Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 265

265 The Cost of Walking Away 2

Lev’s POV

1

I looked at Arya then because I wanted to and because the night outside made it easy to stare without pretending otherwise. Her hair was a little looser now. The makeup I had ruined and she had repaired before we left Blackbirth still sat soft on her mouth, though not as neat as it had been. Good. I liked

the memory of ruining it too much. She felt my gaze and turned slightly.

“What?” she asked.

“You enjoyed yourself,” I said.

She held my eyes for a second. “At points.”

“Dangerous answer,” Tamara muttered. “He likes you more when you’re a problem.”

Arya actually looked amused by that. “Does he?”

I answered before Tamara could. “Yes.”

That shut Arya up for a moment, and the silence that followed was not empty. It was warm. Dark. The kind that made the inside of the car feel smaller than it was. Her eyes dropped away first, and satisfaction moved low through me before I could stop it. Moon, I was becoming too aware of small things with her. A look. A pause. A caught breath. It had gone far beyond our mate bond, and the worst part was that I knew it. Knew it, and still leaned into it anyway.

Somewhere past the second hour, Milo’s attention sharpened. I noticed because his shoulders changed and because he checked the mirror too often for it to mean nothing. He did not speak at first. He took two turns, then a third, then drove a little longer as though he wanted confirmation before bothering me. I appreciated that. Men who panicked early were useless. Men who noticed and kept their heads were worth keeping.

“What is it?” I asked at last.

Milo kept his eyes on the road. “There’s a car behind us that has stayed too steady through the last

stretch, My Lord.”

Tamara straightened at once. Arya did not move much, but her body changed beside me. Alert. Quiet.

Ready.

“Can you identify it?” I asked.

“No,” Milo said. “Dark. Keeps distance.”

<265 The Cost of Walking Away 2

I looked out the rear side glass and caught only shifting lights behind us. Could have been nothing/

Could have been a curious tail from Briarwood. Could have been a drunk with bad timing Could have

been worse. On a road like that, in the dark, with enough distance between estates and public routes

did not assume harmlessness.

“Keep driving,” I said. “Lose them if you can.”

Milo gave one nod. He took the next turn too smoothly to look suspicious, then another. The car behind stayed with us at first. Not close enough to threaten. Not far enough to be ignored. Arya’s hand

had curled lightly against the seat between us, and for one ugly second I wanted to cover it with mine.

Not because she needed comfort. Because I did. Because it would have grounded me. I did not do it. I

watched the lights instead. After another stretch and two sharper turns, the car behind missed one

split and vanished from our line. Milo kept going without celebration, checked again, then gave a quiet

breath through his nose.

“We lost it,” he said.

Tamara leaned back. “Lovely. Exactly the sort of entertainment every woman wants after dinner.”

“Could have been nothing,” Arya said.

“Yes,” I replied. “Could have been.”

I did not believe in too many coincidences after a night like that. But also did not intend to feed unease unless I had something solid. So I let the matter sit. The road lengthened. The jokes came

back in smaller pieces after that, though never quite as loose as before. The rest of the drive felt long. Five hours in all before the familiar roads around Blackbirth came into reach. By then the night had turned heavy and late, the kind of hour when even old houses looked tired under their lights. Tamara had dozed once and woken again. Arya had gone quiet for the last stretch, not asleep, just still. I knew

she was exhausted. I was too. But the moment the gates of Blackbirth opened and the car rolled through, some part of me eased that had stayed tight the entire way.

We finally got into Blackbirth close to dawn. The house was quieter than usual, most of it still asleep under layers of stone and shadow. Staff stirred as we entered. A few lights had already come on in the older wing. Arya stepped out beside me, and I noticed the tiredness in her then more clearly. Tamara muttered that if anyone tried to speak to her before she had tea and sleep, she would commit a diplomatic incident. Arya smiled faintly at that. I should have taken comfort in the sight. Instead, I found myself scanning the entrance hall, the stairs, the corridor mouths, every servant’s face, because the habit of suspicion had already set in too deeply tonight.

Tamara was the first to head to her room. She did so with a dramatic groan about her feet and a promise to see Arya after she had slept for at least a week. Arya and I lingered a second longer in the corridor outside my room. The cream dress still looked unfair on her despite the long drive and the late hour.

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<265 The Cost of Walking Away 2

“You should rest,” I said.

Her eyes searched my face briefly. “You too.”

We had barely stepped fully into my room when the door flew open so hard it hit the wall. I turned and

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