Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 212: You Shouldn't Have Come After Us

Tiana's POV

I woke up to the smell of damp stone and pain throbbing in my ribs. My wrists ached from the ropes binding them. My head was spinning, but I forced myself to stay still and listen.

Footsteps echoed outside my cell, and I knew someone was coming. I turned my head slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements.

And then I saw him. The man sitting across from me was someone I knew, or at least, someone I recognized. I had seen his face before, on the man who had died for my crimes.

A chill ran down my spine. This wasn't just about the palace or the assassins. This was about me, and I had walked straight into it.

"You don't get to run from what you did," the man said, his voice quiet and sharp as a blade. I swallowed hard, trying to think of what to say next. But before I could speak, he continued.

"You think you can just hide behind the palace walls and forget about your past? You think you can just erase what you did?" His eyes narrowed, his voice dripping with venom.

I knew I was in trouble. Big trouble. And I had no idea how to get out of it.

I took slow, deep breaths, trying to calm myself down and push away the pain and panic. The ropes around my wrists were tight and uncomfortable, but I ignored them. My focus was on the man in front of me.

"I don't even know who you are," I said, keeping my voice steady and controlled. I didn't want him to see how scared I was.

A cold smile spread across his lips. "No, but you knew he was innocent." His words felt like it was suffocating me. I knew exactly who he was talking about – the man who had died in my place, the one whose name I had barely allowed myself to think about.

But now, I was paying the price for my silence. "I didn't know him, neither did he know he would take the fall for that murder," I said carefully, trying to defend myself. "Plus he had his own mistakes to make up for."

The man's eyes darkened, and his face twisted in anger. "And you think that makes it right?" He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He had a family – a wife, a daughter. Have you ever thought about them?"

My stomach twisted. No, I hadn’t. I had never let myself think beyond the simple fact that someone else had taken my punishment. Now, that choice was coming back to haunt me.

The cell door creaked open, and a dark figure filled the doorway. I turned my head slowly, my muscles tensing up. Another man entered, taller and broader than the first, his face hidden in the dim torchlight.

"Enough talking," he said, his voice deep and authoritative. The man in front of me smirked, but he stood up and left, his footsteps fading down the corridor.

The second man didn't move for a long moment, then finally stepped closer, into the light. My breath caught in my throat as I saw his face.

Commander Rhylen. The man I had trusted, the man I had asked for a place.

"You shouldn't have come after us," he said quietly, his eyes cold. "Now, you're in the middle of something you don't understand."

Anger flared up inside me, burning away the fear. I felt betrayed and lied to.

"I was supposed to trust you," I spat, trying to keep my voice steady. "Was that all a lie?"

Rhylen smiled, a cold, calculating smile. "I don't have much time for you now," he said.

Then, he pulled out a pouch from his pocket and held it under my nose. I didn't have time to react, to process what was happening.

The world went blank.

*+*+*++*+*+*+*

I woke up with a jolt, the sharp pain in my side reminding me that I wasn't in a comfortable bed, but on a cold, hard stone floor. The ropes that bound my wrists dug into my skin, a painful reminder of the trouble I was in.

My head throbbed, every heartbeat pounding through my skull like a drum. I couldn't remember how I'd ended up here, but my senses told me everything I needed to know.

The dim, flickering torchlight cast long shadows against the stone walls, making everything seem far away and unreal. The air was stale and heavy with the scent of dampness and stone.

I was in a cell, that much was clear. But the question was: why? Who has put me here? And what did they want from me?

I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me, forcing me back onto the cold stone floor. I closed my eyes, taking slow, deep breaths, trying to clear my foggy mind.

But the more I thought, the more questions I had. What had happened to me? How had I ended up in this cell? And what was going to happen to me next?

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, growing louder with each passing second. I froze, my heart racing as the steps neared. My breath hitched in my throat, but I kept my body still, listening.

The door creaked open, and a man stepped inside. His silhouette was tall, and his presence commanded attention. For a moment, I thought I had imagined it until he spoke. His voice was oddly familiar but I could not place it. All I knew was that I knew him.

"I don't know who you are," the man said, his voice low and measured, every word deliberate. "But I know one thing." He stepped closer, his boots scraping softly against the stone floor, his figure sharpening in the dim light.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as he approached. The way he paused his sentence was unnerving, making me wonder what he knew and what he wanted.

"You're not Talia.”