The Girl Who Shouldn’t Exist

The night Lily was born, the sky split open.

Not with lightning.

Not with storm.

But with something older.

The midwives would later swear the stars themselves moved — bending inward, like they were bowing to something descending into the world.

Her mother died before sunrise.

And her father never came.

Only a single black feather was found beside the crib.

The first thing people noticed about the sisters was their hair.

Gold. Not yellow. Not sun-bleached.

True gold — like something that had never belonged to earth.

Their eyes were worse.

Blue, but not sky blue. Not ocean blue.

The kind of blue you only saw in glacial ice or the center of a star.

Their father’s eyes.

Even if no one dared say it out loud.

Lily learned early that the world feared what it didn’t understand.

She learned it from the way villagers went quiet when she walked past.

From the way animals either bowed their heads… or ran.

And from the way her sister looked at her.

Luna was beautiful in the way moonlight is beautiful — cold, distant, untouchable. Blonde hair, pale blue eyes, skin like polished marble. People adored her.

They tolerated Lily.

Because Lily looked… wrong

Not ugly.

Just not human enough.

Her eyes were too dark — swallowing light instead of reflecting it. Her shadow sometimes moved when she didn’t. And when she got angry, candles flickered toward her instead of away.

“Stop staring,” Luna said one morning, not looking up from sharpening her blade.

“I wasn’t,” Lily muttered.

“You always are.”

Lily watched the blade anyway. The metal hummed softly. Weapons did that sometimes around Luna — like they recognized her.

Or feared her.

“You’re leaving again?” Lily asked.

“Yes.”

“To hunt?”

“To survive.”

Luna finally looked at her. And for just a second — just one fragile second — Lily thought she saw sadness there.

Then it was gone.

“Stay inside tonight,” Luna said. “The capital sent soldiers.”

Lily froze.

“For me?” she whispered.

“For us,” Luna corrected.

But her voice said otherwise.

That night, Lily didn’t stay inside.

Because something was calling her.

Not a voice.

Not exactly.

More like… memory.

The forest beyond the village pulsed with faint blue light, like veins beneath skin. The deeper she walked, the colder the air became — until her breath came out in white clouds.

Then she saw him.

A man kneeling beside a broken sword, armor shattered, blood soaking into the dirt.

He looked up.

Gold eyes. Not human gold — but molten, ancient, violent.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said hoarsely.

She should have run.

Instead, she stepped closer.

“You’re dying,” she said.

He gave a weak laugh. “War heroes usually do.”

Her chest tightened.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Luke,” he said. “And if you have any survival instinct at all…”

He tried to stand.

Failed.

“…you’ll run.”

Behind her, the forest went silent.

Not quiet.

Silent.

Like the world was holding its breath.

Luke’s eyes widened — not at her.

At something behind her.

“Lily,” he said, voice suddenly urgent. “Don’t turn around.”

But she did.

And standing between the trees — glowing faintly silver —

Was Luna.