Chapter#12

Rowan’s POV

As soon as I entered the room, my eyes immediately scanned the area. Selene wasn’t there. I frowned. She had to be in front of mine or Caden’s eyes all the time. I quickly asked Caden where she had gone, and he told me, “She went to wash the group’s uniforms.”

Washing uniforms wasn’t her responsibility. Everyone had to wash their own, and Selene never liked to go out of her way for anyone, especially when it wasn’t her job.

“Why would she…”

Caden cut me off, “I tried to tell her it wasn’t her job but she told me she wanted to clear her head and focus on something else. Like washing uniforms.”

Something felt off, and the unease in my stomach grew as I left the room.

I knew she was hiding something. It wasn’t only that trainee, Varian, troubling her. It was something else. There was something she didn’t want me to know, but we were in this together. We never hid anything from each other before.

Then why now?

It wasn’t long before I saw her. She was standing near the washing basins, and my blood ran cold. But it wasn’t her I noticed first. It was him. Varian. He was standing way too close to her. My body instinctively tensed, and before I could even think, I was moving—toward them, fast.

“Varian!” I growled in anger.

As soon as Varian took a step back, a smug look spread across his face. My instincts screamed at me to get to her. I couldn’t stop myself.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I spat, positioning myself between Selene and Varian in an instant. I felt the cold, simmering anger burn in my veins.

“You’re lucky he showed up,” Varian muttered looking over at Selene.

“Leave her alone!” I exclaimed and I pushed him hard.

Varian’s eyes flicked over to me, and he smirked, raising an eyebrow. His lips curled into a mocking grin, “Isn’t this the fallen warrior?” he taunted.

He didn’t wait for a response. His gaze briefly flicked to Selene before he turned on his heel and walked away.

As soon as Varian was gone, I spun around to face Selene. My fists clenched by my sides as the adrenaline coursed through me. “What the hell are you doing out here, alone?” I demanded. My eyes were probably burning with fury, and I didn’t care. “And why are you washing the group’s uniforms?”

She stood there blank. She didn’t answer at first, and the silence between us seemed to stretch. I wanted her to speak, at least say something. Something to defend herself, but she remained quiet.

Finally, after a brief moment, she broke the ice. “I don’t need you or anyone else telling me what I can and can’t do. I’m capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need to be watched 24/7,” she snapped.

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I knew she hated feeling controlled, but something about this made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t explain. She had no idea what I was feeling right now, no idea how much it stung to hear that from her, but I didn’t have time to process it. I couldn’t. Not when everything in me was still on edge from seeing her with Varian.

I stepped closer to her as my frustration boiled over. “You’ve been hiding things from me,” I accused in a low voice. The words came out like an unwanted spit. “We’re not the same as we were, Selene. We’re not some inseparable unit anymore.”

Her breath hitched, and I saw the way her posture stiffened. I saw the subtle flinch, the way she pulled back as if my words had struck her like a physical blow. But I didn’t stop. “You were out here alone, close to a stranger, at this hour. If Damien’s soul finds out, you’ll be cursed,”

The mention of Damien’s name shattered something in her. The walls she had carefully built around herself, the barriers she kept up to hide her pain, came crashing down in an instant. Her face twisted with emotion, and I saw it all—the exhaustion, the fear, the loneliness—flooding to the surface. Her tears came so fast, I couldn’t even react in time.

Before I knew it, she was sobbing, collapsing against the nearby wall, her body trembling as the raw emotion tore through her. And me? I just stood there, completely stunned, not knowing how to help her, how to fix this.

I reached out, my hand hovering awkwardly for a moment before I closed the distance, gently placing it on her trembling shoulder. “Selene…” My voice was barely a whisper. I wasn’t used to seeing her like this—vulnerable, broken—and it shook me more than I wanted to admit.

She didn’t look up at me, though, just kept her face hidden in her hands. I leaned down, speaking quietly, “Don’t you remember, we’re in this together,” But even as I said it, I wasn’t sure if she could hear me.

I shouldn’t have said those words. I shouldn’t have brought Damien. All I wanted was to protect her but I was hurting her.

I swallowed the guilt building in my chest. My voice softened as I spoke, trying to undo the damage I’d done. “Selene, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that,” I said, my words coming out in a rush. I needed her to know that I wasn’t angry at her. I was just… scared. “I only wanted to protect you,” I added, trying to make it clear. “I promised Father and Kaelen I’d look after you. You mean more to me than anyone.”

I saw her shoulders relax a little. I could see the hurt in her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks one after another.

Her voice came out so quietly, it almost broke me. “I haven’t been the sister you deserve,” she whispered.

“Don’t say that, Selene.” I reached out, rubbing her arm gently. “You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s me, I should’ve been more understanding.”

“Don’t say that,” she looked up at me, “You’re the best brother ever and you know that.” Her eyes then shifted at the moon that could be seen through the big window. “You’re right, I’ve been hiding things.” she said letting out a breath as if she’d been carrying weight all by herself.

I knew she had been hiding something from me but I couldn’t grasp my head around her words. What was she trying to say? I didn’t question, didn’t say anything. I waited for her to tell me and trust me.

She remained quiet.

I could tell she was battling something inside, something she wasn’t ready to share. Maybe it was about Varian.Maybe it was something else entirely.

But I could see the conflict in her eyes, the way she hesitated before speaking again. “I’ll figure it out first,” she said quietly, “I don’t want to add more stress to you right now.”

I knew what she meant. I could feel the weight of her words, and while I wanted to press her, to ask her what was really going on, I could see the exhaustion in her eyes, the tiredness that wasn’t just from the physical battles but the emotional ones as well.

She had her own fight, one I couldn’t understand yet, and I respected her decision to keep it to herself—for now. Because that was a delicate moment and her emotions were delicate at that time.

But before I could say anything else, a rustling sound cut through the quiet of the night, sending a jolt of tension through my body. My senses snapped to attention.

I turned toward the sound, instinct kicking in as I placed myself between Selene and the direction of the noise. The figure moved quickly, too quickly, vanishing like a wisp of smoke.

“Did you see that?” Selene’s voice was barely a whisper.

I didn’t answer. Someone had been watching us, and that meant one thing: they knew who Selene was.

“Stay here,” I said, “I’ll go check.”

But before I could take a step, Selene grabbed my wrist, “Don’t,” she said, “Don’t go. Whoever it was, they’re already gone.”