Damien chuckled and Luna shot him a sharp look.
Nothing about this was funny—not Marion’s smugness, not the necklace she’d stolen, and definitely not the way she spoke of Nina, like she was a burden.
His smile faded. Eyes shifting, like he realized too late how Luna was feeling. A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he didn’t defend himself. Didn’t meet her gaze, either. Just cleared his throat and moved on. “Speaking of, we are here to see her. As good as it is to see you—”
“Speak for yourself,” Luna cut in, tail whipping behind her.
Marion raised her brows, all innocence. “What crawled under your skin?”
Of course they could joke. Of course they were fine. Like Nina wasn’t imprisoned down here. Like Luna’s life hadn’t fractured into something unrecognizable.
She was supposed to keep it together, to be smart, quiet, and strategic, but she didn’t want to be any of those things right now.
Her voice came quieter than expected, and sharper too. “A thief.”
Apparently, all the etiquette Luna had been raised with had flown out the window—or maybe she had left it behind in Ghelvina . . . Either way, she no longer cared if she was being rude.
The room quieted.
“What are you talking about . . .” Marion’s eyes widened, and she brushed a hand through her hair. “Oh, that! You should be thanking me—I saved you from the humans’ hold.”
“Thanking you?” Luna snorted. “You blindsided me. Left me with a man I barely knew and forced me to undergo my first transformation.”
“This really isn’t the place to talk about this,” Corey mumbled quietly.
Oh sure, now Corey cared about what was said in front of others. Too bad she hadn’t thought of that when she made Luna feel like shit earlier.
“I did what a true friend would do,” Marion continued as if Corey hadn’t said a word. “I saw your magic was being suppressed, so I freed you. And I didn’t leave you with a stranger, I left you with Damien, someone safe. Then I destroyed that hunk of junk so no one else could use it against our kind.” Marion ground her teeth loud enough for Luna to hear. “It was vile, the way those humans thought they could control you.”
“You had no right.” Her voice came out thin. “You could’ve said something. Could’ve given me a choice, instead of taking without asking.”
“Would you have believed me?”
That gave Luna pause.
No.She wouldn’t have. Who would believe they were a unicorn until the proof was staring them in the face?
“I’m your friend, Luna,” Marion said softly. “I’d never do something that would hurt you.”
Good intentions didn’t undo the betrayal.
Marion turned and walked ahead, her hands lifted in surrender. “Come on,” she called over her shoulder, flippant as ever. “Nina’s this way.”
Luna hesitated. Her thoughts snagged on the word friend like a burr. If this was friendship—being tricked, stripped of choice, thrown into a life she hadn’t asked for—then she was better off without it.
They walked down the rows of cells, the clip-clop of their hooves echoing in the stale corridor. In the last cell, a woman sat on the stone floor, dark blonde hair hanging limp over her shoulders like dead vines. The last time Luna had seen Nina, she’d been cloaked in black at the protection ceremony. Now she wore a simple white top with long sleeves, paired with dark green pants slit on one side exposing her pale skin.
Eyes the colour of grey storm clouds lifted to meet hers. “It’s you,” Nina breathed. Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but it was smooth and melodic, the kind of voice Luna could spend all day listening to and feel like time was well spent.
Far too graceful given her situation, Nina rose, standing as close as the cuffs wrapped around her wrists would allow. “You’re here . . .”
Luna stepped forward, fingers gripping the cold iron until her knuckles turned white. “You know who I am?”
Nina stared at her, disbelief softening into something warm, almost painful. Then, like a door slammed shut, the warmth was gone from her face, as if she wouldn’t allow herself such an emotion. Sharply, her gaze moved to Marion, then Corey, before settling on Damien. “What kind of game are you playing at? Bringing her here . . .”
“No games,” Damien replied coolly. “She wanted answers before you leave.”
“You speak as if I have a choice in that matter.” Nina shook her now clenched hands, causing the chains to rattle.
