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.”

2:03 pm P

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

han 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.

A heavy knock rattled the chamber doors. “It’s time.”

The rogues escorted us through the castle corridors, and every single hallway was overflowing. Rogues lined the valls shoulder to shoulder, shouting and whistling the moment they caught my scent. Some bowed mockingly, vhile others growled my name, their dark eyes tracking the high sét of my skirt.

The deeper we walked into the castle, the louder the chaos became, until we finally stepped outside.

The inner courtyard was completely packed. Thousands of rogues filled every balcony, staircase, and stone latform overlooking the center arena. And above us all, the Blood Moon burned behind the clouds, drowning the ntire castle in deep red light.

At the center of the courtyard stood the ritual platform–black stone carved with silver circles, with crystals lowing around the edges.

And standing right in the middle was Varga. That old bitch.

The second my bare feet stepped onto the platform, I noticed a soft black carpet stretched across the stone. A bitter laugh caught in my throat. “How thoughtful,” I muttered.

Across the courtyard, Declan sat lazily in a massive black chair overlooking the ritual circle. He was watching me

ike a king admiring a prize he already owned.

1:04 pm P P

Our eyes tocked, and a transparent barrier rose around the platform with a low, vibrating hum, trapping me

nside.

Varga stepped behind me, her eold fingers unlocking the heavy collar from my throat.

The second the metal clicked open, my power rushed violently back into my body. The old witch leaned close, her reezing breath brushing my ear.

“Well,” she whispered softly. “It’s almost over now. Tonight, you finally become his forever.”

I turned my head just enough to look her in the eye. “Keep dreaming, bitch”

Varga smiled. And then, the Blood Moon fully broke through the clouds.

Red light crashed across the ritual circle, and everything else vanished.

The courtyard, the roaring rogues, Declan–all of it was gone.

I was standing beneath a massive white tree. Its ancient roots pulsed slowly beneath glowing bark, looking like veins running under living skin. Silver light breathed through every branch, casting a soft glow over the women

standing around it in white dresses.

They all looked familiar. Every single Luna from my trials. My ancestors. My bloodline.

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

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