CHAPTER 291: 291: THE GLOW THAT WAITED

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One hour earlier...

Luna stood at the highest ledge of Monarch Mountain, her arms folded tightly beneath her chest. Her silver hair danced in the thin air, catching strands of light from the fading moon. The breeze was sharp, clean, and high with altitude, but it did nothing to shake the heaviness in her chest.

Her long rabbit ears twitched every few seconds, straining to catch the faintest shift of aura. A heartbeat. A whisper. Anything familiar.

Nothing. It was just wind.

Miryam rested nearby, curled atop a sun kissed and warmed boulder like a silent empress. She was larger now, about the size of a small cat, stretched out with elegant, lazy grace. Her scales shimmered faintly, a blend of dull sand and molten gold, the color of buried treasure and quiet strength. Two tiny horns poked back from her head, still growing tucked neatly across her head scales.

Her golden eyes were half lidded, the look of someone who had inherited an empire before she learned how to fully yawn.

But she watched everything. She always watched.

Luna’s gaze drifted across the endless horizon. Clouds floated below the peaks, soft and mocking. Somewhere past them was the forest. The sky. The truth.

Her hand gently touched her belly. She remembered the night before they entered the Rift Gate.

The hilltop had been quiet. They had pitched a tent beneath the stars, alone, wrapped in blankets and nervous anticipation.

She had asked him then, in the stillness, her voice quiet and hopeful.

"Before we go into danger... will you give me something? Someone who can play with Miryam. A child of our own."

Kai had not hesitated. He had kissed her. Held her. Loved her under the open sky. That night, the stars were not the only ones glowing.

Then she remembered the last moment with Kai inside the rift gate. He had whispered into her ears that he would return. That no rift, no beast, no one could keep him from her.

And then she left with others.

The Rift Gate had shimmered, humming with sealed power. He had turned back one last time and smiled. The kind of smile that stayed even when he was gone.

Her heart ached. It had been over twenty days. He had spoken to her once after she thought Kai went missing when the rift gate closed. It was by soul connection, brief but unforgettable. It came during a quiet night by the mountain lake.

His voice had filled her mind. "I am alright. I am in the southern forest. Do not worry. I will be back soon."

And then, just before the link closed: "I miss you, Luna. I love you. Every heartbeat I have left is yours. I will be back in weeks."

That message had kept her breathing. Now she lowered her head, her voice a whisper in the wind. "He is not coming today either. It has been over twenty days. And yet..."

Then she remembers after the conversation how she bonded with Miryam.

"Papa will come soon." The voice echoed inside her mind.

It was not Kai. Luna blinked. She turned slowly toward Miryam.

The wyrmling had not moved, but her golden eyes were open now, fixed on her. Luna blinked again, not trusting her ears.

"Miryam?"

"He said he would come back." The words were soft, not spoken aloud. They flowed through Luna’s mind like a stream moving over smooth stone.

Luna crouched beside the lake and gently reached toward the little girl. "You’re speaking to me now?"

Miryam’s tail flicked once. "Only because he is not here to. You felt lonely."

Luna smiled faintly. "You used to ignore me."

"You were not my Papa. That’s why I don’t talk."

"I’m still not." Luna said.

Miryam blinked slowly. Her gaze was not hostile. Just matter-of-fact. "You still are not. But you are Papa’s wife. I can talk to Papa’s wife."

Luna brushed her fingers gently along Miryam’s back. The wyrmling didn’t pull away. "You have grown," she said quietly. "And I think you understand more than you let on."

"Of course, I understand everything. I am papa’s daughter,"

Miryam said.

Luna swallowed hard. "Yes. You are his daughter. I am glad you are talking to me." Then Luna started to cry in happiness. Luna whispered. "My heart feels so warm."

"So stop crying like he is gone."

Luna chuckled, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "Even your voice sounds like his sometimes. Cold, but full of meaning."

After that they do all kinds of things together. They bonded a lot. The flashback ended.

Miryam closed her eyes and shifted her claws, curling tighter on the stone. She responded to Luna’s comment which she made before the flashback. ("He is not coming today either. It has been over twenty days. And yet...")

"He promised he would come back. Papa is not a liar."

"No," Luna whispered. "He never was."

She looked back to the sky. And then, as if summoned by their words, something changed. A pulse. A ripple across the edges of her soul.

Her wrist grew warm. She looked down. The Moonvine bracelet shimmered like starlight woven in silver. It pulsed with gentle light. Luna gasped.

The soul connection opened like a door in her heart. Kai’s voice filled her again. "Luna."

Her breath caught in her throat. Her heart nearly stopped. The voice did not come from her ears. It echoed in her soul. Warm, steady, unmistakable.

"It’s me. I opened the soul channel. Do not panic. My love."

She dropped to her knees, trembling. Her breath hitched as her body leaned forward, arms wrapping around herself.

"I knew it," she whispered aloud. "You are back. My Moonvine is glowing. You... you are here. My husband is coming home." His voice vibrated through her soul.

"I am flying back. Only half an hour away. Look up in a few minutes. I will be in your arms."

Luna laughed and sobbed all at once, clutching her glowing wrist.