Page 69 of The Blood Moon Oath

It’s the silence that’s the hardest to bear. No one speaks, but I can feel the judgment in every glance, in every breath they take. I was supposed to be the heir, the one who would carry the legacy forward. But now… now I’ve shattered it. I’ve broken everything.

“Finn,” my uncle begins, his voice cold and measured. I look at him, at his lined face, at the disappointment etchedinto every wrinkle. He’s always been the one who tried to protect me from my own impulses, but now, there’s no hiding from the truth. “You’ve brought shame upon us. Your actions have cost us everything.Everything.”

I swallow hard. His words hit like daggers. The pain cuts deeper than I could have imagined. I open my mouth to speak, but the words catch in my throat. How do I apologize for what I’ve done? For betraying my own family? For trusting the woman who tore it all apart?

“I’m sorry,” I finally manage to say, my voice strained. “I never should have trusted her. I should have seen it. I should have known.”

The silence is thick, suffocating. I feel the weight of their stares, their expectations—all of it pressing down on me.

“You should have,” my uncle agrees, his tone tight with controlled anger. “You failed us. And in doing so, you’ve endangered everything we’ve worked for. Everything your father worked for.”

I flinch at the mention of my father. His ghost hangs over all of this—his absence, his legacy, everything that’s now slipping through my fingers like sand. He’s dead, and now I’ve failed him in the worst way possible. I can’t fix this.

“I… I will go,” I say, my words coming out in a rush. “I will find her. I will get everything back. The ring. The heirlooms. Everything she’s stolen.”

My uncle’s gaze hardens, his expression unreadable. “Youwillgo,” he agrees. “But you will do so with the understanding that your actions have consequences. You have dishonored this family. You’ve betrayed us in a way that cannot be forgiven. You are no longer a part of this family.”

My breath catches in my throat, and I feel a cold rush wash over me. My mind races. This is it. This is the price of my mistake.

“Excommunication,” one of the family elders murmurs from the far side of the room. The word hangs in the air like a death sentence, ringing with finality. “It is the only fitting punishment. The family name, the title—gone.”

The words hit me like a slap across the face. Gone. My name. My title. My entire identity.

“Please,” I begin, my voice barely more than a whisper. “I understand. I know what I’ve done. But I swear to you, I will make this right. I will return with everything she’s taken. I will not stop until I’ve made this right.”

I can see the skepticism in their eyes, the doubt that lingers in the air. They don’t believe me—not completely. And I can’t blame them. I betrayed their trust. I betrayed my own.

But I have to try. I have to fix this.

“I don’t expect forgiveness,” I say, my voice rough as I stand taller, my head held high despite the sting of humiliation that burns in my chest. “But I swear on my life, I will return with the family’s relics. I will make her pay for what she’s done.”

The council falls into an uncomfortable silence, and I can feel the weight of their decision hanging over me like an iron fist. They deliberate, but it doesn’t take long for them to reach a verdict.

“The punishment is decided,” my uncle says, his voice firm. “You are no longer a lord of this house. You are exiled. You will leave this estate, and you will never return until you have proven your worth. Until you have earned back even the smallest shred of what you’ve taken from us.”

My knees feel weak, and I have to fight to stay upright. The world has shifted beneath me, and I can’t hold onto anything anymore.

I glance around the room at the faces of my family, and for the first time, I feel like I don’t belong. LikeI’ve been erased. The name I’ve carried all my life, the one my father gave me, no longer means anything. I’m nothing. A nobody. A ghost.

“I understand,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

And with that, my uncle stands, signaling the end of the discussion. There’s nothing left to say.

Chapter

Thirty-Six

TORIN

The sun is high in the sky, beating down on the training grounds with the kind of heat that makes the air shimmer. It’s perfect for what I have in mind. My muscles are loose, ready for the fight, the rhythm of combat coursing through me. I can already hear her approach, the sound of Sable’s boots hitting the earth as she strides toward me with that cocky little smirk on her face. She’s ready for whatever I throw her way, but I know exactly how to goad her.

“Kitten,” I call out as she steps into the clearing, twirling the blade in her hand, eyes sharp and calculating, “you’re looking extra feisty today. Did Kael work you over too much? Or are you just that eager to prove you can keep up with me?”

She doesn’t even flinch at my words. Instead, she grins, the cocky little thing. “You talk too much, Torin. Maybe you should show me how much you reallycankeep up.”

I chuckle darkly, flicking the end of my staff against thedirt, the sound echoing around us. “Oh, I’m more than happy to show you. But you know,” I step forward, leaning in with a grin that’s all teeth, “you never answered my question, kitten. How was your time with Kael? I’m sure you two spent plenty of time... getting to know each other.”

Her eyes narrow, just slightly. That’s her way of pretending she’s not affected by what I’m saying. “What’s it to you?” she shoots back, trying to hide the blush creeping up her neck as we circle each other.

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