When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102 Four Sweets And No Hunger

[XENA]

By the time I reach the hall, the trial has already begun.

It’s happening at the same place where the names of the candidates were announced, and it’s crowded, loud. full of movement, and attention. Just outside, in the adjacent courtyard, the feast area stretches wide. Long tables are arranged in careful lines, covered with more food than anyone could reasonably need, plates set out, bowls stacked, servants moving between them with backs straight and sure steps.

There are still people here, though not as many. I slow my steps as I take them in, recognizing them almost immediately for what they are–nobles, councilmen, and their wives, extended members of the royal family who are too bored to watch the candidates prove they’re better than the others. Their clothes are finer, structured, beautiful—even their mannerisms.

They belong here. I don’t.

The thought settles without resistance, because it’s true. I’m still wearing the same clothes I had on before- plain, worn, nothing like the silks and bright fabrics Princess Aria had once given me. Those are gone now. Taken, claimed by Oriel.

I stand out. I know I do. Still, when I move forward, no one stops me.

The guards stationed at the entrance glance at me, and the servants carrying trays and refilling bowls look at me too, but none of them says anything. None of them steps in my way. So I keep walking, my steps steady even though I can feel the weight of their attention trailing behind me, and weakness trying to take me down.

The closer I get to the tables, the stronger the smell becomes–delicious, warm, overwhelming enough to make my stomach twist sharply in response. It growls, loud enough that I press my lips together in irritation, glancing down at it, like that might quiet it.

Even though I’m hungry–painfully so–the idea of eating this food turns my stomach in a completely different way. It feels wrong, like accepting something I don’t want to owe anyone for. So I ignore it.

Instead, I scan the table more carefully, searching for something else, something familiar, until I find it.

Small, round sweets. Pale, and soft–looking–the kind made from milk, and shaped carefully by hand. They remind me instantly of what I used to make back in Frostfang, on days that were supposed to mean something–if only to me.

My fingers hover over them for a second before I reach for one of the bowls, made from dried leaves, simple and light, stacked at the edge of the table. I pick one up, turning it slightly in my hand as I realize what it is meant for–serving the families, the guests who are not important enough for fine plates.

I place four of the sweets into the bowl carefully, arranging them without thinking, and then I turn, trying to walk away normally, not to look like I’m doing anything that might be questioned. My grip tightens slightly around the bowl as I step back.

Iver is

dnding right in front of me. I nearly crash into him, but stop myself and stumble back instead. barely holding onto the bowl. His gaze drops briefly to my hands, to the sweets I am holding, and for a second, I think he’ll say something about it, but he looks back up at me almost immediately, like he has

14:46 Wed, Apr 29 MM

Chapter 102 Four Sweets And No Hunger

chosen not to.

“I didn’t see you inside, Luna Xena,” he says lightly. “When did you come?”

Finished

I blink, forcing myself to respond. “I was there,” I say breathlessly. “I was sitting inside. I just… came out. I felt faint.”

He studies me for a moment before he nods. “Alright.” His eyes flick to the bowl again, just for a second, and I know he’s wondering. Why I’m not eating. Why I’m taking this. Where I’m going. But he doesn’t ask. Instead, he says, “Have you changed your

minde

My fingers tighten slightly. “About what?”

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