Killing Butterflies ( Inspired by Lewis Blisset)

Rising terror

There had already been disappearances. Selene couldn't shake the fear that gripped her as she paced through the night. In remote villages, small settlements, and even caravans traveling under the cover of darkness, people were vanishing, only for their remains to be discovered at dawn. Eyewitnesses spoke of Butterflies spotted at the scene, their fangs buried in corpses as they feasted on flesh and blood. The murders seemed random, making them all the more terrifying. Even Mariposa were found missing with the rising sun, though people spitefully whispered that they had likely been summoned back to serve their Butterfly masters.

Fear had gripped the land. People were jumpy, on edge. Children were taught to flee at the sight of a Butterfly, while teenagers followed their parents into the woods, burning down groves where Butterflies might hide.

"Selene? What are you doing out here?" Nishant's voice broke the silence. He rubbed his eyes, still groggy as he stumbled into the dimly lit room. His black eye from last week's fight was only now beginning to heal. He had fought in a grim underground ring, where Mariposa were pitted against each other while spectators bet money on the outcome. It wasn't much of a living, and it certainly wasn't fair pay, but it was something.

The Small Dragon, where the fights were held, was notorious as a meeting place for the dregs of society—crooks, exiles, and outcasts. Fights, theft, even murder, all kinds of shady business were swept under the rug there. Naturally, many Mariposa frequented the place, desperate to scrape together a living. Most left with nothing but bruises and empty pockets, their savings lost in a night.

The moment you let your guard down at the Small Dragon, your wallet—or that treasured piece of family jewelry—was as good as gone. It was a place for the desperate, where gaunt faces and hollow eyes filled the crowd, each person clinging to life with nothing but the hope of making it through another day. For some, even that small hope wasn't enough.

Only those who had truly sunk their roots into that forsaken place stood a chance of making money. You could go from rags to riches, or from wealth to starvation, in a heartbeat.

Nishant and Selene often found themselves at the Small Dragon. Nishant to fight, Selene to buy sleeping pills. Both of them worked tirelessly to keep Aylin as far from it as possible.

Nishant blinked away his sleep and rushed toward his sister. "Are you out of your mind? Someone's going to see you!" he hissed, his voice low but urgent. Selene's wings, blue as a bruise, were unfurled in plain view. She must have been deeply agitated to let them show. Most of the time, she kept a tight rein on her emotions, even when the pain of her transformation gripped her under the full moon's light. She never cried, but Nishant and Aylin could feel her suffering all the same.

She never spoke of it, never burdened them with her agony, but Nishant had spent countless nights running to the nearest shop, searching for anything to dull the pain.

Selene was silent for a moment, her eyes flicking toward Aylin's sleeping form. She motioned for Nishant to follow her outside, and together they walked through the small garden of pale, sickly plants that Selene tended with care. The plants were strange, bleached of color, their leaves a ghostly white. They were remnants from the shores of Elysoria, drained of their life by the Butterflies. For reasons only Selene understood, she had taken a liking to them and kept them among her other plants.

As they reached the edge of the garden, Selene's wings folded shut and dissolved, vanishing from sight. Now, she looked like an ordinary girl. But there were other signs that gave away her true nature—their true nature. Their eyes, an unnatural shade of blue, held a depth that was unsettling, as if revealing something more the longer one stared into them. It was subtle but undeniable—a reminder of the curse they carried.

"A village disappeared," Selene said at last, breaking the silence. "In a single night. No people, no huts, no livestock. Nothing. It was swallowed by darkness, and only a few scorched patches were left behind."

"That doesn't have to mean anything," Nishant argued, though his voice lacked conviction. His jaw tensed, and his fists clenched at his sides.

"You know it does," Selene replied, her voice steady and grim. "People are going missing. Skeletons are being found deep in the forests, far from civilization. Something is leading them astray. It's happening again, isn't it? Are we going to be called to fight? What will we do if the Butterflies summon us back? What can we do?"

Before Nishant could respond, a flicker of motion caught their eyes. Aylin darted out from the doorway, his eyes wide with curiosity as he wedged himself between his siblings.

Nishant and Selene exchanged a glance, their eyes locking in silent agreement. They would say nothing more. For now, the truth would remain buried, along with the fear that gnawed at both of them.