Lost Luna

Chapter 12

Astra’s POV

Sandra nodded slowly. “So when are you showing him the pictures?”

I looked toward the upper floor where Kaelith’s rooms were.

“Not yet. Relax Sandra, I have all planned out well.”

Rushing would ruin everything. If I showed him immediately after tonight, it would look suspicious. The timing had to feel natural. That was the important part. Kaelith hated dishonesty. If he ever realized someone intentionally tried turning him against Nymera, he would never forgive it. Which meant I couldn’t push too hard too quickly.

Sandra suddenly smiled nervously. “You’re smarter than people think.”

I looked at her dryly. “People think I punch first and think later.”

“Well…” Sandra coughed awkwardly. “You kind of do sometimes.”

I rolled my eyes before finally turning toward the staircase.

“Go to sleep, Sandra. And don’t talk about this with anyone.”

Her eyes widened immediately. “I wouldn’t!”

“You gossip too much.”

“I only gossip with you.”

“That’s still gossiping.”

Sandra laughed quietly before hurrying downstairs toward the servants’ wing. I stayed standing there alone for a moment afterward. Then slowly, I pulled the camera back out and stared at the pictures again.

Nymera looked happy in them. Anyone seeing the photos without context would absolutely misunderstand what they were looking at. Especially someone who was already stressed, overwhelmed and terrified of becoming Alpha. I stared at one particular picture a little longer before quietly locking the screen.

Then I whispered softly to myself,

“If you really loved him, Nymera… you shouldn’t have taken him from me in the first place.”

Nymera’s POV

The training field was louder than usual that afternoon. Warriors were scattered everywhere, some sparring in pairs while others stood around watching and shouting comments at each other. The sound of metal clashing and boots scraping against the dirt filled the air constantly, but I had gotten used to it after spending years following Kaelith around during training sessions.

I sat on the wooden bench near the edge of the field with a small smile on my face while watching him fight one of the senior warriors.

Well… “fight” was probably not the right word anymore.

Kaelith was winning so much that even the older warriors watching nearby looked amused.

“Your future Alpha is showing off again,” one of the guards beside me muttered jokingly.

I laughed softly. “He always does that when people are watching.”

The guard grinned knowingly before returning his attention to the sparring match.

Honestly, Kaelith looked unfairly good while fighting. Even after training for hours, he barely looked tired while the warrior in front of him already seemed exhausted. Every movement Kaelith made looked sharp and controlled, and every time someone landed a hit on him, the entire field reacted like it was shocking. I tried not to stare too much because some of the female trainees nearby already kept whispering every few minutes while watching him. Still, my eyes kept drifting back to him anyway. Mostly because after training ended, we were supposed to leave together for our date. Just thinking about it made me smile again.

Kaelith had been busier lately because of coronation preparations and endless meetings with the Elders, so we barely got proper time alone anymore unless it was late at night. Yesterday he promised to take me into the city after training today, and I had honestly been excited about it since morning. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear while watching him knock the training sword from the older warrior’s hand.

Several people nearby cheered loudly. Kaelith laughed breathlessly before helping the man up, and for a second my chest warmed painfully because he looked happy. Then his eyes lifted toward me automatically. The moment he spotted me sitting there, the tension in his shoulders eased slightly.

I smiled immediately and waved at him. He gave a small nod back before turning as another warrior approached him for the next sparring round. I placed a hand on my belly, imagining a little boy with his eyes as he and his father trained and played togther.

“Still waiting for him?” a familiar voice suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see Tony walking toward me with a smile on his face, but the smile didn’t reeach his eyes.

“Oh, hi.”

He stopped beside the bench casually. “You’ve been sitting here almost an hour.”

“I don’t mind.”

Tony laughed softly. “Of course you don’t. You look at Prince Kaelith like he personally hung the moon.”

My face warmed instantly. “That’s not true.”

“It absolutely is.”

I laughed quietly while shaking my head.

Tony sat beside the bench railing instead of fully sitting down, wiping sweat from the back of his neck with a towel. He had probably just finished his own training session because his uniform was still dusty.

“How have you been?” he asked casually, still not meeting my eyes.

“Good.” I smiled slightly. “A little nervous lately though.”

“Why? Because of the coronation?”

I nodded.

Tony’s expression softened a little. “You’ll be fine, Nymera.”

I looked down at my hands briefly. “I hope so.”

“Actually, everyone already acts like you’re Luna anyway.”

I laughed awkwardly. “That’s exactly what scares me.”

Tony grinned. “You’re too nice to scare anyone.”

Before I could answer, a shadow suddenly fell across us. I looked up immediately.

Kaelith stood there holding his training sword loosely in one hand, sweat still clinging lightly to his neck from sparring. But instead of the relaxed expression he usually wore around me, his face looked strangely unreadable.

Tony straightened slightly beside me. “Prince Kaelith.”

Kaelith’s eyes flicked briefly toward him before returning to me.

“You’ve been here long?” he asked.

“Not really,” I answered softly. “You were busy.”

He nodded but something felt off.

Usually after training, Kaelith came straight toward me first. Sometimes he kissed my forehead before even speaking. Other times he complained dramatically about being tired until I laughed at him.

Today he just stood there quietly.

Tony cleared his throat awkwardly. “I was just talking to Nymera while waiting for training to end.”

Kaelith finally looked directly at him.

“I can see that.”

The tone surprised me instantly. His tone was cold enough to make the air suddenly uncomfortable for me.