All Chapters of The Stand-In Luna: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Ashley It was getting harder and harder to successfully fall asleep in those times. I would put my head against a pillow and force my eyes shut, but sleep wouldn't come to take me away and relieve me of the weight of reality. The times it finally spared me, though, were often too short and passed by like a mere blink of an eye. The next morning, silence was my alarm. The air was too thick, and the sky, still too dark for morning. The chickens were crowing, and birds had started to sing, but something felt crooked about it all. I touched the bed, hoping that my hand would meet the warm flesh of my mate, but I found nothing but flat sheets of cotton. They still held some essence of his warmth, but of course that was not what I desired. This installed a deeper sense of awareness into me, and I sat up, listening and looking for any sign of him. From the bathroom, I heard nothing. I got up to check, and my conclusion remained unchanged.I was alone.I could tell that he hadn't been gon

Zane Our journey took us deep into uncharted territory, part dirt roads seldom used and forgotten human villages lost to time and wars. With every kilometre added to the distance between our carriage and the territory, the more unease I started to feel.I pulled at the collar of my shirt, swallowing to distract myself from the feeling of something crawling underneath my skin. “How much longer?” I asked, hating the bitter tast on my tongue. I didn't want to go anywhere with her, but I needed to see what she was going on about for myself. Hopefully it wasn't a trap.“We'll be there soon. Once you see it, you'll understand,” Zanzi said mysteriously before returning her gaze to the window of the carriage. She was seated across from me, but I still felt suffocated in her presence. I simply wanted to be rid ofnher so that I didn't have to keep pretending to be amicable. Hate was to strong a word to describe hiwnI felt, but I knew that whatever had been in my heart for her years ago had tur

Ashley Hours later, Zane finally came to in the quiet of the night. I was by his side in a chair, traversing a light sleep, and I felt his hand tap my face blindly. I had to send the other healers home so that they could rest, but Alicia remained, although she had also taken one of the empty rooms of the centre so she could get some rest.I caught Zane's hand, bringing it down and moving closer to him. “I'm here, Zane.”His hand tightened over mine, and he sighed in relief. “Good. You're safe.” He relaxed on the bed once again. “You're safe.”“Yes I am. What happened to you?” I started asking. “Where did you go?” I didn't plan on asking so many questions but my mouth worked faster than my mouth. He blinked twice before giving me a response. There was still a trace of confusion in his expression. “I don't even know where we went. It all just felt…wrong.”“What do you mean?”“The prophecy. It was written somewhere deep in the woods northwest from here, close to the Hidden Mountains. T

Ashley The days that followed came with more news concerning the supposed darkness spreading from the woods Zane and Zanzi had visited. Apparently the origin of the spread was a well-known site known as the Old Woods of Quietus.It was known to be cursed, but never had its evil reached so far beyond its borders. Before, people could avoid it by not going through it, but now it seemed that it was no longer having that.Zane sent out scouts to assess the area and check for clues as to what could have gone wrong. However, the main thing I was focused on was the fact that Zane claimed to have seen the prophecy in those woods I wanted to go there as well, but I knew that Zane wouldn't allow me to if he was aware of it. So the only solution I had was quite simple—not tell him at all. If he could keep me in the dark about his plans with Zanzi, then I had every right to also go there in order to find answers to my questions.I had grown tired of other people being aware of things concerning

Ashley The Old Woods of Quietus had a strange air about it. It tasted a little like some age-old sadness and otherworldly evil. For some reason, when I stepped into it, I could feel the weight of the crime that had been committed there, and the pain of those who had been unfortunate enough to get caught in its darkness. In the forest, it was as though I had been flung into an entirely new world. The birds no longer chirped; the air sounded like far-away cacophony of wails. Everything about it appeared so twisted, that it was hard to imagine that it was once referred to as the most beautiful forest in the world. Every step I took into it felt like sinking into an ocean and getting pulled deeper and deeper until I was wholly submerged. Trapped.I let down my hood. If whatever spirit that resided here had been looking for me, it was better to make myself easier to find. “Hello?” I called out into the silence in a move that could have only been described as foolishly bold.Something pa