All Chapters of Three Fates, One Luna: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The sand was cool beneath my feet.I made it maybe twenty steps before giving up on the shoes entirely.Darian glanced down as I slipped off the first heel."Already?""They're decorative.""You insisted they were practical.""I was wrong."He stopped walking.I looked at him."What?""I just want to remember this moment.""Don't."His smile widened."Lyra Vale admitting she was wrong.""I can put the shoes back on.""That sounds more like a threat against yourself."I laughed and pulled off the second heel.Much better.The sand shifted between my toes as we continued down the beach, the lights of the Moon Festival fading behind us.Music still drifted through the trees.Soft now.Distant.I looked toward the ocean."We do this a lot."Darian glanced over."What?""End up on the beach."He considered it."I don't mind.""Neither do I."For a while, we walked without speaking.It was comfortable.The kind of silence that didn't need filling.Then Darian spoke."You leave tomorrow."Th

The courtyard looked different with my bags packed.I stood beside the horses while Darian tightened one of the straps holding my things to the saddle.Then tightened it again.And again.I watched him."Is that going somewhere?""No.""Because you've checked it three times.""It's secure.""I gathered that around the second time."His hands stopped.For half a second, I thought he might look at me.He didn't.He moved to the next strap.Things had been strange between us all morning.Not angry.Not exactly.Just...Unfinished.Last night we'd stood on the beach close enough to kiss.I'd told him maybe I didn't want him to be honorable.He'd asked what I wanted.And before either of us could answer—A guard had died.Then I'd questioned Ironfang.Darian had questioned why.And somehow we'd gone from almost kissing beneath the moonlight to barely speaking in the courtyard.Perfect.I looked around.Everything was exactly as it had been yesterday.Except I was leaving.This should hurt.

Ironfang was waiting at the border.Five wolves.Four mounted.One standing beside a black stallion.Kael.I saw him before I saw anything else.He stood with one hand resting against the saddle, dressed entirely in dark colors that somehow made him look even larger than I remembered.And he was large.Not simply tall.Broad.His shoulders stretched the dark fabric of his shirt, tapering into a narrow waist beneath his belt. His sleeves were pushed toward his elbows, exposing thick forearms marked by faint scars.My eyes dropped to his hands.Large.Scarred across the knuckles.Strong enough that I could easily imagine those fingers closing around someone's throat.Except...I'd dreamed about those hands.I'd felt them move gently over my skin.I'd watched those fingers brush hair away from my face.I'd felt them hold me like I was something precious.My gaze returned to Kael.His face revealed absolutely nothing.Strong jaw.Straight nose.Dark brows over equally dark eyes that seeme

Kael led me up two flights of stairs without saying a word.Apparently silence was his preferred method of communication.I followed him through a wide hallway lined with dark wooden doors, each carved with the same intricate patterns I'd noticed throughout Ironfang.Kael stopped at the last door and opened it."This is yours."I stepped inside.And paused.The room was warmer than I'd expected.A fire burned in a stone fireplace along one wall. A large bed sat opposite it, covered in thick blankets and more pillows than any reasonable person needed. Two chairs faced a window overlooking the valley.Beyond the glass, mountains rose in every direction.The waterfall was visible from here."Oh."Kael leaned against the doorframe."You'll be staying here for the next few weeks."I turned."Meals are served in the great hall downstairs. If you miss one, the kitchens keep food available throughout the day."That was surprisingly civilized."You can come and go as you please."I raised an e

The room was freezing.That was my first thought as I crawled beneath the blankets.My second was that Darian had been right.Again.I hated when that happened.The fire had burned low while I'd been out with Mira, and despite the thick blankets covering the bed, cold seeped through the stone walls.I curled onto my side.Nope.Still cold.My eyes landed on a stack of extra blankets folded neatly beside the fireplace.Someone had clearly left them there for me.I considered getting one.Then my gaze moved toward my pack.Darian's blanket.I sighed and climbed back out of bed.It was ridiculous. There were perfectly good blankets ten feet away.Probably warmer blankets.Instead, I dug through my things until I found the one Darian had packed that morning.Something in my chest tightened.It smelled faintly like him.Like Moonshadow.Home.I missed them.Eliza.Talia.The children running through the courtyard.Darian.Moon Goddess, I missed Darian.My throat tightened.No.I was not cr