Cyan sat in a tree, watching the moon. It was late in the night and the festival was still raging. The final battle had just ended, the victor being a girl of sixteen who had competed the year before. She had shifted into the form of a wolf, shocking the entire village. The other girl she faced put up a good fight but was no match for such a powerful form.

But what had shocked Cyan the most that night was Selene. She had reacted so strangely during that fight. What had changed her mood in the beginning? Was it their forms? No, she was far too interested in the villagers' power to fear it now. It was the fire.

As soon as the young girl had dragged that boy towards the fire, Selene changed. She was different than most people, Cyan could tell already. In fact, she could be the one to change everything. But something had stripped her of her will. And it had something to do with fire.

Cyan racked her brain for anything that could help. She remembered her telling Cyan about slaying the demon in her village. It had killed her friend. That very well could be in. Yet if that were the case, killing the demon would have given her some closure. And Cyan highly doubted she would be training herself so hard if she didn't have another goal in mind, another person to kill.

She mentioned a girl, didn't she?

Yet there was no sign of a young girl with her. What had happened to her? Selene kept secrets, which is understandable considering the time they've known each other. When it came to trusting people, the Fae took much longer than humans. For their lives were much longer.

She had patience; she would wait for the girl to trust her. Until then, the only thing Cyan could do for the girl was make her stronger. So they would train until Selene was a warrior better than any other.

Better than even him.

***

Selene woke the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in weeks. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She left Aiden asleep and slipped out of the house, patting Kadan on his side before leaving. To her amazement, there were still people out and about celebrating. How they hadn't dropped from exhaustion was a mystery to her. As she left the bramble gate and began her five-mile run, she noticed how high the snow had gotten. It was past her knees beyond the trail left for patrols that circled the village. If they hadn't cleared away the snow for them, Selene might not have been able to run. Snow piled much faster here than it did at home. She gathered it was because they were closer to the frozen wastes. everything was colder and harsher the closer you were to its border.

When she arrived at their training ground Cyan was already waiting. She said nothing of last night's events and instead dove right into their training.

After two hours Selene had almost given up.

Cyan had instructed her to set the tip of her finger of fire, but no matter how hard she tried, Selene only succeeded in setting the whole clearing ablaze in a blue inferno. Cyan had taken refuge in a tree, where she could still supervise Selene's training but remained out of danger. However, she seemed to be doing more dozing than teaching.

"Can you show me again?" panted Selene.

She was still adjusting to the Fae female, the way she silently approached you from behind and the way everything about her seemed to be blessed by the Angels. Cyan didn't move a muscle nor open her eyes when she lifted a finger from her stomach and wrapped it in a vine of black fire.

Selene looked down at her hands and held her breath, focusing on the tip of her index finger until nothing else existed. Then she was blown back by a gust of wind, Cyan's magic suffocating her own. She had lit the clearing on fire once again, this time the dirt had fused together to form sizzling cold stone.

Cyan sat up, swinging her legs from the branch as she said, "You still think this power is separate from yourself. In fact, I believe you're still terrified of it. Control comes from realizing that neither thing would exist without the other. You are magic, the magic is you."

"I'm not scared of it! I just don't know how to... keep it from exploding all at once."

Cyan gave her an exasperated look and replied, "You never use it outside of our sessions. You never speak of it outside our sessions. You don't even acknowledge other powers. You are now a Wielder and you must learn that it is a part of your life."

Selene knew she was right. She had been raised to stay away from wielders and the gifted. Even the forest near her house was spoken of in hushed tones and watched with fearful glances. She had gone her entire life without an inkling of this magic, and suddenly it was her whole world.

"Your magic has not been seen in thousands of years, so it will be quiet tricky to master considering you're the only wielder of Moonfire. But from what I've seen, you're trying to stop a tsunami with a shovel. To be honest with you Selene, I think you have much more power inside of you that hasn't even been touched yet. You know the story of the war, correct?"

Selene nodded her head.

"The warrior Lysandria was said to have unimaginable strength that killed the most powerful of the council. She was born directly from the dragon's flame into a world of darkness. So her power was unmatched by anything but the Angels. You yourself may or may not have that power as well."

"What if I do?" Selene asked the slight tug of fear pulled at her.

"Then you will learn to control it, just like Lysandria did," responded the woman as if it was as simple as making stew.

Unmatched by all save for the Angels. I could kill everyone around me in seconds if that was the case. A sudden realization settled over her, I could kill everyone on this continent if I'm not careful.

Selene swallowed the rising terror that threatened to consume her and turned to her.

"Let me try again," she asked.

Cyan nodded and jumped back up into her tree, watching with an immortal's patience.

