The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189 The Trembling Guardian

Cindy’s POV:

Night fell as we reached a new town and stopped for the night.

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All day long, the atmosphere inside the carriage had been suffocating. Astra remained on high alert the entire time. Even in his sleep, the slightest jolt of the carriage would make him snap awake, his hand clamping tightly around mine.

The carriage came to a stop at the inn entrance.

Prince Adam jumped down from the driver’s seat and walked briskly to the side of the carriage.

He lifted the curtain and extended his broad, powerful hand toward me, wearing the carefully practiced, slightly stiff gentle smile he had been using these past two days.

“Cindy, we’re here. Come down. Watch your step.”

I was just about to place my hand in his.

At that moment, Astra, who had been curled up in the corner, moved.

This time, he didn’t retreat or scream.

Like a small animal driven to the brink, he suddenly burst forth with an astonishing surge of courage.

Using both hands and feet, he scrambled clumsily down from the carriage ahead of me.

Because of his impaired leg, he staggered when he hit the ground and nearly fell, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself upright.

Then, to the stunned gazes of Prince Adam and me, this child, not even tall enough to reach Prince ‘Adam’s thigh and so frail that a gust of wind could knock him over, suddenly flung his arms wide and planted himself squarely between Prince Adam and me.

His back faced me, his front squarely toward Prince Adam, who must have looked like a terrifying giant in his eyes.

He was shaking.

Not just his hands. His legs were trembling violently, an uncontrollable, physical manifestation of extreme

fear.

His teeth chattered audibly in his pale little face, yet he glared fiercely at Prince Adam. From his throat came a whimpering, growling sound, like a wolf cub guarding its food, tinged with sobs.

It was him saying, “Go away. Don’t touch her.”

It was a crippled, undersized, scarred child using every ounce of his life force to protect the only family he had left, trying to keep this strong bully from taking her away.

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Chapter 189 The Trembling Guardian

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Prince Adam’s hand froze in midair. The smile on his face slowly stiffened, then dissolved into a deep, piercing pain.

I froze as well.

This scene struck me like lightning, instantly tearing away the fog in my mind.

I was wrong.

We were all wrong.

Those displays of affection we had staged earlier, those interactions meant to reassure him, were not proof of safety in his eyes at all. They were signs of impending seizure.

Astra had no idea what had happened over the past three years.

In his understanding, James and I were a pair.

And now, this tall man who had appeared out of nowhere was trying to get close to me, to take me away.

And my compliance, my obedience toward him, did it mean I was afraid too?

O

“Astra…” My nose stung, and tears nearly spilled over.

I crouched down behind him and gently wrapped my arms around his small body, which trembled like a

leaf in the wind.

“It’s alright. It’s alright,” I choked into his ear. “It’s not what you think. He’s a good man. Truly.”

Astra still refused to lower his arms. He turned his head to glance at me, his eyes full of anxiety and confusion, as if asking Aunt Cindy, why aren’t you running?

That night.

I didn’t let Astra go to sleep right away.

I asked the inn for the thickest candles they had and lit the room until it was bright as day.

I carried Astra onto the bed and had him sit facing me. In his hands, he clutched the sapphire dagger tightly. It was the only source of security he had left.

“Astra, look at me.”

I took a deep breath, my expression more serious than ever before.

“I’m not treating you like a little child anymore. You are the only male of Silverpeak Pack, the future head wolf of our family. There are things you have the right to know, even if the truth is cruel.”

Astra seemed to sense the shift in mood. He slowly relaxed his defensive posture and fixed his gaze on me.

“The first thing.” I held his icy little hands. “The ones who killed our people were not just bandits. It was a

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