Chapter 61

Elora’s POV

The council chambers reeked of old wood and someone's half burnt cigar. I pressed my hands flat against the table, wood slick and cold, every last pair of eyes glued to me like I might burst into flames.

Dominic’s empty seat glared like a missing tooth. Couldn’t look at it without something twisting hard inside me. He should’ve been here, right? Voice slicing through the posturing, settling arguments with a glance. But nope, laid up in bed, skin gray and sweating, whatever poison crept through him still a mystery.

So guess who gets to wear the crown tonight?

Everyone has been restless for days. The whole place is jittery with talk of border raids, more patrols missing, some of our best people just not coming back. Every meeting is the same old bickering, like anyone wants to say out loud what we’re all thinking. And without Dante, we’re screwed.

Completely.

I cleared my throat, tried to sound braver than I felt. “This meeting’s about the borders,” I said, my voice steady, but heart drumming. “The rogues keep coming. We lost four more last week. We can’t keep bleeding people like this. We need a proper plan. We need someone to lead the defense.”

Murmurs rolled around the table, so much grumbling, I half wanted to yell at them to just spit it out. Harrod, beard like a storm cloud, leaned in. “And what exactly are you suggesting, Luna?”

“Luna.” Honestly, it sounded like a bad word. I sucked in air, and went for it anyway. “Let Dante out. Just for now. Let him get back to commanding the border.”

That landed about as well as a snake in a cradle.

Elder Cavan, forever angry at something or other, smacked the table so hard my teeth rattled. “Absolutely not! He’s a traitor! Have you all forgotten?”

“He’s not a traitor,” I cut in, voice sharper than I meant. It echoed through the room, making a few of them go quiet, at least. “He’s Dominic’s brother, and he’s the best defender we’ve got. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

Some of them got twitchy, shifting in their chairs. Rowan, baby of the group, pinched his nose like he’d rather be anywhere else. “With respect, Luna, Dante’s loyalty is... questionable. There’s been no trial, if we let him loose now...”

“...we save lives.” My interruption rang out, abrupt.

Every head snapped toward me. My palms sweated against the table. Maybe now I was the traitor, who knows.

“You think I haven’t noticed?” I shot at them. “You think I don’t see the way our patrols fall apart without him? Or the way they can barely look each other in the eye anymore? You’re asking scared people to do the impossible.”

Silence.

For once.

Cavan sneered. Real subtle guy. “You’d risk the pack for your own... personal reasons.”

“This isn’t about me,” I tossed back, holding his stare. “It’s about everyone left in this pack. If you won’t believe me, look around. How many more have to die before you get it?”

The mood shifted, nobody meeting my eyes, some clearly thinking it over, some just chewing on their tongues. Their guilt hung thick.

At last, Harrod grumbled, “What you’re proposing, Luna, is an endorsement. You’d be standing by him. If he screws up, even if he hesitates, the blame falls square on you.”

Like I hadn’t thought of that? The whisper network in this place was a wildfire, and my name was already half-burned. If Dante messed up, I’d be next. Banished, maybe worse.

But if I did nothing...there might not be a pack left to argue with anyway.

I sat up straighter. Felt my vision locked on the far wall. “Fine. Let it fall on me.”

Someone gasped, actually gasped. For real.

“I’ll vouch for him, with everything I’ve got. If Dante betrays us, I’ll pay for it. But without Dominic, he’s all we have. You know I’m right, even if you hate it.”

For several painful seconds, no one budged.

Finally, Rowan, voice small as a church mouse, said, “She’s right. The border’s falling.”

A murmur worked through the younger bunch. Cavan just cussed under his breath, but his grip on the table said plenty. Harrod stared at me like weighing up whether to throw me to the wolves right now or wait for the next full moon. After a bit, he let out this long, tired sigh.

“We’ll talk. You need to understand, Luna Elora, you’re betting more than your reputation. If you’re wrong, there’s no coming back.”

It landed hard. Sort of like a bell tolling and the whole room hearing it.

I nodded, fists clenched under the table. “Then I won’t be wrong.

When the council finally wandered off, I sorta stuck around, letting the silence soak in. My hands were shaking now that no one was gawking at me. I tried to mash them down against my legs and suck in some air. It didn’t help much, honestly.

I couldn't stop thinking about Dante, locked up downstairs while everyone else was out there bleeding just so some old war stories could get a little longer. And Dominic, I could see his face clear as day, sweating through the sheets, barely breathing while I wiped his forehead night after night. Mira, too. That one's a hawk never misses a thing, just waiting for me to trip up.

This mess? Mine. Like, completely on me. Nobody made this call but me.

If Dante screwed me over, well... I’d go up in flames with him. That’s fair.

But if he didn’t? Maybe we weren’t as doomed as they said.

Maybe.

I swear, those halls got five degrees colder the moment I stepped out of that room. The servants did their little bowing routine, but yeah, I could feel it. Suspicion slipping past my collar, raising goosebumps. News travels on Mira’s knife-tips, pretty sure folks were already deciding how to spin my whole speech. Weak, desperate, whatever.

Good. Let them.

Let them think I’m soft. Easy target. Blind as a bat. Turns out, not one of them’s seen what I’m actually willing to do.

I’ll show every one of them. Wait and see.

That night, I dragged myself back to Dominic’s side. Just sat there, dead silent, counting the raspy pulls of his breath. He looked...not great, honestly. Like someone had already sketched him halfway into the grave. I wanted to spill it all...everything I had done, every ugly piece of it, hoping maybe he would open his eyes, tell me I hadn’t just wrecked us.

He didn’t. Just more silence, broken by his chest barely moving.

So, I talked anyway. Maybe just for me. “I’ll keep us safe, Dom. Even if it kicks the last piece of me out.”

He didn’t answer, obviously. So I found his hand, squeezed it, and just kept holding on.