Page 110 of A Hunter for Luna

The truth hit me like a physical blow, driving the air from my lungs. My brother, my lost, beloved brother, had spent more than a decade insane and in pain because he was a pawn. A disposable piece.

Just like me. Just like Luna and our unborn child. We were all just tools to her, means to an end.

I wanted to scream, to rage, to tear this room apart with my bare hands. But it would do no good. Mother held all the cards, and she knew it.

Mother had been meticulous, weaving her web with a spider's patience and cunning. She'd left nothing to chance. I sank back into the chair, my fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white. Try as I might, I couldn't see anything to do to circumvent her plan.

Except me, I realized suddenly. She thought she could control me, bend me to her will before the ritual. But she was wrong.

I might've been trapped, but I wasn't helpless. I had my wits, my training, and my magic. And I had something else, something far more powerful: my love for Luna and our unborn child.

That was my strength. That was what would keep me fighting, no matter what they did to me.

Forgive me, Luna.I hope you'll understand, if it comes to it.

I'd die first.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

LUNA

The stone wascold and rough against my skin as the mongrel creatures dragged me through the dark halls. I struggled against their hold, but there were many of them and only one of me. The air thickened, heavy with a sense of malevolent power as they carried me toward massive iron doors engraved with glowing runes I didn't recognize.

With an ominous groan, the doors swung open, revealing a chamber that made my heart seize with dread. An enormous arcane circle dominated the center of the room, its lines pulsing with eerie light. The hybrids hauled me forward, their claws digging into my arms. I writhed and fought them, but it was useless. They were too strong.

They dragged me to the center, clamping iron chains on me hand and foot, tearing off my clothing with their claws. Then they ran from the room, squealing and hooting as if they were in pain.

The magic gathered in the room was old and twisted, making the air hum like a plucked instrument string. It pressed down on me, squeezing out my breath. My vision blurred with the force of it.

The runes etched into the stone seemed to writhe before my eyes, ancient symbols of binding and dark invocation. I recognized a few from Rose’s lessons. Conduits to channel vast amounts of power, fueled by blood and suffering. The realization turned my stomach. I had to find a way to disrupt this foul magic, but how? The working was far beyond my meager skills.

Even if I linked with the babe.

A flash of movement caught my eye. At the edge of the circle, a huge grey wolf prowled the perimeter, its green eyes gleaming with uncanny intelligence. As I watched, transfixed, the beast's form rippled and changed. Bones cracked and reformed, fur receded, until the wolf became a tall man in a white robe covered with dizzying embroidery in couched silver and gold wire.

Moonshifter. The architect of all this horror.

I sagged against the chains, despair rising in my throat. I couldn't let Moonshifter and Vala succeed. Too much was at stake. My child...

Living in a world where Vala was a god didn’t sit well with me either.

There had to be an opening, a way to fight back. The alternative, that Benedetto and I would become puppets of her, and our child would die to fuel her ascension - was too terrible to contemplate.

Disruption was my power, but I couldn’t use it too soon. I had to wait for my moment.

Vala swept into the room like a poisoned wind, her emerald gown trailing behind her in ripples like the ocean. A small, content smile played about her lips as she crossed the chamberto where I stood. She moved with her usual languid grace, as if this were a day like any other.

"Poor Luna," she murmured, stopping before me. She reached out one pale hand to stroke my cheek. Her touch was cool and gentle. "You look so frightened. Don't fret, my dear. It will all be over soon. And the world will be a better place."

I jerked my face away from her caress, my lips curling in disgust. "You're insane," I spat. "This ritual, using an unborn child, it's monstrous beyond words!"

Vala sighed, a weary sound entirely at odds with the determination in her eyes. "Foolish girl. You understand nothing. We aren't destroying anything. I’m taking back what should have been the fate of the empire. The old gods are dead, and something needs to fill that void. What happens to a single child doesn’t outweigh the needs of the many."

"It matters to me!" The words tore from my throat, ragged and fierce. I strained against the chains, knowing it was useless but needing to do something, anything. The rough metal scraped my wrists, but I welcomed the pain. It helped me focus. "I won't let you sacrifice my child to your ambition. I'll fight you to my last breath!"

Vala shook her head, her expression compassionate. "It’s hard, I know."

Her gaze dropped to my belly. "You’ll have more. Mothers lose children. Accept it and cherish the ones you have in the future. They’ll be the happier for this one’s sacrifice."

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