CHAPTER 160: RADIOHEAD - LET DOWN

Luna raised her brows. "Ooooooohhhh," she whispered, dragging the sound out with theatrical surprise. "She was really looking forward to that, wasn’t she? That explains the seven death glares I have been getting."

"She’s furious," Ravena replied dryly.

Luna tilted her head toward where Jane stood off to the side, trying her best to look dignified but failing miserably to hide her pout.

"Does this have anything to do with my arrival?" Luna asked, suddenly serious.

"No," Ravena said. "I made a mistake. I told him about Damien’s impending death."

Luna turned to her mother so fast it nearly disrupted the ceremonial silence. "What? You knew?"

Ravena nodded slowly, regret flickering across her usually composed face. "Your father told me before he died. He said Damien told him everything. About the curse. About the bond. About the mark."

Luna’s throat tightened.

"He made your father promise," Ravena continued gently, "to lift your banishment when he dies. And to take you—and your child, if there is one—into his custody."

Luna swallowed, her heart squeezing. "And Father agreed?"

Ravena looked at her then.

"Of course he agreed," Ravena said. "He would have done anything to protect you. Even if it meant trusting a vampire."

"And," Ravena added with the faintest twitch of a smile, "he had developed a newfound respect for Prince Damien."

Luna exhaled a shaky breath, her eyes drifting back to the altar where Kyllian was now rising, the silver band glittering in the firelight. The crowd cheered as the High Seeress declared him Alpha King, their voices swelling with pride.

"So everyone knew, except me," Luna said. She folded her arms across her chest, eyes fixed on the ceremony still glowing with incense smoke and echoing chants in the background.

Ravena sighed. "It was a turbulent time. Now that Kyllian has that information, I just gave him hope."

Luna gave a bitter laugh and looked away, her eyes scanning the crowd still murmuring in praise of their new king. "So he’s waiting for me to be available for him again."

"Yes," Ravena replied, the word coming out on a breath too heavy with exhaustion.

"Fuck," Luna muttered under her breath.

*****

The festivities began shortly after the crown had been secured on Kyllian’s head. The palace gates were opened to the people, as tradition demanded, and the courtyards burst into color. Musicians played the old odes of triumph while trays of roast game, honeyed fruits, and wine floated through the crowd.

The scent of grilled meat lingered in the air, mixing with the laughter of children chasing each other around. There was joy here, different from the gloomy and tight one in Blood City.

The people bowed as they passed, some clutching her hands, others whispering blessings. "Princess Luna," they said with warmth. "Welcome home."

Apparently, no matter where she had lived... they still considered her theirs.

Luna found a sun-drenched corner of the courtyard near the arched terrace and escaped the noise for a moment of stillness. She stood with a fresh glass of grape juice in hand, letting the sunlight pool over her.

She had promised her mother she would soak in as much sun as she could before returning to Blood City. Sunlight didn’t touch the vampire realm the same way. There, the light was filtered.

So this—this was her moment.

Until Jane approached.

Luna didn’t have to look to know who it was. She groaned inwardly and resisted the urge to dump her wine into a potted plant just to have an excuse to leave.

"Luna Jane," she said, turning with a deliberately bright smile. "This is a nice party you have managed. Well done."

"I didn’t plan the party," she said crisply. "Your mother did. The king gave that honor to your mother."

"Ah... my mother is something of a legend when it comes to planning events," Luna said with an exaggerated eye-roll and a sip of her juice, trying to keep things light even as her nerves prickled under Jane’s gaze. "She planned my wedding halfway and I’m still trying to find my head from my ass with all the details."

It was meant to be a laugh, a way to diffuse the tension that had settled around them. She expected Jane to respond with a sarcastic quip.

Instead, Jane tilted her head, the gleam in her eyes sharpening. "How is that going? Your wedding?"

"Oh, Prince Damien is handling it."

Jane raised a brow. "And you are doing what? Standing here, trying to flirt with your ex?"

Luna sucked in a breath, her spine straightening. The sunlight felt colder now, and she could feel the eyes of a few nearby nobles twitch subtly toward them, ears perked.

"I told you not to disrespect me, Luna Jane," Luna said.

Jane stepped closer. "And what will you do, Princess, in the presence of all these people?" Her eyes flitted around the courtyard, where guests danced, laughed, and toasted glasses of wine.

Luna smiled, slowly. She took another sip from her juice, savoring the moment.

"I think," Jane said, leaning in, "you do not want to be with the vampire prince. I think you’re here to seduce the king. To crawl your way back into his bed."

Luna’s fingers tightened slightly around the stem of her glass. Then, with unnerving grace, she switched the glass to her other hand and took a leisurely step forward.

She circled Jane slowly, then came to stand right in front of her—too close for comfort, too poised to ignore. Her smile was no longer sweet; it was wicked, deliciously wicked.

"In Blood City," Luna began, "I had a rival. Her name is Royal Concubine Seliora. Drop-dead gorgeous. Vivacious. The kind of woman who could walk into a room and silence everyone."

"She’s the sort of woman," Luna continued, "that the likes of you wouldn’t even hold a candle to."

"She is," Luna went on with a pleasant nod, "currently rotting in a prison cell."

Jane’s jaw clenched.

"I advised her once, quite politely I might add, to think before coming at me. She didn’t listen." Luna leaned in, her breath warm near Jane’s ear. "And now she shares her cell with rats."

(We dropped in ranks sadly. Everyone put in an effort and I love you for it. Mwaaah)