Chapter 37: The Edge of Trust
The rain had started again.
Soft at first — like a whisper across the windowpane — but it grew steadily, until it sounded like the sky itself was unraveling. Aria sat curled on the floor, back pressed to the wall, knees drawn tight to her chest. The low hum of the desk lamp cast faint amber across the room, just enough to watch the shadows crawl and stretch. She wasn't crying. Not really. Just breathing in that too - deep way that threatened to crack her in half.
It had been two nights since Selene told her the truth.
That she was the fracture and the healing. The beginning and the end. That something ancient had woken in her blood, coiled beneath her skin like a sleeping god. Waiting for the world to force its eyes open.
But Aria wasn't ready to be worshipped or feared. She didn't want to be anyone's legend, or burden, or battlefield. She just wanted to breathe without someone reaching for a piece of her. This room — lamplit, messy, hers — was the only place left that felt unclaimed.
Until the knock.
Soft. Tentative. Like maybe whoever stood behind the door didn't want to be heard. Still, Aria's entire body locked up, every muscle tight, heart pounding like thunder in her throat.
She didn't move. Didn't speak.
But the door creaked open anyway.
Selene stepped inside like the storm had shaped her, coat trailing behind like smoke, her silver - blonde hair plastered to her cheek from the rain. She didn't ask permission. She never did.
"You're not sleeping again," she said, voice smooth and low.
Aria didn't look at her. "Neither are you."
Selene shut the door gently, then crossed the room in slow, deliberate steps, each one weighted like a decision. She sat on the floor opposite her with elegant ease, legs folded, back straight, like even now she couldn't relax. The air changed the moment she sat — denser, sharper, as if something was waiting between them.
Aria tried not to stare. Tried to ignore how Selene's shirt clung from the rain, translucent in places, outlining the fine lines of her collarbone and the curve of her shoulder. Her damp hair curled faintly at the ends, strands sticking to her neck like ribbons. When their eyes met, Aria's breath stilled in her chest.
"Something's wrong," she whispered, trying to anchor herself to anything but the magnetic pull in Selene's gaze.
"There's movement in the south," Selene said, watching her too closely. "The Council's sent a shadow."
Aria blinked. "A shadow?"
Selene nodded. "A scout. Not just to observe. To provoke. They want to see what you become when you're cornered."
"And if I break?"
"They'll call you a threat."
The words punched the air from her lungs. "I never asked for this," Aria said, voice cracking. "Any of it."
"No one asks." Selene's voice softened. "But some are chosen anyway."
Aria studied her. There was something off — not in what she said, but in what she didn't. Her posture was too still, her eyes too guarded.
"You intercepted the message, didn't you?"
Selene hesitated. "Yes."
"But that's not all."
"No."
Aria sat forward, heart picking up speed. "What else?"
Selene met her gaze. "I responded."
"You what?" Aria surged to her feet. "Selene, you gave them this location?"
"I had to shape what they saw."
"You had to?" Her voice rose, trembling. "You didn't tell me. You made that choice for me."
"Because you hesitate," Selene said evenly, rising to her feet. She wasn't angry, but there was a dangerous calm beneath her words. "And hesitation gets you killed."
"So this was a test," Aria snapped. "You're testing me now?"
"Yes."
"You don't trust me."
Selene's voice didn't falter. "Not yet. I don't trust anyone. Not with what you are."
The words stung like frostbite. Aria turned away, jaw clenched. She didn't want to look at her, didn't want to see that unreadable calm. But she could feel Selene behind her like a flame. Even at a distance, the tension between them crackled, barely restrained.
"You said I wasn't alone," Aria whispered. "But now it feels like that was just strategy."
She felt Selene move closer — not touching, but close enough to feel the heat off her skin. Aria turned and found her inches away, forest — green - darkened eyes watching her like a blade balanced on edge.
"You're not a weapon," Selene murmured, voice low. "But you are dangerous. And that's the only reason they haven't put you down yet."
Her fingers rose, slow, deliberate, brushing a rain - slick strand of hair from Aria's cheek. The touch was maddening — gentle and electric — and Aria's breath hitched.
"I want you to survive," Selene said softly.
"You can't just say that and touch me like that," Aria whispered, shaking. "It's not fair."
Selene tilted her head, a ghost of a smirk curving her lips. "Fair? Do I look like someone who plays fair?"
Aria's cheeks burned. "You're impossible."
"And yet you're still standing here."
"Because I haven't shoved you out the door yet."
"Yet," Selene echoed, voice wicked. "You like dancing this close to the edge."
"Maybe I do. But that doesn't mean I'll fall."
"Are you sure?" Selene stepped even closer, their bodies almost brushing. "Because I think you already have."
Aria swallowed hard, the air between them too hot. Too loud. "You're infuriating."
"I've been called worse," Selene said, eyes locked on hers. "But you're still looking at my mouth."
Aria flushed, furious at herself. "You baited me."
"You let yourself be baited."
"And you're smug about it."
Selene's grin widened slightly. "Of course I am. You're cute when you're mad."
"I will hit you."
"You'll miss," Selene murmured, then added with a wicked edge, "or you'll kiss me by mistake."
Aria's eyes narrowed. "You're not even trying to be subtle."
"Why should I be?" Selene's hand drifted to Aria's hip, not quite touching — just hovering, close enough to feel the heat. "You want the truth, don't you?"
Aria's heart was a drumbeat against her ribs. She didn't step back.
She didn't want to.
"I hate that you did this without telling me," she said quietly.
"I know." Selene's voice dropped. "But if I had told you, you would've said no. And some decisions don't wait. Some doors open whether we're ready or not."
Aria turned away, chest tight. Her skin still tingled where Selene's breath had brushed it.
"I need to think."
Selene didn't move. Just watched her. Felt her slipping through her fingers again.
"I said I need space," Aria said again, louder this time.
Selene nodded. The motion was small, reluctant. She stepped back like the darkness itself was peeling away from her, clinging.
At the door, she paused. Her voice, when it came, was soft but steady.
"You're not weak for needing space. But don't confuse distance for strength. The Council won't wait. And neither will I."
The door clicked shut behind her.
Aria stood frozen in the echo.
Then she collapsed to the floor, every part of her shaking, skin electric with the memory of almost. The warmth of Selene's nearness lingered like a bruise, a phantom weight against her mouth, her chest, her pulse.
There was no such thing as peace anymore.
Only choices.
Only fire and shadow and the impossible thing blooming between them.
And Aria knew — when she saw Selene again, something would give.
Maybe her control.
Maybe the rules.
Or maybe her heart.