When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 63

Chapter 63 Held Closer

[KNOX]

Astrid doesn’t argue.

As she shifts and vanishes into the rain–soaked forest, I close my eyes.

Finished

Just for a second. Just long enough to picture the looming white mass of Aurelune, carved stone and banners and walls thick with watchers. It takes effort–far more than it should because I’m distracted–because Xena is breathing softly against my neck, warm and real and terrifyingly

fragile.

Don’t die like this, I think. Not in my arms.

es suddenly. Pressure floods my ears. The world tilts, folds in on itself. My the ground before replaces distance.

eyes at the palace gat

is still in my arms.

ver is there, waiting. His down my neck. It always

I don’t bother wiping

“She’s alive,” I say

Iver nods one collar, brust

Goddess

Peon

my ear, and I know why. Blood trails warm and sticky en I travel like that. A price. One I rarely pay.

elf than to him.

tep beside me as I move. Xena’s fingers tighten faintly in my

e of my neck in a small, barely conscious reassurance.

don’t know what I’ll do if she dies like this.

ugh the courtyard. Courtiers. Guards. Servants. More than a few will er with this–me carrying a woman through the palace. A married nched in-

The sky above Aurelune is clear–not a cloud in sight.

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Chapter 63 Held Closer

Finish

My breath stutters as understanding slams into me. The storm in the forest wasn’t natural. It was me. I lost control of my power and caused a fucking storm because I was overwhelmed.

The realization makes my grip tighten around Xena as I take the stairs up the Prince’s tower, two at a time. Water beads along her lashes, trickling down her cheek. Her lips are parted. Her brow is creased.

“Are you in pain?” I mutter, even as I know she can’t answer. “Fetch Seraphel,” I bark over my shoulder. “Now.”

Iver doesn’t question it. He peels off at once.

Gu

I pass. I don’t slow down. I kick open the door to her chamber and carry her bed, lowering her caref

I wipe the blood fro

o pull my arm out

she’ll shatter if I’m not gentle enough.

ring it against my robe without thinking. shoulders, she shifts–leans into me, eyes stil

he whispers, barel

eeze.

gave me. I–I’m scared.”

he doesn’t mean me- ecifically. She just wants

know she isn

someone. A

Still.

I lea

“I

how close we alread

I murmur.

accord, brushi

led, repeated‘

in me L

her face. She has no wolf. She is a meant to protect her.

kes me fiercely want to protect her.

of Frostfang. My future sister–in–law.

thless. Iver follows, hands clasped behind his back.

Chapter 63 Held Closer

Seraphel ignores the jab, eyes already on the bed. “What happened, Your Highness?”

Before I can answer, another presence slips in behind them.

Davina.

I bite back a curse.

She offers a small, polite smile. I don’t return it.

“Look at her shoulder,” I tell Seraphel instead. “She was attacked.”

Seraphel moves closer, crouching beside the bed. She swallows when she sees how her dress is cut at the neck and sleeves, leaving it somewhat revealing. She pulls a blanket up to quickly cover Xena’s chest as she examines the wound.

“It looks healed,” she murmurs, fingers tracing the jagged black scar. “How can she heal? She has no wolf, right?”

I drag a hand through my hair. “I healed her.”

Her head snaps up. “You healed her?”

“I did.”

“You can’t.”

I shrug, exhausted. “Apparently, I can.”

Seraphel hums, distracted, returning her attention to the scar. “I don’t think you’re very good at it.”

A hollow laugh bursts out of me, sharp and ugly. “I did it right the first time, Sera. Her skin was smooth. This time–a shadow attacked her. Are you listening to me? It stabbed her. Her blood was black.”

She straightens slowly, looking strangely too calm.

“I understand, Prince Knox,” she says. “I’ll have the healers draw her blood. Determine what went wrong. She appears stable now. Exhausted, perhaps. She’ll wake.” She glances at Xena’s soaked clothes. “Someone will need to change her.”

“I can do that,” Davina says smoothly, stepping forward. “She’s my sister.”

Teo snarls in my head, low and immediate, expressing disapproval.

“No,” I say flatly, not wasting time in analysing why my wolf could be rejecting this. “Let the

10.47 г, Apr 0

Chapter 63 Held Closer

healer do it.”

I don’t fail to notice how Davina stills–how she holds her breath.

“Her healer,” I add, meeting Seraphel’s gaze.

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