A half-smile played across her lips as she gazed upward into the darkness. Her mother's features blurred in shadow, defined only by the fierce crimson glow of her eyes—eyes that burned like smoldering coals. The newborn moon had risen, heralding the night she dreaded most, when duty would tear her away once more. She lowered her gaze to meet her mother's stare, those blood-red eyes fixed upon her with an intensity that mirrored the flames dancing between them.