All Chapters of Rejected Luna: Rise of an Omega Queen: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Nobody moved.Lucian stood at the entrance of the sanctuary as though he had been there all along, watching us from the darkness.He looked nothing like the monster I had imagined.That somehow made him worse.He was calm.Too calm.His dark coat hung loosely over his shoulders, and his eyes moved across the room before settling on me.“Amara.”My mother stepped in front of me.“You shouldn't be here.”Lucian smiled.“You've been saying that for twenty years.”My father moved beside her.“You're not taking her.”Lucian looked at him.“I don't want to take her.”“Then why are you here?”“Because she has something that belongs to me.”I felt my hand close around the pendant.“This?”His eyes dropped to it.“Yes.”My mother shook her head.“No.”Lucian's expression hardened.“You still don't understand.”“I understand enough.”“No, Evelyn. You never did.”He took a slow step forward.“The First Mark was never yours to hide.”My mother didn't move.“It doesn't belong to you either.”Lucia

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.The man standing in the doorway looked at my mother with a familiarity that made the entire room feel smaller.He was older than the man in the photograph, but there was no mistaking him.My grandfather.Gabriel.My mother had spent years telling me he was dead.Yet there he stood.Alive.Watching me.“You've grown,” he said quietly.I couldn't find my voice.My father moved in front of me.“Don't come any closer.”Gabriel's eyes shifted to him.“You're still doing that?”“Doing what?”“Standing between Amara and the truth.”My mother stepped forward.“Gabriel, leave.”He looked at her for a long moment.“You really haven't changed.”“I said leave.”“And I said she's old enough to know.”I looked at my mother.“Know what?”She closed her eyes.I felt my chest tighten.“Mom.”She opened them again.There was fear in them.Not the kind she'd shown when Victor appeared.This was different.It was the fear of someone watching a secret finally catch u

The door slammed shut behind Adrian.The sound echoed through the sanctuary.Everyone turned.My mother pulled me closer.“Stay with me.”Adrian's expression had changed.Whatever confidence he'd carried a moment ago was gone.“That's not possible,” he whispered.Gabriel looked toward the sealed doorway.“It is.”Lucian's face was unusually pale.I looked at him.“You know what's happening.”He didn't answer.“Lucian.”His eyes met mine.“The sanctuary has been sealed.”“By who?”He looked toward the darkness.“Her.”A cold feeling settled in my stomach.“Elena?”“No.”His voice was barely above a whisper.“Someone older.”Before I could ask another question, the candles around the sanctuary lit themselves.One after another.The walls began to glow.Lines appeared across the stone floor, forming a huge symbol around us.Liana grabbed my arm.“What is that?”Adrian looked at the symbol.“The original seal.”My mother shook her head.“It shouldn't be active.”“But it is.”Gabriel looke

The memory came back before I could stop it.A little girl.A dark hallway.A locked door.And my mother's voice on the other side.“Amara, don't open it.”I stood completely still.The sanctuary disappeared around me, replaced by the memory.I was small.Maybe six years old.My hand rested against the cold wooden door.“Mom?”No answer.I could hear her crying.“Mom, are you there?”A man's voice came from behind me.“Don't be afraid.”I turned.My grandfather was standing at the end of the hallway.But he looked younger.Much younger.He walked toward me slowly.“Come with me.”I shook my head.“Mom said not to open the door.”“She wants you to stay inside.”I looked at the door.“Why?”“Because she knows what happens when you remember.”The memory shifted.Suddenly, my mother was standing in front of me.She knelt and held my face between her hands.“Listen to me carefully.”I looked at her.“If anyone asks you about tonight, you remember nothing.”“Why?”“Because they'll come looki

The voice came again from behind the door.“Amara…”There was no mistaking it this time.Marcus.I reached for the handle, but my mother caught my arm.“Wait.”Her eyes were fixed on the door.“Something is wrong.”“What?”She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked at Ethan.“You said Marcus disappeared three years ago.”“He did.”“And you never found him?”“No.”My father stepped closer. “Then how do you know that's his voice?”Ethan's expression changed.“I don't.”The words settled heavily between us.I turned back toward the door.“Then who is calling me?”A soft knock came from the other side.“Amara.”My pendant burned against my chest.The Mark responded to the voice.That was enough.I opened the door.The room beyond was enormous.Unlike the rest of the sanctuary, this chamber looked untouched by time. Strange symbols covered the walls, carved so deeply into the stone that some appeared almost black. At the center stood a circular platform surrounded by four pillars.