Chapter Ten: The Sister That Never Was
The chamber trembled with shadow.
Sheila gripped the Moon Crest, its glow battling the encroaching darkness that pulsed from the figure now stepping into the hall.
The Night Queen.
She was radiant in the worst way—her black gown shimmered like it was stitched from midnight itself, her silver-white hair long and braided with raven feathers. But her face…
It was familiar.
Not as a sister.
But as someone else.
"Do you remember me now?" the Night Queen asked softly, almost tenderly.
Sheila stared at her. A flicker of pain lit behind her eyes.
"You were… Taeha."
The name tasted like ashes.
Hyunsoo stiffened. "Taeha?"
The Night Queen tilted her head with a smile. "So you do remember."
---
☽
Flashback.
Sheila stood in the royal gardens of the Moon Kingdom.
Beside her stood Taeha—her best friend, her protector, her confidante. Not by blood, but by bond.
Taeha had once been her Shadow Lady — the girl sworn to guard her back, to be her eyes in the dark. A girl with a laugh like starlight and eyes that burned too bright.
"You will be Queen," Taeha had said, gripping her hand. "But I will be the sword you never see."
And Sheila had believed her.
Until the night the palace burned.
Until Taeha disappeared—taking with her one of the Moon Relics and half the army.
---
Present.
"You betrayed me," Sheila whispered. "You turned on your own."
"No," the Night Queen said, stepping forward, "I turned on the lies. On the Council. On the curse they put on us all."
Hyunsoo's blade was at the ready. "You led the revolt. You slaughtered innocents."
"I freed them," she spat. "From a throne that was never meant to hold a girl with a bleeding heart. Do you even know what they planned for you, Sheila? To use your magic to fuel the gates. To trap your soul for eternity. You were a sacrifice. And I tried to save you."
Sheila faltered. Her heart twisted. "You never told me."
"I tried," Taeha's voice broke. "But you were too far gone in love with your precious General."
Hyunsoo moved closer, sword humming.
"I won't let you hurt her."
The Night Queen laughed—a low, sad sound. "Hurt her? I died for her. I became this for her. I consumed darkness for her."
She reached up, pulling back her collar.
Her chest glowed faintly—with a broken shard of the Moon Crest, twisted and dark.
"You weren't the only one who wore a crown, my Queen."
---
⚔️
The battle erupted in an instant.
Shadow against light.
Taeha unleashed tendrils of darkness, whipping through the air like serpents. Sheila threw up a barrier, barely holding back the strike.
Hyunsoo charged, blade meeting darkness with every swing, sparks flying as magic clashed with corrupted power.
"Taeha, stop!" Sheila shouted, deflecting a shadow spear. "This isn't the way!"
"Don't you dare speak of ways," Taeha snapped. "You're the one who erased me."
"I never forgot you!"
"Then why did you leave me behind?"
Sheila's barrier faltered.
The truth cut deeper than any weapon.
"I trusted you," Sheila whispered.
"And I loved you!" Taeha screamed. "Not just as a friend. Not as a guard. I loved you the way he did. But I was invisible to you. A shadow while he was your moon."
The darkness swirled again, this time forming blades, aiming straight for Hyunsoo.
Sheila reacted on instinct.
She dove in front of him.
The blade slashed across her shoulder — pain seared through her body, but the Moon Crest blazed in response, releasing a burst of silver light that threw Taeha backward.
Hyunsoo caught Sheila before she hit the ground.
"You idiot," he whispered, holding her close.
"She's… she's still in there," Sheila gasped. "I saw her. Just for a second."
Hyunsoo gritted his teeth. "And what if she doesn't want to come back?"
"Then I'll bring her back anyway."
---
☽
Taeha staggered to her feet, panting, clutching the broken shard embedded in her chest.
"You think this is over?" she hissed. "You've reclaimed the crest, yes. But you haven't reclaimed your throne."
She looked at Hyunsoo.
"Every life you build with him… I will burn."
Then she vanished into smoke — leaving behind only the echo of her pain and the lingering scent of ash and lilac.
---
🩸
Later, back in the hanok, Heeyoung stitched Sheila's wound in silence.
Hyunsoo sat nearby, jaw clenched, blood still drying on his sleeve.
"No infection," Heeyoung said. "But that blade was coated in corrupted lunar energy. It'll leave a scar."
"She already has a hundred scars," Hyunsoo murmured. "What's one more?"
Heeyoung raised a brow. "You sound like a man in love."
"I am," he said, steady. "Always have been."
Sheila opened her eyes, weak but smiling.
"You two are terrible at whispering."
Hyunsoo chuckled under his breath. "You shouldn't have jumped in front of me."
"I would again," she whispered.
And then, in the soft candlelight, with the scent of herbs in the air, she reached for his hand.
"I remember everything now, Hyunsoo."
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
"And I'll fight beside you," he said. "Until your throne is yours again."