Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Emily’s POV

He hesitated. “I’ll get Cindy.”

A few minutes later, Cindy knock the door.

We walked through the cold halls and out into the mountain air. Everything smelled like smoke from the vines

they had burned.

The ritual grounds looked simple in the daylight–just black stone and silver lines. But I knew how dangerous they

were.

As we walked down the steps, I looked at her. “Do you know what happened to Stella?”

Cindy looked at the ground immediately. I felt a cold chill.

“What happened, Cindy?”

She was quiet for a long time. Then, she whispered, “I saw the guards carrying her body this morning.”

It felt like the floor had dropped away. “No… Did she alive, or…” My voice broke. Declan had promised me she

would live if I stayed. He had lied to me again.

Cindy’s face turned hard. “I don’t know. And what did you think would happen? You tried to run. Did you think he

would just let her go?”

“She didn’t do anything!”

“And you’re only alive because he needs you,” Cindy snapped.

Needs. Not loves. Not protects. I was just a tool.

Something about her voice felt too personal. I looked at the silver ribbon around her neck, then back at her eyes.

“Oh my God,” I said softly.

Cindy went stiff. Her hand flew up to cover the ribbon.

“He’s your mate,” I whispered.

The wind blew around us, but neither of us spoke. Cindy looked away, her jaw tight. “My lips are sealed,” she said. But she didn’t say I was wrong.

I felt a wave of horror. All this time the way she watched him, the pain in her eyes when he was near me. I stepped in front of her. “Why? Why are you nice to me if he’s your mate?”

The mask finally fell. She looked so sad it made my heart sink. “Do I have a choice?” she asked.

The question hurt more than a punch. She gave a small, sad laugh. “My wolf loves him anyway,” she whispered.

She gripped the ribbon as if it were a rope. “You still have someone who loves you. Someone who is fighting to get you back. You were taken from your mate.”

Nathan. His name felt like a sharp pain in my chest. I didn’t see Cindy as a guard anymore. She was just another girl in a nightmare.

Her eyes were full of tears, and mine were too. For a second, the walls between us broke. We weren’t enemies. We

were just two tired girls.

“I didn’t choose this either,” she whispered.

But then, Cindy went stiff. She wiped her eyes fast and turned away.

When she looked back at me, the girl I had just seen was gone. Only the servant remained.

She stepped closer. “He’s coming,” she whispered. “Wipe your eyes. Don’t turn around too fast.”

My stomach dropped. A second later, the air changed.

I felt him before I heard a single footstep. The rogue guards near the stairs snapped to attention.

And Cindy… her breathing became tiny. Barely there. But I saw her shoulders pull back instinctively. I saw her ingers tremble against that silver ribbon before she hid her hand behind her back..

Mate. Her wolf felt him coming.

Then Declan’s voice cut through the air behind me. “Emily.”

It was low, smooth, and dangerously calm. “What are you doing out here?”

I took a moment to steady myself before turning.

Declan stood a few feet away, a shadow in his black clothes.

Heyes locked onto me instantly. Not Cindy. Me. Always me.

His gaze crawled over my face, catching the traces of salt on my cheeks.

Something in his expression softened, a tiny flicker of something that looked like care. It hurt more than cruelty would have. Because right beside me, Cindy saw it too. I saw her chin drop. I saw the flash of raw pain she tried so

ard to bury.

Declan walked closer, his eyes never once drifting toward the girl who was literally made for him.

“What? I crossed my arms, my voice brittle. “You’ve decided to personally supervise me now?”

A corner of his mouth pulled up. “Well… now I definitely have to. His gaze sharpened. “You’ve started showing

signs of escape attempts.”

Cindy went perfectly still. I forced myself not to look at her. “I’m not trying to escape.” I lied.

Peelan’s eyebrow lifted. “No?”

I stepped away from him, moving toward the ritual platform instead. “I’ve been thinking about the trials.”

That hooked him. His amusement shifted into genuine curiosity.

“The pain gets worse every time I enter that circle,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I started reading about. the crystals in the library. Some of the symbols amplify energy flow. They target the nervous system.”

Declan watched me. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He just stood there, absorbing every word I said.

“I was wondering…” I looked at the silver–lined platform. “Couldn’t you replace them with something less

aggressive?”

“No.” The answer was instant. No hesitation.

I tilted my head. “Why not?”

“Because these work.”

I gestured toward the massive silver rings surrounding the stones. “You already have me in a silver circle wearing

a silver collar. The crystals are just decorative at that point.”

Beside me, I felt Cindy tense. Not because of my words, but because Declan was smiling again. At me.

He looked genuinely entertained by the way I was challenging him. Cindy had probably spent years starving for a fraction of that attention, and here I was, throwing it back in his face.

The guilt was a heavy weight in my gut, but I pushed harder anyway. “Or are you actually afraid of what happens

without them?”

The air went still. The guards nearby lowered their heads, waiting for the explosion.

Then Declan smiled. It wasn’t an angry look–it was fascinated. Which was so much worse. He walked toward me until he was right in my space. Too close.

“I don’t know what little game you’re trying to play,” he murmured.

His gloved hand lifted slowly. Cindy’s breath hitched. Declan brushed his thumb under my chin, tilting my face up

o meet his gaze. The touch was horribly intimate, and I hated the way my body betrayed me.

But it was the look on Cindy’s face that shattered me. She looked away instantly, like seeing his hand on my skin was a physical wound.

“But I’ll admit,” Declan continued, his eyes fixed entirely on me, “I’m curious to see where this goes.”

His voice was warmer now. Possessive. “Honestly, Emily… life with you is never boring.”

He made it sound like a compliment. Instead, it felt like a sentence. His gaze dropped to the mark on my throat,

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