The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Ellie POV

The cafeteria was too loud for what we were doing.

Trays clattered. Chairs scraped. Laughter burst and faded in uneven waves, the normal chaos of lunchtime pressing in from all sides. And yet, sitting across from Abigail, it felt like we were alone inside a glass box, everything else muffled and distant.

She barley agreed to meet me here. She hadn’t taken a single bite of her burger.

She just poked at it, over and over, thumb smearing ketchup into the bun, eyes fixed anywhere but my face. Every time I shifted, her shoulders tightened like she was bracing for impact.

I watched her for a long moment before speaking.

“Thank you for coming.”

She eyes me, glancing me over. “You sound like your about to make a speech.”

I sighed, unsure where to start.

“What did you mean earlier,” I asked finally, carefully, “when you said we shouldn’t be talking?”

Her hand stilled on the burger.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze, just enough to meet mine for half a second before it dropped again.

“Right to the point, huh?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Cryptic wording will do that to you.”

“I really shouldn’t say anything,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but firm.

“That’s not an answer,” I said, my tone sharpening despite myself. “Abigail, whatever this is, it’s important. For us both.”

She pushed her tray away and stood abruptly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even sat with you.”

I moved before I thought better of it, stepping into her path and blocking her escape.

“Don’t,” I warned, low. “I know something is up. So I need you to tell me, or I WILL find out.”

Her breath hitched. For a moment, I thought she might bolt anyway. Then her shoulders sagged, all the fight draining out of her like a cord had been cut.

“You wouldn’t believe me,” she said softly. “Even if I told you.”

“Try,” I said, meeting her eyes, searching.

We stood there, the noise of the cafeteria rushing back in around us, before she finally sank back into her seat. She stared down at the table like it might swallow her whole.

“I used to know you,” she said at last.

+25 Bonus

My heart skipped.

“In another life.”

The world tilted.

I didn’t speak. I didn’t blink. I barely breathed.

“You were… different though,” Abigail continued, words careful, fragile. “You were obsessed with Dominic. Everything revolved around him, your future, your choices, and the way you carried yourself. I was your handmaid. Your confidant. You told me everything. We met when you were older though…but your different here so…maybe it’s okay I tell you.

My fingers curled into fists beneath the table. Everything clicking into place.

“And then,” she whispered, “one day you were stabbed. Wolfsbane. Right here.” She touched her own abdomen, trembling. “You died in my arms.”

The cafeteria disappeared.

I could see it too vividly. The pain. The cold. The blood soaking into stone. Her face coming back to me.

“When you died,” Abigail said, tears gathering in her eyes, “everything went black for me too. And then I woke up. Younger. Back here. Like it never happened. And you were alive.”

Silence swallowed us.

I stared at her, mind roaring, chest tight, every instinct screaming this is impossible-and yet nothing in me rejected it. Because the same thing had happened to me.

Abigail shook her head, misreading my stillness. “See? I told you. I shouldn’t have said anything. We weren’t supposed to meet until-”

“Until my marriage to Dominic,” I said quietly, the words slipping out like a confession, “a year after your graduation.”

Her head snapped up.

Her eyes went wide.

“You-” Her voice broke. “You remember?”

I nodded once.

す

୮

The look on her face shattered into something raw and disbelieving, and for a moment neither of us spoke, shock crackling between us like static.

“So…” she whispered, voice trembling now, “you know about-”

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