The Rise Of The Betrayed Luna (Amorah and Holmes) novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53

AMORAH

I moved through the chamber without slowing, my attention fixed on anything that could tell me where they had gone next. The space was uneven, the ground marked by movement that had not been clean, and every step I took made it clearer that this had not ended here. I ignored the wider structure of the room and focused only on what mattered.

There were signs everywhere once I looked closely. Not just the marks of footsteps, but signs of force, of resistance that had broken whatever plan had been set in place.

“They didn’t move through this cleanly,” I said.

“No,” Conrad answered from behind me.

I moved toward the far side of the chamber, where the signs were more concentrated. The air felt heavier there, not because of the space, but because of what had happened.

That was when I saw it.

A piece of cloth.

It was caught against a rough edge of the wall, small enough to miss if I had not been looking for something out of place. I stepped closer and reached for it, pulling it free.

It was stained.

Fresh.

My grip tightened around it.

For a brief moment, everything else in the room faded. Not because I lost focus, but because this changed everything.

“Conrad,” I said.

He moved closer immediately, his attention shifting to what I held. He did not take it from me. He leaned slightly, enough to confirm what I already knew.

“It’s theirs,” he said.

I nodded. My chest tightened, but I did not let it stop me.

“They were hurt,” I said.

“Yes.”

I exhaled slowly, forcing my thoughts forward.

“Not severely,” he added.

I looked at him,

“You’re sure,” I asked.

“The scent is not heavy enough,” he replied.

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that was something

I folded the cloth in my hand, holding onto it as I stood.

“This isn’t about the council anymore,” I said.

“No,” Conrad answered.

“It stopped being that the moment they were taken.”

“Yes.”

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I turned, my attention moving across the chamber again, but now everything felt different. This was no longer about exposing Bethany or breaking her position.

This was about getting them back.

“She planned for this,” I said.

“Yes.”

“She planned for the rite to fail.”

“Yes.”

“And she still moved forward.”

“Yes.”

I nodded once.

That meant she had something beyond the rite,

Something that did not rely on it completing in front of witnesses.

“We’re not leaving this empty,” I said.

Conrad did not argue.

“We won’t,” he replied.

Behind us, one of his wolves called out.

“Alpha.”

The tone was enough to pull my attention immediately.

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I turned as two of Conrad’s wolves entered the chamber from the passage we had not taken. They were dragging someone between them, holding him firmly as he struggled against their grip.

“He tried to run,” one of them said.

The man fought, but not with the kind of force that came from confidence. His movements were uneven, driven by fear more than strength.

“Bring him here,” Conrad said.

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they dul

The man was forced forward, pushed down to his knees in the center of the chamber. His breathing was fast, his eyes moving quickly as he tried to take in everything around him.

He tried to pull back, but the wolves holding him did not allow it.

“You know me,” I said.

He swallowed hard.

“Yes,” he replied.

That confirmed it. He was not just a runner. He was connected to what had happened here.

“Where are they,” I asked.

“I don’t-”

He stopped.

Not because he chose to. Because Conrad stepped forward. The change in the air was immediate.

“You will answer,” Conrad said.

The man’s resistance broke almost instantly.

“They were taken through the lower route,” he said quickly.

“We already know that,” I replied. “Where does it lead?”

He hesitated for a fraction of a second.

“That depends,” he said.

I stepped closer.

“On what.”

“On who follows,” he answered.

That answer settled heavily.

“This wasn’t just a path,” I said.

“No,” he admitted.

“It was set up.”

“Yes.”

I looked at Conrad briefly, then back at the man.

“What was the next point,” I asked.

“They don’t stop here,” he said. “This is just a transfer point.”

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Chapter 53

fo where I pressed.

He shook his head slightly.

“I don’t know the exact location,” he said. “Only that it goes deeper.”

“That’s not enough,” I replied.

“It’s all I was given,” he said quickly.

I watched him for a moment, measuring the truth in his reaction.

He was afraid. Not just of us. Of something else.

“Who gave the orders,” I asked.

He hesitated again.

“Bethany,” he said.

“That’s not enough,” I replied.

“There were others,” he added quickly. “But she was the one directing everything.”

That matched what we had already seen.

“She planned this before the rite,” I said.

“Yes.”

“Then the rite was never the goal.”

“No.”

I felt the shift settle again. The full shape of it.

“She used it as a distraction,” I said.

“Yes.”

Conrad stepped closer.

“What is waiting ahead,” he asked.

The man shook his head again.

“I don’t know everything,” he said. “I was only meant to guide the movement to this point.”

“That’s not useful,” Conrad said.

“There’s more,” the man added quickly.

I narrowed my attention on him.

“Say it.”

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Chapter 53

He swallowed again, his breathing uneven.

“She didn’t take them to hide them,” he said.