Loving Luna

The Woman Lucian Feared

The sunlight disappeared with Lucian.

Darkness rushed back into the cavern.

For a few seconds, nobody moved.

The true Book of Names lay open on the ice.

One name burned across its pages.

ELARA VEYRA.

Beneath it:

STATUS: NOT DEAD.

Luna stared at the words.

Darius was still pressed against her, one arm locked around her waist. His breathing was rough from holding the gate, and black veins still marked both hands.

“You’re hurt,” Luna said.

“I’m standing.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“It was close enough.”

She turned in his arms and carefully took his wrists.

The black crown marks pulsed under her fingers.

Darius watched her face.

“Luna.”

“What?”

“Your arm.”

Silver lines covered her skin from wrist to shoulder—the new bonds connecting her to Varden’s willing guardians.

She could feel them.

Dozens of distant heartbeats.

Fear.

Relief.

Exhaustion.

None of them demanded anything from her.

They just… existed.

“I’m fine,” she said.

Darius raised an eyebrow.

“Not convincing.”

“It’s still true.”

His mouth almost curved.

Luna touched one of the dark veins on his palm.

“And this?”

“Temporary.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No.”

“At least you’re honest.”

“I’m learning.”

Lyra made a quiet sound behind them.

“That phrase is getting old.”

Darius looked at her.

“I already didn’t like it before you said that.”

Lyra’s golden eyes had replaced the unnatural white glow. Without the mountain’s power, she looked younger.

More human.

And a lot more tired.

Gabriel sat on the ice nearby, supported by Ethan. The silver chains had fallen from his wrists, but the scars remained—deep bands of damaged flesh that looked almost black.

Ethan held him upright with one arm.

Their embrace had ended.

The distance between them hadn’t.

But Ethan still hadn’t let go.

That mattered.

Luna glanced toward the freed prisoners.

Some stood around the sealed gate, staring at their own hands like they didn’t recognize them. Others lingered near the tunnel, unsure if they were even allowed to leave.

Helena Marr approached Luna.

The middle-aged woman’s steps were shaky, but her voice was steady.

“We can still feel it.”

“The gate?” Luna asked.

Helena nodded.

“Like pressure behind my heart.”

“You can step away.”

“No.”

Helena looked toward the others.

“We agreed.”

“You agreed in the middle of a crisis.”

“And now I’m agreeing again.”

The silver thread around Luna’s arm brightened.

Helena gave a faint smile.

“Apparently the bond heard me.”

“It doesn’t own you.”

“I know.”

Helena’s eyes filled.

“That’s why I’m staying.”

She walked back to the others.

Darius watched her go.

“You changed Varden.”

“We changed it.”

“You thought of it first.”

“And you held the gate.”

“Because you asked.”

Luna looked up at him.

“You came because I asked.”

“Yes.”

“The mountain could’ve taken Command.”

“Yes.”

“Lucian was inside.”

“Yes.”

She touched his face.

“And you still asked permission.”

Darius leaned into her palm.

“I was terrified.”

“I know.”

“I wanted to tear the mountain apart.”

“I know.”

His eyes searched hers.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I felt it.”

The bond between them warmed.

No crown.

No ancient memory.

Just Darius.

Just Luna.

He rested his forehead against hers.

“I heard him say your name behind the gate.”

“The Nameless?”

“Yes.”

His hands tightened slightly at her waist.

“It used my voice.”

“It wasn’t convincing.”

Darius pulled back a little.

“It sounded exactly like me.”

“It forgot something.”

“What?”

“You don’t ask for help by only saying you need me.”

His expression softened.

“What do I say?”

Luna smiled.

“My name first.”

“Luna.”

That single word carried everything the imitation had missed.

Recognition.

Choice.

Love.

“There you are,” she whispered.

Darius kissed her.

Slow and certain.

The cavern, the prisoners, and the broken gate faded for a quiet moment. Luna held his face as if she needed to make sure he was really here.

When they finally pulled apart, Ethan cleared his throat.

“Our father is bleeding.”

Luna turned immediately.

Darius sighed.

“Your timing is still terrible.”

Ethan looked almost pleased.

“I learned from Luna.”

Gabriel gave a weak laugh that turned into a cough.

Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Luna rushed over.

“What’s wrong?”

Lyra crouched beside him.

“The power inside him is leaving.”

Luna’s golden mark reacted.

A thread of light reached toward her father.

Gabriel grabbed her wrist before it could connect.

“No.”

She stared at his hand.

“You’re dying.”

“I’m changing.”

“That doesn’t sound better.”

“It kept me alive for eighteen years.”

Ethan’s face hardened.

“And now that it’s gone?”

Gabriel looked toward the people still tied to the gate.

“It didn’t disappear. It became theirs.”

“That doesn’t answer him,” Luna said.

Gabriel’s grip weakened.

“I don’t know how long my body can last without it.”

Darius knelt beside them.

“Then we leave. Now.”

Gabriel looked at him.

“The mountain—”

“Has new guardians.”

“The Nameless might try again.”

“Then they’ll send word through the bond.”

Gabriel’s gaze dropped to the silver lines on Luna’s arm.

“You connected yourself to Varden.”

“She connected herself to people,” Darius corrected. “There’s a difference.”

Gabriel studied him.

Then nodded.

“I see why she chose you.”

Darius glanced at Luna.

“She tells me that a lot.”

“I do not.”

“Not always with words.”

Warmth rose in Luna’s face.

Ethan looked toward Lyra.

“What about the name in the Book?”

Everyone turned back to the true Book.

Elara’s name still glowed.

