Page 46 of Cage the Storm
His eyes flash angrily, but he lets me get it off my chest.
“Do you know what would’ve happened if you’d died?”
Something wavers in his expression, but I don’t stop.
“Your men? Your family? Do you think they’d survive the fallout? And me—” I inhale sharply, “Did you think I would just pretend like we never existed?”
There’s danger in the way he holds back—nothing to do with the war he’s so hellbent on fighting. Then, finally, he speaks.
“I know what I’m doing, Luna.” His voice is so cold. Like the last few days never happened. And that look in his eyes—the one that says if I push, he’ll push back harder.
Well, I've got news for him, because this time I won’t back down.
“Your mother already lost one son,marito.” My voice is cutting since that’s the only damn language he speaks. “Do you think she could survive losing the other?”
His expression changes slightly.
“And if you had died?” I hold his gaze. “There’s no heir. No succession plan. Who steps up? Who takes control? You’re not just reckless, you’re irreplaceable. Act like it.”
CHAPTER FORTY
NICOLAI
The guilt sits heavyand tight inside my chest. Luna’s voice won’t leave my head; it slices through everything: “Your moms already lost one son. Don’t make it two.”
I try to push past it. But I can’t because she’s right.
If I had died?—
I never mentioned that Mateo is next in line because that’s not what this is all about. Luna doesn’t want to rule the kingdom without the king. I figured it all out some time ago, but I was hoping she’d be the one to tell me her endgame.
I’m frustrated at the weakness still tying me to this damn bed. I don’t like feeling powerless, especially not by my own mistakes.
But this? This wasn’t just a mistake.
Luna was right. It was reckless.
I can justify it a hundred ways, strategy, necessity, control, but none of them change the truth. Or the outcome. I nearly bled out. I almost died. Almost left my mother without a son, and a wife widowed—again. And Bria alone and vulnerable in a world of ruthless men and arranged marriages. I shudder at the thought of what they could have done to her. I almost dragged my entire family into a war they weren’t equipped to fight.
And for the first time, I wondered what the hell I was thinking.
In just a few days, Luna went from concerned to downright livid. Now she’s standing there with her arms crossed, watching me and waiting for something, and she deserves it.
If her piercing gaze is any indication, she won’t make this easy on me. I blow out a breath and say, “You’re right.”
She arches a brow, skeptical. “About what?”
I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “Everything.”
No smug smile. No ‘told you so.’ Just that look—like she’s not sure what to do with me, admitting I was wrong, and she was right.
“I wasn’t thinking,” I confess. “Not about my family, you, or the fallout. Just about getting the job done.”
“You almost died, Nico. You can’t afford to think like that anymore.” I lower my head because she’s right. I have soldiers to take out the trash. I should have stayed home and let them do their job.
“I know. I promise I’ll do better at delegating.” No sooner do those words leave my mouth than I realize it’s the first time I’ve ever made a promise to anyone.
Luna blows out a shaky breath. She doesn’t say a word, because she’s not sure if she should believe me or not. Until I get back on my feet, she’s the one in control, and I fucking hate it.