Selene sat on the ground and took a deep breath, focusing everything she had on her finger.

A tsunami and a shovel, she thought. How would she control the wave? There was no way. She felt the temperature drop in the clearing, a cold steam growing its way up Cyan's tree and covering her hands as they gripped the bark, yet she didn't move or speak, just watched.

Selene took several deep breaths. Just the tip of your finger, Selene.

As easy as making stew.

The skin slowly turned white, freezing over. Then as if Opiel herself were touching her, the tip of her finger exploded in blue.

Selene was so taken aback at her success that she jumped back in shock. Suddenly the entire clearing was covered in her fire again as if the tsunami had drowned the forest in blue water.

Just as fast as it had come, it disappeared as if being suffocated by dirt.

Selene turned to Cyan and waved her finger in the air, "Did you see that? Just the finger, just the tip. It was lit!"

Cyan shook her head and leaped down from the branch, hitting the ground without a sound. She put her hand on Selene's shoulder and said, "The session is finished, go clean yourself up."

Selene nodded and hurried back through the forest. She wasn't at all bothered by Cyan's sudden dismissal. With her time spent surviving on her own, she had become quick to notice things. She hadn't missed the small smile etched on the stone Fae's face and she highly doubted she would ever miss such rare praise.

Before she could reach the bramble thicket, a shadow passed over her. It was too large to be a bird and much faster than leaves in the wind. She slowed her pace and looked up, turning around to see what the figure was.

A man crouched high in the trees, the branch bending beneath his weight. The sun was behind him and it blinded her, so she couldn't make out his face. Yet the sight of him staring at her set her on edge and she reached back and wrapped her hand around the hilt of her dagger.

"Who are you?" she yelled up into the trees.

"I'm looking for someone from your village. Her name is Cyan." his voice was deep and accented, and Selene knew he wasn't from here.

She didn't know why he was looking for Cyan and she wasn't about to tell him where she was. Not until she knew if he meant harm.

"What business do you have with her?" she asked.

He cocked his head, "That is for us to discuss."

"I have never met anyone going by that name here. You are in the wrong place."

He chuckled, "If I intended to harm you and your people, do you think the patrols would have let me through?"

Selene cursed herself, forgetting about the guards that regulated who may get close to the village. She remained silent at his question, burning with embarrassment.

He sighed and leaped from the branch, dropping thirty feet to the ground. By reflex, Selene let out a cry and reached out to help. But the man landed silently, crouching as if he hadn't thought anything of it.

Though he faced the ground, she could still see him clearly. His hair was silver and glimmered as if it were made of quicksilver, and flowed down past his shoulders. His shoulders were broad and his arms and legs toned beneath his clothes. He had the body of a warrior. What startled her the most though was his ears; they were pointed just as Cyan's were. He was an elf. He looked up at her and she took a step back, his gaze burning into her with eyes of light blue. She had never seen eyes such as that. Aiden's were deep, dark blue, yet remained human-looking. This elf had eyes of crystals, reminding her of a cloudless sky.

She looked right into them as she unsheathed her dagger and held it to his throat. Despite herself, she felt a glimmer of confidence. She no longer felt awkward holding the blade and had been far quicker to draw it and point it at his jugular than she had ever been during her training. She lifted her chin and stared down at him.

"I'll ask again, what business do you have with Cyan?"

"So you do know her," he said back with a grin.

She didn't have any time to answer before Cyan herself appeared behind her and placed her hand over Selene's, drawing the dagger away from the man's throat.

"He means no ill will," she said.

Selene stared at Cyan and then back at the man. Her mind was telling her not to trust him, yet Cyan seemed to know him. Maybe it was just Selene being too cautious. Begrudgingly, she took a step back to allow Cyan to approach the man. He stood to his full height and Selene swallowed nervously, he was huge. A man bred for war and battle, more than a head taller than her and took twice as strong. She now realized that she never stood a chance against him. He may even be able to beat Cyan.

The two elves didn't hug or clasp hands, instead, they did a strange motion of placing two fingers over their heart and motioning to each other. It intrigued Selene. There was so much she still didn't know about this world and the people in it. Her curiosity was piqued.

"Why are you here, Kai?" Cyan said, her voice serious.

The man, Kai, glanced over to Selene. She raised her chin under his gaze and stared back.

"I must speak with you privately," he said, eyes not leaving Selene.

Cyan followed his gaze to Selene and said, "Go back to the village. Tell Aiden what we did today. The rest of the day is yours."

Selene stepped forward, "But--."

"I will not repeat myself, Selene."

Something in her voice convinced Selene to turn and walk away. This was a serious matter, much bigger than her. She had no business being involved. Yet she wanted to know what was going on. Despite herself, the part of her that was slow to trust whispered things in her ear. She needed to know what was going on and if she and Aiden had to leave this peaceful village.

