Tower of Thorns Tower of Fangs Volume 5 Chapter 15

 

Chapter 15  The Hidden Face

Nico never removed the mask. Not once. Not for Moon. Not for anyone. Days passed. Then weeks. The battle royale continued around them. People fought. People died. Powers grew stronger. Monsters hunted the forests. The Chosen vanished one by one. Yet somehow the lake remained untouched. It became their place.

Every afternoon. Every evening. Every stolen hour between survival and bloodshed. Nico always returned. And Moon was always there. Waiting. Sometimes beside the lake. Sometimes asleep beneath trees. Sometimes floating lazily above the water while fairies drifted around him like tiny stars.

Moon always smiled when he saw him.

Always.

Nico began looking forward to that smile. More than he should. Much more. The first thing he searched for each day wasn't food. Or shelter. Or enemies. It was Moon. The realization terrified him. Because every day it became worse. And better. The two often spent entire afternoons together. Moon showed him hidden waterfalls. Ancient ruins. 

Fields of flowers blooming between forgotten stones.

Nico taught Moon how to skip stones across water. Moon was terrible at it. The celestial cheated. He made the stones float. Nico called him a fraud. Moon laughed. The sound echoed across the lake. And Nico immediately forgot what he was saying. That kept happening. Increasingly often.

Moon would smile. Or laugh. Or brush long black hair behind one ear. And Nico's thoughts would disappear entirely. It was becoming a problem. A serious problem.

One afternoon they sat beneath a great tree overlooking the lake. Moon rested against the trunk. Eyes closed. Peaceful. Several fairies slept within his hair. Nico sat nearby sharpening a knife. Or pretending to. Mostly he was watching Moon. Which had also become a problem. The celestial suddenly opened one eye. Caught. Moon smiled. Nico immediately focused on the knife. Very intensely.

Moon laughed again. Traitor. The celestial sat up. Then slowly reached toward Nico's hood. The boy froze. For a moment old fear surged through him. Instinct. Memory. Habit.

His hand immediately grabbed Moon's wrist. The movement happened automatically. Too fast. Too rough. Silence followed. Moon blinked. Surprised. Nico immediately released him. Guilt struck instantly. Moon looked down at his own hand. Then back toward Nico. Confused. Not angry. Not offended. Simply confused.

Nico couldn't bear it.

"...sorry."

The word felt inadequate.

Moon studied him quietly. Then slowly pointed toward the mask. The black fabric concealed most of Nico's face. As always.

Moon tilted his head. Questioning. Not demanding. Just curious.

Nico looked away. For several moments neither moved.

 Then Moon smiled softly. And dropped the subject. Just like that. No pressure. No insistence. No questions.

Nothing. The realization stunned him. Most people asked. Always. What's under the mask? Why hide your face? What happened? Are you ashamed? Questions. Endless questions.

Moon never asked. Not then. Not later. Never. And somehow that mattered more than Nico expected. Because Moon simply accepted what he was given.

The celestial accepted silence. Accepted distance. Accepted boundaries. Accepted him.

The realization lingered long after the moment passed. Days later they sat beside the lake again. Moon lay on the grass. Watching clouds. Nico rested nearby.

Eventually curiosity won.

"Why don't you ask?"

The question escaped unexpectedly.

Moon looked toward him.

Nico pointed at the mask.

Moon blinked.

Then smiled.

The celestial pointed at Nico.

Then tapped his own chest.

Friend.

Then he pointed at the mask. And shrugged. It didn't matter.

The meaning struck harder than any weapon. Because Moon genuinely meant it. The mask didn't matter. The face beneath it didn't matter. Moon cared about him. Not what he looked like. Not who he pretended to be. Just him. For a long time neither spoke. The lake shimmered beneath afternoon sunlight. Dragonflies drifted through warm air. Fairies danced above wildflowers.

Moon eventually rested his head against Nico's shoulder. Completely without warning. The hooded boy froze. Every muscle locked. Moon closed his eyes. Comfortable Trusting. Safe. As though it were the most natural thing in the world. Nico stopped breathing. The celestial remained there. Warm Real. Close enough for Nico to hear his heartbeat. Slow. Gentle. Steady.

For one terrifying moment he wanted to remove the mask. Just to see what Moon would do. Just to know. The thought frightened him more than any monster. Because it wasn't the mask he feared losing anymore. It was this.

The lake. The laughter. The peace. Moon.

The possibility that one day it might disappear. 

Far away hidden among the trees a black shadow fox watched everything. And through its eyes Eemil watched too. The future Shadow King felt something ugly twist inside his chest. Jealousy. Pure. Burning and Merciless. Because Nico was smiling. And Moon was smiling. And Eemil knew exactly why. For the first time he began to hate the sight. And somewhere deep inside him something dark started growing.