Chapter 10 Between Fire and Moonlight

Kieran arrived home just after midnight, exhausted from a double shift and desperate to see Selara. But the moment he stepped through the door, his world tilted. Furniture was scattered, glass crunched beneath his boots, and the scent of blood hung faintly in the air. His heart pounded. "Selara?" he called out, panic rising in his throat. Then he saw them Selara and Jules, sitting on the floor, faces pale, bodies marked with ash and blood, leaning into each other like survivors of a war he couldn't see.

Selara looked up first, her silver eyes softening. "She was attacked. One of Kael's creatures." Jules turned too, eyes wide with something close to guilt. Kieran's gaze flicked between them between Selara's closeness to him and the bond forming with the woman who once promised to hunt her. "Are you okay?" he asked, voice strained. Selara nodded. "For now." But Kieran could see the cracks - not just in her, but in whatever thread connected the three of them. Something had shifted. Jules wasn't just an enemy anymore. And that... that changed everything.

Later, while Jules rested in the guest room, Kieran sat across from Selara, unable to stay silent. "What's going on between you two?" he asked. She didn't deny the question didn't even dodge it. "Something unexpected," she said softly. "Something I didn't plan for." Kieran exhaled slowly. "Do you love her?" Selara hesitated. "No. Not yet. But I see her... the same way I see you. As a choice. A risk. A... possibility." Kieran looked away, jaw tight. "You're not just fighting Kael out there, Selara. You're pulling us both into a war we didn't ask for."

Selara stood, her voice suddenly fierce. "I didn't ask for exile. I didn't ask to lose my power or become the hunted. But if you think I'll apologize for surviving, or for feeling something again for either of you you're wrong." Kieran looked up at her, something breaking behind his eyes. "I just don't want to lose you to someone who started off trying to kill you." Selara stepped closer, her voice quieter now. "Then fight for me, Kieran. Don't walk away. Because the war outside is only half of what we're facing."

And in the hallway, unseen, Jules stood in the shadows and heard every word.