Chapter 44: Echoes in the Shadows
The night air clung to the house like damp silk, every breath weighed down by the hush of something unspoken. Outside, the brittle whisper of branches scratched against the glass like restless fingers. Selene's eyes flicked toward the window again, her posture drawn tight as a blade on the verge of release. One hand hovered near her hip, poised but calm. It wasn't fear moving her — it never was. It was instinct, cold and coiled and utterly precise.
Aria stood just behind her, the soles of her bare feet chilled against the hardwood floor. Her breath trembled on the edge of silence. Something about the night made her skin prickle — not just the potential threat outside, but the way Selene stood there, unflinching, unreadable. The tension between them wasn't fear. It was something deeper. Something electric.
A crack from the trees outside made her flinch.
Selene didn't move, didn't blink.
"Stay behind me," she said, her voice low and razor-sharp.
The command slipped between Aria's ribs like a knife and lodged there. She nodded instinctively, her limbs obedient even as her heart stuttered. Selene's voice shouldn't have made her feel the way it did — shouldn't have warmed her belly and sent heat rushing to her face — but it did. It always did.
Then came the thud — sudden and sharp. Something hit the side of the house with enough force to rattle the shutters. Aria gasped. Her hand shot out, fingers brushing Selene's bare arm before she could think.
Selene stilled.
Her gaze dropped to the point of contact, slow and deliberate. The corner of her mouth twitched in the faintest, knowing smile.
Without a word, she flung the door open.
Night wind surged into the room, cold and full of warnings. Selene stepped into it like she belonged to it, her silver hair glinting faintly in the moonlight. She didn't flinch at the cold — she never did. Her body seemed carved for it. Aria shivered violently behind her, wrapping her arms tight across her chest, but it wasn't just the temperature that made her knees feel unsteady.
Selene drew her blade, held it loosely, confidently.
The trees outside stood like sentinels — watching, waiting.
Then something darted through the underbrush, low and fast. Not human. Not close. A small creature, panicked, racing into the dark like it was fleeing something worse.
Selene didn't chase. She didn't need to.
"It's not after us," she murmured, slipping her blade back into place.
Aria's voice trembled. "Then what is?"
Selene turned her head just enough for the moonlight to kiss her cheek. Her eyes caught the light like ice catching fire.
"Whatever scared that creature out of hiding."
They stepped back inside without another word. But the house no longer felt like shelter. The air had shifted, thickened. It pressed down against their skin, like the walls themselves had started watching.
Aria lingered near the hearth, rubbing her arms. She could still feel the echo of Selene's voice in her chest. Her body didn't seem to know how to settle — still pulsing with something she couldn't quite name.
Selene moved to reinforce the door, her movements quiet, exact. She didn't look at Aria, but her presence filled the space between them like frost creeping across glass.
"You should lie down," she said.
"I'm fine."
Selene didn't turn. Her voice deepened.
"You're not."
Aria's jaw tensed. She didn't argue, but her feet dragged as she made her way to the stairs. Every creak beneath her felt like it was echoing too loudly. The shadows curled around her as if carrying Selene's cold presence up the steps. The chill on her skin hadn't gone away. Neither had the heat in her chest. Or the strange, aching pressure between her thighs that grew every time Selene's voice dipped low.
She closed her door with a soft click.
But sleep didn't come.
She twisted in the sheets, tangled and damp with a heat she didn't understand. Her skin burned with memory, her limbs restless. In her dreams, Selene's hands found her wrists, her breath cold against Aria's ear. Ice trailing down her stomach. Her thighs. Her voice — commanding, cruel, beautiful — curling around Aria's name like a secret too dangerous to say aloud.
She moaned, soft and broken.
Down the hall, Selene opened her eyes.
She had been waiting in silence, seated by the window with her blade resting across her lap. But the sound that reached her wasn't threat.
It was longing.
