Alina didn't sleep.
Even as the forest shifted into stillness and the last stars blinked into the sky, she remained wide-eyed beneath the skeletal branches of a hollow tree. The fire between her ribs hadn't gone out—it had changed, softened into something she didn't know how to fight.
She kept hearing Selene's voice. Not aloud, but in memory. Soft. Sad. Certain.
"I'm in your fate."
The cursed mark on her chest hummed.
At dawn, Selene appeared. She walked through the trees like she belonged to them. No rustling, no breaking twigs. Just the steady sound of breathing and bare feet brushing moss.
"Did you follow me?" Alina asked, not turning.
"No," Selene said. "I felt you leave."
Alina looked over her shoulder. "Of course you did."
Selene sat beside her in the hollow without asking. The space between them was tense but not hostile.
"Why does the curse feel different now?" Alina asked after a while.
"It grows with you," Selene answered. "The more you see me for who I am—the less it hurts."
Alina scoffed. "And who are you, really?"
"A girl tired of running. A witch who didn't want war. A piece of a prophecy I never asked for."
Alina studied her, quietly. "You speak as if we're the same."
"We are."
"I kill witches."
"And I've killed hunters."
Selene met her eyes. "Still, we're here. Speaking instead of bleeding."
Alina turned away.
Selene didn't push. She sat in silence, respectful. And that unnerved Alina more than any spell could.
"You said the curse reacts to honesty," Alina said slowly. "What if I lied?"
"You'd feel it," Selene replied. "The mark would tighten. Burn. Like a warning."
"Then why doesn't it burn now?"
Selene didn't smile. But her voice warmed. "Because right now, you're being honest."
Alina swallowed.
They sat there until the light changed. The sun had begun to rise, casting gold across the treetops.
"We can't stay here forever," Alina said.
"No," Selene agreed. "But there's one place we can go. Somewhere safe. For now."
Alina stood. "Lead the way."
They moved deeper into the Hollow. The woods grew stranger. Trees bled sap that shimmered like glass. Stones whispered when stepped on. But nothing attacked them. Nothing even stirred.
The Hollow was watching—but it wasn't threatening.
After a long, winding path, they arrived at a ruin swallowed by vines. A half-buried temple of dark stone, forgotten by maps, guarded by silence.
Selene laid her hand on the door. It pulsed once with soft red light. The vines curled away.
"This place was sacred to my coven," she said. "Long ago."
Alina hesitated. "Won't it reject me?"
"It should," Selene said. "But the curse changed that. It sees you as mine."
Alina stepped back. "I'm not yours."
"No," Selene said. "But you're not the Order's anymore either."
That truth settled heavily in the space between them.
Inside, the temple was cool and dark. Faint magic still lingered in the air—like old incense, long forgotten.
Selene sat on the stone floor. Alina stood by the wall, arms crossed.
"I want to know the truth," Alina said.
Selene looked up. "About what?"
"About the prophecy. About the kiss. About us."
Selene didn't hesitate. "Then you're ready."
She rose, walked toward a small altar at the far end of the room. There, she pulled a scroll from a hidden drawer and laid it flat. Alina stepped closer.
The parchment was old. Symbols inked in red shimmered with quiet life.
"It speaks of balance," Selene said. "Of a hunter and a witch. Bound by curse, undone by choice. They must face the truth—together—or both will fall."
Alina stared at it.
"There's more," Selene added. "The kiss isn't the end. It's the key."
"To what?"
"To choosing. Life or death. War or peace. Love or ruin."
Alina looked at her. "You believe we can choose?"
Selene stepped close. "I believe we must."
For a moment, the world stood still. And in that stillness, Alina didn't feel cursed.
She felt seen.
And it terrified her.