"Shit!" Duman watched as the hat was shot off Gantlos's head. Facing against the sun fairy was one thing, but facing against her in the middle of the day? That was a problem .

"SUN DANCE!" the smell of burning flesh invaded everyone's nose. The flesh in Gantlos became a charred black as an agony rushed through him. The invasive odor of burning flesh caused some of the girls to gag.

"Forget your sunscreen today?" The sarcastic remark went unanswered as Ogron called a retreat — Gantlos would have burned alive otherwise.

"Good job Stel!"

"That was amazing, what did you different?" Stella couldn't answer, mostly because she didn't know. What did she do differently? She'd used that move a dozen times before — why did it have that effect this time?

"I'm not…entirely sure," she blinked at her own hands.

"Whatever you did, hopefully you can do it again," the girls all seemed to cheer at their temporary victory , but something in Stella made her nauseated, as if she was going to regret this. Still she tried to make joy with the others.

————-

"You can't neglect yourself like this! It cost us the battle!" Ogron was more worried about Gantlos's blatant disregard for his own safety than the battle, but he wasn't going to let it show, "I don't care how you feel about this particular aspect of yourself — you are going to die if you don't take care of it—"

"Ogron, please, you're going to stress him out," Anagan wrapped the burns, trying to settle Ogron, "You can scold him all you want afterwards, but I need to focus please,"

"Gantlos, I would normally back you up, but I have to agree with Ogron on this one, you seriously need to take care of yourself," Duman was trying to be supportive, but felt Gantlos really needed some tough love after today.

Gantlos said nothing, his thoughts overwhelmed with the need to make the sun fairy fall to her knees — oh how he planned to burn her. Not only had she embarrassed him, she brought out something he hated about himself, and she was going to suffer for it.

———-

Stella couldn't sleep, she was convinced it was related to the incident earlier, but couldn't be sure. She quietly left the house, maybe a late night walk would help. She looked into the sky— deep blues and blacks sprinkled with stars. The moon was full and bright, still she thought solaria's night sky was prettier. She walked down the street looking around, funny? Was it always this empty at night?—

Tap tap tap

Stella whipped around. She could've sworn someone moved behind her. She thought to turn around , but shook it off—if someone was following her turning around would be running right into them. She quickened her pace

Tap tap tap

Shadows played tricks in her peripheral vision. Every shadow seemed to move, every flicker of light from the dim street lamps cast grotesque shapes. The feeling of being watched was unshakeable.

Taptaptap

As she passed an alleyway, she caught a glimpse of movement. She stopped, heart pounding, and peered into the darkness. Nothing. The sensation of eyes boring into her grew stronger, more insistent.

T A P T A P T A P

A whisper of sound behind her made her spin around. The street was empty, yet the air felt charged with a presence. She took a step back, her eyes scanning the darkness. Her throat was dry, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows. Tall, with eyes that glinted in the faint light, and a presence that seemed to draw all warmth from the air. Stella felt a cold dread seep into her as she recognized him.

Gantlos.

His gaze locked onto her, an unspoken fury evident in his eyes. She took another step back, her mind screaming at her to run, but her feet felt rooted to the spot. He moved closer, a slow, deliberate motion, like a predator closing in on its prey.

She opened her mouth to scream—winx—believix—but no sound came out. The world around her seemed to shrink, narrowing down to just the two of them, the silent confrontation, the unspoken threat.

Gantlos stopped a few feet away, his eyes never leaving hers. The silence stretched, heavy and oppressive, filled with the promise of retribution. Stella felt a shiver run down her spine as she finally found the strength to move. She turned and ran, her footsteps echoing once more through the empty streets, the darkness closing in around her.

Behind her, the shadows shifted, and Gantlos watched, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

—

Sunlight danced into her bedroom, had it all been a nightmare? No— pain scorched through her arm as she went into the bathroom. A burn. A burn in an oddly clawed handed shape. One burn, two burns,four burns of similar shapes. One on both arms, two around her throat. Nausea invaded, as the beginning of a long battle between shadows and light had just begun its dance.