Lucia was gazing at the night sky, her eyes fixed on the two moons.

  Cassian, sitting against a nearby tree, frowned. “Why are you staring at the sky like that?”

  “It’s today,” Lucia murmured in wonder. “Today the two moons are supposed to merge and become one.”

  She smiled softly. “Having two moons in the sky is a rare event. It only happens once every millennium.”

  “Every… millennium?”

  “Yes.” Lucia turned to Cassian. “I’m glad I got to witness it while I’m still alive.”

  She paused. “You’ll probably get to see plenty of them, since you’re an elf. Your lifespan is…”

  “Wait.” Cassian cut her off. “It was just a one-time thing?”

  “Of course.”

  “I…” Cassian blinked. “I thought it was normal. The standard in this world.”

  Lucia laughed, mildly surprised by Cassian’s lack of knowledge. “No. Normally there’s only one moon.”

  Cassian rubbed her temples. “Okay. New question. How can two moons merge? Isn’t that supposed to be some catastrophic event?”

  Lucia looked at her, puzzled. “Why would it be catastrophic?”

  “Uh.” Cassian stared at her as if it was obvious. “Two moons colliding. It’s supposed to cause devastation. Like… apocalypse. Mass extinction. That kind of thing.”

  “Oh.” Lucia smiled. “The moons aren’t going to collide.”

  “Then what?”

  “They’re just going to fit perfectly inside each other.”

  Cassian stared at her for five long seconds.

  “That’s… what?”

  “Fit inside each other,” Lucia repeated patiently.

  “Like…” Cassian gestured vaguely. “…overlapping?”

  “Exactly.”

  Cassian shook her head. “That’s really weird.”

  She stood up, brushing off her clothes. “I’m going to bed. If we’re still alive tomorrow, you were right.”

  She snorted. “If we’re dead, I win. But no one will probably be around to confirm it.”

  “Good night, Cassian,” Lucia said with amusement.

  ---

  Lucia stayed awake.

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  Hiro and Lena had gone to sleep a few hours after Cassian, leaving her alone under the starry sky.

  The moons were very close now.

  Slowly, over time, they drew nearer.

  Then…

  They slipped inside each other.

  It was like two points of light merging.

  The resulting moon hadn’t grown larger. It was the same size as each of the previous moons.

  Just… one.

  “It’s beautiful,” Lucia whispered.

  She was glad she had stayed up to see the whole process, even if it meant staying awake late.

  Time to sleep.

  She walked over to Hiro, who was sleeping peacefully.

  And gently, she removed the storage ring from him.

  I’m thirsty.

  She mentally summoned water; a bottle materialized in her hand.

  She took a few sips.

  Then she noticed something else in the mental inventory.

  A black bottle.

  Hiro usually drinks from that one.

  Curious, she took it out.

  Brought it to her lips.

  Then stopped after the first sip.

  This isn’t water.

  It’s… sweet. Creamy.

  She opened the bottle and looked inside.

  A white liquid.

  Milk?

  Strange.

  She searched the mental ring again.

  And pulled out another black bottle.

  Same thing.

  She took out twelve.

  Most of them full of milk. A few empty.

  I didn’t know Hiro liked milk that much.

  Where does this milk even come from?

  She searched deeper in the mental inventory.

  A large container appeared in her hands.

  Inside, even more milk.

  He’s stockpiling it, she thought.

  Then her eyes fell on a label stuck to the container.

  Cassian’s Milk

  Lucia went pale.

  “What?”

  She pulled out another container. Different. But the same label.

  Then another. And another.

  Small ones. Big ones. Full. Partially used.

  All labelled Cassian’s Milk.

  Thick clouds suddenly covered the moon, plunging the world into darkness.

  Lucia looked toward where Hiro was sleeping.

  He was no longer there.

  She felt warm breath on the back of her neck.

  Close.

  She slowly turned around.

  Hiro was standing right behind her.

  The moon reappeared, illuminating their faces.

