Lost Luna

Chapter 8

Astra’s POV

When I got to my room, I threw the nearest vase against the wall so hard it shattered instantly.

Then another.

Then another.

My breathing came out uneven while anger and heartbreak tangled together inside my chest so violently it almost hurt physically.

It wasn’t fair.

None of this was fair!

I had loved Kaelith for years.

Years!

I stayed beside him through everything. I understood him better than anyone else. I trained with him, laughed with him, protected him. And somehow Nymera still got everything. The worst part was that Kaelith would never even look at me the way he looked at her.

Not unless something changed. Slowly, my breathing steadied.

Then another thought entered my head. It was a dangerous one.

If Kaelith believed Nymera betrayed him…

I stared blankly at the shattered glass on the floor while my heart pounded harder.

I shouldn’t even be thinking that way. But the thought refused to leave. And somewhere deep inside me, something dark finally began taking shape.

Kaelith’s POV

I was alone in my room when Astra came in.

It was late enough that most of the palace had already gone quiet, the kind of quiet that usually helped me think better, but that night my thoughts kept circling back to the same thing no matter how many times I tried to push them away. Nymera. The coronation. The Elders. Everything coming at once like it had no patience for me to catch my breath first.

I was sitting near the edge of my bed with my elbows on my knees when I heard the knock. Before I could answer, the door opened anyway.

Astra stepped in like she always did, like the room belonged to her just as much as it belonged to me. She had that soft expression on her face, the one she used when she wanted to look harmless, almost like she had walked in by accident and not on purpose.

She closed the door gently behind her and tilted her head slightly.

“You’re still awake,” she said, her voice light.

I leaned back a little. “I could say the same.”

She gave a small smile and walked further in without waiting for permission. That was Astra. She never really waited.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, as if that explained everything.

I nodded once and looked away again, thinking she would probably leave soon after whatever small talk she had in mind. But she didn’t sit immediately. She just stood there for a moment, watching me like she was trying to figure something out.

Then she finally spoke again, softer this time.

“Are you and Nymera okay?”

I looked up at her slightly. “What kind of question is that?”

Astra shrugged like it didn’t matter. “Just wondering.”

I frowned. “We’re fine.”

She nodded slowly, but she didn’t look convinced. She moved closer and finally sat on the chair across from me, folding her hands neatly in her lap.

“You don’t seem fine,” she said gently.

I let out a small breath. “I’m just tired. That’s all.”

Astra studied me for a second longer before tilting her head again.

“Are you two fighting or something?”

“No,” I answered quickly.

That was the truth. There had been no fight. Nothing loud or obvious. Nymera was still Nymera, still soft with me, still smiling when I came to see her, still holding my hand like she trusted me completely.

And maybe that was the problem.

Astra hummed quietly like she was thinking. Then she leaned back slightly in her chair and let out a small sigh.

“I only asked because I saw something earlier.”

My attention sharpened immediately. “What did you see?”

She hesitated just long enough to make it feel intentional. Then she gave a small, almost reluctant smile.

“It might be nothing,” she said, like she was already trying to sound careful. “I just saw Nymera talking to one of the warriors today.”

I didn’t say anything at first. I just watched her.

Astra continued quickly, like she didn’t want the silence to sit too long.

“They were standing pretty close. I don’t know what they were saying, but she looked comfortable with him. I just thought it was strange.”

I frowned slightly. “Nymera talks to warriors all the time.”

“I know,” Astra said immediately. “That’s why I didn’t want to say anything. I just… noticed it.”

She paused and looked at me more carefully now, like she was trying to read my reaction.

“It didn’t look bad,” she added quickly. “I just thought I should tell you. You know, since you two are…”

I leaned back slightly, running a hand through my hair. My mind tried to dismiss it at first. Nymera was kind. She always talked to people gently. She didn’t see rank the way others did. She didn’t avoid warriors or servants or anyone really.

But something about the way Astra said it stuck longer than I wanted it to.

“Which warrior?” I asked finally.

Astra blinked once, like she hadn’t expected me to ask that directly. Then she shrugged lightly.

“I don’t know his name. One of the training ones. Tall. Dark hair maybe.”

That wasn’t helpful. There were too many warriors like that.

I exhaled slowly. “And you think there’s something wrong with that?”

Astra shook her head quickly. “No, of course not. I just thought maybe you should know. Sometimes people don’t realize how things look from the outside.”

I watched her carefully now.

Astra had always been straightforward with me. If she didn’t like something, she said it. If she thought someone was lying, she made it obvious. That was one of the reasons I trusted her.

But tonight, something felt slightly different in the way she was speaking. Like she was choosing her words more carefully than usual.

I stood up and walked toward the window instead of answering immediately. The palace grounds were quiet below, the torchlight flickering softly along the paths.

Nymera had been here earlier. She had told me she was going to help her father with something in the archives before going back to her room. She had smiled at me like always before she left. Nothing about her had seemed different.

Still, Astra’s words kept replaying in my head.