Selene woke near mid-afternoon. The last thing she remembered was yelling at Jason and, strangely, glowing. Her head was pounding, and she focused on her surroundings. She was in Jason’s bed, in his apartment. Sitting up, she studied her skin, which was back to normal. But how had that happened?

In over two thousand years, something like that had never happened. Selene’s body had filled up with such power, escaping through her skin. Looking back at her hand, she tried to summon it again, to no avail. What was it? Looking up, she watched the door creak open and Jason step in.

“You’re awake.”

“Just woke up.”

“I see.” Jason just stood there for a moment. Once again, she found herself thinking about Pietro. Pietro wouldn’t have just stood there with that look of gentle endearment on his face. He would have walked right in with that frustratingly arrogant and charming look.

“You can come in,” she said, smiling a bit. “I won’t bite.”

Jason smiled back at her. “You sure?”

“Well, not unless you ask.”

“That might not happen. Not today anyway.” Grinning, he walked in and sat on the bed next to her. “Selene, I, uh, wanted to apologize—”

“Don’t,” she began, touching his shoulder, “thank you, but you don’t have to. I lost my temper, but you don’t understand. I took lives that weren’t worth anything. I still do. What I do and what I’ve done is not easy to understand; it is not something anyone human should understand. And I haven’t felt human for so long, haven’t felt—” Selene stopped, speechless. She didn’t know how to explain how she felt. “Jason read my—”

“Selene, have time?” came a cold, chill voice that Selene recognized. She watched as the shadows converged and pulled together her heart racing. The shadows curved around the room’s farthest corner and hung low before whipping at the air. Soon enough, there stood Negal, her form elegant and deadly. She wore a long black trench coat over her tight black clothes. A part of Selene was happy to see her, and the other part saw the visit as an ill omen.

“What the—”

“Calm down, Jason,” she said, standing, a firm hand on his shoulder. “Hello Negal.”

Negal gave her a sad yet happy smile. “I see you found him.”

Selene ignored the comment. “It’s been centuries, Negal. What’s wrong now?”

“You as a matter of fact. That power you hold.”

Selene bristled, her arm muscles tensing with calming restraint. “What power?”

“The power you exerted a few hours ago. You shook up the Shadow Realm.”

“So?”

“That power is seen as a threat Selene.”

“I don’t care. It’s about time Shadowlings had something to fear.”

“It wasn’t just the Shadowlings.” Negal sat on the chair in the room’s far corner, lacing one leg onto another. She took a second to look at Jason, her eyes flashing red and quickly returning to black as they fell upon Selene again. “Your brother came to me.”

“Eris?” Fear gripped her heart. Negal nodded solemnly,  sensing her fear.

“He sensed that power, Selene. He sees it as a threat.”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“Can you be so certain?” Selene just stared at her, stiff as stone, watching the sadness on Negal’s face grow. “I thought so. It was nice to meet you, Jason, and, as always, it was a pleasure to see you, Selene, despite the circumstances.” Negal vanished into the darkness, and Selene sat back down. What could she ever be confident about? Eris had changed; she found herself reconnecting to herself, her humanity, and her love, and she thought of why.

“Selene, are you okay?” Selene looked into his teal eyes and smiled weakly. He was the reason.

***

Selene sat in her bath, her new clothes hidden under her bed and all her Fairy Dust and jewels. She thought about Jason, who was utterly different from Pietro. It made her feel…what? She didn’t know how she felt. It was confusing. Everything was so confusing.

Grabbing her silk robe, she unplugged the drain. Indoor plumbing, pure magic, she thought, slipping out. It was one of the few things she allowed herself to enjoy about these past few centuries.

Making her way to her bedroom, her feet leaving wet footprints on the smooth, hard floor, she stopped in her tracks. Standing across from her, sitting on her bed smiling, was Jeanette.

“Did you have fun on your little rendezvous?”

“That depends on your definition of fun.” Selene leaned on the stone wall, crossing her arms.

“What did he want so urgently?”

“He wanted to give me something.”

“And that would be?” Jeanette’s eyes sparkled like they used to. Selene went over to her bedside table and unlocked the top dresser. Gingerly, she pulled out the portrait and handed it over to Jeanette.

“This.”

Jeanette took it, her face softening. “You look so happy here. You haven’t looked this way in such a long.”

“What should that matter?”

“Because for the longest time you lost yourself, you lost your humanity, you closed off your heart. You became your brother’s second in command. His hunter.”

“How does that make me any different than you?”

“I never stopped feeling,” she yelled, standing up and throwing the portrait onto the bed. “You are the hunter! The Selene I knew died when our home was slaughtered. But now, I see the light in your heart and soul slowly returning. You’re no longer this unfeeling, obedient hunter. Your heart is opening.”

“No, it’s not.”

Throwing her arms up in frustration, Jeanette gripped Selene’s shoulders. “Oh, shut up! Selene, you have a second to love, a chance to repair your beaten and shattered soul. I see it in your eyes! You aren’t beaten. You’re not mindless. Selene, you have a second chance to be with him.”

Selene pulled her away, shaking her head sadly, knowing what Jeanette meant. “Except he’s not Pietro, and I don’t know what I feel.”

“Selene, whatever you feel, Jason is the cause. You can’t forsake that which is good for you.” Jeanette picked up the portrait. “You’re right, Jason isn’t Pietro. I like him more and prefer this Selene to the one that took her place.” Jeanette smiled at her the way she used to and walked, leaving her alone.