Chapter 92: Luna is????

Days passed first. Then weeks.

At the beginning, Deborah told herself it was temporary. Caelum had always needed space when his anger burned too hot, and she had learned long ago how to give it to him. Silence was safer than sharp words. Silence could cool things down.

But this silence was different.

No messages. No sudden appearances in doorways. No clipped warnings disguised as concern. Caelum did not check the perimeter when she arrived late. He did not leave reports on her desk with red-ink notes in the margins. It was as if he had erased her from his orbit entirely.

The brothers noticed.

Knight was the first. He stopped asking where Caelum was during briefings. Lucio grew unusually quiet, his humor dulled at the edges. Aston watched Deborah more closely than usual, his gaze lingering as if searching for cracks he couldn’t yet name.

Luther noticed too, though he never said it aloud.

It was Caelum’s absence that echoed through the halls more loudly than his anger ever had.

Deborah buried herself in work. Paperwork stacked higher. Meetings ran longer. Her office light stayed on long after dusk, casting pale gold into the corridor. Luna often stayed with her, sitting on the couch by the window, reading or sorting reports in companionable silence.

That was where they were when it happened.

Rain streaked down the glass behind Luna, the sky heavy and gray. The office smelled faintly of ink and old parchment, warm despite the chill outside. Deborah was signing off on a shipment ledger when a soft knock came at the door.

Knight stepped in, closing it behind him.

“Sorry,” he said, glancing between Deborah and Luna. “Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all,” Deborah replied, setting her pen aside. “What is it?”

Knight hesitated, then leaned lightly against the desk. “I was just wondering… have you and Caelum—” He stopped, choosing his words carefully. “Are you two not on good terms?”

The room went very still.

Deborah’s fingers curled slowly against the desk. She opened her mouth to answer.

"He found ou—" Before a she continue what her lips gonna say, Luna made a small, broken sound.

Deborah turned just in time to see Luna’s face drain of color.

“Luna?” she said sharply, moving toward her.

Luna pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes unfocused. “I—I don’t feel—”

She gagged, stumbling forward.

Deborah caught her as she retched, barely making it to the waste bin. Her body shook violently, shoulders heaving as nausea overtook her. When it passed, she sagged, dizzy, breath coming in shallow gasps.

“Luna,” Deborah said, gripping her shoulders. “Look at me.”

Luna tried, but the room seemed to spin. “Everything’s… moving,” she whispered. “I feel like I'm gonna faint.”

Knight straightened instantly. “I’ll call a Doctor.”

“No,” Deborah said. “Stay. Help me.”

She guided Luna to the couch, easing her down and pulling a throw blanket over her trembling frame. Luna’s skin was clammy, her pulse fluttering too fast beneath Deborah’s fingers.

“What did you eat today?” Deborah asked.

Luna shook her head weakly. “Same as usual. Nothing different.”

Knight watched, concern etched deep into his features. His earlier question forgotten, his gaze flicked once toward the door, toward the hall where Caelum should have been.

Deborah felt it then.

A familiar, chilling sensation curling in her chest. This wasn’t ordinary sickness.

And for the first time since Caelum’s silence began, Deborah felt a sharp, sinking certainty that whatever had broken between them was no longer the most dangerous thing unfolding.

Deborah kept her hand on Luna’s wrist, counting the uneven beats, forcing herself to stay calm even as unease crept higher up her spine.

“Breathe with me,” she said softly. “Slow. In… out.”

Luna tried, but her breath hitched, her eyes fluttering as if the light above them was too bright. A faint sheen of sweat clung to her forehead, though her skin felt warm, too warm, contrasting sharply with how pale she’d gone.

Knight hovered nearby, restless. “This doesn’t look like exhaustion.”

“It’s not,” Deborah replied, her voice low.

She stood, crossed the room, and poured a glass of water. When she returned, she helped Luna sit up just enough to drink.

Luna barely managed a sip before pressing a hand to her mouth again. “I—I’m sorry—” she whispered, gagging, dizziness overtaking her.

Deborah caught her shoulders. “Easy. Don’t force it.”

Luna leaned back against the couch, eyes glassy. “This keeps happening lately. In the mornings. And sometimes I feel like I’m going to faint.”

Deborah froze.

“How long has this been happening?” she asked carefully.

Luna hesitated. “A little over a week.”

Knight’s brows drew together. “You didn’t say anything.”

“I thought it was stress,” Luna said weakly. “Or lack of sleep.”

Deborah reached for Luna’s hand again, this time pressing two fingers gently to her pulse, then resting her palm over Luna’s abdomen, not intrusively, just enough to feel. She closed her eyes, focusing inward, letting her senses widen.

There it was. Faint. Fragile. A second rhythm beneath Luna’s own.

Deborah’s breath caught.

Knight noticed immediately. “What is it?”

Deborah opened her eyes slowly. “Luna… when was your last cycle?”

Luna blinked, confusion breaking through the dizziness. “I—” She swallowed. “I don’t remember exactly. Since I'm irregular.”

The room went very still.

Lucio, who had just entered with Knight, stopped short. “Wait. Are you saying—”

“I’m not certain,” Deborah said, standing straighter, her voice controlled but strained. “But it’s possible. Very possible.”

Luna’s hand flew to her stomach. “That’s not.... I mean, it can’t be—”

Another wave of nausea hit her, confirming what Deborah already feared.

Knight’s expression softened slightly, concern overtaking tension. “That would explain the dizziness.”

“And the nausea,” Lucio added quietly.

Deborah helped Luna lie back properly, adjusting the cushions, her mind racing. Pregnancy changed everything, physically, magically, politically. Protective wards reacted differently. Emotions amplified. Sensitivities sharpened.

“Luna,” she said gently, “you need rest. And a proper Doctor. This isn’t something we ignore.”

Luna nodded shakily, eyes wide with a mix of fear and disbelief. “Ms. Valmere.… what if something’s wrong?”

Deborah squeezed her hand. “Then we deal with it. You won’t face this alone. We're gonna call the Doctor now to check you.”

But as the brothers exchanged uneasy glances, one unspoken thought hung heavy in the room....

If Luna truly was pregnant, someone needed to tell Caelum. And sooner rather than later.