Chapter 8: The Way Her Cold Felt Warm

Chapter 8: The Way Her Cold Felt Warm

The hum of the heater was the first thing Aria heard when she opened her eyes.

Then came the weight. Not just the blanket pulled up to her shoulders, or the soft cotton sheet twisted around her legs, but the warmth tucked in against her side. Well — warm was the wrong word. Selene never felt warm. Even now, curled around her like a second spine, Selene's body was impossibly cold, and yet it didn't make Aria shiver. Somehow, it steadied her.

Aria blinked slowly at the ceiling. She could tell the electricity was still working — the glow of the lamp on the nightstand cast a soft golden light across the room. Outside the window, rain tapped a steady rhythm against the glass, but inside it was quiet. Safe.

She exhaled, and it fogged just slightly in the air.

Selene shifted behind her, just a small movement, but it sent a rush of awareness through Aria. Her heart tripped. Selene's arm was around her waist. Her leg was tangled with hers. Her breath, cold against Aria's neck, stirred a flush low in her stomach.

They hadn't fallen asleep like this by accident.

Aria's face heated.

She kept still, eyes darting toward the bedside clock. 7:42 AM. Somehow they'd slept through the night. After everything — the storm, the blood - red clouds, the panic in Jules's voice, the subway rumble beneath the city — Selene had brought her back here. To the hotel. Not because it made sense. But because it was the only place that still felt like it belonged to them.

Selene didn't stir again, but her fingers moved softly where they rested against Aria's stomach. It wasn't fair how close she was, how easy it would be to turn around and kiss her. To bury her face into Selene's chest and not think about what waited beyond this room.

Except Aria couldn't not think. Her mind spun even though her body stayed still.

She knew everything that had happened — every choice, every fall. She remembered every step that led her here. Selene didn't fill in the blanks. There were no blanks. There were questions, sure. Like why Selene looked at her like she was something ancient and precious. Like she'd lived this before and was just waiting for her to catch up. But it wasn't amnesia. Aria hadn't forgotten anything. She just didn't have Selene's eternity inside her.

She was just human.

But god, it didn't feel that way this morning.

She finally shifted, just enough to glance over her shoulder.

Selene's eyes were already open. Of course they were. Forest - green, sharp and unreadable, but something soft shimmered behind them now.

"You were awake," Aria whispered.

"So were you."

"You could've said something."

"I didn't want to move. You were warm."

Aria blushed, turning back toward the ceiling. "You're the cold one."

"And you didn't push me away."

Aria was silent for a beat. Then, "I liked it."

Selene didn't respond right away, but Aria felt the soft pressure of her lips just behind her ear. "I know."

It wasn't fair how Selene said things like that. Like she wasn't afraid. Like she already knew the outcome. Aria turned in her arms finally, facing her, and Selene let her, pulling back just enough to meet her gaze without breaking the closeness.

Aria didn't pull the blanket up again. She didn't need to hide.

Selene's short silver - blonde hair was slightly messy, like she hadn't bothered to tame it after last night. Her eyes were clear and alert, not morning - groggy at all. She looked like she could walk out into a battlefield and not flinch.

"You always look like that?" Aria asked quietly. "Like you just walked out of a war and won."

Selene quirked a brow. "That's dramatic."

"So are you."

"I'm not the one blushing so hard she could set off the smoke detector."

Aria groaned and buried her face in the pillow. "You are the worst."

Selene laughed, quiet and low. "You didn't say that last night."

Aria pulled the pillow over her head. "Shut up."

But her smile betrayed her. Even with her face hidden, she was smiling. Because for once, even in the middle of everything falling apart, this felt real. Not like a dream. Not like the kind of heat that disappeared when morning came. It was real because Selene was still here.

Selene waited, not pushing, not teasing further. She just let Aria breathe. That was something Aria hadn't realized she needed until now. Space to exist. Space to feel without being told how.

Eventually Aria peeked out again. "You don't sleep, do you?"

"Not much," Selene said.

"Because of… your whole immortal ice goddess thing?"

Selene gave a soft smile. "Something like that."

Aria rolled onto her back, her hand brushing against Selene's arm. "You said last night that you remember all of this. The other versions. The other me."

Selene nodded.

Aria turned to her. "Then tell me something I said. Back then."

Selene tilted her head. "Which time?"

"Any. Just something that felt important."

