Chapter 99
LUNA AQUAMARINE’S POV
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“Have you seen Kyrexeis Clifford?” I asked the maid serving me food.
“No, Luna,” she replied.
It was already late morning.
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Yet, I haven’t caught sight of Alexander or Clifford. The howling from last night still sent shivers down my spine.
He should have let me handle it. Instead of agreeing to go with Levi.
“Ahhn,” I groaned in frustration as I tried to swallow a spoonful of food.
I knew I might not see Clifford in a few days and I couldn’t help but think how he’ll see me after he’s released.
He’s absolutely difficult to read. Just like Aaron, if not worse.
“Do you need more, Luna?” the maid asked timidly, as though my silence made her uneasy.
I waved her away. “No. Leave it.”
She bowed quickly and slipped out of the room, leaving me with the untouched tray and my restless thoughts.
I pushed the tray away and rose from my seat, dusting my hands on the folds of my dress. Sitting here wasn’t helping, and neither was waiting. My chest ached for air, for distraction–anything other than the thoughts. clawing at me.
The workshop.
I had left the padlock and key I forged yesterday resting on the table. Maybe refining them would settle my
nerves.
After all, Clifford mentioned it wasn’t quite good.
I hurried through the corridors, ignoring the curious looks from the servants. My footsteps echoed sharper than usual, as though even the stone sensed my unease.
But as I reached the front of the workshop, I stopped.
The door… was open.
I frowned.
I never left it that way. Nobody is allowed inside except…… Alexander.
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Chapter 99
I turned back.
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Facing him after what he did yesterday wasn’t in my to–do list today. I’ll just go back to get the lock and- my eyes went wide and I stopped on my tracks.
What if he sees it and figures out my plan?
I hurried back and pushed it wider, I stepped inside—and froze.
Clifford.
There he was, standing before the forge, his chest bare and slick with sweat, muscles flexing with every movement. His hair clung damp to his forehead, his focus sharp and unyielding, as though nothing else in the world existed but the thing taking shape in his hands.
My heart leapt. Relief crashed into me so hard I almost stumbled forward.
“Clifford!” The name broke from my lips before I could think. I rushed to him, my eyes wide, searching his body for wounds, for proof he was whole.
“How… how are you… how are you here? After last night–I thought- I feared-”
“I’m fine,” he muttered, his voice low, steady, final.
Fine?
I blinked, confused. “Fine? Clifford, you-”
“I said I’m fine,” This time he stared down at me.
“But-”
“You still have a habit of worrying too much, Aquamarine.” He cut me off slowly, his voice heavier than before. “You need to think about yourself for once.”
My hands dropped uselessly to my sides, his sudden change in tone scraping against my chest.
Was he angry? A normal person would be. But… what was that last line about?
“Is that how he treats you? Like a dog?” he asked, his words sharp.
My brows creased. I stared at him, and he stared back, the same way he always did whenever he saw me with Clinton or Katherine.
Like he was judging. Irritated. His eyes reminded me why we had never really spoken before. It was always his
eyes.
“And you accepted it? His Kyrexeis also joined in,” he continued bitterly. “After all that speech about being proud of his Luna, he and his freaking Kyrexeis-”
“That’s enough.” My glare snapped up to meet him, something inside me tightening at the mention of Levi’s
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Chapter 99
name. “I don’t want to hear any insults thrown at Levi, Clifford. He’s a good man.”
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“Good?” Clifford scoffed, his jaw tight. “He watched Alexander pin you to the ground and he even joined in.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Clifford.” My voice lowered, fraying at the edges. “You won’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.” His tone hardened. “He’s a monster. I’ve heard his tales, I’ve fought against his enemies too. I’ve heard how he treats his concubines.”
My nails dug into my palms.
“What do you expect me to do? Be scared and run away from him?” The words tore out of me sharper than I intended. “You think I didn’t try that day he took me? Knowing his tales, do you think he would have let me go?”
Clifford clenched his jaw but didn’t look away.
“If it was that easy, he would have rejected me immediately he saved me. Even if I follow your words and run away now, where would I go?” I pressed, my voice breaking against the air. “The Moonstone pack? That never accepted me. What makes you think another pack would accept me with the way I look and the tags placed on my head?”
“I understand,” he said at last, though his voice sounded like gravel.
“No, you don’t.” My chest heaved as I forced the words out. “Because it was never you. I’ve faced more than you know while I was still in that pack. Even from people I call family. Someone I thought loved me.”
“Aquamarine, I—”
I raised my hand, cutting him off. “Alexander had a reason for doing that-”
“He chased you, pinned you to the floor like a-”
“He noticed the burn and wanted to treat it immediately.” My voice snapped as the memory burned hot against my skin. “If I didn’t run, he wouldn’t have held me down like that.”
Clifford’s eyebrow arched, disbelief shadowing his face.
“I’m not trying to defend him or anything, Clifford,” I muttered, softer now. “But you shouldn’t expect my relationship with Alexander to be butterflies and rainbows. It’s not what you think.”
If he thinks this is bad… what would he think if he knew about the things Alexander did to me while I was in the cage?
“That’s just toxic,” he grunted, spitting the word like it tasted foul.
“Welcome to my life, Clifford.” I muttered, staring at the new and improved padlock and keys.
None of us spoke after that. We just watched the padlock and key cool, the silence heavy with words unsaid. Clifford’s face softened, regret flickering in his eyes.
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Chapter 99
“Do you have anything you want to do today?” I asked.
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“I’m sorry for lashing out on you like that. It’s insensitive of me,” he murmured.
I shook my head, clutching the cooling metal. “It’s fine. Thank you.”
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He wiped the sweat off his brow, pulling his shirt back on as I said, “There’s something I’d like you to help me with. It’s nothing hard but I need your advice.”
He gave a short nod.
We left the workshop together, heading toward the yard. But before we could even make it halfway, a scream split through the air. It wasn’t sharp – it was guttural, broken, like it had been dragged from the pit of someone’s lungs.
People were already gathering, whispers and shouts tangling together in a blur. Clifford and I pushed through, and my breath caught in my chest.
Fiona.
Her skin was marked with bruises, raw and red in places like she’d been burned. Her dress was torn at the edges, her hair a wild mess. She crouched on the ground, curled in on herself, clutching something so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
Gasps rippled around us, but they didn’t touch me. My body felt cold, frozen stiff, my pulse hammering in
my ears.
Fiona… like this?
I stepped forward before I could think.
And that was when she lifted her head. Her swollen eyes widened at the sight of me. She scrambled back so fast she nearly fell over, pressing herself against the ground like she could sink into it.
“No–please!” she cried, voice cracking as she shielded her face. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t kill me–don’t-”
The words lodged in my throat, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard it hurt. She wasn’t just scared.
She was terrified.
Of me?