  Hiro looked as shocked as she did.

  “I…”

  He quickly snatched the storage ring back and put everything away at impressive speed.

  Then he grabbed Lucia’s hand and pulled her a little further away.

  ---

  Lucia found herself with her back against a tree.

  Hiro right in front of her, both hands planted against the bark on either side of her head.

  Neither of them knew what to say.

  Hiro looked at the ground. Then at Lucia. Then at the ground again.

  The night was cool. The wind rustled the leaves, their shadows dancing across Lucia’s and Hiro’s bodies.

  “I know you have a ton of questions,” Hiro finally said, his voice barely audible.

  Lucia exploded.

  “HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET SO MUCH MILK?! Is it even POSSIBLE to produce that much?! Since WHEN have you been doing this?! Does Cassian even KNOW?! Is it even REALLY hers?! How do you… why do you… what the…”

  “LUCIA.” Hiro raised a hand. “Please. Calm down.”

  She fell silent, breathing hard.

  “First,” Hiro said slowly, “promise me you won’t tell anyone. Keep this discovery to yourself.”

  Lucia hesitated.

  Then slowly nodded. “Okay. I won’t say anything.”

  “Thank you.” Hiro sighed. “Cassian has no idea.”

  “HOW?!”

  He raised his hand again. “I’ll explain. But I’m going to… skip the part about how it started.”

  “Hiro…”

  “No.” His tone was firm. “I’m not talking about that.”

  Lucia clenched her teeth, but nodded.

  “I’m honestly surprised myself that Cassian produces that much,” he continued. “Must be some kind of elven trait.”

  “That’s not a reason to TAKE it!” Lucia felt her voice rising again. “How… how do you even…”

  She stopped herself from imagining. She did NOT want to imagine.

  “It’s impossible that Cassian doesn’t notice anything,” she insisted.

  “At night,” Hiro explained, “Cassian seems completely out of it. She barely moves when she sleeps. Like a statue.”

  Lucia stared at him. “You’re awfully well-informed.”

  Hiro looked away.

  Lucia suddenly realized.

  I never once caught Hiro moving at night toward Cassian.

  He’s using his stealth skills for the WRONG things.

  “I’ve heard enough,” she said abruptly. “I’m tired. I want to sleep.”

  She stepped around him and walked away quickly.

  Hiro watched her go, motionless.

  Inside, it was chaos.

  Why did it go wrong now? WHY?!

  Lucia walked to her sleeping bag.

  Then collapsed into it, staring at the sky.

  She felt sad.

  Not because Hiro was going to Cassian at night.

  But because he wasn’t coming to HER.

  Idiot. IDIOT.

  I’m doing everything I can. EVERYTHING. And he ignores me.

  She had noticed. Of course she had noticed.

  During their travels, Hiro often stole glances at Cassian.

  She had turned a blind eye, telling herself it was nothing. Just curiosity.

  But now…

  Now she knew the truth.

  And it was even worse than she had imagined.

  While I was pretending not to see, his attraction to Cassian just kept growing.

  She clenched her fists.

  If I do nothing, he’ll only think about Cassian. All the time.

  What’s Cassian’s secret?

  Lucia had never seen Cassian show any interest in Hiro. Never.

  In terms of appearance, Cassian was indeed very pretty. Stunning, even.

  Is Hiro just basing it on that?

  No. There had to be something else.

  Maybe Hiro liked distant girls. The ones who seemed unattainable.

  Cassian is an elf. Elves don’t really mix with humans.

  Maybe that’s it.

  A beautiful flower that’s hard to reach.

  Lucia wondered if she should act the same way.

  Then immediately scolded herself.

  No. If I do that, Lena will have a clear path to Hiro.

  I can’t afford to give up ground.

  She lay down, exhausted.

  This is so complicated.

  She wanted Hiro. All to herself.

  She screamed internally in frustration.

  This isn’t supposed to be such a complicated wish!