Luna inhaled deeply, setting the napkin down. "I'm not choosing. I want both bonds severed."
And silence, truly crushing silence, descended upon the dining room.
Ravena gasped so softly it could have been mistaken for a breeze.
Magnus finally spoke. "Do you even know what that means, Luna?"
"Yes," she replied quickly. Then repeated it slower, more vulnerable. "Yes, Father. I know exactly what it means." Her gaze dropped for a heartbeat before she met his eyes again. "And please… accept my decision."
The pain in Magnus's expression was enough to make the moon darken. "Even if I do… as your father, how can I just watch you cut off the two halves that make you whole? Then stand by as you waste away? And what about the kingdom?" he added, straightening, stepping into the full weight of his royal role. "You have a duty, Luna. A bond to the people. A future."
