Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 190: Bitter Memories

Peter's POV

I knew it wouldn’t take long before someone tried to test her. The men in the warriors' quarters weren’t the forgiving type, especially after being humiliated in front of me. It was only a matter of time before one of them snapped.

Still, seeing it happen firsthand irritated me more than it should have.

I walked in just as she was twisting out of the way of a sucker punch. The man who had thrown it stumbled forward, barely catching himself before she could retaliate. She was quick, already shifting back into a fighting stance.

"Enough."

The word left my mouth before I fully thought it through, but the moment it did, silence filled the room.

Every head turned toward me.

I didn’t spare her a glance. My focus was on them—the warriors I had trained, the ones who were supposed to uphold a standard, and yet they were acting like children throwing a tantrum.

"Are we really so pathetic that we have to gang up on someone because we lost a fight?" I said coldly. "Maybe I should have you all spar with her again. Since you seem eager to embarrass yourselves further."

No one spoke.

I exhaled sharply. "Get out."

They filed out reluctantly, though I didn’t miss the glares they shot in her direction. When the room finally emptied, I turned to her.

She was still standing, shoulders squared, face unreadable.

"I told you training starts at dawn," I said, my voice tight. "Try not to get into fights before then."

"I didn’t start it," she said smoothly.

I clenched my jaw.

I didn’t answer. I just turned and left.

The halls were quiet at this hour. A blessing, considering my mind was anything but.

I shouldn’t be thinking about her. About the way she fought, the way she carried herself, the way her presence unsettled something in me.

I clenched my fists, inhaling deeply through my nose.

It wasn’t her.

It couldn’t be.

"You’re thinking about her."

Theo’s voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. I stiffened, turning to find him leaning against the wall, arms crossed. The dim torchlight cast sharp shadows across his face.

"You’re the one who keeps bringing her up," I muttered, rubbing a hand over my face.

Theo pushed off the wall, stepping closer. "Because she feels familiar, doesn’t she?"

My jaw locked.

"You feel it too," he continued, watching me closely. "Something about her. It’s not just her fighting. It’s something else."

I exhaled sharply. "You’re courting Elara."

Theo frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means you should forget Tiana." My voice came out harsher than I intended, bitter and raw. "She’s gone. She was marked a traitor. Even if she wasn’t—" I stopped myself, jaw tightening. "It doesn’t matter."

Theo was silent for a long moment before he said, voice quiet, "You’re trying too hard to convince yourself of that."

I turned away, my chest tight.

Because deep down, I knew he was right.

Tiana's POV

I was going crazy. Everywhere I looked, I saw something that seemed familiar. A hallway that gave me chills. A training ground where my hands felt like they remembered something. Faces I had known before—faces that used to look at me with respect, but now looked at me with suspicion and anger.

I kept my head down and my mouth shut, but the memories were coming back. I knew this place. I knew these walls. Even if I didn't want to.

Then I heard people whispering. I wasn't trying to listen in, but when two warriors talk in the open, it's hard not to hear a few words. I was walking through the west wing of the palace, where the higher-ranking warriors usually hung out.

Their voices carried over to me as I walked past the arched entryway.

“…a shame, really. Amara was a good woman.”

A name that sent my blood running cold.

I slowed my steps.

“She was sick for a while, wasn’t she?”

“No, that’s the thing. She wasn’t sick. Maybe she was poisoned as well.”

Poison.

“…heard she started bleeding after Tiana drank it. You think it was just a coincidence?”

“You think she was poisoned too?” The second man scoffed. “Who would’ve wanted Amara dead?”

I clenched my fists, my heart racing. I didn't know the whole truth about Amara's death. All I knew was what I saw before I died. They said she started bleeding that night, right after I drank the poison...

I forced myself to keep moving, walking away from the voices before my legs gave out. Who would have wanted Amara dead? That was the big question.

Bleeding from where?

Or was it possible that the bleeding was from complications after giving birth? But what if that wasn't true? What if...?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts away. No. I was already in enough danger. Asking too many questions would only make things worse.

I needed to focus on staying alive.

*+*+*+*+*+*

Rumors spread fast. People said the future Luna had returned. I first heard it from a maid in the palace hallway. Then I heard it again from warriors during training, and again from cooks in the kitchen. Elara was back. Elara, the woman engaged to Theo. The woman who would take the place that could have been mine.

I told myself I didn't care. It didn't matter. But that evening, I saw them in the courtyard. I was wiping sweat from my brow after a tough day of training. I saw a movement near the pillars leading to the garden.

I turned my head slightly, not meaning to intrude. That's when I saw her. It was the same Elara from the memories of Erika that I had, and it was the same Elara that had been here the night I had died. The same one that seemed to have planned something with Layla. She looked delicate but still sharp and confident like a noble Luna should.

She reached up and touched Theo's cheek, whispering something in his ear. Then she kissed him. Theo didn't pull away. I stared, feeling something bitter in my chest. But I didn't let myself feel it.

I turned and walked away before they could see me. I ignored the empty feeling in my chest. It didn't matter. This wasn't my life anymore.