tattoo that covered her face. The black lines drawn across the bridge of her nose and up between her brows, leading to a circle surrounded by dots. The design was ancient, as if from an old tribe.

The woman studied them with her piercing eyes; she stood so still, Selene knew she wasn't human. She restrained herself from reaching for her dagger.

The woman took a step forward, the movement silent and deadly. She gave them a smile that had Selene reaching for her weapon anyway. The woman glanced at Selene's hand and grinned again, the look radiating as brightly as her hair.

Aiden's voice was tight as he said, "Cyan."

The woman turned to him and bowed deeply, mockingly. Selene choked on her scream as the woman's hair fell away from her head to show slim, pointed ears.

Fae.