Page 41 of Wolf Queen Ruin
“Of all the dangers there, yes, that ranks the highest,” I said with a smile.
She chuckled, the sound warming something forgotten within my chest, and stopped outside the Repository door.“I knew you’d understand.”
The moonlight caught in her honey-blonde hair, creating a halo effect that enhanced her natural luminosity.Even exhausted, she radiated a vitality that made the stars seem dull by comparison.
Luna hiked up her dress again for her key, not quite as high this time, unfortunately, but high enough to see the smooth expanse of creamy skin on her shapely legs.
“You’re staring, Damien,” she said.
“You steal the night, Luna.Can you blame me?”
Her wide gaze snapped to mine as she straightened, keys curled in her fist.I shut my mouth before anything else reckless spilled out without my permission.
We stood there, both of us staring now, while an electric hum charged the air between us.The silence stretched tight, pulsing.
Luna cleared her throat and fumbled with her keys, breaking the spell first.My skin buzzing, I took half a step away, unaware of when I’d crowded her personal space.
As she found the right key, the yellow sapphire on her left hand caught the light, drawing both our attention.The engagement ring—my fae family ring—glinted with subtle magic as she moved her fingers.
“Oh,” she said, suddenly still.“I should give this back to you.”
She tugged at the ring, twisting it to pull it over her knuckle.
It didn’t budge.
Luna frowned, tugging harder.“It’s stuck.”
“Allow me,” I offered, taking her hand.
The moment my fingers touched the ring, a soft golden light emanated from the stone, pulsing once before settling back to normal as if in greeting.The ancient magic thrummed beneath my fingertips.
I gave the ring an experimental twist.It remained firmly in place as though it had fused to her skin, though there was no visible change to her finger.
“Maybe I just need some soap and to cool off.You think?”Luna asked, a note of alarm creeping into her voice.
On a hunch, I tried to remove my own ring—the companion piece I’d worn throughout the evening.It too refused to budge, a similar pulse of golden light flickering when I attempted to slide it off.
“This is…” I paused, searching for an explanation that wouldn’t sound like madness.
“If you say ‘interesting,’ I swear I’ll punch you,” Luna warned through gritted teeth.“Why won’t it come off?”
“It seems the rings are responding to each other,” I said.“They were created as a pair, designed for certain connections between wearers, but those connections are rare.”
“What kind of connections?”she demanded, her eyes narrowing.“I swear to god, Damien… Did you know this would happen?”
“No,” I said.“Traditionally, these family rings respond to genuine intent.They were designed to seal engagements by ensuring both parties entered the arrangement with genuinely honest purpose.”
Luna stared at me then back at the ring.“But our engagement is fake.We’re not genuinely entering anything.”
“Precisely why this is unexpected.”I studied her ring again, noting how the yellow within the sapphire seemed deeper somehow, more golden, the patterns of light within it more active than usual.“It seems the rings have detected something between us that approximates genuine intent.”
“Nah, bro,” she said flatly.“I don’t know you like that.”
I had to agree.We were strangers.More importantly, we were forbidden.
The rings were ancient fae magic, predating even Elliot’s transition to vampire.They couldn’t be fooled by pretense, which left only one possibility: on some level, Luna and I had developed a genuine connection.
The realization hit like an icy spear through my chest.These rings and what they represented would put a target on both our backs.
