LUNA OF ASHES [THE MOON GODDESS RISES AGAIN] のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 39

THIRD PERSON'S POV The council wing of the palace was quiet in the small hours before dawn. Elena moved through them, her steps measured, like she did not want to be seen wandering through the halls at night. She had not returned to her own quarters after her confrontation with Nikolai. Instead, she went straight to Thorne’s private study—the one tucked behind the old library, the one few people remembered existed.The door was unlocked. She pushed it open without knocking.Thorne stood at the window, back to her, a goblet of dark wine in his hand. The fire in the grate had burned low. He didn’t turn when she entered, but the slight tightening of his shoulders told her he’d known she was coming.“You’re late,” he said.“I had to make sure someone didn’t follow me.” Elena closed the door behind her with a soft click. “The king is with her now. Holding her like she’s some fragile treasure instead of the end of everything we’ve built.”Thorne finally turned. His eyes sharp, calculatin

KATHERINE ASHFORD I woke up first the next morning. The chamber was still dark and smelled of sex. Nikolai slept behind me, one arm across my waist, the other tucked beneath my head like a pillow. His breathing was slow and even, deep enough that I could feel it against the back of my neck. Even unconscious, he held me like something fragile and irreplaceable, his fingers curled just tight enough to remind me he was there, that he wasn’t letting go.I was sore everywhere. But beneath the pain, and exhaustion here was something else.Safety.For the first time in weeks—maybe months—I felt safeNot because the danger had passed. But because I knew I was not facing this alone. I shifted carefully so I could see his face.He looked younger in sleep. The hard lines around his eyes softened. The scar that ran from his left temple down to his jaw earned in some battle long before I knew him looked less like a mark of violence and more like proof he’d survived worse than this. His lashes

KATHERINE ASHFORD We got back to traveling the next morning. I couldn't keep my eyes off him. I was worried even if I knew my powers had the ability to hold him for sometime. At least until we arrived at the cave. “You're quiet.” Nikolai said with a smile on his face. “I'm worried. I just want all of this to end. I've never had a peaceful life. Everyday feels like I'm running from the shadows of my past, from decisions I should never have made in the first place. Giving Dominic the position of Alpha, is a decision I would regret for the rest of my life.” I said and he smiled. “It's okay to feel that way. But what's not okay is you blaming yourself for something you had no control over. It was bound to happen, no matter how much you try to fight it, evil would always try to prevail.” He said and I nodded. “I think we have arrived.” Nora announced as she dismounted her horse. We stared at the cave in front of us. Indeed the witches had done a good job in changing their hideout ag

NIKOLAI VOLKOV The palace felt different after the fire, almost like everyone was walking on eggshells. Afraid of what might happen next. I made certain that Katherine slept in our chambers, it was one thing to live freely. We could not afford any casualties. Not now that the elders would do anything to separate us.The council’s demands still rang in my ears. Elena’s voice. The elders’ silence. The unspoken threat: we need an heir, or we replace you.I couldn’t give them what they wanted.I wouldn’t. But I also couldn’t keep pretending I knew how to win this fight alone.I needed answers. Not prophecies or warnings. I needed Facts, history to back my claims. The kind my father never shared. The old man thought knowledge was weakness. He believed that if people knew little about you, they have nothing to fight. I went to the one place no one ever entered anymore. The royal archive. The walk there was slow. The archive lay at the eastern tower, narrow stone stairs, a single iro

NIKOLAI VOLKOV I stayed there in the pool, afraid to face my fears, or the guilt that remained in my mind. The water had gone cold by the time I dragged myself out of the pool. I stood dripping on the stone tiles, staring at the rippling surface like it might give me answers. My chest still carried the hurt from the previous night, the poison slowed but not gone. I could still feel her. Liora’s hands. Her mouth. The way my body had betrayed me even when my mind was screaming to stop. The way I hadn’t been able to stop her. I pressed the heel of my hand against my sternum, hard enough to bruise, trying to crush the memory down. It didn’t work. I dressed slowly, fresh tunic, fresh pants, fresh cloak. Every movement pulled at the wound. Shame filled my mind, it reminded me of how I had failed to uphold my vows to my wife. I couldn’t tell her, hell I wouldn’t do that to her. How do even open about having sex with Liora, she would break down. Katherine had already carried