She stiffened imdiately, her wolf instincts coiling within her. Luna spun around, already bracing herself. "He is my father. I have a right to see him, to mourn him."
Kyllian erged slowly from the shadows, his broad shoulders tense.
"My king gave one final task," he said. "He said to look after you, and your unborn child. What does that an?"
Luna’s brow furrowed deeply, her gaze flickering away from Kyllian’s. The woods around them whispered. Her father had tasked Kyllian with protecting her and her unborn child. But how? How could he have known? She didn’t even know until Morvakar had told her.
"I don’t know."
"Co back ho, Luna," he said. "This is where you belong. Not with vampires whose natural instinct is to prey on us."
"Kyllian," she began. "Blood City had nothing to do with what happened here. Damien would never. It was the rogue vampires. You know that."
She searched his eyes for that flicker of agreent. His silence was deafening. And it made her heart ache.
"Kyllian, please—" she stepped closer. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to start a war?"
For a mont, it seed he might lash out. But instead, he exhaled, long and tired.
"When your father told I would be taking the throne," he said, "I had one goal. To bring you back to your people. To put you on the throne. That seat isn’t rightfully mine. It’s yours. It has always been yours."
"Our lives turned upside down the mont that bloodsucker stepped on our lands and claid you as his," Kyllian continued. "You were mine. You were my mate."
Luna swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry.
"I’m not asking you to co back to be with ," Kyllian added quickly, stepping forward. "I’m asking you to co back to be with your people."
She looked away, her vision blurring slightly. He was so close now, and yet the distance between them was vast.
"We need you, Luna," he whispered. "Your people need you."
Luna’s heart throbbed painfully. She felt the pull of her old life, of duty, of Kyllian’s pain. And yet, her body carried the future now.
"I am with my people," she finally whispered.
"I ca here to see my father one last ti," Luna whispered. "But I guess I was also hoping to see you too."
"You are king now," she said softly. Her feet shifted in the grass as she moved a step closer. "I do not belong here anymore. I am Vampire Prince Damien Dragos’s mate, I always will be."
Luna took another step. Her scent drifted toward him and his wolf whimpered quietly within, recognizing her even if fate had moved on. "You have to let the pain go, Kyllian."
"What more will I lose?" he whispered, more to himself than to her. "Tell . I cannot do this. I am not equipped for this... not without you."
Luna’s fingers trembled as she reached up and cupped his cheek. His skin was warm, his stubble rough against her palm. His eyes closed at her touch, just for a mont—just long enough for the mories to sneak in.
"My father chose you to rule alongside when the ti cos," she said. "Because he knew you are capable."
Kyllian opened his eyes, searching hers.
"Don’t start a war, Kyllian," she continued. "Let us all discuss this. You have to work with Damien to find the people who took our king from us."
He barked a humorless laugh. "And if your precious prince had sothing to do with the attack?" he asked.
"He doesn’t." Her answer was swift, firm, a dagger of certainty.
"If he did, Luna," he said slowly, "will you kill him yourself?"
Her hand dropped from his face. "I would die before letting anyone harm him," she said finally. "But if... if Damien had anything to do with my father’s death, I would never forgive him. I would hate him. And yes, I would see justice done."
"But that’s not what happened," she added, firr now. "I know Damien."
"You didn’t answer my question. If it turns out, he had sothing to do with the king’s death. That he sohow organised the raid, will you kill him?" Kyllian repeated.
Luna hesitated.
Then she nodded. "I will kill him myself."
He nodded in satisfaction. "Let’s go bid our king goodbye." He extended a hand to her. She looked at it for a mont, then placed her fingers in his.
*****
"I cannot believe you went there without an escort!" Damien roared as soon as they stepped through the front doors of his castle. He didn’t even let her take her coat off first. He had found her while he was asking about her whereabouts at the border.
"Without telling anyone where you were! Do you have any idea the fear I felt? I thought soone had taken you!"
"I’m sorry," she said gently, taking a step forward. "I just needed to be at my father’s funeral, and I didn’t want to risk having a vampire escort in case we got caught. It would have caused a scene."
"Were you?"
"Kyllian found ," she admitted. "But he allowed into the palace to attend the funeral."
Damien turned then, slowly. His eyes softened at the sight of her. He closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her.
"I’m glad you’re okay," he murmured into her hair. His hands gripped the back of her coat.
She leaned into him fully this ti, letting the tension in her spine dissolve into his warmth. "It was nice to say goodbye properly."
Damien whispered, "If you ever sneak off like that again, I’m going to chain you to the bed."
Luna snorted against his chest. "Kinky."
"I’m serious. You’ll never see the outside of this house again."
She laughed, muffled by the fabric of his shirt, and it felt so good to laugh—even if only for a second. "You know, most people just say ’I missed you.’"
"I did," he said. "I missed you like hell. I don’t ever want to lose you."
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