Semua Bab From Betrayed Luna to Crowned Princess: Bab 181 - Bab 190

Ravena's POV By the time we arrived home, Erik was deeply asleep and I carried him to his room without waking him.Evander was waiting in the study.He looked up when I came in and something in his expression told me before he spoke that this was not a casual conversation."Sit

Ravena's POV Garrick Blackstone had spent years watching me move through his son's household like a woman who was there by mistake. He had never said it to my face. Men like Garrick rarely did. But it had been in every room he entered, in the way he looked through me at pack gatherings, in the way he had said nothing when Lucien started humiliating me publicly.Doris was staring at my face closely. I could see the moment she realized she had said more than she intended, the slight widening of her eyes, the small inward pull of someone reassessing how much they had just handed over."I should not have said all of that," she said."Doris." I looked at her warmly. "You have spent years being the only honest person in that entire household. Please do not stop now on my account."She let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "I just don't want to cause you any distress before your wedding.""You haven’t," I said. "Really. Everything you have told me today I am filing away as gossip and no

Ravena's POV Astrid opened her mouth to argue, but I didn't let her.My hand suddenly connected with her shoulder and I shoved her hard. She went down to the floor with a sharp sound that rang through the receiving room like a statement.The maidservants standing by the walls froze in place.

Ravena's POV When the gate was closing, I heard the scrape of something on the ground half a second before I realized what it was.Suddenly Celeste was in front of me.She had moved without thinking and threw herself sideways before the rock had even left Astrid's hand. And the rock hit her square across the cheekbone with a sound that turned my stomach. She let out a short, sharp sound and staggered, her hand flying to her face."Seize her," I immediately ordered, and my voice came out in a register I didn't entirely recognize. The kind of voice that doesn't need to be raised to be obeyed. "Bring her inside. Now."The guards moved before I even finished speaking.Astrid had not run. She was still standing in the road, her arm extended from the throw, her expression shifting through several things very quickly. Boldness first. Then the realization of what she had just done. Then, as the guards reached her and she felt their grip close around her arms and understood that I was not sen

Lucien's POV The answer was yes. I understood completely. I had understood completely for longer than I wanted to admit, and understanding had not been enough to make me do the right thing at the right moment. That was the torment of being the kind of man I was. Clear enough to see the damage. Not strong enough, at the crucial moments, to stop causing it.I picked up the IOU from the desk one more time and looked at Astrid's signature then I went to her room.