The candlelight cast soft gold across Selene's cheeks, her expression unreadable as her gaze lingered on Matthew's hand still resting over hers. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The hush between them wasn't uncomfortable—it was reverent, sacred, like the world itself had paused to listen.
"You're trembling," Matthew said quietly.
Selene opened her mouth, closed it again. Her eyes met his, and in them he saw everything she tried so hard to bury—grief, confusion, fear… and yearning.
"I hate this," she whispered. "Not you. Not this moment. But the fact that any of it could be taken away."
Matthew's thumb traced slow, soothing circles across the back of her hand. "Then we don't let it be taken."
"You make it sound simple."
"It isn't. But it's worth fighting for."
Her breath caught, and she looked away, blinking back the warmth rising to her eyes. She hated how easily he read her—how gently he undid her defenses without trying to. It terrified her how much she wanted to fall into that comfort. Into him.
He shifted closer, their knees nearly brushing. "What are you afraid of, Selene? Really?"
"That this—" she said, her voice raw, "—is another illusion. That the moment I let myself need you, I'll lose you."
Matthew's expression softened. "I'm not a dream, Selene. I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere."
She shook her head. "You don't understand. Everyone I've ever trusted—my family, the Council, even the Academy—they've all taken something from me. They saw my bloodline before they saw me."
"Then let me be the first to see you. Just you." His voice was a whisper now. "Not the Raventhorn heir. Not the pureblood. Just... Selene."
Her breath stilled.
And then, very slowly, she leaned forward. Her forehead rested against his, and they stayed like that, suspended in silence, the air around them trembling with possibility.
"I don't know how to be that girl," she said.
"Then let's figure it out together."
Selene's eyes fluttered shut. And when Matthew tilted his head just slightly, brushing the lightest kiss against her temple, she didn't pull away.
Her voice was smaller when she finally spoke again. "The book is changing. It's reacting more to me every day. Sometimes I feel like it's calling something."
He didn't move. "You think it's connected to the Forgotten?"
She nodded against him. "I think I'm the key to waking them. Or stopping them. Or both."
He pulled back just enough to look at her properly. "Then whatever happens, I stay by your side. Until the end."
"You shouldn't promise that."
"I already have."
Their eyes locked, and for a heartbeat, the walls between them disappeared.
Then the moment snapped.
A sudden tremor rippled through the floor. The candlelight guttered and flared. Selene shot to her feet, eyes darting to the window—just in time to see black mist slither along the edge of the courtyard below.
Matthew was already beside her. "That's not normal."
"No," she agreed. "It's a summoning. Someone's calling something through the wards."
"From the book?"
She shook her head. "No. This is older. Darker."
Outside, the mist congealed into shadowed figures, humanoid but barely. Like silhouettes cut from smoke and malice.
"We need to warn the Headmaster," Matthew said.
Selene moved quickly, grabbing the book and a dagger from her desk. Her voice was steel now. "We warn no one. Not yet. We see who's behind this. If we go to the Council, they'll twist it to fit their narrative."
Matthew hesitated—then nodded. "Then we go together."
Their hands brushed again as they reached for the same lantern. This time, neither pulled away.
Down the winding stairs and into the cold night, the storm that had hovered for days finally broke loose, casting sheets of rain across the stone paths. But even the storm didn't wash away the dread thick in the air.
As they crept toward the center courtyard, Selene whispered, "If I don't make it out of this—"
"Don't." Matthew stopped her with a sharp glance. "You will. We both will."
She swallowed hard. "Then after… will you still see me? Even if I'm not what you hoped?"
"I see you now," he said. "And it's already more than I ever expected."
In that moment, with darkness stirring and the past threatening to unmake the present, Selene let herself believe that maybe—just maybe—love wasn't weakness.
Maybe, with the right person, it could be strength.