Semua Bab The Lycan King’s Treasured Luna: Bab 211 - Bab 219

The girls, unfortunately, would not be here to witness this day with me the way I had once dreamed. War had scattered us like seeds across the realms, rooting us into duties and titles in each of our sects. They had grown into leaders and commanders, guardians of their people. And though the thought still ached, they had promised me they would be here before the night was over. We had spoken earlier this morning. I clung to that promise like a tether. Sargis had left before dawn, dragged out by Lupercus, both of them bound by custom and tradition. It demanded we walk into the throne room separately, as if the gods themselves must witness us not as lovers but as sovereigns first. I missed him already, hence why I stood on the balcony long after my bath, wrapped in my robe, staring into the pale horizon reminiscing. Avaline and Hasmik were supposed to come and dress me, and I waited for them like a child waits for the first light of a festival. I groaned inwardly w

Hours later, the chandeliers had begun to blur, each crystal dripping golden light like overripe fruit. Applause, toasts, yet another parade of dignitaries with stiff smiles and perfumed hands, the noise pressed against my skull until I could barely taste my own breath. Sargis caught my eye across the ballroom, that subtle tilt of his mouth the only warning before his fingers slid into mine beneath the tablecloth. "Enough?" he murmured. "Far too much," I breathed back, already fighting a laugh. We slipped out while the orchestra still spun its silvery waltz, ghosting along the side corridor like guilty children. The marble echoed under our hurried steps. Somewhere behind us, a herald called for yet another round of congratulations, but we were already disappearing into the hush of the palace's sleeping wing. The farther we went, the lighter I felt. The air tasted of night-blooming jasmine drifting in from an open colonnade. I couldn't stop the

The smell hit first, so thick, rancid, and cloying it felt like a swarm pressing into my throat until bile nearly rose. I swallowed hard, willing my face to stay impassive even as my stomach lurched. The guards dragged them forward, chains scraping the marble like nails down bone. The first figure to emerge was Joe. Behind him, the rest shuffled in, those men who had once turned cruelty into a game, who carved laughter from screams, who wore my suffering as though it were a medal. Now their wrists clinked under iron, and their heads bowed beneath the weight of their own ruin. I sank deeper into the throne, fingers curling hard around the carved armrests, every muscle in my body begging me to tremble. I did not. I would not. My heart thundered like war drums beneath my ribs, but I lifted my chin and forced myself to meet their eyes. For an instant, the past clawed up my throat, blood pooling against stone, cold walls mocking my isolation, the e

Outside, the palace corridors lay hushed, shadows stretched long and solemn across the marble floors. My footsteps whispered over the carpeted stairs as I descended, the silence wrapping closer with every step, anticipation tightening inside me like a drawn bowstring. At the front drive, the limousine waited with its headlights spilling pale gold against the stone archway. I slipped inside, sinking into the plush leather seat. The driver inclined his head in silent acknowledgment before steering us toward the Velariad, the engine purring low as the palace began to retreat behind us. I curled my fingers around the cuff of Sargis's shirt, tugging absently at the fabric while my mind raced ahead of the car. What could he possibly be planning? A moonlit walk along the riverbank? A quiet corner in one of Velariad's taverns where no one bowed or whispered our names? I smiled at the thought, knowing with Sargis it could be anything, from a stolen hour of simpl