A soothing shower is just the thing I need to relieve some tension. A soft trickling sound fills the bathroom as I turn the metal knob on the wall. I plan to let the water warm up while I undress.

But a red stain on my underwear stops me short.

In all the craziness and emotional turmoil recently, I completely forgot to keep track of the time of month. I scour the bathroom but have no luck finding the supplies I need. Reluctantly, I turn the shower off and redress in my ruined clothes.

I wrench open the door to the hallway.

"Please can you get Selene here immediately?" I plead to Asher, slightly flustered and a little red in the face. "It's an emergency."

"Selene's not available right now. You have me to talk to instead." He leers.

"No. She said I could send for her anytime."

"We're all liars and deceivers here. The princess has official business in the palace that's far too important for a snivelling prisoner like you to interrupt."

"And I suppose you've asked her whether or not she minded being interrupted?" There's absolutely no way she's told him that. Especially not after his comments to me the other day. He's the one who doesn't want me interrupting her.

"There's no need for her to. If she wanted to speak to you, she'd be here. But she's not." He crosses his arms, a smug expression painted across his face.

"I'm going to find Ayden. He'll let me contact her." I'd rather not speak to him, especially right now, but I know he would override Asher's nonsense.

The guard grabs me as I try to leave the room, holding me in place. "Sorry. The Lord's not at home right now. It's just you. And me."

"I told you; it's an emergency." I seethe.

"And I told you; I'm the only person you're speaking to."

"Let go of me." I demand. He does, but not without giving me a light shove backwards. "Fine. You really won't let me talk to anyone else, so this is your problem now. I'm bleeding and I don't have any period supplies in my room. You fix it."

Red heat climbing up my cheeks, I slam the door in his face. If he doesn't sort the supplies for me, I'll find someone else who will later. I'd honestly rather go to Ayden for help than spend another second discussing my intimate matters with that jerk.

Disgruntled, I stomp back into the bathroom for the shower I meant to have before.

I've been dry and dressed for over an hour by the time I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in." I call, fully expecting a disgusted Asher to drop a box of tampons and run. The mental image almost makes me giggle.

"I heard you needed these." Selene's voice makes me jump. I turn, hurriedly flipping the notebook shut on my desk. "Catch." She throws a box in my direction, and I'm relieved to see it's the tampons I desperately need.

I catch the box and rush to the bathroom with a fresh pair of underwear. "Thanks." I yell behind me.

"No problem." Her muffled reply drifts through the door.

A minute later I emerge feeling a whole lot fresher than I did after my shower.

"How did you know?" I swear Asher wasn't interested in telling the princess I needed her.

"That stammering guard outside your door called me, saying something about needing female toilet supplies for the red moon." She snorts.

"It's his own fault he ended up relaying the message." I grumble. "I tried telling him to call you over for an emergency, but he refused, so I told him I was on my period and it was his responsibility to sort it."

She swears. "I don't care what Ayden says." She storms over to the door. "I'm going to beat that jerk until he..."

"Stop!" I press my back against the door, stretching my arms out like a barrier. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"He disrespected both of us." She seethes. "It's treason to deny a princess, and that's exactly what he did. Now move so that I can give him exactly what he deserves."

"Selene, please. He is a jerk, you're right. But he hasn't hurt anyone, and he did what I asked in the end. Hopefully his discomfort speaking to you is punishment enough that he won't make the same mistake again."

She considers me and my words. "One chance." She grinds out. "This is his one and only chance. Next time he steps out of line, I'm dragging him down to the dungeons regardless of what you think."

I slowly lower my arms to my side and step away from the door. "Thank you." Once again, she's shown unnecessary kindness for my sake. I don't plan on telling her if Asher steps out of line again. Which he hopefully won't. But probably will. I'll deal with him myself without the need for violence. He must know there's only so much he can get away with behind Ayden's back, which makes me feel relatively safe. A confusing thing to feel whilst trapped in the dark realm.

"But I don't want you to let him push you around." Selene continues. "Between the two of you, you have the authority, whether he likes it or not. Since I'm sure you won't like my methods, I'll leave you to deal with him, but I strongly suggest you find a way to put him in his place."

Do I have really hold authority over Asher? I know Ayden said I could request almost anything from the guards and servants, but is that the same thing? "I think you're getting the wrong idea about my position here."

She shakes her head. "If you think that, then you haven't been listening to me at all. Ayden wants a strong woman who can take care of herself, not some pet in a cage. He thinks you're that woman."

"But I don't want to be his." I argue. How many times do I have to go over this?

"Maybe. But he's already yours." Her words are like a bucket of cold water in my face. A very large bucket that also contains very painful chunks of ice that make me flinch. "Enough about my brother though." She continues, plopping herself down on the bed as if she hasn't just verbally slapped me. "I possibly should've warned you about the Midnight Circle the other day."

"You think? I'm not interested in joining some dark-sider club, Selene."

"And no one is pressuring you to. I just didn't think you'd come if I told you about it, and I thought you could use the excitement and company. It doesn't have to be any more than a few fun parties while you're here."

"But only the parties held in Ayden's home, right?" I accuse, crossing my arms.

"Hopefully not. But if you do make it to some of the meetups out in the city, there are a few things you need to be aware of."

I roll my eyes. "Go on then. Tell me the next set of rules."

"It's not like that, Kora." When I don't respond, she sighs. "All of Taura, and much of the dark realm, has heard of the Midnight Circle. There are many rumours about us. Some true. Some wildly false. But the truth is only known by its members and select few under magically-binding oaths of secrecy. We'd like it to stay that way. If you hear anyone talking about us, you're not a member. You don't know any members. You don't know anything about us.

"I'm warning you for your own safety. The Midnight Circle is powerful, but that also means we have some powerful enemies. You'll be implicated in the mess if you spill the wrong information to the wrong person. I'm telling you this now because I'm 100% certain you'll be out in the city soon."

"You didn't need to bring me into this." This is now the second time Selene has put me in danger.

"I'm trying to make things easier for you, not harder."

"Well don't."

She regards me, as if waiting for me to say or do something else. She stands, striding past me towards the door. "It was good spending time with you again. I'll see you around."

She leaves me with guilt gnawing in my stomach.I feel like I've been an ungrateful friend today, even though Selene and I arenothing like friends.