Luna Everleigh's POV
***
The night air was thick with the scent of rain and earth, the remnants of battle still clinging to the land.
We had won.
And yet, standing in the heart of the ruined palace, I felt anything but victorious.
The weight of everything that had happened pressed against my chest like a vice. My hands curled into fists as I stared at the fractured stone beneath my feet, the very foundation of our kingdom shaken to its core.
Beside me, Rhydian was silent. His golden eyes flickered as he surveyed the destruction. Bodies had been cleared, but the scars of war remained. Crumbling walls. Bloodstained ground. The hushed voices of those who had survived, speaking in tones laced with uncertainty.
The Devourer was gone. Morganna had been defeated.
But the world we had fought for… it felt fragile, as if one wrong move could send everything crashing down.
And then there was me.
Or rather, the absence of something inside me.
The power of the Lunar Guardian was gone. I had known it the moment I returned, when the light that had once pulsed through me faded into nothingness. No divine energy. No guiding force. Just an emptiness that gnawed at the edges of my soul.
I had thought I was ready to give it up. That I was willing to trade fate for freedom.
So why did I feel so lost?
A soft murmur from the distance caught my attention.
A group of elders stood gathered near the remnants of the council chamber. Their expressions were grim, their eyes flicking toward Rhydian and me with barely concealed doubt.
It was Kael who broke the silence first. "They're questioning your place as Alpha."
Rhydian's jaw tensed. "Of course they are."
Kael exhaled sharply. "Without the Lunar Guardian's power, they don't know if you and Luna can hold the kingdom together."
I should have expected this. We had shattered tradition, rewritten the stars themselves.
And now the ones who had always relied on fate were left with only their fears.
—
To be continued...