Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Emily’s POV

Cindy brushed another dark Tine beneath my eyes. “Stop moving.”

I went still.

The room smelled like expensive perfume, blood, and candle wax. Outside the massive windows, the entire castle glowed red beneath the rising Blood Moon.

I looked at my reflection and barely recognized myself. The black dress clung to my body like smoke. It was thin, lmost transparent, and filthy.

The fabric barely covered anything. The deep neckline exposed the edge of my black lace bra, while the slit in the kirt climbed dangerously high along my thigh.

Exactly how Declan wanted me. Displayed. Owned.

I forced down the disgust rising in my throat.

Cindy adjusted one of the loose curls falling over my shoulder before dusting dark shimmer across my cheekbones.

“There,” she said flatly. “Done.”

I stared at the stranger in the mirror. “I look like a villain.”

“That was the idea.” Her voice held no emotion anymore. No jealousy. No bitterness. Nothing.

That indifference somehow scared me more than her rage ever had. I watched her reflection carefully.

“Why did you let Varga change you like this?”

For a second, Cindy’s hand froze. Then, she slowly lowered the brush.

“Because I got tired of hurting.” The answer came quietly.

“Every time he touched you…” Her eyes stayed fixed on the vanity table, refusing to meet mine. “Every kiss. Every time he looked at you.” Her throat moved hard as she swallowed. “I felt it all through our mate bond.”

A heavy ache settled deep in my gut.

“I could smell your scent on him for days,” she whispered. “And every time he chose you again… it felt like

something was carving pieces out of me.”

For one terrible moment, I pitied her.

“So you let Varga erase your emotions?”

“No.” Cindy finally looked right at me. “I let her numb them.”

A bitter laugh almost escaped me. “And now?”

She carefully capped the black lipstick in her hand. “Now, I still feel the bond. I still love his scent. I still feel pulled toward him every time he enters a room.” Her fingers tightened around the makeup brush. “But the pain doesn’t destroy me anymore.

I stared at her, horrified. To spend every single day beside a monster like Declan, loving him through a forced, broken bond, but needing dark magic just to survive the agony of it?

That wasn’t a life. It was a living nightmare.

Living with that obsession constantly clawing through your skin? It sounded unbearable.

I thought about Nathan chained deep underground, and the idea of surviving forever beside Declan felt far worse than death.

But I kept my face completely calm. Because if Zynair succeeded, Nathan was already escaping.

Please, I prayed to anyone listening. Please let him be gone.

Cindy stepped back. “Look.”

She turned the mirror fully toward me. The woman staring back looked dangerous. Dark eyes, smudged black nakeup, and bare skin glowing beneath the sheer black fabric. I didn’t look like a Luna. I looked like a sacrifice.

“Scary,” I muttered.

“Beautiful,” Cindy corrected, her voice entirely flat.

And there, standing closest to the trunk, was my mother. Alive. Beautiful.

“Mom?” The word broke in my throat.

I didn’t think. I just ran.

She caught me in her arms, wrapping herself around me and holding me tight. She felt warm. Real. A wave of raw emotion burned behind my eyes, and I buried my face in her shoulder.

“You’re alive…” I choked out.

“No, little moon,” my mother whispered gently against my hair, her touch soothing the chaos in my mind. “Not alive.”

I pulled back shakily, looking at all the women surrounding us beneath the glowing silver canopy.

“…Where am I?”

My mother placed a soft hand against the ancient white bark. “At the heart of your family’s tree, Emily.”

Another Luna stepped forward, her face familiar from one of my earliest trials. “You reached the end of our line,” she said softly. “You completed the trials.”

I looked around, confusion twisting my gut. “That’s it? It’s over?”

The women exchanged heavy, unreadable looks. There was no relief in their eyes. No peace. Only a deep, aching worry.

My mother’s smile slowly faded. “…Not exactly.”

A sudden chill settled deep in my bones. “What do you mean?”

One of the older Lunas stepped closer, her silver eyes locking onto mine with terrifying intensity.

“Because now, Emily… you must make a choice.”