When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 69

When The Luna Broke Her Chains

Finished

Chapter 69 Jealousy, Fear, And Punishment

[XENA]

I wake by blinking.

At first, there is only softness beneath me and a dull stiffness in my limbs, like my body has forgotten how it is supposed to rest. Then the pressure registers–deep and persistent in my shoulder, as if someone is pushing something down from the inside.

I blink again and breathe out quietly. With that breath, the forest crashes back into me.

The shadow. The way it reached. The certainty–absolute and bone–deep–that I was about to die.

I thought I was dead. I remember thinking that very clearly. Or maybe I was only a breath away from it. I remember how slow I was, how my hand went to the dagger too late because my mind couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. It wasn’t supposed to exist, but it did, and it killed Morrin, and now it was coming for me. It missed my heart only because I twisted at the last moment. I know that now. It was aiming there.

It pierced my shoulder instead.

band slowly, hesitating before I touch myself, afraid of what I might feel under my fingers. My

m but sealed–not smooth, however.

1. me.

memory settles carefully into place.

ox was there. He brought me back to the palace. He saved me again. I am in his debt.

move when I realize I’m not alone. Astrid is sitting near the door, perched on the table with her legs

her head bent over a familiar book. My book. The severance book.

Goddess.

I’ve been careless. In that quiet, dingy corner of the old quarters, no one ever looked twice. Here, in the Prince’s tower, everything feels exposed.

I close my eyes and remember again. Knox was here. He stayed because I told him I was afraid.

I remember it now, hazy but unmistakable. I remember hearing voices. Feeling hands. Wanting to speak and being unable to–not because I was weak, but because something held me still, like my body had decided before my mind could argue.

I remember him refusing Davina’s help. Why? The question presses at me, uncomfortable and insistent.

Astrid stirs. She must hear the change in my breathing because she looks up sharply, eyes widening as she hops down.

“You’re awake,” she says, relief breaking across her face. “Thank the Goddess. I should tell the prince.”

12:43 pm PPM.

Chapter 69 Jealousy, Fear, And Punishment

“Wait,” I say quickly, my voice hoarse.

She pauses, confused. “Why?”

“He-“I stop myself. “Why does he need to know right away?”

Astrid frowns. “He wanted to know. He’s been worried.”

I turn my head away, pressing my lips together. A moment later, I hear her footsteps retreating.

Knox held me.

The realization returns his breath, the warn why did I feel Ver

Finished

more clarity now. He carried me. I was close to his face. Close enough to feel

How did he know? How did he know where I was, that I was in danger? And

The ques until

than the wound ever could. My thoughts tangle, pulling at one another

hout warning, a sharp inhale that breaks into a sob before I can stop it.

per to myself. “I’m pathetic. I can never protect myself. I keep getting hurt. I’m so hes with it. Everything aches.

ashes in my mind, cold and certain. Every wrong turn in my life seems to trace back to her ear, punishment for something that never existed in the first place.

Knox wants her. But he also wants to protect me.

day, he’ll have to choose.

The thought makes me flinch.

What am I thinking? I have no right nothing I can say that will change

Astrid returns quickly and

“Hey,” she says softl

Do you want to

I nod, still

ose. He’s a prince. He will do as he pleases. There is

ll be his wife. He wants her. Everyone wants her.

eside the bed when she sees my face.

‘t cry. You’re fine.” She hesitates. “The prince is on his way.

sist, pushing myself up. “I’m not weak.”

rgue. “I don’t know what happened out there,” she murmurs. “But it hank the Goddess Prince Knox was there.”

the shadow. With the dagger. And with–no. That doesn’t make sense. wolf’s power. That’s impossible.

12:43 pm PPM.

Chapter 69 Jealousy, Fear, And Punishment

Finished

The doors swing open, and the air charges instantly. Knox steps inside, marching stiffly and still looking comfortable. My gaze drops at once to the wolf pup in his arms.

“Vera,” I whisper.

He comes to the bed and gently places her in my lap. She settles immediately, warm and heavy, her golden eyes watching me with unsettling awareness. My hands move on instinct, petting her, grounding myself in the feel of fur beneath my fingers.

Iver enters behind him and stops near the wall, hands clasped behind his back.

The silence stretches, awkward and heavy.

Knox breaks it. “How are you?” He pauses, studying my face. “Were you crying?”

I look up at him. “No,” I lie, even as tears dry on my cheeks. “I’m fine, Your Highness. Thank you for saving my life.”

He pauses, giving me a pointed look. “I told you to call me by my name.”

I hesitate, my gaze flicking to Astrid, who looks openly stunned.

Knox follows my gaze. “Leave us,” he declares. “Both of you.”

Astrid bows quickly and leaves, but she looks back once, and that look–she will spill this to others. Iver marches out silently.

Knox drags a wooden chair closer and sits beside the bed, watching me.

For a moment, neither of us speaks. I hold his gaze until my throat tightens and I look away, afraid I’ll cry again.

“I don’t know what that was in the forest,” he says finally. “But I think you do. If you’re ready to talk about it, I’d like to know,”

I cut him off, the words spilling out before I can stop them. “How did you know I was in trouble?” I ask. “And why do you care enough to heal me? You didn’t even know you could heal, and when you did it for the first time, it was on me. Why did you stay when I asked you to? You could’ve left.”

My voice shakes as the questions pile up. I look at him, heart pounding.

“Why didn’t you?”

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