Selene stood, slow and silent, the frost in her veins flaring like it could taste Aria's heat. She didn't go inside the room. Not yet. She leaned against the doorframe, one shoulder pressed to the wood, and listened.
Aria murmured her name again.
Her voice was raw.
Inside, the girl shifted. Her breath came in shallow gasps. Her thighs pressed together beneath the covers, trying to relieve something she didn't understand. The fabric of her nightdress clung to her skin, damp from the restless heat.
Selene's jaw tightened. Her hand clenched.
Perfect.
The cold leached into the hallway, brushing beneath the door like an invitation. But it wasn't the air that made Aria shiver. It was Selene. It was what Selene made her feel — helpless, desperate, burning.
She watched a moment longer. Just long enough to memorize the sounds.
Then she turned away.
She descended the stairs like a shadow given form, but her mind remained with the girl tangled in those sheets, whispering her name like a prayer and a curse.
Aria was unraveling.
And she didn't even realize it.
Morning came late.
Aria stirred slowly, eyelids heavy. The sunlight filtering through the curtains only made the ache in her body worse — low, constant, unfamiliar. Her cheeks were flushed. Her legs ached from how tightly they'd pressed together in sleep.
She slipped out of bed like she was floating.
Downstairs, Selene stood by the window, arms crossed. Her eyes were distant but sharp. When Aria stepped into the room, Selene's gaze snapped toward her instantly.
"You were restless last night," she said, voice even and smooth.
Aria froze, color rushing to her face. "I — I don't remember."
Selene tilted her head slightly, watching her.
"You called my name."
"I did?"
Selene stepped closer, each movement deliberate, smooth. "You did."
She stopped just short of touching her. Aria could feel the cold rolling off her skin, subtle and constant. Her breath caught in her throat.
Selene let her gaze drift to the curve of Aria's neck. It lingered just long enough to make Aria's pulse race.
"You're flushed," she said.
"It's warm," Aria lied.
Selene leaned in, her breath a chill at Aria's ear.
"Is it?" she whispered.
Aria shivered violently.
Selene smiled — just for a second. Then stepped back.
"You should sleep better tonight," she murmured. "Dreams can take more than they give."
Aria swallowed hard.
Selene turned and walked away like she hadn't just lit a fire in her chest.
By midday, Aria could barely think straight. Everything felt too loud, too warm, too much. Selene was everywhere — her voice, her scent, her stare. Aria burned with something she didn't understand, her limbs restless, her stomach tight.
Selene, of course, noticed.
She brushed past her too closely. Let her hand rest a beat too long on Aria's back when correcting her stance. Leaned in, whispering things like "relax" or "breathe," as if either were possible.
Aria's heart was a hammer in her chest. Her hands trembled. She hated the way her thighs kept squeezing together. She hated the slick heat between her legs she couldn't chase away.
Selene said nothing.
But her eyes lingered longer.
Her smirk curled sharper.
And her hands never touched unless absolutely necessary.
The denial was maddening.
Aria stumbled over a step and cursed softly under her breath.
"Focus," Selene said, tone laced with cruel amusement.
"I'm trying," Aria snapped, red-faced.
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"
Aria turned away, flustered.
Selene let the silence hang. Let it stretch.
Then, softly, playfully: "You're flushed again."
"Maybe it's the lighting."
Selene laughed — low and quiet, almost like a purr. "Sure. Let's blame the sun."
Aria crossed her arms. "You think this is funny?"
"I think it's delightful."
"You're tormenting me."
"Am I?" Selene stepped in close. Too close. "I haven't even started."
Aria's breath caught.
Selene's lips hovered near hers, not quite kissing, not quite teasing. Just the ghost of something that could ruin her.
Aria swayed forward.
Selene pulled back.
"Not yet," she murmured, her voice low and lethal.
Aria stared after her, breathless and aching.
Selene's smirk, just before she turned the corner, was pure fire wrapped in frost.