Chapter 37 LUNA'S CONFESSION
CHAPTER 037: LUNA'S CONFESSION
It's 6:30am and the sun hasn't even risen and Sofia's already shoving weapons into my bag like she's preparing for war.
"Do you even know how to use a crossbow?" she asks, holding up a silver one.
"No."
"That's perfect. You're taking it anyway."
I watch her throw in daggers, herbs, rope and what looks like a flask of something that smells like gasoline into the bag.
Kieran walks past carrying enough weapons to arm a small army. His movements is sharp and angry. He hasn't looked at me since last night when I told everyone we were going to north.
Alaric leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed. "This is reckless."
"I know."
"You could die."
"I know that too." A smug smile appears on my face.
His eyes flash red. "And yet you're still going."
I zip the bag and close it. "What do you want me to say Alaric? That I'll abandon my sister? That I'll let innocent people die because it's safer for me? I just met my sister and I can't afford to lose her again."
"Yes," he says flatly. "That's exactly what I want."
Sofia throws a boot at him. He catches it without looking at her.
"You're all being dramatic," Cassian says, walking in with his own bag. "We've faced worse."
"Have we?" Zev appears in the doorway, his green eyes darker than usual. "We fought shadow creatures, Morgana but a serial killer who can nullify our powers? That's new territory."
Everyone in the room suddenly goes quiet.
Morgana pokes her head in. "The headmaster wants to see you. Now. And he's somehow pissed off."
Headmaster Corvus stands in his office with the look of disappointment.
"You're making a mistake," he says before I even sit down.
"Probably."
"The academy is still vulnerable. The Hollow King's forces could return at any moment."
"The hollow king is dead and all his whole dimension has been destroyed, so he's definitely not coming back."
His eyes narrow. "You're not invincible Thalira. Your power won't save you from everything."
I stare at him. "I'm not doing this because I think I'm invincible. I'm doing it because it's right."
"Right?" His voice rises. "Right would be staying here where you're protected. Right would be not throwing yourself into danger for a pack that sent your sister to manipulate you."
My hands curl into fists. " She can't manipulate me and her pack is dying."
"Everyone dies eventually."
The coldness in his voice makes my skin crawl.
"If that's how you feel then I'm glad I'm leaving," I say, standing up.
He doesn't stop me as I walk out but his voice follows me into the hall.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
I'm halfway to the courtyard when Luna catches my wrist.
"Wait," she says quietly. "Can we talk? Alone?"
I glance back at the boys walking behind us. Kieran's eyes narrow but I nod.
Luna pulls me into an empty classroom and shuts the door. Her hands shake as she locks it.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
She doesn't answer immediately. She just stands there, staring at the floor like she's trying to find the right words in the tiles.
"Luna?"
"I lied to you," she whispers.
My stomach drops. "About what?"
"About when I knew about you."
"What do you mean?"
She finally looks up and her silver eyes are filled with tears. "I didn't just find out about you recently. I've known for years."
"Years?" I asked, surprised.
"Since I was twelve," she says, her voice breaking. "Mom... our mom... she's not fully gone Thalira. There's part of her consciousness that still survived. She visits me in dreams."
My breath hitched. "What?"
"She told me everything. Where you were. What you were going through. The academy. The boys. The Hollow King." Luna's tears spill freely. "I've been watching you from a distance for five years."
I step back, my mind running. "Five years? You knew and you never—"
"I wanted to," she interrupts desperately. "Every single day I wanted to come to you. But the pack needed me. They were being hunted and I was the only one strong enough to protect them."
"So you chose them over me."
The words come out sharper than I mean them to but I can't take them back.
Luna flinches as if I slapped her. "I thought I had time. I thought you were safe at the academy. I didn't know about the deaths. I didn't know you kept dying and coming back."
My chest tightens painfully. "How many?"
"What?"
"How many of my deaths did Mom tell you about?"
Luna's face crumbles. "Three."
I feel like the ground should just open under me. "Three. You knew I died three times and you still didn't come."
"I thought you were handling it," she says, her voice barely audible. "The boys were with you. Helena was protecting you. I thought—"
"You thought wrong. Aunt Helena wasn't protecting me, she's been abusing and cursing me."
