Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Emily’s POV

The library went completely still. Liam was already moving before I even fully understood what he’d sensed. Every trace of humor vanished from his face, his expression turning stone–cold.

“…Stay behind me.”

The air shifted. Then, I caught it, too. A scent. Blood, silver, and underneath it–pain. A sharp, rotting grief

wisted through my empath senses, making me nauseous.

“…Cindy.” I said to him by the mind link.

“She’s hiding beneath the eastern window,” Liam muttered. “Crouched under the stone ledge.”

Cindy must have slipped away during the chaos of clearing the castle of rogues.

And she was still carrying traces of Varga’s corruption–I could feel the wrongness warping her emotions. It wasn’t ust grief over Declan; it was an obsession, a dark rage. The shattered remains of a mate bond ripped apart violently. No wonder she seemed half insane.

Liam glanced at me, and a quick understanding passed between us. I nodded slightly, then raised my voice deliberately.

“Well, are you two coming or not?” I called out loudly, grabbing my coat. “I’ll catch up in a minute. I just need to out this book back on the shelf.”

Outside the window, there was a sudden flurry of movement.

Liam disappeared through the outer doors without a sound. I forced myself to walk casually toward the massive window. Every instinct screamed at me to run.

The second I reached the glass, Cindy exploded upward from beneath the ledge with a raw scream.

“YOU KILLED HIM!”

Silver flashed straight toward my throat. But before the blade could touch me, another body slammed into her from behind.

Liam.

He drove her violently into the stone floor outside, twisting the dagger from her hand while she screamed and lawed like a wild animal.

“Easy there, psycho!”

“LET ME GO!” Her eyes glowed a bright, unnatural red. She wasn’t fully herself, but she wasn’t fully gone, either. Magic still pulsed beneath her skin like poison.

I rushed outside while Cindy fought desperately under Liam’s weight.

“Emily, don’t-” Zynair warned sharply behind me.

Too late. I dropped beside Cindy and grabbed her face before she could jerk away. The second our eyes locked, I

pushed my power into her mind.

The pain hit me like a physical wave. Declan. His death. The mate bond snapping apart. A loneliness so violent it nade my head spin. Cindy screamed beneath my hands as the last traces of Varga’s corruption burned away under my magic.

The red slowly faded from her eyes. The fight left her body all at once, and she suddenly just looked broken.

Human. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“…He’s gone.” The words shattered out of her. It wasn’t rage anymore. Just grief. Pure, unbearable grief.

I swallowed hard against the ache in my own throat. “…I know.”

Cindy shook violently beneath Liam’s hold.

“I hate you,” she whispered through her sobs. “But I can’t even feel him anymore.”

That hurt worse than the knife probably would have. Slowly, carefully, I brushed my fingers against her temple.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, meaning every word. “But there wasn’t another way.”

Fresh tears poured down her face. “…Make it stop.”

I looked at her, my heart aching. “What?”

“The pain.” She broke completely then, sobbing openly. “Please… I can’t live with it anymore.”

I looked toward Liam, uncertain, then back at Cindy.

Gently, I pulled the grief from her. Not the memory, never that, just the crushing agony that was suffocating her.

Her body sagged in relief beneath Liam’s grip. She looked calm now.

Empty and exhausted.

Zynair leaned against the doorway, watching us in complete disbelief. “…You wolves are absolutely insane.”

Liam snorted softly. “Oh, you have no idea.”

I helped Cindy slowly sit up while she stared blankly toward the mountains.

“I’ll stay with her,” he said, his voice softening. “Go, before Nathan starts declaring war over your disappearance.”

I squeezed Cindy’s hand once before standing up.

“…Thank you,” she whispered.

I gave her a small nod, then turned around, grabbed Zynair’s hand, and started dragging her toward the exit.

“Come on, we are going to be so late!”

But we didn’t even make it out of the library before Zynair stopped cold, yanking her hand out of my grip.

I stopped, turning back to face her. “What’s wrong?”

Zynair stood by the doors, crossing her arms tightly. “I’m sitting this one out, Emily.”

“What? Why?”

“Let’s be real. A pack of wolves isn’t exactly going to cheer seeing a witch standing front and center at ceremony.”

I marched right back over to her. “That is complete bullshit.”

“Emily, I’m serious-”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify