Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 330

Chapter 330

LUMINA

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I was halfway up the stairs, carrying a plate of sliced apples and oranges, when I heard something that made me freeze mid-step.

Laughter. Real, genuine, childish laughter echoing from the boys’ room-and it was coming from Riley.

Not the polite, controlled sound he sometimes made when Ollie said something funny. Not the brief exhale that passed for

amusement in his carefully blank expression. This was full, unrestrained laughter. The kind of sound I’d been wondering if Riley even

remembered how to make.

I climbed the remaining stairs quickly, curious about what could possibly have broken through Riley’s emotional walls so completely.

The door to the boys’ room was partially open, and what I saw through the gap made me stop in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt.

Lake and Riley were wrestling on the floor between the beds, a tangle of limbs and undignified scrambling that looked more like

puppies playing than the coordinated movements of enhanced children who’d been trained to fight. Lake had his hand clamped over

Riley’s mouth-or was trying to, anyway-while Riley twisted and squirmed, still laughing so hard his whole body shook.

“Don’t you dare,” Lake was saying, his own voice pitched higher with barely suppressed laughter. “Riley, I’m serious, don’t-”

Riley managed to wrench Lake’s hand away from his mouth just long enough to shout, “And then the nightwalker was just falling and

falling and-” before Lake tackled him again, sending them both rolling across the carpet.

Ollie sat cross-legged on his bed, watching the chaos with delighted fascination. His own giggles punctuated the scene, and I could

see him practically vibrating with the kind of joy that only came from being included in something special.

“Tell me more!” Ollie demanded, bouncing on the mattress. “What happened to the nightwalker? Did it get dizzy? Did it throw up?”

“It’s not-stop laughing-it’s not funny,” Lake protested, but he was grinning now too, that rare, genuine smile that transformed his

usually serious face into something that actually looked five years old. “I could have gotten in so much trouble if Andy found out.”

“But she didn’t find out,” Riley managed between gasps of laughter, finally escaping Lake’s grip and sprawling on his back, still

grinning at the ceiling. “Because the nightwalker was too embarrassed to tell anyone what happened.”

I knocked softly on the doorframe, not wanting to startle them but also not wanting to lurk creepily in the hallway. All three boys looked up, and I saw the moment they registered my presence. Lake’s expression immediately shuttered, embarrassment flooding his features. Riley’s laughter cut off like someone had flipped a switch, his face smoothing back toward that neutral mask.

But the joy didn’t completely disappear this time. It lingered around the edges, in the flush of Riley’s cheeks and the brightness of

Lake’s eyes.

“I brought snacks,” I said, holding up the plate like a peace offering. “Thought you might need brain fuel for all that documentation

work you’re supposed to be doing.”

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Chapter 330

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“We were just taking a break,” Lake said quickly, scrambling to his feet and trying to look responsible. “We’ve already written down a

lot of information about nightwalker behaviors and-”

“And then Riley started telling stories about the funny stuff that happened,” Ollie interrupted gleefully. “Lake did something really

cool with his portals once! You have to hear about it!”

Lake shot Riley a betrayed look. Riley, still lying on the floor, just shrugged with an unrepentant smile that was the most emotion I’d

seen from him since we’d brought him home.

I stepped into the room and set the fruit plate on the desk, then settled myself on the edge of Ollie’s bed. “Well, now I’m curious.

What did Lake do with his portals?”

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12:57 Thu, Jan 29 M.

Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart