Her expression faltered, and she looked away from me.
I felt a rush of shame and sadness wash over me—the type of guilt that made me want to hide. But they weren’tmyemotions, I realised. It was Selene’s emotions that I felt, breaking past her enchantments.
The sensation was foreign and entirely unpleasant for the moment that it lasted. But knowing how she felt, that she wasn’t a stonewall, softened me.
I sighed. Maybe I was cowardly, or stupid—or a mixture of the two. But I was also tired, and I didn’t have it in me to continue arguing. Mostly my heart ached for her, my soul match.
I never wanted Selene to feel badly about herself. She had betrayed me, scared me, and left me alone, and still, I couldn’t help my response, “With you growling like a house cat?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
She looked back up at me and I earned a cautious grin.
“A house cat?” she repeated, her features softening to confusion with a slight grin.
“Y-yeah,” I stuttered again. “S-sorry, it’s cold” I continued, apologising.
Why was it so cold? I leaned my head back, feeling slightly woozy. Had Selene taken too much blood? Was it still the aftereffects of using my new magic? Or was it just the train?
I glanced out the window. We passed fields and hills of white, camouflaged sheep barely discernible from their surroundings.
“Pet,” Selene began with concern, hastily bundling the papers on the desk and shoving them into a leather bag. “You are meant to inform me if you are cold.”
She folded the table down and stood, taking hold of her blanket before crossing the small space to sit beside me.
She leaned against the wall and opened her arms, an invitation. I hesitated, only briefly, before crawling into her lap, a shiver running through me.
Selene wrapped the blanket around us both, holding me tightly against her.
“Better?” she asked after a moment, once I had settled comfortably—my head resting on her shoulder, my cold cheekpressed against her neck. Her black-as-night hair blended in with the shadows of the dimly lit compartment, tickling my nose.
“Much,” I said, exhaling and relaxing further until I felt weightless in her hold.
Selene pressed the back of her hand against my forehead.
“You’re not excessively cold, I don’t think,” she said, removing her hand to rub up and down my arms.
“There is a healer on board,” she told me. Before I could protest, she stretched her arm out and dexterously unlocked and slid open the door to the compartment.
“Rylan!” she called, just above speaking volume.
“Selene, I’m fine,” I tried to protest. I was ignored as Rylan appeared almost instantly. I realised he was likely stationed outside the compartment.
“We require the healer, and a hot tea—something soothing,” Selene instructed.
Rylan glanced at me briefly before he nodded and closed the door as he left.
“Really, I’m fine,” I protested, huffing against Selene’s neck. “I’m already warming up.”
“I should have had you looked over before we even left Sanguis Academy,” she said in a chastising tone. I was reminded of her emotions that had leaked through when I first awoke.
“I should never have drunk from you,” she continued, and I could hear the increasing beat of her heart.
“You were too weak, and now this—"
“Selene, stop,” I instructed, sitting up to meet her eyes. “I’m fine,” I told her again.
And I was feeling better. Selene ran warm, all year round, regardless of the season.
She studied my face for a moment before nodding once.
