When The Luna Broke Her Chains novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88 Tolerated At Best

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The Old Alchemist Tower is a long, winding tower that rises from the ground as a dull grey stone structure. It boasts cracks, chipped paint, and creaking stairs draped in cobwebs. At least the hallways are something to be looked at, but they appear to have been cleaned in a rush. It’s evident that this tower has remained uninhabited for decades.

I nearly let out a cough from all the dust swirling in the air, then wince when my hastily wrapped, wounded palm touches my mouth.

“That one, Luna,” the omega maid points at an unremarkable, narrow entrance to the quarters.

I step inside with Astrid behind me–watching as a helper drags my trunk across the floor with a dull scrape that grates on my already sour temper.

So this is it. I’m back where I started. Back where I am tolerated at best–and despised at worst -to live with the people who call themselves my family.

I don’t say a word as I take in the common room of the chamber.

It’s larger than I hoped, but not grand or warm, sporting very little furniture or tapestries and other pieces. Nothing like the Prince’s tower. The naked stone walls feel like they’re leaning into me, and the air is thick with some odor.

This is where I belong.

Oriel is the first to notice me.

She’s lounging in a carved wooden chair near the window, a small mirror in hand, tilting her face toward the light as she admires herself. The moment her gaze lifts and lands on me, she freezes.

Her eyes flick to the trunk, to Astrid behind me, and finally back to me before understanding dawns. For a brief second, irritation flashes across her face. But it melts just as quickly, replaced by something far more satisfying to her: delight.

“Well,” she says slowly, lowering the mirror. “Look who’s back.”

Lady Mara turns at that, her gaze sweeping over me with quiet calculation. She steps closer, her smile thin and knowing. “Didn’t I tell you?” she murmurs, leaning in just enough for only me to hear. “Not to get comfortable. Special treatment fades quickly… and it takes mere seconds to lose favor. Even that of a Prince. Poor you, Xena. How heartbreaking this must be.”

The words land exactly where she intends them to, but I keep my face blank.

The silence stretches, making Oriel frown. Lady Mara straightens, studying me more carefully

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Chapter 88 Tolerated At Best

now. They expected something: a protest, a denial, maybe even a plea.

I give them none. I am too tired, too angry, and too hollow to play their games. If they decide to kick me out of here, all the better. I’ll live in the maid’s quarters. Anything–even the bare ground–will be better than being around them.

The helper finishes placing my trunk and leaves quickly, as if eager to escape the tension hanging thick in the room.

Oriel walks to me, hips swaying, before she stops where the trunk is. She eyes it with hunger. “Does this mean I get to have all the beautiful clothes I heard the Princess gave you? You’d give them to me, won’t you, sweet Xena? We’re sisters, after all. And besides, what do you need them for now? The Prince has cast you aside. Now all of us–who truly are deserving of his attention -can get it.”

Lady Mara smirks cruelly. “You can have all of them, Oriel. They lose worth every moment that they remain in her possession.”

My jaw clenches, my fists closing despite the pain that shoots up my arm.

I should’ve burned the clothes. I’d rather they be all destroyed than have Oriel take them from

1. me.

Oriel bends, reaching for the latch on the trunk as her lips widen into an evil smile. But the moment her fingers touch the surface, she draws her hand back with a jolt and a hiss from her lips.

Lady Mara’s brows furrow. “What happened?” she asks.

Oriel swallows, glancing at her mother before her confused gaze flicks to me. She opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off when another voice comes from behind us.

“Well, this is unexpected.”

It’s Cassian. He sounds smug and so insufferable that I have to hold myself from physically reacting to him.

I don’t turn–I don’t even want to look at him.

Cassian approaches and stands right in front of me, tall in all his familiar arrogance. “So,” he

with a laugh, arms wide open as if in welcome, “you’re back!”

says

Still, I say nothing.

His gaze sharpens, a dramatic frown drawing up his face. “What happened?” he continues lightly. “Couldn’t bear to stay there alone? Or…” He lowers his head, fixing me with his humiliating gaze. “You didn’t think to ask the Prince to extend that generosity to the rest of us?”

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Chapter 88 Tolerated At Best

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I exhale, digging my fingers into my palms until the gash is bleeding again.

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“I suppose you were too proud for that,” he adds with a tilt of his head. “Thought your life had changed, didn’t you?”

I hate that it hits me straight in the heart like a dagger does, because for a moment, I had believed that. That something had shifted and that I had stepped into something… different.

Better.

Fool. Of course, it wasn’t permanent. Why would it be?

Knox was grateful. Curious. Nothing more. I was only a question. An answer he hasn’t found yet.

I swallow hard and keep my gaze fixed ahead, away from his face. Cassian watches me for a beat longer, waiting. When I don’t rise to it, his expression darkens slightly, and he finally says, “Don’t ever forget again what you are, Xena. And where you belong.”

Oriel clicks her tongue softly, rising from behind him. “Come,” she says, already turning away. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

She leads me down a narrow corridor, the light dimmer here, the air cooler. We stop at a small space tucked at the far end. She pushes the door open. “This is yours.”

I step inside.

It’s small. Much smaller than the chamber I just left, with a narrow bed and a single chair, something resembling a shelf built into the stone wall behind it.

It almost looks like it used to be something else.

A storage space. A forgotten corner. A place not meant for someone to stay. Perfect.

Oriel leans against the doorway. “Try not to make a mess of it,” she says lightly. Turning over to Astrid, she tells her, “And you shall stay with the other servants and maids in the common bedchamber. Let me take you there. I don’t recall anyone assigning you as Xena’s personal handmaid.”

Astrid tries to protest. “I’m her healer-”

“-you’re the Pack’s healer! Our healer,” Oriel corrects her sharply. “And on that note, I just remembered, I have this gnarly burn on my fingers from touching her trunk. Goddess knows what awful things I could acquire from it. Give me something for it.”

Astrid exhales, exhausted. “As you wish, my lady,” she mutters and follows Oriel out of the small room, leaving me alone.

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Chapter 88 Tolerated At Best

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I slump against the bed and lean my head back, letting a small tear trail down my cheek as the thought of running away from Aurelune takes root.

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