“She belongs where she feels safe.” His jaw tightens. “And that is not with you.”
He turns on his heel and carries Ivy out. I follow into the corridor.
Izel waits there, her auburn hair tied into an elaborate long braid, silk robe gleaming in the torchlight. When Kade places Ivy in her arms, her smile is sweet and triumphant.
“Mama’s here,” she coos, rocking Ivy close.
Kade doesn’t look at me when he barks. “Stay away, Freya. That is an order.”
Izel starts to walk away with Ivy, but I fall at Kade’s feet, stopping him.
“Kade… please! Why are you doing this to me? Why are you treating me like I mean nothing to you? I’m your wife in the Goddess’s eyes! Ten years, Kade—ten years we’ve been married. We have two beautiful children together. I’ve always loved you, cared for you endlessly. I’ve obeyed you, been the dutiful Luna, never once questioned your authority. So, tell me—what changed? What made you turn to her? What killed the love you once had for me? Because I know you loved me once. I know you did.
“Do you remember when Finn was born? You held him all night because I was too weak to move. Do you remember how you taught Ivy to say ‘mama’ first instead of ‘dada,’ just because I was upset that Finn took forever to call me ‘mama’? Do you remember Ivy’s first steps? She ran straight to you—and you brought her to me, and we laughed like we’d never known sorrow.”
His expression flickers. I reach for it, desperate.
“I was there. Beside you. Through every winter, every battle, every night loving you, caring for you. I was your wife. Your Luna. I gave up everything, sacrificed it all so I could do my duty to our pack—to you. Doesn’t any of that matter? Do you not care at all?”
His hand twitches at his side, and for a moment I’m sure he’s reaching for me.
But then Izel interrupts, still holding Ivy in her arms, “You’re wasting your time, my love.”
Kade’s eyes flick to her, and when they return to me, they resemble ice. “The past is gone. Stop clinging to it.”
The softness in me burns away at the cold cruelty in his voice. I straighten my spine, getting to my feet, every shred of warmth gone from me. “You can strip me of the title. You can lock away my crown. But you will not take my children from me, Kade.”
His jaw clenches. “You have no choice, Freya.”
“I do,” I tell him. “At the Blood-Moon Conclave, I will seek Silver Severance.”
His face hardens, but I don’t flinch. Not this time.
“You cannot,” he says.
“I will.”
I stride past him, back into the shadows of my chamber, clutching the moon-amber. The stone still pulses faintly warm, like a promise.
TERMS OF WAR
Freya
The records chamber is quiet, lit by only a handful of lamps. The shelves on its walls sag under the weight of centuries. If I step inside, I put my intentions into words. And words, once spoken, have power.
But Kade has left me no other choice.
Swallowing my fear, I walk in with the moon-amber clutched in my palm, its faint warmth pulsing against my skin.
Sixty seconds. That’s all it gives me—just long enough, I hope, to pry truth from lips that might otherwise stay sealed. Elder Maelin keeps every law, every ritual, every secret. If he resists me, I’ll have nothing.
He looks up from his desk when I enter, quill stilling mid-stroke. “Luna Freya,” he says, voice frail from his age. His hair is white as frost, his grey eyes pale but sharp, as though nothing escapes him. “What brings you here at such an hour?”
I hold up my chin. “You still call me Luna? Are you not aware that I have been replaced?”
His lips part in a wise smile. “I’m aware of what’s real. What’s true.”
I tighten my grip on the amber, step closer. My pulse hammers in my throat as I whisper, “I need answers.”
