“Lunaria,” Adrian rasps, his eyes slowly blinking closed.
“Lu,” I say quickly. “Call me Lu.”
If anything, Adrian deserves to know he’s more than earned my forgiveness. He made mistakes—alotof them—but in the end, he did what was right. Not for himself, not even for me, but for the entire realm.
Without him, I may not have been able to get close enough to Moros with Nightfall. Without him, Graylen and I wouldn’t have even been able to cross over into Crea.
He huffs a laugh, but it turns into a bone-rattling cough.
“I was never the right ruler for this kingdom,” he rasps. I try to quiet him, but he keeps going—even as his voice fades to a choppy whisper. “If anyone can bring the kingdoms back together, it’s you.”
My throat tightens.
“Let me go, Lu,” he says quietly. “It’s my time.”
“You did the right thing,” I say quickly. “You saved the realm.”
He shakes his head, his eyes slowly drifting closed. “I did good, didn’t I?”
Tears begin to spill over my cheeks as I nod. “You didsogood, Adrian,” I manage to get out. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
A small smile tugs at his mouth just as his head falls to the side.
“Adrian?” I press, tears flowing down my face.
He doesn’t respond, and I realize his chest is still beneath my palms.
My insides twist, and nausea crawls up my throat.
“Without your magic, there’s no use in trying,” Opal muses lightly from above, snapping me back to the present.
I blink slowly, struggling to process it all, then jump to my feet, needing to know what thefuckjust happened.
Opal smiles as my gaze meets hers, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. Darkness swirls in her eyes, a smoky depth of cunning brewing in an ocean of blue.
“I always knew you were bound for greatness, Lunaria,” Opal says with a sigh. Her voice is different. Sharper. “Adrian was a loose end that needed to be tied up.”
My hands begin to shake. “Opal?”
The smile on her face is sharp—nothing like my best friend.
She examines her nails, a motion I saw her do time and time again in the camp. But something about it this time is different. Sinister.
“Did the duke do something to you?” I press, stepping closer to her. My heart beats wildly in my chest, panic seizing my muscles at the thought.
“You really thought that old man was capable of all this?” She laughs bitterly, dropping her hand to her side. “Moros may have had a hand in dividing the empire, but he wasn’t even able to secure himself as a ruler when the war was over.”
My mouth parts.
She called him Moros—sheknewhe was the human ruler of the Valon Empire before the split. How would she know that?
I take a step toward her, my hands shaking for an entirely different reason now. “What did he do to you?”
Her eyes flare with anger, which only fuels my confusion.
“Moros didn’t do this, Lunaria,” she whispers, but it comes out more like a hiss. “I am not from Crea, just as you aren’t.”
Slowly, she begins to circle me, her eyes staying fixed on mine.
