3

A week before Founding Day, I heard from my mother.

"Aurora, are you coming home for the festival?"

There was little concern in her voice. She sounded as if she were just checking a box.

"No. There's a seminar at the academy."

"What seminar?"

"Advanced healing arts research."

She didn't ask anything else.

"All right. Take care of yourself.

"Oh, and Aurora, I hear there are plenty of pure white moonstones in the South. Bring some back next time you come home. I want to make a necklace for Leanna."

Always a task for me.

Always Leanna on her mind.

I didn't know what I was to them.

Leanna's servant?

On Founding Day, the pack chat was buzzing.

Photo after photo. The whole pack together, roasting meat, dancing, making offerings to the Moon Goddess.

Leanna was at the center of it all as usual, surrounded by the others and smiling brightly.

A few messages asked, "Why didn't Aurora come home this time?" or "When is Aurora coming home?"

They were quickly buried under everything else.

I closed the chat and walked off campus by myself.

That day, I saw the sea for the first time.

I stood on the rocks, took a photo, and posted it on my page.

Mia liked it first.

My academic advisor, Nathan Cole, was second.

Nobody from my family.

They probably never looked at my posts.

In the middle of November, something big happened in the pack.

It started when my mother shared a link in the family chat: the winners' list from the Empire's Youth Elite Tournament.

Leanna took third.

For a first-year student, it was a huge achievement. The whole pack was talking about it.

My mother was so excited she fired off dozens of messages in the pack chat.

"Leanna really is the Moon Goddess's favorite! Incredible!"

"I've always said it: Leanna shines wherever she goes!"

"Reid, look at this! That's our daughter!"

My father wrote back at length.

"Leanna's resilience and strength honor the Moonshadow Pack's proud heritage. I could not be prouder of you, and the pack is proud of you too."

The rest of the pack piled on the praise.

I closed the group chat without leaving a comment.

I wasn't jealous.

I was just a little tired.

The Empire's Young Healers' Championship ran at the same time as the Youth Elite Tournament.

And I took third in mine.

Nobody knew. Nobody cared.

In that house, every honor belonged to Leanna.

To my surprise, Leanna messaged me that night.

"Aurora, what are you up to?"

I was looking up an old medicinal formula, so I sent back one word. "Busy."

"Busy with what?"

"Coursework."

She went quiet, then sent a whole paragraph.

"I came in third this time, and Mom and Dad have been praising me nonstop in the pack chat. But you haven't said anything. Are you upset?"

I stared at the screen.

Upset?

Did she think I could only be happy if I was jumping for joy over her success?

"No. Congratulations."

"Really? You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Good."

Leanna seemed relieved.

"I thought you were angry."

Angry.

If anger could have changed anything, I'd have flipped the table at that banquet where there wasn't even a seat for me.

"Get some rest. Good night."

I meant to end it there.

But Leanna sent one more message.

"Aurora, are you coming home for the Winter Rite?"

"Depends."

"Okay. I hope you do. There's something I want to tell you."

I didn't ask what it was, because whatever she wanted to say had nothing to do with me anymore.

In her world, I was more like a servant, always at her beck and call.

But choosing a school in the South meant choosing my own life.

One weekend in December, my comm crystal lit up.

It was a call from an unfamiliar number up north. The caller sounded anxious. "Hello, is this Aurora? I'm Leanna's roommate."

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"Leanna pushed herself too hard in a practice battle, and she's unconscious. Before she collapsed, she said she didn't want your parents to worry, so she asked me to call you..."

After a while, I asked, "How is she now?"

"The healers say it's nothing serious. She should come around soon."

"All right," I said calmly.

"Are you coming up?" she asked.

I kept my voice level. "I'm not her healer. If she doesn't want our parents to worry, contact a qualified instructor at her university. I'm busy."

I ended the call.

I didn't know what Leanna was thinking. Why call me instead of our parents?

Because she thought I'd come running whenever she called.

Because I was supposed to drop everything and take care of her?

Why should I?

The crystal lit up again. Leanna. She was awake.

Her pale face appeared above the crystal.

"Aurora... my roommate said you didn't sound happy."

"I'm not. I don't understand why you called me instead of our parents when you got hurt."

Leanna was quiet for a moment.

"Because Mom and Dad are busy. I didn't want to bother them."

"So I'm not busy? But it's fine to bother me?"

The words startled both of us.

For 18 years, all I'd ever said was yes.

This was the first time anyone in my family had seen me angry.

Leanna didn't speak for a few seconds.

"Aurora, what's going on with you?"

I didn't really know either.

Maybe I just didn't want to be the old Aurora anymore.

"Nothing. Get some rest."

I shut off the crystal and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing.

Mia had heard everything. Without a word, she pressed a moonfruit into my hand.

"Try it. It's so sweet!"

"Thanks."

I looked at the moonfruit in my hand. At last, I was sure of one thing:

I wasn't going home for the Winter Rite.