Reclaiming My Broken Luna (Astrid and Killian) novel Chapter 322

Astrid’s POV

I tried to keep my face steady, but her words struck a chord deep inside me. She did know something.

Something about the changes I had felt, the darkness I had sensed lurking within me.

The poison. It had been her weapon, and now, I realized it was more than just a means to kill me. She knows something else, something even I hadn’t understood.

“You’re lying,” I hissed, my voice shaking with anger, but also with doubt.

Her grin widened. “Oh, am I? Why do you think the poison didn’t kill you? It wasn’t meant to. It was meant to awaken something… darker. Something you won’t be able to control. You’re a monster, Astrid, and soon enough, everyone you love will see it too.”

I shook my head, refusing to believe her. She was trying to manipulate me, to twist my mind just as she always had.

“Shut up,” I whispered, but my voice wavered.

“You feel it, don’t you?” she pressed, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. “The power inside you, the anger. It’s only a matter of time before you lose control completely. You’ll never be free of it. Never.”

I stepped back, shaking my head. “You’re trying to manipulate me, Giselle. It won’t work.”

She laughed again, the sound harsh and grating. “You don’t believe me? If you want proof, go to my room. There’s a book there, that will explain what kind of monster you are. Read it. Then you’ll see what you really are. What you’ll become.”

Her words slithered into my mind, planting seeds of doubt, and I hated that part of me did believe her.

That part of me was afraid of what was happening inside me. I clenched my fists, refusing to let her see the fear she was feeding.

“You’re a liar,” I said, my voice rising in anger. “You’ve always been a liar.”

She didn’t respond, only smiled that sickening smile, as if she had already won.

Her gaze burned into mine, mocking me, taunting me, as if she knew her words would haunt me long after she was gone.

I turned away, my heart pounding in my chest. “Guards!” I called out, my voice firm and steady, though inside I was anything but.

The door creaked open, and two guards stepped inside the dungeon. “Take her.”

Giselle’s expression shifted in an instant, twisting into desperation as the guards approached her cell.

She fought against them, her eyes wild, her voice rising in a shriek that sent chills down my spine.

“You’ll never be free, Astrid!” she screamed, her voice echoing down the dark corridor. “You’re a monster! You’ll never be happy!”

Her words clawed at me, wrapping themselves around my mind like a tightening noose.

I turned my back on her, telling myself that she was lying, that she was trying to manipulate me one last time.

But even as I tried to block her out, her voice followed me like a curse, haunting my mind

I didn’t want to believe her. I couldn’t believe her. She’s nothing but a liar.

But the fear — the fear that she might be right — had already planted itself deep inside me, taking root.

And no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I couldn’t shake it.

Still, instead of pressing me, he sighed softly and nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly, though his voice was filled with the weight of everything unspoken. “But I’m here, Astrid. Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.”

His words should have comforted me, but all I felt was the distance growing between us.

I hated it — hated that I was pulling away from him. But how could I explain what was happening inside me when I barely understood it myself?

Besides I’m not even sure if Giselle was telling the truth.

I forced myself to meet his gaze, though I felt detached, like I was watching everything from somewhere far away.

“I… I have to do something,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I need to take care of something.”

Killian frowned, concern deepening in his eyes, but he didn’t stop me. He just nodded again, his grip on my hand loosening.

“I’ll be here,” he repeated, his voice gentle. “Whenever you’re ready.”

I nodded, though I couldn’t meet his eyes again. With that, I turned and walked away, leaving him standing in the dim light of the dungeon, his gaze burning into my back.

The farther I walked, the heavier the weight in my chest became. Giselle’s words echoed in my mind, taunting me, haunting me.

“You’ll never be free, Astrid… You’ll never be happy.”

I told myself it was a lie, that she was only trying to manipulate me one last time. But as I stepped outside, my mind kept wandering back to the book she was talking about.

The book that will make me understand what I was.