Chapter 39 #2
Back then, I hadn't understood what those looks meant.
She'd been the first to provoke me.
The first to push every button she could find.
Now...
She simply stood there in silence.
And I wasn't about to let her avoid the question.
"My roommate during first year..." Joelle said at last. "Was your sister."
I froze.
That wasn't the answer I'd expected.
"But Eugene said you lived alone..."
"We shared a room for three months," Joelle cut in sharply. "Until that bitch destroyed my life."
"What do you mean?"
"Your sister stole the man I was going to marry."
There wasn't a trace of emotion left in her voice.
Just exhaustion.
"And then she made sure the friends I'd grown up with turned against me."
She laughed bitterly.
"She even convinced the instructors I was too dangerous to be around other students."
Her golden eyes locked onto mine.
For a second, it felt as though she wasn't looking at me at all.
She was looking at Alicia.
"And then," she continued quietly, "I found out my new roommate looked exactly like her."
"The resemblance is only skin-deep."
I folded my arms across my chest.
"We only look alike."
"I don't care."
Joelle's voice hardened again.
"I'm not convinced that's the only thing you two have in common."
"Then why did you help me?"
The accusation in my tone surprised even me.
Joelle didn't answer immediately.
She simply looked at me.
"Enjoy yourself while you still can, Anastasia."
She turned to leave.
"After the Selection..."
"I doubt you'll have much time left to enjoy it."
Without waiting for a reply, she walked away.
I remained where I was.
Confused.
Angry.
And unable to stop the bitterness rising in my throat.
What the hell happened to you...
My twin sister?
Illariana Arden’s POV
Dressed in our festival clothes, Airis and I walked in the opposite direction from the music echoing through the streets.
Not that we'd ignored the celebration.
We'd sampled far too many sweets from the market stalls—none of which tasted much different from the ones back in Vuduarus.
We'd wandered through the crowded squares where people danced beneath strings of glowing lanterns, filling the festival with even more life.
But eventually, Airis insisted there was something he wanted to show me.
Something, according to him...
Special.
Naturally, he'd said it in the most infuriatingly mysterious way possible.
I gathered the layers of my gown in both hands as we walked.
We'd rented it from one of the festival boutiques.
The skirt was long and slightly impractical, but I didn't mind.
I wanted to savor this moment.
After all, how often would I ever get the chance to feel like an actual princess?
Well...
Besides the Selection.
My gaze kept drifting toward Airis's tailcoat.
Like mine, it had been hand-painted for the festival.
Unlike mine, however, I couldn't read the meaning behind its symbols.
My dress was much easier to understand.
Its skirt had been decorated with phlox—the flower of success, according to the woman who painted it.
Alongside crimson roses and white lilies...
Symbols of passionate love and pure devotion.
"Do you have some kind of obsession with dragging me into forests?" I asked as another branch snapped beneath my sneakers—the same ones I'd been training in only a few hours earlier.
"I'm just waiting for little Fireling to realize how badly I wanted to get her alone," Airis replied without even glancing back.
I snorted.
He really was one walking contradiction.
"You'd have better luck if you were nicer to me," I said. "Nobody likes rude men."
"Nobody except you, Fireling."
The corner of my mouth twitched.
"We're here."
He stopped.
I looked around.
Nothing but towering trees with long, vine-like leaves surrounded us.
I frowned.
"You're kidding."
"Not this time."
Airis brushed one hand across the hanging leaves.
They parted at his touch.
Revealing a small lake.
It glowed from within.
As though thousands of tiny white stars had sunk beneath its surface.
I didn't wait for him to explain.
I stepped forward on instinct, unable to hide my amazement.
The lake rested at the edge of a cliff.
Beyond it stretched the entire city—
Its countless lights painting the night in shimmering colors.
"How did we get so far away in such a short time?" I asked quietly.
I genuinely couldn't understand it.
We'd been walking through the forest for less than an hour, yet the city looked as though it lay twenty miles away.
"We crossed two portals," Airis explained as he lowered himself onto the grass beside the lake.
He slipped off his tailcoat and spread it over the ground before patting the space beside him.
"They shorten the distance. People who weren't raised in the magical worlds usually don't even notice passing through them."
"What happens in ten minutes?" I asked, secretly relieved that I could finally relax.
My gaze drifted to the lake.
Its surface shimmered with hundreds of translucent, winged creatures.
"What are those?"
"Fireflies."
