Episode 8 :A Smile That Cuts
1351 Words
I couldn’t breathe.
Not properly.
Not after what Kael said.
If you can’t control it… I’ll have to stop you myself.
The words clung to me like a shadow, following me out of the chamber, down the corridor, and into the quiet isolation of the room they’d given me.
My room.
It still didn’t feel like mine.
Nothing here did.
Not the walls.
Not the silence.
Not even my own body.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands again.
Always my hands.
Like I was waiting for them to do something on their own.
Like I was afraid they would.
“A threat…”
The word tasted bitter.
I had come here thinking things might change.
That maybe—just maybe—I wouldn’t feel like an outsider anymore.
But nothing had changed.
Not really.
I was still the girl no one trusted.
Only now…
There was a reason.
A soft knock broke the silence.
I froze.
No one had knocked before.
“Come in,” I said cautiously.
The door creaked open.
And she stepped inside.
Selene.
Of course.
My chest tightened instantly.
She closed the door behind her slowly, her movements calm, controlled… deliberate.
Like she had all the time in the world.
“I thought we should talk,” she said, her voice smooth.
Too smooth.
“I don’t think we have anything to talk about,” I replied.
Her lips curved slightly.
Not quite a smile.
Something sharper.
“Oh, I think we do.”
She stepped closer, her eyes scanning me in a way that made my skin crawl.
“You’ve caused quite a stir,” she continued. “Injuring one of our warriors… turning another into whatever that was.”
“I didn’t *turn* him into anything,” I snapped. “I was trying to help.”
“Were you?”
Her tone didn’t change.
But her gaze sharpened.
“Because from where I stand… you made things worse.”
The words stung.
Because part of me knew she was right.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I said quietly.
“No,” Selene agreed.
A pause.
Then—
“But that doesn’t make you any less dangerous.”
There it was again.
Dangerous.
Threat.
Unstable.
I looked away, clenching my jaw.
“If you came here just to repeat what everyone else is already thinking, you can leave.”
Silence.
Then—
A soft laugh.
“I didn’t come here to insult you,” she said.
I frowned slightly, glancing back at her.
“Then why are you here?”
Her smile widened slightly.
And for the first time…
It looked almost genuine.
“To help you.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You heard me,” she said, stepping closer. “You’re struggling. You don’t understand what’s happening to you. And Kael—”
Her expression shifted, just slightly.
“—he won’t tell you anything.”
My chest tightened.
Because that part was true.
“He says it’s not time,” I muttered.
Selene rolled her eyes faintly.
“Kael believes in control above all else. He’ll keep you in the dark as long as it benefits him.”
Something about the way she said it made my stomach twist.
“You don’t trust him,” I said.
“I trust what he is,” she corrected. “And what he’s capable of.”
That didn’t sound reassuring.
At all.
“But you,” she continued, her gaze softening just slightly, “you’re different.”
I stiffened.
Different.
That word again.
“Different how?” I asked.
Selene tilted her head slightly, studying me.
“You don’t belong here,” she said.
Not cruel.
Not mocking.
Just… certain.
And somehow, that hurt more.
“I already know that,” I said quietly.
Her expression softened again.
And this time… it felt almost real.
“That’s why I want to help you survive it.”
I hesitated.
Because something about this felt off.
But at the same time…
She wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t understand anything.
Not my power.
Not this place.
Not Kael.
And she was offering answers.
Or at least… something close to it.
“What kind of help?” I asked carefully.
Selene’s smile returned.
Small.
Controlled.
“Something simple,” she said.
She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small vial.
Dark.
Almost black.
My eyes narrowed.
“What is that?”
“A stabilizer,” she said smoothly. “It helps control energy surges. Keeps your power from… exploding.”
My heart skipped.
Control.
That’s what I needed.
What I *desperately* needed.
“Why would you give this to me?” I asked.
“A selfish reason,” she admitted easily. “If you lose control again, you won’t just hurt yourself. You’ll hurt everyone.”
A pause.
“I’d rather avoid that.”
That made sense.
Too much sense.
I stared at the vial.
It looked harmless.
Small.
Simple.
But something deep inside me…
Something quiet but persistent…
Whispered.
*Don’t.*
I hesitated.
Selene noticed.
“Or,” she said lightly, “you can keep losing control until Kael decides you’re too dangerous to keep around.”
My chest tightened.
That hit exactly where it hurt.
Because I had already seen it in his eyes.
That line.
The one I didn’t want to cross.
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” I said.
“Then don’t,” she replied simply, holding out the vial.
Silence stretched between us.
My heart pounded.
My mind raced.
And that voice—
That quiet warning—
It was still there.
*Don’t.*
But what if this helped?
What if this was the one thing that kept me from becoming exactly what they feared?
Slowly…
I reached out.
My fingers brushed the vial.
And the moment I touched it—
Something snapped.
A sharp jolt shot through my hand, racing up my arm like lightning.
My breath caught.
“What—?”
The vial slipped from my fingers—
Shattering on the floor.
Dark liquid spread instantly across the stone.
Hissing.
Smoking.
My eyes widened.
“That’s not—”
Selene moved fast.
Too fast.
Her expression changed instantly—softness gone, replaced by something cold.
Calculated.
“You should have taken it,” she said quietly.
My heart dropped.
“That wasn’t a stabilizer…”
“No,” she agreed.
A small, cruel smile touched her lips.
“It wasn’t.”
Panic surged through me.
“You tried to poison me?”
“Not poison,” she corrected calmly. “Something far more effective.”
My chest tightened.
“What does it do?”
Selene stepped closer.
Her voice dropped.
Low.
Satisfied.
“It would have stopped your power… permanently.”
My breath hitched.
Stopped it?
Or—
Killed me?
Before I could react—
The door burst open.
Kael.
His presence hit the room like a storm.
“What’s going on?”
His gaze moved instantly between us—
Then to the shattered vial on the floor.
The smoking liquid.
And finally…
To Selene.
The temperature dropped instantly.
“Explain,” he said.
Selene didn’t flinch.
Didn’t step back.
Didn’t even look guilty.
“She’s unstable,” she said simply. “I was trying to fix that.”
Kael’s eyes darkened dangerously.
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
“And what is your plan?” Selene shot back. “Wait until she destroys something—or someone you care about?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Tense.
My heart pounded as I stood there, caught between them.
A weapon.
A problem.
A decision.
Kael stepped forward slowly.
Every movement controlled.
Deadly.
“She’s under my protection,” he said.
Selene held his gaze.
“And when that prote
ction fails?”
A pause.
Then—
“Will you still choose her?”
The question hung in the air.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Unavoidable.
And for the first time…
I realized something terrifying.
This wasn’t just about power anymore.
It was about sides.
And sooner or later—
Kael would have to choose.
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