The six weeks before the Moon Ceremony passed differently than Luna expected. She thought fear would consume every day, a constant hum of dread beneath her skin, but instead it settled into something quieter — a low, persistent ache she carried like a stone in her pocket, present but manageable, until something reminded her it was there.
King Victor summoned her exactly once during those weeks.
It happened on a Tuesday afternoon, three weeks before the Ceremony, when a palace guard found her in the laundry room folding linens and informed her, without explanation, that the King requested her presence in his private study. Luna's hands went cold.
She smoothed her uniform, tucked loose strands of hair behind her ears, and followed the guard through corridors she'd never been permitted to
