SILVER EYES [II]

The moment Selene stopped in front of her, she immediately lowered herself onto both knees, but Lana reacted just as quickly by bending down and gently pulling her back to her feet before their eyes met.

“Thank you,” Selene whispered emotionally while tears gathered in her eyes again, her voice trembling slightly as she stared at Lana with pure gratitude. "I can't thank you enough."

Lana smiled softly at her before briefly glancing toward me and then back at Selene again. “You don’t have to thank me, dear. Anyone important to Jace is also important to me.”

Selene smiled emotionally at her words while her fingers twisted together nervously.

“In case you've you forgotten, someone just tried to kill you,” Jade interrupted while walking toward one of the sofas before casually dropping onto it, her voice immediately pulling Selene’s attention back toward her.

“Please have your seat, Mother,” Selene said politely while gesturing toward the large chair usually reserved for Jace alone before realizing what she had called her, causing slight embarrassment to flash across her face. “And forgive my manners.”

“Forgiven, dear,” Lana replied smoothly before walking elegantly toward the seat while Jace narrowed his eyes slightly at Selene the moment she called his mother “Mother,” though Lana herself looked far too pleased by it as she sat down gracefully before turning back toward Selene. “Now tell me your name.”

“Selene,” she answered calmly.

“Selene,” Lana repeated slowly, her silver eyes studying her carefully with clear interest. “What a beautiful name. Beautiful girls with lethal instincts are always the most dangerous, and I saw your reaction the moment you sensed me near your brother.”

Selene’s smile immediately faded into embarrassment as she looked down briefly at her intertwined fingers before lifting her gaze toward Lana once more.

“I’m truly sorry about that,” Selene apologized quietly while briefly glancing toward the faint traces of frozen vapor still lingering in the air before looking back at Lana again. “Jace has always protected my brother and me, so when everything suddenly happened…” Her voice trailed off briefly before she continued carefully. “I thought he reacted because he sensed danger.”

For a moment, silence settled heavily across the room while Lana’s gaze slowly shifted toward Jace, whose expression had hardened slightly in confusion as though something about Selene’s explanation didn’t sit right with him either.

“Jace,” Lana called calmly while turning fully toward him. “What exactly is happening in this house? You mean...”

My eyes instinctively shifted toward him while Lana’s attention slowly returned to Selene, her expression losing a small amount of its warmth as she gestured quietly toward the sofa opposite her.

“Sit down, dear.”

Confusion flickered briefly across Selene’s face, but she obeyed without question before lowering herself carefully onto the sofa while silence slowly filled the room again, heavier this time, almost uncomfortable beneath Lana’s steady gaze.

Then Lana finally lifted her chin slightly, her silver eyes remaining fixed on Selene as her voice turned quieter than before.

“I have a story to tell you,” she said calmly. “A story about the very beginning... A story of a slain Luna.”