Chapter 71
Chapter 71
LUNA AQUAMARINE’S POV
“Gods of our land, Gods of our land! Do not allow this calamity to befall us!”
The words echoed through the castle walls, wrapping around me like thorns.
The sun burned too bright.
Despite the chants and pleas, no gods came.
The man in the middle stood below, hands raised, robes half–falling off his shoulders as he turned in a slow, ritualistic circle.
Others were gathering around him. Pack members.
40%
Some still in nightwear, some with their faces half–covered like they didn’t want to be seen participating, but still… they came.
Alexander’s arms crossed tightly. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, but he said nothing.
He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just watched.
The people’s voices were growing louder. More frenzied.
“Return balance to our lands! Return balance! Bring back the true Queen!”
My stomach twisted.
A whisper ran through the crowd, followed by a scream.
Someone pointed upward.
At me.
My breath hitched. My body jerked back before I could stop it.
Alexander caught my wrist, pulling me to rest my back on his hard chest and face them.
“Cowards hide when they do something wrong,” he said under his breath.
But I couldn’t.
They were looking at me. All of them. Their mouths move like insects. Their faces contorted in confusion, dread, and something
worse,
+5
Recognition.
“What should I do?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said simply.
“Nothing? Primus what if they barge in and-”
I turned slightly. Just enough for me to see the anger in his eyes.
1/5
*They don’t remember what she did. They ar ter the land growing found. The vet ark said. And they don’t remember the girl she tried to bury alive
That gut was me
And maybe it didn’t matter.
I wanted to leave. To disappear. But I couldn’t even do that right. The cage hadn’t stopped ferran’s nightmares
He was the same man in my nightmares. Always watching. Always staring. Always winning
I turned to Alexander. “Make him stop,” I whispered. “Please. Shut him up.”
He didn’t move.
His hand only tightened slightly, as if trying to hold me in place, but I wrenched away.
“Please,” I said louder this time. “He’s saying my name without saying it!”
“Aquamarine-”
“You heard him,” I shivered. “They all heard him.”
Below us, two guards tried to pull the man down from the raised platform he’d stumbled onto, but his arms flailed and his words turned wild.
The chanting had faded, replaced by silence, but the unease stayed in my chest like a bruise that wouldn’t heal.
My knees weakened again. This time, I didn’t bother trying to hide it.
I was the girl who’d killed Gaia.
I was the girl Terran wanted.
And now I was the girl the whole pack would blame.
The kingdoms Gaia had provided for.
Alexander’s arm slipped around my waist. “You’re going inside,” he said, his voice low and final.
“But what about-”
“They won’t touch you,” he interrupted. “You’re the Luna of this pack.”
Still the Luna? What a cruel joke.
Aren’t I your little thief? Your pet? Breeder?/
I looked into his face. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to pretend his power could fix everything, that his body beside mine could shield me from Terran’s sick demands, ghosts hunting me and the guilt that followed. But deep down, I knew.
This wasn’t something he could kill.
I couldn’t stop seeing him.
Chapter 71
Terran.
Not just his face. But the look in his eyes. Like he wasn’t truly alive, Like whatever soul he once had had bear soaked in
After Alexander barked more orders and tightened the patrols, he led me back to our chambers without a word. couldn’t tell what he was thinking but I knew better than to speak.
I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t have the strength. My legs moved on instinct while my thoughts screamed over each other.
Terran’s words echoed louder than anything else.
“Come with me willingly, Luna… or next time, I won’t come alone.”
He locked the balcony door behind us. My legs felt like water and my throat burned from the inside. I hadn’t even realised I’d been holding back tears untill collapsed onto the floor at the edge of the bed.
I gagged and Alexander knelt in front of me.
I felt his hand on my back but I turned to face him.
“I saw him before today,” I whispered. “In my dreams. In the forest.”
He looked up sharply now. “How many times?”
I met his gaze. “The first day Gaia attacked, I saw his face and heard his voice,” a lump formed in my throat as my eyes stung. I Hooked away from him to the ground and took in deep breaths. “That night Gaia buried me alive, I saw him. And, every time I close
my eyes since the day I killed her.”
“Who else have you dreamt of?” he asked, lifting my chin up and cupping my face.
I stared at his golden eyes. A little softer now.
It made my heart ache and made fresh tears run down my cheeks. “G–Gaia, T–Terran, the shapeshifter…..” I paused.
Should I tell him about the lady in the cloak? About the fire I dream about surrounding him and that black book?
Would he believe?
I felt his finger on my lips, separating them. “Aqua,” he called out. Almost soft.
“That’s all,” I replied.
He cursed under his breath and let go of me. I couldn’t tell if it was in his language or mine.
“So it’s true then,” I said. “He’s bound to me.”
“You’re not his.”
“But what if I’m becoming his? Gaia is supposed to be your Luna in a few days-”
“Will you fucking shut up about Gaia?” He gritted his teeth. “Was that why you went into the cage again? Why you returned the pendant and the daggers?”
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Chapter 71
༠༤., 46%?
I nodded slowly and swallowed the lump in my throat. “But you made my position clear as your breeder. And I thought-”
“Yes. You belong to me and trust me I hate sharing, he growled. “I don’t want to hear another word about Gaia.“.
The words landed deep. But they didn’t undo the sickness curling in my gut.
Because something told me… Terran wasn’t done.
He always comes back.
I couldn’t sleep. My heart was racing soo bad that it made my
stomach churn.
Alexander was only a few corridors away. I kept telling myself I was safe.
But something felt off.
I got out of bed and checked the lock on the chamber door. Still sealed. No scent except mine. No sound but the wind through the towerstones.
And then I saw it.
A patch of dampness on the floor near the far wall–muddy footprints leading to the mirror.
Except I hadn’t moved near the mirror tonight.
I stepped closer.
That’s when the glass pulsed.
Once. Then again. Like it was breathing.
I stumbled back, heart thudding.
The glass cracked down the centre with a sharp, splintering sound–and something bloomed from it.
Vines.
Thin, fast, alive. Crawling out of the mirror like snakes.
They hit the floor and spread toward me.
“Alexander,” I breathed. “Alexander!”
I turned for the door–but the vines got there first. They slammed it shut and wrapped around the handle.
I barely had time to curse before the mirror shattered completely.
And he stepped through.
Terran.
No blood. No scent. Just cold air and soil and the weight of something old. Older than him. Older than this place.
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Chapter 71
“You promised,” he said, voice low.
“I promised nothing,” I spat.
His head tilted. “You killed Gaia. You awakened the debt. And now the land calls you.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I cried out.
“You don’t have a choice,” he said calmly. “Gaia fell. So you rise. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.”
My blood ran cold.
He raised his hand, “A Queen for a Queen.”
The vines reacted instantly. Rushing toward me, wrapping around my ankles, wrists and mouth before I could run.
I fought. Kicked. Bit.
I screamed.
Or tried to.
No sound came out. And worse, I wasn’t even with my dagger.
His vines tightened. My vision blurred. I reached for the table, knocked it over, tried to break free, but he was already walking toward me.
“You’re part of the forest now, Luna.”
He touched my chest with two fingers.
My heartbeat paused–then vanished.
The forest took me and everything went dark.
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