Lyra stood slowly.

“That memory belonged to Solara.”

“But Elara is Evelyn’s mother,” Luna said. “We saw her at Blackwood.”

“A preserved part of her,” Darius said. “Not her living body.”

Cassian stepped closer to the Book.

His command mark was black again, spreading from his palm toward his wrist.

He avoided everyone’s eyes.

“Elara entered the Chamber of Verdicts centuries ago.”

Luna frowned.

“Evelyn’s mother died recently.”

“The woman Evelyn knew was Elara’s descendant.”

Silence settled.

Ethan stared at him.

“They had the same name?”

“The Veyra women tied to Balance were often given it.”

Darius’s expression hardened.

“That would’ve been useful earlier.”

“Yes.”

Cassian looked down at the Book.

“The first Elara loved Lucian before he became the Shadow King.”

Lyra’s face tightened.

“She tried to save him.”

“And he killed her?” Luna asked.

“No.”

Cassian’s human eye lifted.

“He hid her.”

“Where?”

“I never knew.”

The black veins on his face pulsed.

“He told me she died.”

Lyra knelt beside the Book.

The pages shifted under her hand.

A map appeared.

Not Varden.

Blackwood Estate.

Luna’s stomach tightened.

A small silver light glowed beneath the manor.

Deep under the Hidden Archive.

“She’s under our home,” Darius said.

Cassian stared.

“That’s impossible.”

“Everyone keeps saying that,” Ethan muttered.

The Book added another line.

THE FIRST BALANCE REMAINS BOUND TO THE BROKEN THRONE.

Then another.

LUCIAN CANNOT COMPLETE HIS CROWN WHILE SHE LIVES.

Luna finally understood the fear she had seen in Lucian’s face.

“He didn’t hide Elara because he loved her.”

Lyra shook her head.

“He hid her because she’s the only one who can stop him.”

Darius stood.

“We go back to Blackwood.”

Cassian closed the Book.

“If Lucian reached that memory, he’ll go there first.”

“He already knows where she is,” Luna said.

“No.”

Lyra looked at the map.

“He knows where he left her.”

She met Luna’s eyes.

“But Blackwood changed around the prison. The Hidden Archive, the Chamber, the burial grove—it was all built to hide the path.”

Darius’s expression darkened.

“And we opened every door.”

Guilt flickered through the bond.

Luna caught his hand.

“We opened them to free people.”

“We also exposed her.”

“Then we protect her now.”

Gabriel tried to stand.

Ethan tightened his grip.

“You’re not walking.”

“I can manage.”

“You’ve been chained to a gate for eighteen years.”

“I’ve had worse mornings.”

Ethan stared at him.

Gabriel’s faint smile faded.

“I know I don’t have the right to joke with you.”

Ethan looked away.

“You don’t.”

The answer landed hard.

Gabriel accepted it.

Luna stepped closer to her brother.

“We’ll have time.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

“Will we?”

Luna looked at Gabriel’s pale face.

“I don’t know.”

Honesty settled between them.

Ethan closed his eyes.

Then he shifted Gabriel’s arm more securely over his shoulders.

“You’re going to Blackwood.”

Gabriel looked at him.

“You don’t have to carry me.”

“I know.”

That simple answer said everything they were still learning.

Choice didn’t erase pain.

It just made space for it.

Lyra turned to the freed prisoners.

“Varden belongs to no Alpha now.”

Helena nodded.

“It belongs to those who guard the boundary.”

“And those who leave?”

“Stay free.”

Lyra’s expression softened.

“Better.”

Luna looked at her.

“You’re coming with us.”

Not a question.

Lyra’s golden eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“You carry the memory of the woman who knew Elara.”

“And you don’t trust me alone here.”

“That too.”

Darius’s mouth curved slightly.

Lyra looked between them.

“You’re starting to sound alike.”

“We’re not,” they said at the same time.

Ethan sighed.

“This is going to be unbearable.”

A distant howl rolled through the tunnel.

Not threatening.

More like a farewell.

The new guardians stepped aside as they carried Gabriel toward the exit.

Outside, daylight spilled across the snow.

Ronan ran forward when he saw Gabriel.

Then stopped.

Staring at the brother of the man he’d lost.

Gabriel looked at him.

“Gideon’s son.”

Ronan swallowed.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Gabriel looked toward Varden.

“For surviving when he didn’t.”

Ronan’s face hardened.

“That’s not yours to carry.”

Gabriel nodded slowly.

“You sound like him.”

The convoy prepared to head south.

Darius helped Luna into the vehicle, but before she climbed in, she grabbed his coat and pulled him close.

“What?” he asked.

“When we get home, Lucian might already be there.”

“I know.”

“Elara might be the only one who can break the crown.”

“I know.”

“My father might not survive the trip.”

Pain crossed his face.

“I know.”

Luna rested her forehead against his chest.

“Just… for one minute, don’t tell me we’ll win.”

Darius wrapped both arms around her.

“I won’t.”

“Don’t tell me everything will be fine.”

“I can’t.”

“Just hold me.”

He did.

No promises.

No commands.

Just the truth of him holding her while the wind cut through the mountains.

Then the Book of Names opened inside the vehicle.

A message appeared across the page.

ELARA HAS AWAKENED.

A second line followed.

SHE IS NOT ALONE.

Darius looked toward the southern road.

Black fire flickered briefly along his crown mark.

“Lucian.”

Luna took his hand.

“No.”

Her golden mark answered his.

“Someone worse.”

Far away, beneath Blackwood Estate, the broken throne shifted.

And the ancient king opened his eyes.