The Last Tail Of The Fallen Luna

The Favor

Seraphina’s POV

The first thing I did when I woke up was grab for my side.

My hand found the familiar spot beneath the borrowed blankets, and even before I could open my eyes, I began to count.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Four again.

Four again but still one short of what I should have counted from the forest.

In that moment I just laid still on my back, looking into the blackness behind my eyes, half expecting to find yet another piece of me had vanished while I slept.

Memories of the forest came back to me in bits and pieces—my rogues surrounding me, the hit to my skull, the strong hands pulling me away and then...nothing.

I'd anticipated pain.

I'd anticipated fear.

But I hadn't anticipated waking up alive.

I kept my hand resting against my side.

Four.

I swallowed.

No matter what had happened to me after I left the palace, one thing I could be absolutely sure of was that someone somewhere had counted wrong.

And I had to figure out how.

I forced my eyes to open, only to find myself staring up at the ceiling made of rough timber planks.

The early morning light was faint and gray, coming through the small window to light the room that held things that were not mine.

Borrowed blankets.

Wooden table.

Unbalanced chair.

Nothing was like the silk sheets and polished stone of the palace where I'd always awoken in those last six years.

Yet, strangely, for a moment I waited for the room to seem threatening.

It should have.

I didn't know where I was.

I didn't know whose territory this was.

I didn't know the people who had rescued me.

And yet, somehow, this room was not threatening.

It was honest.

There were no golden decorations trying to convince everyone that everything was alright. No servants ready to report my every move to anyone who wanted to hear. No council members watching and waiting for me to do something so they can finally solve a problem that's been festering for years.

Just four walls and a bed.

A room where nobody expected me to be a Luna.

That should have hurt.

It didn't.

Instead, it gave me a strange sense of peace.

I slowly pushed myself upright.

The dull ache at the back of my head made my body ache with movement, but I forced myself to stand.

The four tails left hanging off the back of my head felt heavier than they ever had before.

I didn’t know if it was due to my injuries or due to my realization of just how much I had lost.

I put the cloak I had found back on and walked out into the hallway.

The hallway was quiet.

I listened for voices and tracked them down until I found Ronan.

He was standing over a table covered with maps.

Next to him, his Beta was pointing at the river line while saying something I couldn’t quite make out.

Ronan was different in the sunlight.

Less of a madman who had run down to an underground auction house and more of an Alpha whose decisions dictated the lives of many people.

He sensed my approach and raised his head.

Those golden eyes locked onto mine.

Almost as though he knew I was coming.

His Beta took notice and turned to glance back at us.

Ronan rose.

“You are awake.”

I nodded.

“I want to talk to you.”

His face shifted slightly.

“About what?”

“Alone.”

He didn’t argue.

He simply glanced at his Beta.

One look was all he needed.

The man took up his map and left the room in silence.

I waited until his footsteps faded before moving into the room.

Ronan didn’t say a word.

He didn’t sit down.

He didn’t press me.

He simply waited.

That patience did more to rattle me than any questioning.

“I need to ask you something,” I said.

“What is it?”

I glanced down at my hands.

I had been doing nothing but trying to decide what to say since I woke up.

The truth about who I was dangerous.

The truth about Kael was even more so.

The truth about my tails was something I didn’t know how to explain.

So I asked the smallest question first.

“Something’s wrong with my tail count.”

His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

“The healers who treated me said that I lost two.”

I glanced towards the tails behind me.

“I’ve only ever been missing one.”

He frowned slightly.

For the first time, I saw true concern pass over his face.

Not intrigue.

Not suspicion.

Concern.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean that I can tell precisely how many I had before."

I spoke quieter now.

"I know what happened to them."

Ronan waited for an explanation.

I forced myself to continue.

"The healers told me that I lost two in the pregnancy."

I paused.

"But that's not what really happened."

He scrutinized me.

"What happened, then?"

I did not answer right away.

My fingers clutched at the fabric of my cloak.

There was something about saying something about the loss of my tails that made the loss real again.

"They shouldn't have been lost," I whispered.

Ronan looked toward the four tails behind me.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I still feel the loss of that fifth one."

This got his attention.

Not alarm.

Just interest.

Very much interest.

I regretted bringing it up instantly.

"Where were you before this?" he asked quietly.

The question was too quiet.

"And who is counting closely enough to notice the difference?"

I looked at him.

Each of those questions was like a stone being dropped into a pool of still water.

