The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Savannah tried to resist as they cuffed her wrists, not wishing to make things easy for the bears.

“Feisty!” One of the warriors chuckled as he managed to wrap the chains around her waist too. Silver usually did not have much effect on her, but today… today was a different day. And it seemed like there was no end to it.

She tried to break the chains just like back then, with Kai… but found it impossible now. One of the warriors pushed her, and she almost fell to the ground, but Bjorn caught her at the last moment, growling at his men.

“Careful! I need her in one piece!”

She gave him a withering glare. A promise that the second she regained her strength, she would end his life just like she had her mate’s. However, he only chuckled at that, confident as ever. His mood was getting better and better after he slaughtered everyone she cared about.

Brigit stood not far away from them with her hands crossed over her chest, watching the show and frowning. She wasn’t pleased with it, but she wasn’t exactly doing anything to help the Princess either.

Bjorn turned to give her a stern glance, “Make sure she looks presentable when we arrive. And take care of the twins. The cameras must be working at all times.”

Savannah looked around and found Chloe and Claude not far from them. The siblings were paler than usual, with their clothes and hair dishevelled. That sparkle they always had about themselves was gone entirely as they were cornered into submission. Their cameraman was right next to them, and the trio were surrounded by a group of fierce-looking warriors, ready to end them after one wrong move. Only Petra was still nowhere to be seen. Her crying couldn’t be heard now either.

Savvy’s train of thought was broken when someone pulled her chains back, much gentler this time. She didn’t mind, as it meant Bjorn’s hands were no longer on her.. He still had no clothes on and was about to shift when their eyes locked.

“Isn’t this exciting?” He purred.

“It will be when I get to kill you!” She hissed. The warriors around them cheered her on with excitement, enjoying their King and Queen’s banter. There was something wrong with those bears.

Just like the last time she saw him do it, Bjorn shifted into a huge snow-white beast in seconds. He was both magnificent and menacing, but she hated his guts with all her heart and soul, regardless.

His men led her to him, making her get onto his back while she tried to fight them

off.

The white bears’ leader roared, warning her. At the same moment, Brigit appeared at

her side.

“Listen,” she whispered, “he will find a way to make you do this either way. Why do you think they bothered to bring Petra? Disobey, and she will be paying the price!”

“I don’t care about Petra!” Savannah thundered, secretly hoping that this would help them both.

“Too late for that! You saved her in the Maze!” Brigit reminded her.

“It was a deal! Nothing more, nothing less!” The Princess lied through her teeth. She had a soft spot for Petra, but admitting it now would be a mistake. “The joke is on you! You shouldn’t have killed Riannon! I would have done anything for her and the baby! But Petra is no one to me!”

“Don’t say that!” Brigit grew grim. “They will test your words! And as I said, Petra will be the one to bear the consequences!”

“Why not you?” Savvy chuckled darkly. “We have known each other longer! I like you so much! Why don’t they test my stubbornness on you?!”

The she-bear lowered her gaze. “I will not apologise,” she breathed out.

“Even if you do, Aspen nor I would ever forgive you!” Savannah found herself to be this cruel for the first time in her life. Brigit flinched at her words, and her fingers trembled. She barely managed to hide them so that no one else could see her weakness.

One of the warriors yanked the chains on the other side, forcing Savannah to climb on Bjorn’s back; the other pushed her feet up from the ground. She hated them touching her. When she was up and where they wanted her, they surrounded her again, adjusting her shackles and ensuring she stayed exactly where they needed her.

They had everything planned to perfection. She was wearing a blue dress, the bridal colour of the North, and now Bjorn was going to take her to his castle on his back while cameras were filming it. She was a true bride today. Only that the groom was a monster.

When they were done, Brigit undid her hair and adjusted her cape so that it was covering her restraints and saving her some dignity.

The white bear leader let out an approving growl and started to move. Slowly, everyone else followed them in a victorious procession. This was what it was.

Savannah couldn’t take it anymore. The last bits of strength left her, and she wished all of this was a dream, not reality.

Yet here she was. Deep in the North, chained to her enemy who claimed her as his and with everyone she loved gone. What a cruel fate!

Their procession entered a mountain chain that looked vacant at first. Savvy wondered if it was really necessary to try and show her off when no one was even around to see. However, she soon realised how wrong she was.

One by one, she noticed other white bears in their beast forms lurking out on top of the hills. They were watching them, not taking their eyes off their King and the girl on top of his back.

Dozens of them. Hundreds!

The cameraman was working, filming her and everything around them, while Claude and Chloe commented on what was going on in the microphones adjusted to their laces.

“The bears meet their King and future Queen!” Claude stated dryly. Not a hint of his usual entertaining sell.

“Savannah looks beautiful and strong even as her hands are tied,” Chloe chimed in right next to him, getting quiet as one of the warriors next to her shot her a warning glance.

Their voices became simply a buzz as Savvy observed the area around her. Now there were bears and people watching her from above. They probably had their houses nearby.

This was where their kind resided.

Bjorn walked with pride. It was his victory march, and he was enjoying it.

Savvy felt worse and worse. Her nausea was getting worse, the stress of the day finally catching up with her. In the rays of the setting Sun, she only wished for all of this to end faster.

Soon, she started seeing small cosy houses peppered on the tops of the white hills. An ice city.

They walked for some time, Savannah wishing to simply switch off at this point, her body not listening to her anymore. She had trouble telling how long it all lasted and barely managed not to fall down.

Bjorn stopped when they were on top of a hill, and she saw something she didn’t expect. Below them was a castle built into a mountain. A work of a rough master, it was a fortress in its own right. She instantly knew this was where they were heading. He told her he had a castle of his own before. She just never thought she’d actually see it.

The cold Northern sea was raging under the castle, its waves sharp and deadly. Savannah didn’t even realise they got this far, but it made sense because the white bears were excellent swimmers.

It took them quite some time to get to the castle. The gates opened as soon as they reached them. People inside clearly awaited their king’s return.

By this point, Savannah was so exhausted she couldn’t keep her back straight. Her nausea was getting stronger, the pain of her broken bond still rippling through her body, even though it had gotten slightly duller. But her soul was aching more. She wasn’t mourning yet. She still couldn’t believe what had happened to her. Things like that were hard to process.

People were greeting them inside the castle, and she didn’t know how to take this any longer. She had had enough.

“Welcome, my King!” A massive man with silver hair bowed before them as Bjorn stood in the inner courtyard, still in his bear form. “And my future Queen.”

He looked at Savannah as if he expected her to say something, and she looked him straight in the eye… right before she emptied her stomach, parts of it getting all over Bjorn’s

feet.