All Chapters of Loving Luna : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“And you were holding it.” Darius’s words hung in the air. Luna knelt before him, her hand still outstretched, longing to reach him. Just moments before, it had felt so easy, so natural. Now, he looked at her as if she might hurt him. “Darius,” she said softly. His eyes flickered up. The gray was gone, replaced by a burning gold. Recognition flared, but it wasn’t for her. It was for someone else. “Who is Solara?” Mason asked. Darius flinched. “Don’t,” he whispered. Mason fell silent. Evelyn stayed by the wall, her hand resting on her weapon. The corpse had slumped over, the smoke cleared, leaving only the stark reality of death. But something else lingered, something he had awakened. Luna slowly lowered her hand, a movement Darius noticed. “Why’d you pull away?” he asked. “You looked like you didn’t want me to touch you.” “I don’t even know what I want.” His honesty was a sharp sting. Luna stood. “Then just take a second.” Darius rose slowly. “What did you see?” she asked. “F

"Let's see what you choose when I take him again," Lucian's voice boomed, not just from Nightbane, but from the very heart of the grove itself, as if the weapon had learned to speak through the world. Black fire surged across Darius's arm in violent, crawling waves, and Luna's heart leaped into her throat. "Darius!" she cried. He gritted his teeth so hard she thought they might shatter, refusing to let go of the sword even as it burned him from the inside out. His grip was like iron, desperate; letting go felt like losing himself entirely. The black flames crept higher, wrapping around him like living vines that tightened with every beat of his heart. The warriors instinctively stepped back, their boots scraping on stone and grass. Even Mason hesitated, jaw clenched, hand hovering near his weapon but not daring to draw it fully. None of them knew how to fight a weapon forged by such ancient magic—something that didn't just cut flesh, but rewrote will. Luna did. She didn't fight the

"And only the Queen remains," Solara whispered, then vanished. Her words, however, lingered in the Hall, a ghostly echo amongst the blank-faced statues and the creeping black smoke staining the cracked floor. Darius held Luna close, a silent "No" escaping his lips. Luna glanced towards the corridor beyond the shattered statue, hearing another heavy thud against the lower gate somewhere below. The ground trembled, dislodging dust from the ceiling. Alden, meanwhile, was studying the fading golden symbols Solara had left behind. "Twelve minutes," the Keeper stated. Darius whirled on him. "She's not going." Alden's face hardened. "Then Lucian gets to the Book first." "Find another way." "There isn't one." "You don't know that." "I do. This Hall was built to keep rulers out. If Solara said the Heart Chamber will reject you, it will." Darius's eyes blazed gold. "Then I'll break the seal." "And if it destroys the Book?" "I don't care about the Book." Luna pulled away, but Darius ca

Kael. The Book whispered the name again, softly, relentlessly. A black line continued to spread across Darius's wrist. Luna snatched the Book away, and instantly, the darkness stopped climbing. Darius flexed his hand, watching the fading mark. "What was that?" No one answered. Outside the SUV, Ethan stood completely still, his black wolves watching the vehicles with glowing amber eyes, but none of them moved. They were waiting. Mason rested a hand on his pistol. "Alpha?" Darius never took his eyes off Ethan. "No one attacks." Mason blinked. "They brought an army." "I know." "And we're... not attacking?" "They haven't crossed onto Blackwood land." Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "They're standing right on the border." Luna looked through the windshield. She hadn't noticed before. Ethan stood with one boot on the old stone marker splitting Blackwood territory from the wild lands beyond. He hadn't stepped over it. Not once. "He doesn't want a fight," Luna whispered. Darius finally looked

“You don’t control the Order,” Darius said. Cassian’s expression cracked for a moment, as if the words had struck something buried rather than merely spoken aloud. The Book hovered open between them, its pages turning without wind, without touch, as though it were reading the air itself. CASSIAN DRAKE — BOUND. FIRST SERVANT OF THE CROWN. The words pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat that did not belong to any living body in the room. Cassian’s hand twitched, and for the briefest instant he hid the mark in his palm, curling his fingers as if concealment could undo truth. Behind him, the wolves remained crouched, perfectly still, their eyes tracking every breath in the room. They were not animals in the ordinary sense; they were extensions of will, sharpened into obedience. “You founded the Order of Ash,” Luna said, her voice steady but edged with disbelief, “but the crown controls you.” Cassian’s gaze snapped to her. “You understand nothing.” “That usually means she understands to