He was not just asking about my tail.

He was asking about me.

My past.

The people who knew me before I got here.

The people who could have taken something from me.

I looked away from him.

"There were the healers."

"From your world?"

I faltered.

"Yes."

"So they know how many tails you have."

"They should."

"And yet they do not?"

I said nothing.

Ronan leaned against the table.

He was not accusing me.

That was even worse.

He was leaving me silence to decide whether I would lie.

I knew from experience that silence was more terrifying than any interrogation.

Because in the end, someone filled the space.

And then the words spoken could not be unsaid.

"An old injustice," I finally said.

Ronan waited.

"That's all I can say about it right now."

It was not a lie.

It was simply not the truth.

Not the whole truth.

His eyes never left mine.

For the space of a heartbeat, I thought he would ask for an explanation.

Instead, something shifted in his eyes.

He had noticed.

Of course he had.

A dominant male who ruled over such a strong territory could not afford to believe every answer.

But he did not force me to share details.

He did not ask whose fault it was.

He did not ask why I had left.

He just said, “You do not trust me yet.”

I stilled.

“I did not say that.”

“You did not need to.”

There was no accusation in his tone.

Somehow, that made my chest tighten.

Ronan glanced at the maps for a second and then focused back on me.

“I will help you find out.”

I gaped at him.

“You will?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

It was a question I could not resist asking.

Why would he be interested?

Didn't he already save me from the auction house?

Didn't his people already treat my wounds?

Didn't his people provide me with a room, food, clothes and safety?

It all made no sense.

In the past six years, I learned that there were no free favors.

Ronan shrugged.

“Because something was stolen from you.”

His eyes flickered to my remaining tails.

"And because you deserve to know where it went."

Something in my chest loosened.

I didn't have any name for that emotion.

Maybe it was relief.

Maybe it was trust.

I have not had anyone offering to help me for years without demanding something in return.

The council wanted heirs.

The kingdom needed stability.

The healers wanted answers.

Even those who claimed to love me wanted something from me.

Ronan did not ask for anything.

Yet.

And that frightened me almost as much as it calmed me.

Because I knew how it felt like trusting someone.

I was giving them the chance to hurt me.

I did that once before.

I did not know whether I could go through this again.

And still, when Ronan offered his help, I found myself nodding.

"Thank you."

My words tasted strange.

He smiled at me.

“You don’t need to thank me yet.”

Then his expression hardened.

“One condition.”

I waited.

“If this turns into a danger for you, I won’t be able to defend you properly without knowing the truth.”

My heart skipped a beat.

It was there.

The condition.

I should have known that it would come eventually.

Almost, I let myself believe that this act of kindness didn’t have its price after all.

Ronan kept going.

“If someone is looking for you, I need to know.”

He came closer, his tone turning into the whispering.

“If someone hurt you, I need to know.”

His eyes fixed on me.

“And if someone took anything from you, I need to know who he was.”

For the first time, I thought that the men looking for me may have already found me.

It turned my stomach.

Forest.

Rogues.

Hands.

Voices.

Was there anyone else helping them with their dirty work?

Did anyone already know where to find me?

“Agreed.”

It took no time for my lips to pronounce these words.

Ronan nodded.

However, I couldn’t look at him.

Because I already knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep this promise.

Not just yet.

Not until I understand the kind of man I was dealing with.

Not until I would know if he was giving me the shelter out of pure concern or simply waiting until I was useful for him.

I couldn’t tell him about Kael.

I couldn’t tell him that I was the Luna of Lucan Kingdom.

And I most definitely couldn’t tell him that once, long ago, the woman he saw now was considered worthy of being alongside the mightiest ruler on this continent.

Nor did I want to share anything regarding my tails.

Only once I knew what had befallen them did I comprehend.

Ronan swung around again to face the maps.

For an instant, I thought that our discussion was finished.

But then the door burst open.

A guard staggered into the room, panting.

Instantly, Ronan spun around.

“What’s going on?”

The guard gulped.

“Riders on the eastern line.”

He glanced at me.

“They want a woman.”

Cold fear ran through my veins.

“What woman?” Ronan asked.

The guard paused.

Then he looked straight at my silvery hair.

“Silvery hair.”

His eyes drifted down.

“And fox tails.”

My heart froze in my chest.

“They won’t stop until someone answers them.”

For a split second, no one did anything.

I could hear the beat of my own heart.

The riders were looking for me.

And they knew precisely who I was.