Valley of Shadows and Roses | ONC 2024

Chapter 28

"Oops," Queen Luna said.

Maybe Luna was truly evil after all. The curse took its prey tonight, but it didn't go away. She could still feel it holding her tightly. It dug into her flesh with iron claws. It ran through her veins. It drove her heartbeat. The curse was part of her. Maybe she was evil after all. After all, she basically killed everyone trying to rid her of that curse.

Maybe she never wanted to get rid of the curse because it was the only thing that made sense to her.

She was cursed.

Luna walked to the edge of the tower. The moon brightly illuminated the gardens with silver light. Nothing remained hidden in the dark. She looked down into the depths stretching below her. She saw the motionless body of Prince Sabastian. The moonlight reflected in the pool of blood. It kept getting bigger and bigger. His blood sprinkled the ground. Prince Sebastian was dead, and Luna killed him. Inside, she was trembling with fear and excitement at the same time. For some reason, it filled her with pleasure. Death filled her with something powerful. She felt alive.

"That must have hurt." The Shadow Lord appeared by Luna's side.

Luna startled when she caught sight of him. She would almost fall off that tower by herself if the Shadow Lord hadn't caught her. Luna reached out her hand to him; he took it in his and pulled her to his chest. The Shadow Lord held her tightly in his arms.

"Pretty good trick to avoid death tonight," said the Shadow Lord. He brushed Luna's unruly strand of hair from her eyes behind her ear. The gentle touch made her shiver.

"It was an accident," Luna said in a confident voice. "He slipped and fell. Accident."

"Are you sure about that?" he smirked.

Luna pushed him away hard. "Of course I am," she said. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"Forgive me, dear Luna, if I sounded inappropriate." the smile did not disappear from his lips. "My brother has always been clumsy. It's a mystery that he didn't die earlier."

"Sebastian, is your brother?" Luna wondered. "So he was..."

"Yes," replied the Shadow Lord. "We never had an exactly a good relationship. Sebastian has always been sneaky. However, I have to admit that the way he tried to destroy me with the help of you was ingenious. If you hadn't killed him, I would have," he said.

"So what Sebastian told me about the shadows is true?" Luna asked him.

"Everything," the Shadow Lord confirmed to Luna, though he didn't know how much Sebastian had told her. "Absolutely everything." even that Luna weakens him. "Fortunately, he was unable to use you against me, dear Luna. He certainly didn't expect that you would be the one that caused his end."

"But shadows can't die by human hand," Luna said, confused.

"But you are no ordinary person, dear Luna. I chose you for a reason."

The one he never told Luna about, and it was bothering her. But she never asked as well.

"I guess your mother wouldn't be very happy with us."

"Did you know my mother?" Luna asked surprised.

"She was one of the fairies. One of the most powerful ones. A long time ago she left because of her love for mere human," he revealed the secret. "Shadows live in your blood, dear Luna. We are bonded mates by fate. But nothing of that matters anymore. My brother is dead, so I don't have to deal with his excessive interest in you."

"Were you jealous?" she asked him, surprised. She couldn't suppress a smile.

The Shadow Lord let the distance between them disappear in one step. They stood unnaturally close to each other. Luna could feel his heart beating in his chest. She could feel the warmth of his body on her skin. With a gentle but firm touch, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to his body. He leaned to her. Their lips almost touched.

"I hated every second he was with you. I wanted to rip his eyes out for every look he gave you. I wanted to rip his hands off for every touch he dared to lay on you," he whispered gently in her ear.

Luna's heart was racing. Her breath trembled. She shivered at the desire in his voice. She liked the idea of what the Shadow Lord was willing to do to his brother for wanting to take her from him. The loving touch of his fingers sliding up her wrist up her arm.

The Shadow Lord pulled away from Luna as if she had burned him. His face grew serious. The atmosphere became heavy.

"I came to tell you it's over. We're leaving. I and the shadows are moving on," he announced to her.

"Wait!" she stopped him. "You want to leave me? You cannot leave me alone here again."

"You are free, dear Luna. You can go wherever your heart takes you." said the Shadow Lord. "Looks like I've lost our little game," he gave her a sweet smile.

"In that case, we both lost," Luna told him. "My heart is drawn to you. I want to go with you, my lovely dark prince. I've been waiting for you all these years. It tore me apart when you didn't come. I was going crazy thinking you were somewhere near but still far away, where I couldn't touch you." It was the first time in her life that Luna allowed her true feelings to surface and didn't suffocate them. "I don't want to lose you again, not now that you're back."

The Shadow Lord smirked. He had a pleased expression on his face. Mischief sparkled in his eyes. "What changed your mind all of a sudden, dear Luna?" he asked her.

Luna recovered from her outburst and threw back the stone face. "I have many reasons," she replied coldly. "Amora could tell you one." she took a step towards the Shadow Lord. "One of them is that I missed you, which is absolutely insane." two steps, three. "Do you know that every birthday I waited in the tower for you to show up? But you didn't come."

The corners of his mouth lifted into a wide smile. Of course, he knew it. He never let her out of his sight.

"I know," he told her the truth. "I've been watching you all the time. It was the only day you didn't try to run away."

Luna's eyes showed shock. She thrust sharply at the Shadow Lord. "You bastard!" she cursed, full of anger.

Luna wanted to hit him again, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his chest. The Shadow lord kissed Luna fiercely, and she couldn't resist and kissed him back. It was the touch of deception she had craved all these years.

"Give me one good reason why I should take you with me," he challenged her.

Luna clutched her heart and looked at him, offended. "Didn't you miss me? I thought you were going crazy thinking of me with someone else," she said.

The Shadow Lord laughed. "Thinking you'll be with my brother," he replied.

"In that case, the only thing left is the reason you chose me in the first place," said Luna. "Although we both know very well that you actually missed me. I always felt when you were near." she gave him a mischievous smile.

That surprised the Shadow Lord. He didn't expect that she could feel him through the bond that connected them. He said to himself that it was time to stop messing with her. And maybe not.

"It's better if our ways will split," he said.

"If you wish so," Luna said.

She took a step back, two, three. Her steps carried her to the edge of the tower. Gentle breeze blew in her golden hair.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping my distance." she replied.

He caught her before she fell over the edge. In the suddenness of the movement, he kissed her passionately. He had longed for it for so long. He had longed to feel the taste of her lips again. He longed to touch her again. He didn't know what kind of spell she had put on him, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Now she was his. She was finally his and only his.

Luna returned the kiss. Her heart was beating wildly. It got her blood pumping. She was afraid to admit that she wanted it, but it was true. And now she had him. The Shadow Lord's heart belonged to her.

"Looks like our little game is over and we've both lost," the Shadow Lord said through the kisses.

"Not even close," Luna replied. "One is over, and the other is just beginning."

And both wanted to win.