All Chapters of The Heart of the Queen: Legacy of The Moonborn: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Two days had passed since our return to the Citadel, and I’d barely had time to breathe. Meetings. Reports. Planning. Always something needing my attention, my presence, putting things back in gear. Ronan had been even more restless than usual, sharp with his words and sharper with his silences. I knew why. But neither of us was ready to speak about it. And there were complications. Cael was here. Nothing felt safe anymore. Not even my own mind. So, that morning, I excused myself. No council. No Ronan. No Cael. No anything but fresh air and the orchard where the twins had gone earlier with Ansel. I needed to see their faces. Feel something that didn’t hurt. I took the long path through the courtyard. I was halfway to the orchard when I saw him. Lucien. I stopped short. “You know,” I said flatly, “I really need to speak to the guards about just letting people wander in.” He didn’t move. “I’m not a stranger here, Aria.” I gave him a long, cold look. “You're not exactly welcome

《》Lucien's POV We returned home in silence. Aria leaned against me the entire ride back, her body tired, her spirit worse. I carried her into the estate, barely sparing a glance back at the girl who followed us like a shadow. Selene. I didn’t know what to make of her yet. She was quiet. Too quiet. I left her under guards watch in the common room and carried Aria to her chambers. I half expected her to pass out right away, but she looked up at me instead. Her eyes were wet. Tired. But determined. “I’m sorry,” she said, voice cracking. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just… I thought I could get some time alone. But I'm so stupid. And I got hurt. I’m—” “Stop.” I sat on the edge of the bed beside her. “Don’t ever call yourself stupid again.” “I was careless.” “A little. But you were also kind. There’s a difference.” Her lips quivered, and she looked away. “I know people still doubt me,” she whispered. “Still think I’m not Luna material. That I’m just some pathetic little

《》Lucien's POV I don’t know how I managed to move. But I picked her up—Aria still curled on the floor beside my father's body, her hands slick with blood. Her eyes were wide and distant. She didn’t even flinch when I touched her. “I didn’t do it,” she whispered. Over and over. “I didn’t do it. I didn’t—” “I know,” I said instinctively, even though I wasn’t sure what I knew. I gathered her in my arms. I looked dowm once more at my father’s still body, then at the strange symbol smeared in blood on the wall—sharp lines, jagged curves. I didn’t let myself linger. There wasn’t time to feel. I had to move. The estate had turned upside down. Guards were sprinting in every direction, checking exits, searching for the perpetrator. Someone shouted that the gates needed to be sealed. Someone else mentioned tracking scents. I carried Aria up to our room. Rose petals still lay scattered across the floor. The candles had melted into nothing. "Get clean towels," I told the maid on duty. "A

I didn’t mean to walk that fast back to my chamber. But I needed to get away—from the garden, from Lucien, from the weight of that final look he gave me. His words looped in my head. "Selene was a stray too." The implication hung heavy. And just like that, my insides twisted into knots. I hated that he was making me overthink. And I hated that he had a point.But no. I had to be smarter than this. Things had been happening long before Ansel ever showed up at the gates, bruised and terrified. The twins loved her. They trusted her. I trusted her.Still…There was another spy in the Citadel. And until I found them, I wasn’t going to sleep easy.My mind was racing too fast to register that I’d taken the long hallway leading toward the study. I made a sharp turn and that’s when I almost collided with him.Ronan.I stopped short. So did he.His eyes flickered—surprised, maybe. Or... not surprised at all. I couldn't be sure.“Sorry,” I said, too quickly, stepping aside.He didn’t move rig

Ronan and I had agreed for me to return to his room later that day for our dinner. I'd barely made it ten steps past Ronan’s room when I bumped into what felt like a wall.Cael.He steadied me and I stepped back instantly. He looked like he'd been waiting or wandering. Probably both.“There you are,” he said, smiling like we shared something. “I’ve been walking these damn halls. Thought they’d never end.”I stiffened. “Try staying in your room then.”He stepped closer. Not touching. Just looming. “Are you avoiding me?”I folded my arms. “I don’t owe you any explanations.”“Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean you don’t feel what I feel.”I met his gaze, cold and direct. “Stop.”“We’re meant to be, Aria. You know that.” His voice dropped, almost reverent. “Our souls… they’re bound. That’s not something you can fight.”His words echoed what the High Priestess had said. Like he’d been standing outside the door.I wanted to scream. I wanted to shove him. Instead, I said, “How convenient. You