"Phew… I wonder where Cousin Rin is. She isn't in her room either," Akari muttered as she stepped inside Rin's chambers.
She glanced around the empty space, her lips pressing together. "Ahh… I guess I'll have to wait for her and apologize for talking to her in that manner earlier," she sighed, lowering herself onto Rin's bed. For a moment her gaze softened. "But seriously… where did she go with her brothers? If Father finds out she's this late, we won't be allowed to leave this house again."
Her words faded into the quiet of the room as she lay back against the bed, muttering under her breath. But then—
Thud.
A faint noise stirred by the window. Akari stiffened instantly. Without a second thought, she yanked the duvet over herself, pulling it up to cover her entire body, even hiding her face.
The window creaked open. A shadow fell across the floor.
It wasn't Rin.
From the window, two figures approached—Selene and Ice in his massive dragon form, hovering just outside the window like a silent guardian.
Selene swung herself into the room gracefully, her sharp eyes immediately landing on the lump shifting beneath the duvet.
"Hey, Kisaragi," Selene said casually, as though she already knew who was hiding there. She didn't even bother checking.
"I sent Ice to check on you earlier, but he came back with my message undelivered. So I came to deliver it myself." She stepped closer, her boots silent against the floor. Her tone softened. "Tomorrow is our second date… and I'll be showing you my ice kingdom."
She sat down gently on the bed, her gaze lingering on the covered figure beside her. "Kisaragi, is everything okay? Why are you not saying anything?"
"…Nothing," Akari whispered, her voice barely audible under the blanket.
Selene leaned in closer, her tone almost teasing now. "Well, since you are awake… I know you expected me to be there when you woke up this morning, but I had an urgent matter to take care of."
Her hand lifted, stroking the top of the duvet—patting what she thought was Rin's head.
"Did you sleep well last night, Kisaragi?" Selene asked softly, a rare smile crossing her face. "You know… that was the first time I ever sat beside someone, just watching them sleep. You looked really cute."
Her smile deepened as she chuckled at the memory. "And your snoring… it sounded like a lullaby to my ears. I even dozed off beside you."
Selene tilted her head slightly, almost mischievous. "I know you must have called me a pervert again this morning… but I promise I wasn't looking when I helped change your clothes. Though…" She let out a small laugh. "…I had a hard time finding your nightclothes. Ice helped me."
A faint giggle escaped from beneath the duvet.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" Selene teased warmly. "It's a good thing you aren't mad. I really thought you'd be angry… but you're not."
Her eyes softened, a flicker of hope lighting them. "…Does that mean you're falling in love with me?"
Silence.
Selene's smile faltered when no response came. She exhaled and stood, brushing off her hands. "Okay then. Since you're going to avoid me and not say anything… I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Our second date."
She turned toward the window—but froze mid-step. Her body stiffened.
"…Something's not right," she muttered under her breath. Her gaze sharpened as she scanned the room.
The aura. It was wrong.
Kisaragi doesn't have powers…
"Water," Selene whispered. With a flick of her hand, her telekinesis surged. The duvet ripped away from the bed in one sharp pull—
And revealed Akari.
Selene's entire expression darkened.
"Where is Kisaragi?!" Selene roared, her voice echoing through the chamber.
Akari's eyes widened as she scrambled up. "I—I don't know! I was waiting for her and then you came in!"
"You were deceiving me," Selene hissed, her tone dripping with fury. Her eyes burned with a freezing light as she raised her hand. A sharp invisible force gripped Akari by the throat, yanking her off the bed and into Selene's grasp.
Akari clawed at her neck, gasping desperately for breath.
Akari clawed at her neck, gasping desperately for breath.
"I don't like being lied to," Selene's voice was ice-cold, every word sharp enough to cut. "Be grateful I'm holding back… otherwise, you'd already be dead."
With a flick of her wrist, she hurled Akari onto the bed like a rag doll.
Akari coughed violently, trembling, clutching at her throat. Frost crept along the walls, the temperature plummeting with Selene's fury.
"I swear on the moon, I don't know!" Akari cried. "The last time I saw her was at the Maiden's Club. When I came back, she was gone—I thought she just left without me but… but she hasn't returned."
"Then we're going there. Now." Selene's tone left no room for argument.
Akari hesitated. "If my father finds out I left—he'll lock me inside forever."
Selene's gaze turned lethal. "Forget your father. If you don't come with me right now… you won't just be locked inside this house. You'll be sent to the afterlife instead."
Akari's blood ran cold. Without another word, she climbed out the window, Selene following close behind, her steps gliding over ice.
…
At the Maiden's Club…
"No, Cousin Rin isn't here," Mai said carefully, with Suki, Koko, and Hana standing behind her. "She left earlier… with her cousins."
"Which cousins?" Akari pressed.
"Uh… Ayata and Minata," Hana added hesitantly. "Rin said they were from her uncle's side. I think."
"Think!" Selene's voice cracked like thunder. The entire hall froze as the Ice Queen revealed herself, her aura spreading frost across the floor.
"Please, Selene," Akari whispered, trying to calm her. "This place is sacred."
Selene forced a smile, though her eyes glinted like steel. "My fiancée is missing. Should I not be worried?" Her voice softened—then sharpened into a blade. "You've all heard the stories about me. Don't be afraid of the Ice Queen… Be afraid if I don't find Rin Kisaragi. Because if you're hiding something—" her voice rose, laced with power, "—I'll freeze every last one of you in this damn club!"
The maidens trembled, some crying. Finally, one girl stepped forward, pointing with shaking hands.
"I-I heard Sayuri say she was going to feed Head Rin and her cousins… to her pets."
The hall went still.
"What?!" Sayuri spat, slamming down her drink. "I never said—!"
But before she could finish, Selene seized her throat in an iron grip, lifting her off her feet.
"Where. Is. Rin. Kisaragi?" Selene's voice was death itself.
Sayuri thrashed. "I swear—I don't know!"
Selene tightened her hold, ice crawling over Sayuri's skin. "Swear on the moon. Or suffer its wrath."
Sayuri broke. Tears streamed down her face. "I-I only wanted to scare her! To make her hand me the title of Head! But then—then she angered the ants! She confused them with her noise—I left her and her brothers inside the ant nest!"
"Ants?" Selene's fury exploded. Ice shot up Sayuri's arm, creeping toward her throat. "You dare—!"
Crack—! Lightning ripped through the air.
Selene staggered back, releasing Sayuri as sparks flickered across her body. She turned, eyes blazing, to face the one who interfered.
Mai.
Her hands still crackled with electricity, but her voice was calm. "If you kill her, Queen Selene, you'll never find Cousin Rin. Control yourself."
Selene's chest heaved, fury boiling in her veins. For a moment, it seemed she'd strike Mai down too.
Instead, she pointed sharply at Sayuri. "Lead the way. Now. Before I lose what little patience I have left."
Sayuri scrambled to her feet and obeyed, terrified.
Akari exhaled shakily and turned to Mai. "Please come with us… because at the rate she's going, the ice queen might kill Sayuri—or me—before we even reach Cousin Rin."
With that, the Ice Queen marched out, Sayuri trembling before her… and Akari and Mai following close behind, knowing Rin's fate—and theirs—hung by a thread.