My tortured Luna

Chapter 19

Sages POV

Valens walked me to my room. Amelia discharged me almost immediately after I woke up. He didn’t say much, Valens. He opened the door, looked me in the eye and said goodnight. The room felt strangely quiet after Valens left. I remained exactly where I was, sitting against the pillows with the blanket pulled over my legs, staring at the closed door long after the sound of his footsteps had disappeared into the hallway.

The silence should have felt familiar. For years, silence had meant safety. Silence meant no one was coming. No footsteps. No shouting. No pain. But this silence…

Felt different. I pressed a hand lightly against the centre of my chest. There it was again. That small ache. Not sharp enough to hurt. Just enough to make me notice it.mThe Mage’s words drifted back into my mind. Your soul has been searching for his. I had spent so long believing something inside me was broken. That every strange feeling was another flaw. Another weakness.

But this… This wasn’t broken, it was lonely. The thought should have frightened me. Instead, I simply sat there, letting my fingers rest over my heart as I listened to the quiet room around me. For the first time…

I didn’t try to push the feeling away. Eventually, I lay back down. Outside, rain tapped softly against the windows until the sound slowly blended with the steady memory of another rhythm.

A heartbeat. Deep. Calm. Steady. Without meaning to, I smiled. The sleep that came was gentle. The nightmare found me anyway. Dark walls. Cold stone. Chains. I stood in the middle of the basement, exactly where I had stood so many times before.

Only… Something was different. The heavy wooden door at the far end stood open. Light spilled through the doorway, reaching all the way across the floor until it stopped at my feet. I stared at it for a long moment.

Then… I took a step. The dream disappeared. Three soft knocks pulled me awake.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

I blinked against the morning light filtering through the curtains. For a moment, I simply listened. Nothing and then. His scent. Warm cedar and rain. Something that was unmistakably… Him.

A strange flutter spread quietly through my chest. Not fear. Never fear. Not anymore. I pushed the blanket aside and climbed out of bed, my bare feet sinking into the soft rug beneath me. Halfway to the door, I stopped. My hand hovered above the handle.

He was outside, waiting. He wasn’t knocking again. He wasn’t calling my name. He was simply waiting. Something about that made my shoulders relax. Slowly, I opened the door. Valens stood on the other side holding a wooden tray balanced carefully in one hand.

A small pot of honey.

Some fruit I didn't know the name of but it smelled fresh.

Two slices of warm toast.

A pot of tea, steam still curling from the spout.

When our eyes met, a small smile appeared on his face. Not the practiced smile of a king. Just Valens.

“Good morning, Sage.” His voice was quiet enough that it didn’t disturb the peaceful morning.

“Good morning,” I answered softly. He didn’t step forward, he didn’t assume. Didn’t even glance past me into the room. Instead, he waited. As though the decision belonged entirely to me. It took me a second to understand why.

When I did…

Something inside me warmed.

I stepped aside.

“You can come in.” His smile grew only slightly.

“Thank you.” As he walked past me, he moved slowly, giving me more than enough space. He set the tray down on the small table by the window before taking a step back, waiting again while I chose where I wanted to sit. I found myself choosing the chair opposite him. Not because it was the furthest away.

Because.. It wasn’t

The room settled into a comfortable silence as we ate. It wasn't the kind of silence I had grown up with. That silence had always demanded something from me. It had forced me to listen for footsteps outside the door, for raised voices or the sound of keys turning in locks. This silence asked for nothing. It simply existed.

I found myself relaxing a little more with every passing minute. Valens didn't seem bothered that we weren't talking. He sipped his tea quietly, occasionally glancing out of the window while I studied the tray in front of me.

There were slices of toast, a small bowl of honey and that new fruit, neatly on a small plate. I looked at it curiously. Valens noticed immediately.

"Have you ever tried watermelon?" I shook my head.

"I've seen one." A faint smile touched his lips.

"They're usually too large for one person." I couldn't help the tiny smile that escaped me. He picked up one of the slices before setting it carefully on my plate.

"I thought you might like it." I looked down at it for a moment before taking a cautious bite. The fruit almost melted against my tongue.

Cool.

Sweet.

Fresh.

My eyebrows lifted before I could stop them.

"It's..." I searched for the right word. "...really good." His smile widened ever so slightly.

"I'm glad." That was all he said. No questions. No watching me expectantly. He simply buttered another piece of toast as though my answer had been enough. I reached for another piece of watermelon a few minutes later. I noticed him noticing. He didn't mention it. He only smiled quietly into his tea. Something about that made my chest feel unexpectedly warm.

The morning sunlight spilled through the windows, filling the room with soft golden light. Dust drifted lazily through the air, making everything seem calmer somehow. Valens broke the silence first.

"Have you seen everything in the palace yet?" I thought about Penny's tour a few days earlier. She had practically bounced through every corridor, talking fast enough that I had struggled to keep up. I remembered smiling more because of her excitement than because I had understood where we were going.

"I think so..." I hesitated. "...Mostly." His eyes met mine.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to visit again?" The answer came surprisingly quickly.

"The library." One of his eyebrows lifted slightly.

"The library?" I nodded.

"Penny showed me." The memory returned almost instantly. The enormous windows reaching almost to the ceiling. The warm sunlight stretching across polished wooden floors. Shelf after shelf disappearing higher than I could comfortably look. Books. Thousands of them. I'd never imagined so many could exist in one place.

"I liked it." His expression softened.

"What did you like about it?" The question caught me off guard. No one had ever asked me why I liked something before. I looked down at the table, thinking carefully.

"The light." I glanced toward the window. "It felt..." I searched for the right words. "...warm."

He waited patiently.

"And it was quiet." A small smile found its way onto my lips.

"Not the scary kind." His eyes never left mine.

"The peaceful kind." I nodded.

"Yes." The corners of his mouth lifted.

"And the books." I laughed quietly to myself.

"They smell nice." For a second, he simply looked at me. Then a soft chuckle escaped him.

"I don't think anyone has ever described the library that way." I frowned.

"Is that strange?"

"No." His answer came without hesitation.

"I think most people stop noticing those things." I tilted my head.

"But you didn't." His smile faded into something softer.

"I suppose not." Silence settled between us again. It felt different now. Lighter. Comfortable. I found myself eating another piece of watermelon while watching the morning sunlight dance across the wooden floor. Without realising it, I leaned back slightly in my chair. I wasn't counting the distance between us anymore. I wasn't planning where I would run if he stood up too quickly. I wasn't waiting for him to become someone else. I just sat there.

And for reasons I couldn't quite explain, his presence made the room feel warmer. When he eventually stood to collect the empty plates, that small ache returned deep inside my chest. Not painful. Just enough for me to notice. Not because I was afraid he was leaving.

Because... I already found myself hoping he would knock on my door again tomorrow morning. Three quiet knocks. A breakfast tray in his hands. And that small smile that somehow made the palace feel a little more like home.