Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 273

273 Or Else What? 2

James’ POVO

The words felt ugly in my mouth because they should have come much earlier. Much earlier. I should have seen him sooner. I should have listened to my instincts sooner. I should have listened to Arya sooner. But there was no point pretending anymore. Better late truth than another day of polished lies. Better rage than another week of kneeling to a man who fed on fear.

Marcel stepped closer.

“You should be very careful what you say next,” Marcel said.

I looked at him and saw nothing but bluff wrapped in pride.

Or maybe not only bluff. Men like him were still dangerous. The kind of dangerous that did not always come with claws and fists. Influence. Connections. Smearing. Stirring. Whispering in the right ears. I knew that. I was not stupid enough to forget it. But I was no longer stupid enough to panic just

because he raised his voice either.

“You promised me something,” Marcel said. “Do not think I have forgotten.”

I kept looking at him.

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“If you do not withdraw your partnership with Maxwell,” he said, “if you do not make my daughter the true Luna of Nightwind, I will make good on that promise.”

Leah looked at him quickly then. Maybe she had not heard that tone from him before. Maybe she had and just never been on the wrong side of it. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he finally sounded like what he was. Not a helper. Not an ally. Not a concerned elder. A man making a threat.

He lifted his chin.

“You should remember,” Marcel said, “that I still have the ear of Radimir.”

I laughed right there. That one I could not help. Because it was pathetic. It was pathetic and desperate and too late. Marcel stared at me. I was still smiling when I answered him, but there was nothing nice

in it.

“You’re bluffing,” I said.

His face changed.

Good.

“No,” Marcel said. “Do not be foolish.”

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“Radimir is not the one calling the shots anymore,” I said. “Lev is.”

He went still. Yes. There it was.

(Cat 10:

1

That was what he did not want spoken aloud. That was the shift he could not control. That was the

truth that had already started eating through his power and he knew it. Radimir might still have his title

and his place and his old man arrogance, but Lev was the one moving the room now. Lev was the one people were beginning to watch. Lev was the one whose word mattered more than Marcel wanted it

1. And the worst part for Marcel? Lev hated his guts. Moon, Lev had more reason than most to

despise him, and Arya and Maxwell were both in his ear too. Arya, whom Marcel wronged. Maxwell

whom Marcel tried to outplay. None of that helped him. Not anymore.

“The last time I checked,” I said, “Lev hated your guts.”

Marcel looked furious.

I stepped closer.

“And Arya has his ear,” I said. “Maxwell too. Two people you wronged badly. So no, Marcel, you can’t threaten me with Radimir like it still means what it used to.”

Leah looked from him to me, and I saw something else on her face now. Fear. Proper fear. Not of me. Of the truth of where her father stood. Of the fact that maybe the ground really had shifted and she had been standing on promises that no longer meant anything. Good. Let her feel it. Let her finally understand that this whole thing was never stable. Never solid. Never built on love or protection. It was built on pressure and greed and lies.

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