Luna wipes her face roughly. "I'm sorry, I should have come sooner. Maybe if I had you wouldn't have died so many times. Maybe you wouldn't have suffered alone."
Something in her voice breaks through my anger. She sounds so much like me when I'm drowning in guilt.
I take a slow breath. "You came when it mattered."
She looks up, startled. "What?"
"You're here now," I say quietly. "That's what counts."
"But I—"
"Luna." I step closer. "We both made choices based on what we thought was right. You chose to protect your pack. I can't hate you for that."
She covers her face with her hands and sobs gently. I pull her into a hug and she hug me tightly like I'm the only thing keeping her from falling apart.
"I'm sorry," she whispers over and over. "I'm so sorry."
"I know," I whisper back. "I know."
When we finally leave the classroom, the boys are waiting in the hall. Their expressions range from concerned to suspicious.
Kieran's eyes lock on our joined hands.
"Everything okay?" Cassian asks.
"Yeah," I say. "We're good."
But Kieran doesn't look convinced. He's been watching Luna and me all morning with something dark in his eyes.
“Hmmm, what's wrong with you?" I asked Kieran.
“Me… Hun, nothing, nothing's wrong." He nod gently, looking at me with a side eye.
We head to the courtyard where our supplies are packed and ready. Sofia hands me a drink.
"Drink. It's a long journey north."
Alaric appears beside me. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes I do."
"No," he says firmly. "You want to. There's a difference."
I turn to face him. "What's your point?"
"My point is you're choosing her over us."
The accusation stings. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it?" Kieran steps forward now too. "Ever since she showed up you've been pulling away from us."
"That's not true."
"It is," Zev says quietly. "The bond between you and Luna is different and stronger. We can feel it."
My chest aches. "She's my twin."
"And we're pieces of your soul," Cassian says, his voice strained. "Or have you forgotten that?"
The reminder hits harder. They're right. The connection I feel with Luna is different. It's blood. It's family. It's something the boys can't compete with no matter how deep our bonds run.
"I'm not choosing anyone over anyone," I say, hating how defensive I sound.
Kieran's expression hardens. "Then why does it feel like you are?"
Before I can answer, the sound of hooves sounds through the gates.
A rider on a black horse skids to a stop in front of us. He's covered in dirt and blood, his face pale with exhaustion.
"Message for the Moonwhispers," he gasps, sliding off the horse.
Luna and I exchange looks.
"We're listening," Luna says.
The rider's hands shake as he pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. "Another she-wolf was taken last night. From the Eastern border."
He holds out the paper and I take it with trembling fingers.
The handwriting is elegant, and beautiful. But the words make my stomach turn.
"Tell the Moonwhispers to hurry. This one's pretty. It would be a shame if she died before they arrived."
Luna rips the note from my hands, her face going Pale.
"That's Kira's scent," she whispers, bringing the paper to her nose. "She's only sixteen."
“What? Sixteen?" My legs tremble.
Kieran's hand finds my shoulder, steadying me. "We leave now."
"Wait," the rider says, his voice cracking. "There's more."
He swallows hard. "He left something else. At the site where he took her."
"What?" Luna demands.
The rider reaches into his saddlebag and pulls out something wrapped in cloth. He unwraps it slowly, and carefully.
My knees almost give out.
It's a bracelet. Silver with a crescent moon charm.
The same bracelet I saw in my dreams. The same one Mom wore in the visions Zev showed me.
Luna's voice is barely a whisper. "That's Mom's bracelet."
The rider nods grimly. "There was a message carved into the tree beside it."
"What did it say?" I ask, though I'm not sure I want to know.
The rider looked straight into my eyes.
"It said: I've been waiting for you to remember."
Alaric's grip on my arm tightens. "Remember what?"
But I can't answer.
BUT suddenly, my legs fail and memories are flooding back. Not from this life but from my past life.
I see Marvin's face. Not as he is now but as he was in my first life.
He wasn't a stranger, he was someone I knew.
Someone I trusted and someone I loved.
And I'm the reason he became a monster.