Chapter 82: Afterlight
The night held its breath.
Aria lay tangled in the sheets, her skin damp, her heartbeat slowly finding its rhythm again. The world outside remained hushed, as if nature itself understood that something sacred had just occurred. That within this ruined apartment, amidst rot and ruin, something rare had been born.
Selene hadn't moved far.
She sat beside Aria now, partially propped against the wall, one leg folded beneath her, the other draped off the edge of the mattress. Her long hair spilled down her bare back in waves of ink, and her eyes — green as mossy stone — remained trained on Aria's sleeping form with an unreadable expression.
The moonlight kissed her shoulders. Even now, with shadows falling around them, Selene looked like she belonged to a different realm. Pale, untouchable. Still.
But Aria stirred.
Her breath hitched softly as she blinked awake, lashes fluttering against the weight of sleep. She turned her head and met Selene's gaze.
"…You're watching me," Aria whispered, voice hoarse and threaded with sleep.
"You breathe differently when you dream," Selene replied, her voice low. "I wasn't sure if they'd returned."
Aria blinked, the memory of her usual nightmares flickering at the edge of her mind — and finding nothing. No screams. No fire. No clawing darkness this time.
"…They didn't," she said, almost surprised. "You… chased them away."
Selene's lips curved faintly, not into a smile, but something gentler. "Then I'll stay until they don't return at all."
Aria sat up slowly, wincing at the sore hum that echoed through her muscles. Her cheeks colored, remembering why. Her fingers fumbled with the sheets, pulling them closer to her chest. "You don't have to keep watching over me."
"I do," Selene said, gaze unwavering. "I chose to."
The silence between them was warm now, not strained. But Aria's chest tightened all the same.
"Do you regret it?" she asked, unable to stop herself.
Selene tilted her head, the moonlight catching the sharp line of her jaw. "No."
"You're sure?" Aria's voice cracked. "You didn't just… give in because I was hurting?"
Selene stood in a slow, fluid motion, the cold air moving with her. She crossed the floor, barefoot, and knelt again beside the bed. Her hand reached out, brushing a curl from Aria's damp forehead. "You're not a weakness, Aria. You never were."
"But you always hold back," Aria said. "Like you're afraid of ruining something."
Selene nodded once, deliberate. "I am. Because what I want from you… is everything."
The admission struck harder than Aria expected. Her throat tightened.
"And if you ever ask me to stop, I will," Selene added quietly. "But until then… I'll give you all that I am."
Something inside Aria trembled. Not from fear. From the weight of being wanted like that.
She reached out and took Selene's hand. "Then don't hold back. Not with me."
Selene's fingers tightened slightly around hers. And for a moment, the world outside vanished again. No broken cities. No apocalypse. Just them.
"I feel like I'm falling," Aria whispered.
"You're not," Selene said. "You're flying. You just don't know it yet."
Dawn crept over the skeletal remains of the city, casting long, skeletal shadows through the cracks of the building. The air outside had turned colder with the approach of winter. The frost had begun its silent conquest.
Selene rose first.
She moved quietly, stepping over broken wood and glass without a sound, as if the building itself respected her silence. She found a basin, filled it with rainwater collected in a rusted barrel, and dipped a clean cloth inside. The cold soaked her skin, grounding her.
She brought it back and knelt again at Aria's side, brushing sweat and sleep from her brow.
Aria stirred at the touch, lids fluttering. "You're always doing that…"
"What?"
"Taking care of me… before I even ask."
Selene didn't answer immediately. She wrung out the cloth and gently trailed it down Aria's neck. "You shouldn't have to ask."
A beat passed.
Then: "I never cared about being soft before," Aria murmured. "Never thought I had that in me. But with you…"
"You don't have to be soft to be loved," Selene said. "You only have to be real."
Aria looked up at her, eyes glistening in the morning light. "And what am I to you?"
Selene met her gaze, calm but burning beneath the surface. "Everything I can't afford to lose."
The words hit like a gust of wind against a house of cards.
But before Aria could respond, a sudden, sharp sound rang out in the distance — metal against stone. Then footsteps. Several. Moving quickly.
Selene tensed immediately. Her body moved like water to ice — still beautiful, but lethal now.
"Get dressed," she said, already halfway to the window. "We're not alone."
Aria's heart kicked. The warmth of the night evaporated in seconds, replaced by the familiar rush of fear. Her fingers scrambled for her clothes, hastily pulling them on. "Scavengers?"
"Worse," Selene said, peering through a crack in the blinds. Her tone dropped several degrees. "Marauders. Armed."
Aria swore under her breath, fumbling to lace her boots.
Selene was already pulling her shirt back over her scarred shoulders, strapping knives and gear with practiced ease. She crossed to the other side of the room and slid open a loose floorboard, revealing a narrow crawlspace beneath.
"In," she said sharply. "Now."
Aria hesitated. "What about you?"
"I'll follow. But you go first."
Aria didn't argue. She crouched, heart hammering, and slipped into the dark crawlspace. It was narrow and cold, the air stale and damp, but it would hide them — at least for a while.
Selene slid in behind her just as the front door of the apartment shattered off its hinges.
Heavy boots thundered in.
Aria held her breath, pressing herself flat against the earth. Selene's body molded behind hers like a shield, one hand wrapping around her middle, the other reaching for a blade in the dark.
Voices echoed above them. Harsh. Male. Cruel.
"…They're here. Tracks are fresh."
"Check the rooms. She's got that freak with her — the ice one. Be careful."
Aria stiffened. Her mouth opened slightly in shock. They were looking for Selene?
Selene's grip on her waist tightened.
Aria turned her head the slightest bit, whispering, "They know you."
Selene didn't respond. Her silence was confirmation enough.
Frost and flame, Aria thought. That was what they were. And now, the world wanted to snuff them out.
But in that cramped space, with Selene pressed behind her and danger above them, Aria didn't feel weak anymore. She felt furious. Protective. She felt like something inside her had finally woken up.
Like the night before had not just undone her…
…but begun her.