"They come here every year to gather light."
I looked at him, silently asking for an explanation.
Instead, he tilted his head and studied me.
"How's training going, Fireling?"
I sighed, breaking eye contact.
"As if you haven't already heard everything from Tarven."
I let out a quiet snort.
"Can't we talk about something less depressing?"
The subject was still too raw.
I wasn't ready to peel back another layer and show him just how vulnerable I really was.
"The moment I returned to Istmond," Airis said, "I went looking for you."
"So you could spend more time with your favorite protégé."
"You're unbelievably full of yourself."
I shook my head.
"It's incredibly irritating."
"And yet," he said without missing a beat, "that's exactly the version of me you wanted."
"I don't remember wanting any version of you."
Heat crept into my cheeks.
Unfortunately...
There wasn't much I could do about it.
"So," Airis said smoothly, "how's training going?"
I stared at him.
"We're really not changing the subject?"
"We could."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"We could talk about what happened on the balcony."
I groaned.
"My training is terrible."
The confession slipped out before I could stop it.
"My magic only responded once."
"When I had to protect the others on my team."
The rest of the time...
I'd done nothing but watch everyone else prove how much stronger they were.
How much more they belonged here than I did.
"You can tell me otherwise if you want," I said quietly, my eyes fixed on the glowing water.
"But compared to everyone else..."
"I'm weak."
"And my fire and I still haven't learned how to understand each other."
Silence settled between us.
Inside my head, though...
My thoughts were anything but quiet.
Because the moment I allowed myself to think those words—
They would become real.
"You don't have to be the strongest."
Airis's voice was quiet.
"You don't have to be the strongest person on your team... or anywhere else."
A bitter laugh almost escaped me.
Part of me was still haunted by words I'd never managed to forget.
Either I'll fall in love with the strongest woman—one who can always save herself...
...or I won't fall in love at all.
God...
I wanted so desperately to become the woman Airis could truly love.
And realizing that terrified me.
A light touch pulled me from the storm inside my head.
When I looked up, I found myself staring into silver eyes.
"What is it that's really bothering you?" he asked softly.
I wished I could turn back time.
Erase the question before he'd ever spoken it.
I didn't want to lie to him.
But my pride refused to let me tell the truth.
"It's just..."
I forced a small shrug.
"Everything is still so new."
"I'm still trying to adjust to how much my life has changed."
Airis intertwined his fingers with mine.
"Then you're lucky."
His thumb brushed lightly over my hand.
"You ended up with a mentor who's determined to make sure you never have to face it alone."
Cheers erupted somewhere in the distance.
My head snapped toward the city.
"It's starting," Airis murmured without letting go of my hand.
For a heartbeat...
Everything fell silent.
Then—
Twelve bolts of radiant lightning tore across the night sky.
Each strike transformed the heavens into a different color, unveiling another sea of stars.
One by one, the bolts froze in place.
When the last one settled...
Their light connected.
A dragon emerged.
Its glowing outline shimmered in every color imaginable before the creature suddenly came alive.
Its long, serpentine body glided through the sky, weaving effortlessly between the stars as though playing a game.
Every time it caught one—
The star exploded into brilliant color.
And with every burst of light, the fireflies covering the lake beat their tiny wings, echoing those same dazzling hues.
The water sparkled beneath them.
Like millions of scattered diamonds.
"It..."
I couldn't look away.
"It's indescribably beautiful."
"They're collecting new colors," Airis said quietly.
"They'll carry them for the entire year, until the festival returns."
After a brief silence, he added,
"I found this place ten years ago."
"I've come back every year since."
I didn't answer.
A ridiculous spark of jealousy flickered somewhere deep inside me.
This place was far too romantic.
There was no way he'd spent every festival here alone.
"It would make the perfect place for a date," I said, trying to sound casual.
Trying far too hard.
"I'll keep that in mind," Airis replied simply.
My lips pressed into a thin line, but I forced myself to focus on the spectacle unfolding above us.
Airis had told me he wanted all of me—not just my body.
And yet...
Sometimes his words left me questioning everything.
High above us, the dragon came to a graceful halt.
Its glowing form dissolved as each point of light separated, transforming into twelve different creatures.
Some belonged only to ancient legends.
Others were familiar.
A serpent.
A roe deer.
"The Twelve primal forces that created Noveris," Airis said quietly.
I barely had time to take them in before the fireflies rose from the lake.
Thousands of them.