The ng of steel still echoed faintly across the courtyard when I left the garden.

(72)

#youchate

Francesco and his knights had gone to the training field, their voices low, clipped, the cadence of warriors sharpening one another into readiness.

I had watched him go–his shoulders squared, his stride that mixture of lethal grace andmand that always pulled eyes whether he wanted them or not.

I should have gone with him.

I should have sat at the edge of the field and watched, as I sometimes did, to reassure myself he was flesh and blood and not a weapon forged too sharp for the world.

But something restless twisted in my chest, pulling me in the opposite direction.

When I turned, my gaze found Audrey first.

She lingered a step behind me as always, one hand brushing the hilt of her sword the way most people fidget with beads or rings. She didn’t need words to know my intent. Her dark brows drew down, a warning written across her face.

“I need to meet with Isolde,” I said.

The words were quiet, but theynded like a stone thrown into still water.

Audrey froze, her entire body tensing.

Alfonso, standing on my other side, shifted his weight and gave me a long, steady look. He had the expression of ia /iman already picturing Francesco’s fury when he found out.

Audrey recovered first. “The King—”

“He doesn’t need to know,” I interrupted, sharper than I intended. My voice echoed off the stone, startling even myself. I drew a breath, softer this time. “He already has the burden of the border. I will not weigh him with this. Not yet.”

Alfonso’s eyes narrowed.

He could be as unreadable as Francesco when he wanted, but I’d learned to see through the small tells: the tight line at the corner of his mouth, the way his thumb tapped against his thigh when his mind wrestled itself into submission.

Finally, he exhaled, long and weary.

“I know he’ll be furious,” he muttered. “But I also know you’ll protect me from him. Right?”

I let a teasing smile curve my lips, even though my heart was pounding. “Should I?” fnf544 Read full story at FindN0vel/fnf544

b12:00 /bTueb, /bbSep /bb30 /b

He groaned, dragging a hand over his face. “Saints save me from stubborn Lunas,”

A 3

(79)

Sveuchw

Audrey made a sound–half snort, half growl—but she didn’t press further. She only fell into step behind me. her silence sharper than any de.

The walk to the ward was quiet but heavy.

Servants passing us bowed low, eyes darting curiously.

They didn’t need to ask where we were going. The scent of herbs and iron grew thicker the closer we came, the bitter tang of medicine clinging to the air.

Monica was there when we entered, sleeves rolled, her hands stained faintly with salve. She looked her work with a start, nearly dropping a bundle of sage.

up from

“Luna?” Her voice cracked on my title, surprise ringing clear.

I nodded once. “Open the door. I want to speak with Isolde.”

Her mouth parted in protest. “But-” Her eyes darted desperately to Alfonso, searching for reprieve.

Alfonso gave the smallest nod. Duty, not approval.

Monica’s lips pressed into a thin line.

After a long moment, she turned, utched the ward door, and let it creak open.

The room beyond was colder.

Not dungeon–cold, not stone dripping with rot and mold, but the kind of cold thates from sterility, from a ce meant for recovery but filled instead with silence and secrets.

Isolde sat on the narrow bed, her wrists still marked faintly where chains had bound them days before. She had been given a clean shift, her hair brushed and braided, but none of that could soften the sharpness of her beauty.

She looked at me, her lips curling into a bitter smile.

“What is this great honor?” she asked, her voice honeyed with venom. “The Luna herself,e to grace me again? I thought our conversation was finished.”

I ignored her barb.

I pulled a chair from the corner and dragged it forward until its legs scraped against the stone.

I set it squarely in front of her bed and sat, folding my hands neatly in myp.

“Did Franco order you?” I asked to the point without any greeting needed.

No soft prelude. No polite words. Just the question.

b12:00 /bTueb, /bbSep /b30

Herposure faltered.

For the briefest moment her brows flickered, surprise breaking through the mask.

Then she tilted her chin, regaining control.

“It seems,” she said atst, voice cool, “he has told you.”

I let a faint smile answer her.

Neither a confirmation nor denial.

Isolde turned her gaze toward the window.

Outside, pale light slid across the sill, weak as watered milk.

She stared at it as though it held secrets worth more than me.

“You’re different,” she said suddenly.

The words caught me off guard. “What?”

1 Vouchers

“You,” she rified, her tone low but steady. “You’re not like the others. Franco was a fool, but he was useful. A stepping stone.”

What did she say?!

Cold prickled my skin. “So he wasn’t the one who ordered you?”

Her lips curved, brittle and bitter. “No. He was just another tool. A pawn.”

My heart stumbled.

If not Franco… then who?

I leaned forward, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Who, then? Who used you?”

She turned her head back to me.

For once, the cruelty in her gaze dimmed.

What reced it was worse: a hollow, ancient weariness.

“You think this is about Lycaon?” she asked, almost amused. “Franco was nothing. He thought himself cunning, but he was only a shadow cast by brighter mes.”

Her eyes searched mine, and something flickered there–madness, yes, but also truth. Her lips curled into a smile that wasn’t victory, wasn’t mockery, but something stranger.

“Don’t you want to know,” she whispered, “who gave me the gift of youth? Who made me younger, longer?”

b12:00 /bTue, Sep 30

The breath caught in my chest.

he har

Audrey’s hand flew to her sword hilt. Alfonso swore under his breath, low and vicious, Monica gasper, the sound almost a prayer.

But I– I could only stare at Isolde, my heart pounding against my ribs as if it wanted out.

“What did you say?” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.

Her smile widened, gleaming with madness and something far too alive.

And the world hung in silence, waiting for her to speak.