The Vampire's Luna
Chapter 50: Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air

Chapter 50: Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air

"Morvakar, you were once a man of honor. Please, lift this absurd curse. You gave my wife... us an heir. I thank you, but at least let her live long enough to claim the throne."

"I did nothing to your princess. I only used ancient magic to make your wife fertile," Morvakar said, reclining. He steepled his fingers and raised one arrogant eyebrow. "I granted her request. But what you lesser beings don’t seem to grasp is that the world needs balance. For a life given, a life must be taken. It is the law of nature. Even I am not powerful enough to upset that balance."

Magnus felt a bitter taste rise in his throat. "So in giving us a child, a life must be lost," he said slowly, the weight of the truth settling on him.

Morvakar smirked. "Now you are getting it."

"Then take mine," Magnus said. He stood tall but inside he was already crumbling. "Let her live."

"Your daughter was never meant to die," he said softly, almost kindly. It was unsettling.

Magnus’s fists tightened at his sides, blood roaring in his ears. "She is mated to two men!" he snapped.

"Yes," Morvakar said, lips twitching, "I keep up with the gossip." He paused dramatically.

Magnus gave a small, humorless huff through his nose. "You’re not going to help me then," he said with resignation, the fire in him dimming as he stared at the floor.

"Are you asking me for a favour, King Magnus?" Morvakar asked, tilting his head. "My price is very steep. Ask your Queen."

"I will do anything to keep my daughter alive," Magnus said, lifting his gaze, steel returning to his eyes.

Morvakar sat up straighter. "My target was never your household, Magnus."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. He recognized deflection when he heard it. "What does that...?" His face went pale. "Lucivar. This was always about Lucivar Dragos."

Morvakar smiled darkly, his fangs just peeking out. "Very good."

"Then why? Why did you decide to mess with our own lives?"

"Your situation presented an opportunity. I took it. Nothing personal," Morvakar said nonchalantly.

Magnus gritted his teeth. It was personal. Every inch of his daughter’s fate had been warped by this pale, manipulative immortal, and yet here he was, delivering sinister monologues.

"What are you planning?" Magnus demanded, stepping forward, fists clenched.

Morvakar gave a wicked smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "You’ll just have to sit back and watch...like everyone else." He gave a small shrug.

"Morvakar..." Magnus warned.

"It’s best you leave now," Morvakar said breezily. With a quick whoosh, faster than a blink, Morvakar was gone.

*****

Damien woke up later than usual. He sat up slowly, his mind thick with the residue of the previous night.

He rubbed his face with both hands and exhaled. His body felt used unsatisfactorily. He felt hollowed out.

He tugged on a shirt, didn’t bother buttoning it, and padded barefoot toward the hallway. His throat was dry.

As he passed Luna’s room, he placed a hand on the door. Silence.

He frowned. Maybe she was in the kitchen already. But even before he got there, the silence pressed around him.

He paused again, then closed his eyes, tuning out everything.

Where was her heartbeat?

She was never this quiet. Even in her sleep, Luna practically vibrated with life.

The back of his neck prickled. With every step through the corridor, unease grew, settling into the pit of his stomach.

He moved faster now. The kitchen was empty.

Damien spun around and stormed through the corridor, toward the castle’s front entrance.

A guard stood outside, upright and professional.

"Have you seen Luna?" Damien asked sharply, skipping the pleasantries.

The guard blinked, startled. "She left earlier this morning, sir. Said she needed to go back home."

"Left?" Damien repeated. His jaw clenched. "Alone?"

"I sent a driver with her."

"And you let her go?" Damien’s voice rose, just slightly, but with the weight of authority.

The guard visibly paled. "Sir, she gave no indication..."

Damien sighed, a long, bone-deep exhale that felt like it might deflate him completely. Of course she’d left. He should have known.

"Fine," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Let me know when you get news she got back safe." f r\eew,eb novel.c(o)(m)

"Yes, Your Highness," the guard said, bowing stiffly.

Damien didn’t acknowledge it. He simply turned and walked back into the castle. As he moved, his thoughts pressed down on him.

Whatever it is we’re doing, he thought bitterly, it’s only hurting everyone involved.

He sighed again, heavier this time, dragging his palm down his face. Maybe it was better that she left. Maybe she needed space to figure herself out.

Still... that didn’t make her absence any easier.

He passed the window and caught his reflection. Eyes tired. Shirt rumpled. Soul quietly screaming.

*****

The car slowed to a halt on the soft gravel of the castle grounds in the werewolf kingdom. Luna stepped out and took a long, quiet breath.

The air here always smelled like pine trees. It was filled with life, people bustling about, laughter echoing across the courtyard.

It should have felt like home.

But her heart? Her heart felt like a locked box. And if you shook it hard enough, you might hear the shattered pieces inside.

She stood still for a moment, the sun casting golden light across her skin.

Luna moved toward the throne room. She needed to inform her father of her return, to act like everything was fine, as if her insides weren’t chewing themselves apart with confusion and guilt.

She pushed open the heavy double doors to the throne room and paused mid-step.

Her father was lying flat on the long sofa. His elbow was thrown over his face in dramatic fashion, chest slowly rising and falling.

Her father... napping?

Unheard of.

"Father?..." she called softly.

No response.

She took another step forward, eyeing the rise and fall of his chest just to make sure he was, in fact, breathing.

"Your Majesty..." she called louder this time.