Page 34 of A Hunter for Luna

He picked it up, his eyes widening slightly. “The Fall of Ruin. Interesting.”

My chest heaved as I caught my breath and stopped to clean my fan’s edge on the clothing of the nearest fallen.

Who had sent these men? Why? Unease prickled down my spine. This complicated things immensely. I had to be more careful than ever now.

And how would Benedetto react to events?

"What is it?" I asked, tilting my head toward the book.

"A clue," he muttered, tucking the book under his arm. His brow furrowed. "We should leave."

I nodded, my mind racing. Why was that book important? And why had the assassins targeted us specifically? I had a sinking feeling it was connected to my true identity somehow. We had to move fast.

We slipped out of the library, dodging guests who were rushing toward the commotion, their faces a mix of fear and morbid curiosity. Benedetto grabbed my hand, his grip firm as he led me through a hidden servants' passage. The narrow corridor was dimly lit, the air musty.

"You're surprisingly familiar with this house," I remarked, slightly breathless as we hurried along.

He smirked over his shoulder at me. "I've been here before."

Of course he had. Benedetto was rumored to know every nook and cranny in Kalion and Legnali. "What just happened?"

"I assume they were after the book," he replied, speculative eyes on me. “I owe you for prompting me to seek that room out; otherwise I would have had to hunt them down later. Follow me.”

But why? What secrets did those pages hold? And why did Benedetto want it? Frustration burned in my chest. I hated being in the dark, hated not having all the pieces to the puzzle.

My pulse raced as we ran down the dimly lit hallway, the muted sounds of the ongoing ball fading behind us. Benedetto moved with a coiled tension. I could feel the barely restrained emotions emanating from him, the set of his shoulders broadcasting frustration or anger.

We passed through a servant's door, down a flight of stairs, another door, and emerged into a quiet side garden, near the wall enclosing the mansion. The cool night air was a welcome relief. I paused to catch my breath, my heart still pounding from the adrenaline of the fight.

It wasn’t my first, but normally I tried hard not to be in physical confrontations and then the attendant cleanup.

Benedetto turned to face me, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. “Now, sweet vixen, I believe we need to finish our introductions. I don’t believe I caught your name.”

"I thought you said you didn’t need it, Benedetto?" I stated, my voice tinged with a hint of mockery.

He took my wrist, his grip almost painful. A storm brewed behind his darkened gaze. "I do. You're not like the others. Who are you?"

I laughed softly, tugging at my trapped hand. He didn't let go. My chin at a challenging angle, I lifted my other hand to my face and grasped the edge of my silver filigree mask. It caught the bright moonlight as I lowered it, revealing my face fully to him.

Benedetto paused, examining my face as I lowered the mask. His eyes widened after a moment, disbelief and confusion warring across his face.

"You recognize me. How flattering," I said lightly, trying to calm the thumping of my heart.

"Lunetta?" Benedetto's voice was strangled, barely above a whisper. His expression shifted rapidly from shock to disbelief, then to something harder for me to read.

“Indeed, husband.”

He looked me up and down, as if seeing me for the first time. "What in the name of all the dead gods are you doing here?" he muttered. He shook his head as if to clear it. "You don't look like a frightened little mouse, more like the fox that chases the mouse."

"How flattering," I said coolly. "I've changed, Benedetto. It has been years. Why shouldn’t I attend entertainments?"

Let him be intrigued. He needs to see that I'm not the girl he discarded so easily. I'm not someone he can dismiss anymore.And I need to parlay that to get him into bed as soon as I could, before he ran off on another one of his never-ending quests.

His shock melted into simmering rage, his jaw clenching tight. "You deceived me," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "What are you up to? Are you another one of my mother’s pawns?"

Since Legnali was populated by his mother’s pawns- her fingers were in every pie- I ignored his second question.

I lifted my chin, unflinching. "Deceive you? Is it my concern that you didn’t bother to look closely? You saw what you wanted to see. A pretty face. An amusing distraction."

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