The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert novel Chapter 80

Epilogue 2

The celebrations were finally over and Elene was happy that they were finally done with all this. Now she could let all this stress go since everything went according to plan for once, and the people closest to her were happy.

His brother had his Queen now, and that left the Northern Princess to wonder what was in store for her next. She’d spent years by her brother’s side, assisting him the best she could and performing some of the Luna duties. This wasn’t needed anymore, and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do now. What was her place in this new world? Did she even have one?

She was happy for everyone, but at the same time, the void inside her was still there. Would she ever meet someone to fill it? “There you are,” Savannah appeared out of nowhere and without any guards by her side. This was something that Elene was still working on with the new Queen. One could never be too safe, especially considering her little niece in that woman’s belly.

Sawy.

The Queen was glowing, and pregnancy suited her even if it wasn’t visible yet. One could feel it just by laying their eyes on

“Just getting some air,” Elene leaned over the balcony rails and took a deep breath. “It’s so stuffy in there!”

Savannah smiled but didn’t reply. She stalked towards her sister in law and gave her a gentle hug she did not expect.

“It’s going to happen to you too, you know,” she whispered, and the princess let the heavy sigh that had been building up for a while escape her. They both knew what the Queen meant. The Princess craved love just like anyone else. She wished to find her other half and

her place in life. Now more than ever.

“I don’t know about that,” she admitted. “Maybe I don’t deserve it.”

“You were a young girl who had the responsibilities of a Queen placed on her shoulders without actually being one,” Savvy said. ” You are the kind of person who is ready to do anything for the ones she loves. You deserve happiness, and never let yourself think

otherwise.”

Elene wanted to reply something to that, but they heard some kind of commotion below, and their eyes darted that way.

Below them, Celia and Inga stood in Brigit’s way.

“Don’t you even dare dream of getting close to my brother!” Celia snarled at the Bear Queen, not afraid of any kind of consequences. “Alter what you did to him, I cannot believe he accepted the position of an Ambassador in that rotten kingdom of

yours!”

“I hope he did it so he could destroy it from the inside!” Inga chimed in. “That would be all that you deserve!”

Brigit had nothing to reply to any of that. Both she-wolves annoyed the hell out of her, but there was truth in their words too.

“If you had an ounce of decency, you would have asked for a different Ambassador!” Celia gritted her teeth. “Can you imagine what

it is going to be like for him to meet all the people who tortured him?”

“He will be safe-” Brigit wanted to protest when she saw a hand raised that was about to slap her. She realised that she was going to

accept the slap. She deserved it, after all.

“Stop!” A loud voice emerged from behind their backs, and they saw Princess Elene marching their way angrily, followed by Queen

Savannah, who took her time.

Celia lowered her hand, scowling.

“I’m sorry, but she deserves this!” the redhead insisted. “You know what she did to Aspen!”

“I understand,” Elene agreed. “And I know that Aspen can deal with it on his own. While you have to remember that you are talking to the new Bear Queen and you are representing our Lycan Kingdom.”

“She was just emotional,” Inga gave her friend a hug.

“Also understandable,” Elene agreed. “And this is why there will be no punishment… this time. But consider yourself warned for the next. And now, follow me, ladies.”

The Princess turned on her heel, and Savvy gave her a light smile. She’d handled the situation well.

The other Northerners left and the Bear Queen of the Nova Oberon intended to do the same.

“Brigit!” Queen Savannah gracefully walked towards her, a friendly expression on her face. This was the first opportunity that they’d

had to talk in private.

her.

time!”

Brigit’s lips curled involuntarily. She was happy and angry at the same time, and a swarm of emotions was rippling through

“Why didn’t you tell me he was alive?” The she-bear asked bluntly. “I inquired so many times! 1- I was mourning him all this

Treacherous tears burned her eyes despite her not wishing to demonstrate her weakness. She knew very well that she was an appointed Queen. And with that title came conditions. She and the Lycan Queen of the North weren’t equals. At least not now.

“Good,” Sawy responded, and Brigit’s eyes shot at the other woman.

However, the Northern Queen’s face wasn’t hostile or derisive. A soft smile was playing on her lips.

“Good?” Brigit raised her brow up, clenching her fists so tight that her nails pierced her skin.

“Yes,” Savannah replied, giving her a stern gaze this time. “Now that you have lost him for real, you will know how it feels. You will treasure him the way he deserves. Or you will lose him again.”

The words were like a slap in the face, but the new Bear Queen knew she deserved it. Everything bad that happened to Aspen in the past was her fault. She would have to live with that knowledge forever.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she lowered her head, her voice shaky. “We aren’t mates.

“Did you stop loving him then?” Savvy tilted her head curiously.

anymore.”

It was the most obvious question in the whole damn world, but for the first time, Brigit had to admit it, at least to herself.

She’s never stopped loving Aspen. In fact, she only loved him more with each passing day: Mate bond or no mate bond. She did not need a magical pull to tell her that he was the one for her.

It was a whole different story for him, though.

“He probably hates me, and rightfully so,” she whispered, eyes downcast.

“He wants to hate you,” Savannah tried to explain, choosing her words carefully, “But each time he woke up in agony while he was

healing, it was your name on his lips.”

A quiet little sob escaped Brigit’s chest, and the Lycan Queen stepped closer to shield her from anyone else observing them.

“If you love him, truly love him, you will fight for him. And you will earn his trust back,” she said, giving the she bear’s hands a tight

squeeze. “I am not promising that it’s going to be easy, but ”

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Brigit interrupted her friend. Yes, now she could call Savvy that. A friend. “If there is at least the tiniest

chance of him loving me again—”

“He never stopped,” Savvy grinned, but the grin slowly turned into a snarl. “However, Brigit, hurt him one more time, and I will

personally send the whole northern army for you!”

