Forever Luna

subterfuge

noun ~ a plan, trick, or dishonest tactic used to achieve a goal or hide the truth

NOVA

The battlefield instantly vanished.

I was standing, not lying broken in the mud or bleeding into the grass, but upright and whole as cold air brushed against my skin. Pine trees towered overhead, their dark shapes hemming me in while snow crunched beneath my boots.

Recognition crept over me in a slow, uneasy wave. It was the same woods I had once chased my mother through in an old dream. The same woods where my family lived before everything was taken from us.

Yet something felt wrong.

The air was too still, too quiet. Like something was waiting for me to discover it, or as though something was waiting to attack.

I turned, my eyes scanning the dark undergrowth for signs of life. Dreams like these weren't reality, and a vision wouldn't just send me into an empty forest. There had to be something here.

A movement ahead drew my attention, and I slowed my pace. Up ahead, two figures stood among the trees. I instantly recognised the cloak surrounding Apollo, his hands clasped behind his back as if he were out for an evening walk rather than lingering in the woods. Beside him paced a second figure: a large, grey, scarred wolf with dark, glowing eyes, circling him in watchful silence.

It almost looked like they were... waiting. For something, just as I was.

Or rather, someone?

Apollo smiled, and the wolf's tail twitched, a low growl rumbling in its throat. His mouth moved to talk, but I couldn't hear what he said, but it must've been something because the wolf's tail lifted once before thumping against the earth with a huff.

My stomach twisted because they were definitely up to no good.

Just as I moved closer, a figure came crashing through the trees opposite me. I staggered to a stop, my eyes widening as the figure stumbled through the undergrowth.

Cors.

He was... younger, somehow. His dark hair was longer than I'd ever seen it, his face free from the weathered lines age would eventually carve there. But right now, he was furious.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cors shouted.

The sound hit me harder than anything else, and I stood, mouth agape, as my uncle spoke. It was a strong, commanding voice that echoed through the trees, carrying the confidence of a man who had never been afraid to stand up for what was right. It struck me then just how much Apollo had stolen from him.

Apollo visibly stiffened, and the wolf beside him lowered its front to the ground, growling at Cors. My uncle growled right back, barely looking away from Apollo to put the furry creature in its place.

Apollo's smile had disappeared immediately. "You followed me."

Cors stalked forward. "You lied to them."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Oh, not this again."

"You think I don't know?" Cors snapped. "I know everything."

The wolf growled, and Apollo raised his hand to silence it, but Cors ignored it. He circled Apollo as if he were studying him for an open attack, but the taller, broader man just watched with raised eyebrows.

Disinterested. Apollo was cocky.

"I know what you've been doing." Cors growled. "You can't hide from me."