Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 68

I heard his footsteps fade as he headed downstairs. The house was quiet, and for a moment, I just wanted to sink into the softness of the bed After everything I’d been through, I felt like I had earned a thousand years of rest.

I drifted off. I don’t know how long I slept, but when I opened my eyes again, the world outside my window was swallowed by darkness. Night had fallen.

I knew I had to get up. Nathan was probably waiting for me, and I didn’t want to keep him in the shadows any onger. I stood up, my legs feeling strangely light, and walked toward the bathroom.

I forced myself toward the mirror. I needed to see the damage. I expected to see a ghost–a girl broken, pale.

But the girl in the mirror looked… too alive.

My cheeks were flushed with a deep, healthy pink. My skin was smooth, almost glowing, as if I’d been lit from within by a strange, golden fire. My eyes were too bright, too wide, and shimmering with a life that didn’t feel like nine. It was beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful.

I raised my hands and pressed my palms against the cold glass. The mirror was freezing, but my skin felt like fire.

t was then that I felt it.

Tu–dum. Tu–dum–dum.

I froze, holding my breath. My heart was beating, yes, but there was a strange, haunting echo behind every thud.

One beat was mine–heavy, slow, and familiar.

But the second one… the second one was light and fast, like the fluttering wings of a trapped bird. Two hearts.

[wo lives. Pulled into one body.

I stared into the mirror, watching the pulse in my neck jump in that broken rhythm. It was the sound of a ticking

lock.

“Nyx?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

Silence. I bit my lip, the metallic taste of fear filling my mouth.

“Nyx! Answer me! This isn’t funny.”

She always answered. Always. Even through the agonizing burn of the wolfsbane, I could always feel her spirit. But now… There was nothing. No growl. No warmth. Just a hollow, aching space where my wolf used to be.

I wasn’t alone in my body, but the presence inside me wasn’t Nyx. It was something else–something that had cost Nathan a price I was terrified to name.

I leaned closer to the mirror, staring into my own eyes. Deep inside my pupils, where Nyx used to live, a tiny golden spark was pulsing.

pm

But tirat wasn’t the worst part. I slowly pulled down the collar of my nightgown. The mark was there. Dark and permanent on my collarbone. Three golden threads. They were twisted together, but one of them snapped. Its jagged end seemed to glow against my skin.

I looked at my fingers. Beneath my skin, something gold was moving. It wasn’t blood. It was life–stolen, liquid ife flowing through my veins. I felt stronger than Lever had, and it made me want to scream.

Suddenly, the air in the room turned to ice.

In the reflection of the mirror, behind me, the shadows stretched. I saw them again. The three gaunt figures with 10 faces. They weren’t just in my head. They were here.

“It is a gift,” the first one hissed, sounding like dry leaves on a grave. “But nothing is free.”

“The Alpha begged for you,” the second added with mocking pity. “The Moon Goddess wanted you to live.”

“But a debt has been offered,” they chanted together. “A life for a life. A soul for a soul.”

I remembered their final command: “You are no longer a girl. You are a debt.”

The shadows in the mirror vanished, leaving me alone in the silent room.

“A life for a life. A soul for a soul.” Their words echoed in the air. The last thing I felt was the sensation of being Iragged upward–fast, violent, and agonizing–before the light finally broke through.

I opened my eyes. I was back in my bedroom.

The lamp cast a warm, soft glow, and the atmosphere had changed. It felt cozy. Safe. I felt like I was finally home. looked toward the window, watching the wind sway the trees outside, but the peace didn’t last.

“Nyx?” I called out, my voice trembling with worry. I closed my eyes and reached out again, searching for that amiliar, furry warmth of my wolf.

“Emily? What is it?” she answered sleepily.

Relief washed over me like a wave. It was just a dream, I thought. A horrible, vivid nightmare. But as the relief

aded, a cold shiver ran down my spine. The memory of the Fates‘ dark smiles felt entirely too real to ignore.

“Nothing. I just had a dream about the Moirai,” I said, trying to shrug it off.

“Emily,” Nyx’s voice was suddenly sharp with fear. “The Moirai don’t just show up in dreams for no reason. What

lid they say?”

“A soul for a soul,” I repeated, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

I stood up and walked back to that same mirror. But this time, it was just me. No shadows, no golden glow–just ny own tired face. I looked at my reflection and whispered the question that terrified me most:

“Whose time am I stealing?”

“What did Nathan do?” Nyx breathed in my mind, her voice trembling.

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