The Vampire's Luna
Chapter 59: KALEO - Way Down We Go

Chapter 59: KALEO - Way Down We Go

Veyron’s eyes with grief, though he tried to school his face into composure. "Your Highness, I beg of you. Please. No matter how tempting it is...no matter how much you want her, you must not mark this woman. The moment you do... it will destroy you."

Damien looked away, shoulders taut beneath the weight of inevitability.

"But," Veyron added quickly, stepping closer, "I promise you...I will do everything and anything in my power to fix this. I don’t care what I have to do. Whatever it takes. I owe you that."

"You don’t have to worry about me. Just... save her. She’s not going to choose me anyway."

That last sentence slipped out like a dagger he hadn’t meant to show. Without waiting for a reply, he turned sharply. "You can wait out here for me," he said over his shoulder, not bothering to look back.

He disappeared through the castle doors, the stone swallowing his retreating footsteps.

******

Inside, the guest living room buzzed with a nervous sort of silence. The royal family were seated. Queen Ravena, King Magnus and Luna sat between them.

Kyllian stood behind Luna, arms crossed, leaning just enough to look casual but alert enough to pounce if needed. When Damien entered, every head turned but it was Kyllian who read him first.

Something was off.

Damien’s posture was a little too rigid. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were distant.

Kyllian opened his mouth to ask, but then glanced at Luna. Her fingers were twisting the hem of her sleeve nervously. So Kyllian swallowed his concern and said nothing.

"Prince Damien. Welcome," Magnus said smoothly, gesturing toward a carefully chosen chair, a plush, high-backed monstrosity stationed just far enough away from Luna.

Damien’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took the seat. His gaze drifted to Luna. She didn’t look at him. Her eyes wandered everywhere else but they avoided him.

Behind her, Kyllian stood tall, hands clasped, body language screaming protective wolf alpha mode activated. Damien couldn’t help but notice the way Kyllian leaned slightly forward, a silent claim over the space surrounding Luna. .com

The bastard’s really enjoying this, isn’t he? Damien thought sourly.

"The sage has arrived," Damien announced, keeping his voice neutral even as his insides boiled in slow, bristling waves. "He’s outside. He says the moon should be at its highest before he can begin."

"Is he going to sit outside until then?" Queen Ravena asked, lifting a brow.

"Yes," Damien replied. "He doesn’t like going into people’s houses."

Magnus leaned forward. "Now that both of you are here," he said, fingers laced, "Luna has informed us she has made a decision on the way forward."

Beside him, Queen Ravena’s head whipped toward him. "Magnus..." she said sharply. But Magnus merely patted her hand.

Luna visibly tensed, her breath hitching ever so slightly. She still didn’t look at Damien, but he felt it.

"Oh?" Damien asked, tilting his head. "I’d love to hear this." He turned his gaze slowly, deliberately, to Kyllian. "Why do I feel like I’m the last to know whatever this is?" .com

Kyllian met his eyes, his expression unreadable.

Damien then turned to Luna. "Well?..."

Magnus ignored Damien’s quip, brushing it off. "Before both of you get invested in whatever it is you think you’re going to do to save her," he said with maddening calm, "you should know Luna has decided not to choose between the both of you."

Damien, unfazed on the outside but simmering, arched a single eyebrow. "Is that true?" and when he looked at Luna this time, it was with quiet, heartbreaking hunger that only a man deeply in love could muster.

But Luna didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her throat felt like it had closed up. Her fingers curled around the edge of her chair, nails digging into the upholstery like it could ground her in the middle of the emotional tempest.

She wasn’t ignoring him, she was trying to protect him. And herself. From hope. From pain. From what came after.

"She wants to sever both bonds," Magnus announced flatly. "Completely." fre.ewebnov el.com

Damien’s mouth tightened, and he turned his gaze to Kyllian. "You agree with this?"

That did it.

"Excuse me?!" Luna finally burst out, shooting to her feet. The room pulsed with her fury.

"Oh!" Damien said, "She speaks! I was beginning to think you were just going to sit there like a very tragically mute figurehead."

Luna’s eyes burned. "What do you mean asking him if he agrees with this?! It’s my life, Damien! I make the decisions in my life!"

Damien stepped forward, slowly, rising from his chair like a thundercloud coming to full form. "Well," he said, "someone should take over the reins of your life’s decision-making, because from where I’m standing, the decisions you’ve made since the moment we met have been...what’s the word? Ah, yes...ridiculously stupid and astoundingly foolish."

The room collectively winced.

Luna’s eyes widened, disbelief and rage colliding in a single breath. "Excuse me?" she repeated, but it came out colder this time.

"You heard me," Damien continued, standing so close now she had to tilt her chin up to meet his eyes.

"You want to go toe to toe with me, pretty boy?" Luna’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. She took a step forward, her body tense, crackling with rage

Damien stood tall, arms crossed, looking like he was deciding whether to kiss her or dodge a punch. "You want to do something here, Kyllian?" King Magnus murmured, leaning subtly toward the alpha.

Kyllian, arms folded over his chest. "Nah... she got this," he mumbled, with a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. He was enjoying himself way too much for someone supposedly caught in a doomed love triangle.

"It’ll be over before it’s even begun," Damien warned.

Luna’s eyes flashed. Her wolf was stirring beneath her skin, just beneath the surface. "Give it your best shot!" she growled.

"What are you mad about, huh? Really?" Damien asked, pacing slightly now, his steps sharp. "Because I left you all hot and bothered and then went and actually fucked my royal concubine? Don’t forget...you asked me to! That speech about ’duty’ and ’responsibility’ and then you high tail it when I actually took your advice."