“Sel,” Ilana sighed, watching her vision soften. “What have I been looking for?”
For a long moment, Selene did not reply. When she did, the answer came with a profound sadness. “Love,” she said quietly. “You don’t remember, but that’s what you told me. Infinite and endless. Not only for you, but for all of us.”
They folded into each other’s arms, limbs and eyelids suddenly weighted. Ilana could see Selene’s tattoo clearly for the first time, through the sheer folds of her dress. The ink appeared to stir and breathe. Tendrils of blue smoke coiled around a gravestone, a line of burning trees, scales and wings and a lotus flower.
The sun-girl closed her eyes, dizzied, wary of the nightmares that awaited her. She watched them from afar, hiding in the crook of Selene’s arm as the apparitions