Selene hesitated for once. She wasn't the type to stumble, but now, something flickered behind her eyes. "You once told me you hated the color blue. That it reminded you of the ocean — too wide, too deep, too impossible. But later you said it was because your mom's favorite scarf was blue, and you were scared to forget her."

Aria froze.

She hadn't said that in years. Not even to Dominic. Not to Jules. Definitely not since everything started unraveling. But she had said it, once, and meant it in that way only a fourteen - year - old could — angry, scared, hollowed out.

Selene looked at her gently. "You said you'd rather remember pain than let it fade."

Aria swallowed, eyes burning suddenly. "You really did know me."

"I still do."

For a long moment they just looked at each other. No pretense. No clever remarks.

Then Aria asked, "Do I ever… remember? In those other versions?"

Selene nodded once. "Eventually."

"But not now."

"Not yet."

Aria exhaled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's just weird, you know? You say you remember me, all these versions of me, and I only just met you a few days ago. Like… I don't know you. I want to. But it's like you've already known me for a lifetime."

Selene's voice was quiet. "I have."

Aria's throat tightened.

Then Selene reached out, her fingers tracing along Aria's hand, not possessive — gentle. Her touch was always cold, but it never felt cruel. It felt like something solid, something that anchored Aria in place when everything else felt like it could slip.

"I'm not asking you to feel what I feel," Selene said softly. "I just want to be here. However long it takes."

Aria looked down at their hands. She laced their fingers slowly.

"I don't know what this is yet," she said. "But I know I don't want it to end."

"It won't," Selene said. "Not unless you want it to."

Aria looked back up at her. "Promise?"

"I don't make promises," Selene said. "But I don't leave, either."

The heater buzzed in the background. Somewhere, distantly, sirens wailed again. But in here, the bed was warm — despite Selene — and the lights still worked, and the world hadn't ended yet.

Aria leaned in without overthinking.

She kissed Selene again. Slow. Sure. Her heart still raced, but she didn't stop. She pressed her hand to Selene's cheek, fingers tracing the line of her jaw. Selene didn't rush. She met her with the same patience she always had, as if she'd been waiting for Aria to decide for herself.

When they finally pulled apart, Aria was breathing fast again.

"I could get used to that," she muttered.

"You already are."

Aria smirked and buried her face against Selene's neck. "God, you're cocky."

"You love it."

Aria bit her lip. "I really, really do."

They stayed curled together for a while, not speaking. Aria let her thoughts drift — about Jules, Niko, Piper (Dominic's cat), the subway, the static in the mirror, the way the sky bled red now like it was rotting from the inside out. None of it felt far away. But for once, she wasn't afraid of it swallowing her whole.

Selene shifted just enough to press her forehead against Aria's. "You're stronger than you think."

Aria's eyes fluttered open. "Even when I break like glass?"

"Especially then." Selene's voice was low, rough from sleep and something heavier. "You shatter. Then you come back sharper. More dangerous. More beautiful."

Aria blinked slowly. "You think I'm beautiful?"

Selene huffed a breath of a laugh, brushing a thumb under her eye. "You're unreal."

Aria smiled faintly, the kind that came from somewhere deeper than just affection. "I used to think if anyone really saw me — what I am, what I'm becoming — they'd run."

"I ran toward you."

That made Aria's chest ache in the best way. "You didn't even flinch."

"I did. I just didn't stop."

Silence stretched for a beat, soft and warm between them.

"I think I'm scared," Aria admitted. "That if I let go of the pain, I won't know who I am anymore."

Selene's fingers tangled gently in her hair. "Then let me help you remember."

Aria looked up at her, pupils still rimmed with that golden light, but gentler now. "You already do. Every time you look at me like I'm not a monster."

"You're not," Selene said. "You're the girl who kissed me like the world was ending. Who held me like I was more than a weapon. Who asked me to stay."

Aria kissed her slowly. "So stay."

Selene didn't even pause. "Always."

Selene shifted just enough to press her forehead against Aria's. "You're stronger than you think."

Aria opened her eyes. "You always say that."

"Because it's always true."

Aria smiled, then glanced at the window. The storm had eased for now. Gray light crept through the curtains.

She whispered, "What if we don't get another night like this?"

Selene looked her in the eyes. "Then we make this one matter."

And somehow, that was enough.

Not forever.

But for now.

And now was all they needed.