Selene's blood turned cold as a thought came to mind: What if it's the king?

She knew what she needed to do. Being able to fight was not the only thing she needed if she was going to find and kill this king. She needed information.

So she kept walking until she was out of their earshot; then she turned and blended into the forest that she had spent weeks learning to hide in. She steeled herself for what she was about to do, to spy on two elves.

Cyan knew her well, knew how she fought and thought. Yet she did not know this side of her, the side that learned how to hide.

She silently made her way back to Cyan and Kai, watching where she kept her feet and making sure her dagger did not clink against anything. She kept low, invisible against the snow-covered bushes. For once in her life, she thanked the Angels for her stark white hair, because with it she camouflaged perfectly.

It wasn't long before she heard their voices.

"-- making their way across the border. Erador is completely under his control. The armies are just growing and soon they will be in Radëgon."

"You're too late, my friend. His servants are already in the human land. That girl you saw, Selene, killed one in her own hometown nearly two months ago. I've heard reports of other villages being ransacked and its people slaughtered."

"We have less time than I thought."

They must be talking about the King. I see no one else they could be referring to.

She could barely see them through the branches of the bushes, but she could make out the distraught look on Kai's face.

"Have you heard from your people?" Kai asked.

Cyan shook her head, "I've tried reaching out, but their exile remains. They will never come to my aid."

Exile?

"What of the man?"

"I've been watching him, yet he has not shown any signs of possession nor dark magic. I trust him."

Kai nodded and rubbed his chin, thinking.

"We need to act fast, Kai, before Icarus can make his move. If he attacks before--,"

"We are not ready. He's building something else, something far worse than demons and weapons. He's using the worse kind of dark magic and he's creating an army the kind of which we have never seen. We will be slaughtered if we attack now. Give me a few more months, I'm sure I can rally more soldiers."

"A lot can happen in a matter of months, Kai. Be quick about it. The fate of the world is in your hands."

He smiled, "No. It is in yours."

They did the motion of touching their hearts once more. Then Kai disappeared into the trees.

Selene left before Cyan could notice her. She retraced her steps through the woods and arrived at the bramble gates long before Cyan.

Aiden was at the treehouse, chopping wood next to their horses when he saw her approach. He smiled and wiped at his forehead.

"How was your training?" he asked.

Selene motioned for him to follow her as she walked past him and into the maze of unoccupied trees. She did not stop walking until they reached the tree where she practiced throwing her knives. She looked around the entirety of their surroundings and listened for any sign of someone approaching before turning to Aiden.

"A war is coming."

His face showed confusion. "What?"

"Someone visited Cyan and me in the forest today and they sent me off. But I snuck back to listen and they spoke of war. A large one."

Aiden's brows furrowed as he processed what she had said and she watched his face change from confusion to serious.

"Tell me exactly what they said."

And she did, not leaving one detail out. Aiden paced the clearing and rub at his short beard that had begun to grow. He was thinking of something, he had to be.

"We will do nothing."

Selene blinked, "What?"

"If a war is coming, you need to learn to protect yourself. Not only that but this village is full of fine warriors, each more deadly than the last. You saw the duels yourself. The seasoned warriors here will make that look like child's play. This is the safest place for us to be right now."

Selene began to fill with rage. "But this is the man that killed everyone I've ever loved. He slaughtered my family. He burned Lily to death!"

"Selene, you have no idea the force you are up against. If war really is coming, the smartest thing to do is to stay as far away from it as possible. Do you think you'll be able to survive against the king if he gets his hands on your Moonfire? Cyan has the best chance at killing him and she herself will not attack without an army. What makes you think that you'll make a difference in the fight?"

She took a step away from him. "You think I'm helpless," she said, hurt in her voice.

"No. That's not what I said, but I'm being realistic."

"You are being a coward," she hissed at him.

Aiden shut his mouth and recoiled as if she had hit him. He stared at her with pity.

"You are blinded by grief. You do not see what I see," he said, his voice quiet but firm.

"And what do you see?" she asked.

"I see a broken girl, who does not want to let herself heal. I see someone who does not want to live."

She could not say anything back to him, for there was nothing to say. She felt as if someone had taken a dagger and driven it into her chest. Just last night, she and he had talked as if they were friends. But she had forgotten of her need to seek revenge.

She had forgotten her goal. What a fool she had been.

She pushed past Aiden. He said nothing to her, he didn't even turn to watch her leave. She could only think of one place she could go. To finally get all of her questions answered. To finally find out why she had suffered so.

So she marched to the woman under the willow.