“I won’t!” the werebear chuckled. “I-”

“Save those words for him,” Savvy let go of her and turned on her heel, looking over her shoulder. “He is the one who needs to hear

them.”

Joran did not want to come back.

At first.

But as the world he worked so hard to build started to crumble, the memories of an insolent boy who did not want to be tamed

flashed before his eyes, awakening something he was sure was long dead.

The Dragon God felt his Champion die while he was on his way to chase his favourite Dragonfly, infuriated that the war so carefully

planned was ruined by his brother, who wasn’t even supposed to be there.

What was Fenrir thinking? They had a deal! He wasn’t supposed to meddle in Joran’s business anymore.

So, when that wolf decided to bless everyone too and ruin the last remaining advantage of the bear army, it enraged Jormungandr.

It infuriated him so muci: that he’d made a mistake with Bjorn, leading to him taking his anger out on his Champion.

Of course, the bear was invincible. He’d given him one of the most precious powers out there. When the dragon had thrown him

away, Bjorn was supposed to be fine. Nothing could kill him.

Yet something did. Or someone. After all, Fenrir was there. It could have been him, and if it was indeed the Alpha God, then he would pay for this.

To his own shock and resentment, the Serpent regretted his fit of anger. The boy was foolish, but it was partially Joran’s fault for persuading the Moon Goddess to link him with the Western Princess. What seemed like a great idea at the time did not work out so well in the end. He should have arranged their meeting earlier, but it was impossible to predict that she would fall in love with the Northern Lycan King and then choose him over both of her true mates. That had never happened before. It was a stupid mistake to not interfere and also partially his Dragonfly’s fault… She had distracted him and held him back during crucial moments.

It hurt him more than he’d expected to feel Darius’ death. With all his flaws, the boy was promising, and Joran spent years mentoring him. It was one of the reasons the Serpent had once switched sides from his father to him. Bjorn looked like he would be able to finish the job and break both powerful Lycan Kingdoms once and for all.

Initially, the deity did not plan to come back for his body. Bjorn failed him, and it was reckless to return to where Fenrir could appear again. After all, his motives were unknown and it was too early to test his brother. Joran wasn’t ready for that yet. It would require even more elaborate planning before they could meet. And if Fenrir wouldn’t withdraw when that day came, Joran would have to kill him. Something he should have done years ago if he was honest with himself. However, there was something he needed Fenrir to do before his death. And when it was done, it would finally give Joran exactly what he wanted..

The deity tried to ignore the ugly, heavy feeling that scratched him from the inside, making his heart ache. He didn’t think he was capable of these emotions anymore, but even he had to admit that he did not want to leave Bjorn to rot in the lands he couldn’t conquer. The White Bear King deserved more.

When he arrived at the scene, the Northerners were lucky to have already departed. The dragon deity would have destroyed anyone in his way because he was still in that state of mind where he had to admit that everything had gone wrong. He hadn’t lost for a few hundred years already. And it tasted just as bitter as he remembered.

Locating Bjorn in all that snow wasn’t problematic for him, he could feel the remnants of his own energy at the end of the frozen

river far too well. His Champion was washed ashore and then buried under piles of snow that Joran melted with a wave of his hand to see him clearly. The melting caused his newly injured eye to bleed again, only a small wooden hilt was poking out of it.

“Mistletoe,” Joran gritted out, not knowing whether to laugh or level these mountains to rubble. How did they guess? Who told

them? This was literally one of only two things that could kill Bjorn. All this time, he’d feared him meeting the Northern Lycan King in

battle, but it had to be this stupid twig that killed him.

No. He was not ready to accept that.

It would set him back in his plan, it would drain his powers, already weakened by recent events, but he would not let his Champion

go out this way.

Not letting himself think twice, Joran knelt next to Bjorn and wrapped his hands around the little dagger. At least the mistletoe did

not let the body decay as it was a magical death. So, he had plenty to work with.

Ideally, he would have wanted to return Bjorn in time to a moment where he could have changed all the recent events. It worked so

well for the Moon Goddess with the one she chose to bless. The Goddess’ desperation made him laugh back then. Well, karma, indeed

was a b*tch, and now he was in a similar situation.

However, that plan had one significant flaw. It would drain him even more, making him vulnerable, and he’d already used so much

of his strength. He needed to restore himself first, so his options were limited for now.

Joran looked at his Champion one last time. Now he was missing both eyes, but again… the deity could work with that. For now,

just one spark of life would be enough. He would have to think of the rest later.

Placing his hand on Bjorn’s chest, he shared with him one more speck of his divine power, giving him a piece of his own soul. An

irrevocable act.

And just like that… Darius’ heart started beating again.

It was a long way to recovery, though. Luckily, werebears were not new to hibernation and this was the state Joran put him in for the

moment.

that.

The Serpent knew that it was better to take the bear away from here to safety. His time would come again. He would ensure

Shifting into his dragon form, he took Bjorn’s unconscious body into his claws and spread his wings, charging into the sky, slashing

the air with his enormous wings.

The tall gleaming buildings of the Southern Republic were already visible when Joran turned in a slightly different direction.

He took his Champion to the island, where he trained his Dragonflies, watching neat lines of firstborns exercising before he landed.

A few of his highest ranking warriors arrived instantly to greet their master and looked at Bjorn lying at his feet questioningly, probably

assuming that he was some kind of prisoner. No one here knew about the one he chose as his Champion. That knowledge wouldn’t do

any good to them.