Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 224: Getting Complicated

Tiana's POV

A long, quiet moment passed between us. The wind outside had picked up, causing the candle in the corner to flicker wildly. I reached out and gently touched her hand, which felt cool and dry to the touch. She didn't pull away.

"You've done more than enough," I said softly. Her eyes met mine, filled with a deep kind of sadness. She whispered, "You really did know her, didn't you?"

I didn't try to deny it. Instead, I said, "She was a good person."

She was me... But I could not dare to say the words out loud.

But what if she already knew? I mean she admitted her mother was a witch and she could tell if something was off, right? If she knew, then she didn't say anything and I was glad about that.

Maris nodded slowly, her shoulders sagging as if a weight had been lifted off her. "She was the last good thing in that place," she said.

Later, in my quarters, I lit a candle and stared into the flame. The wax melted slowly, steadily and relentlessly, like time itself was passing. I thought about Elara and Layla, and what they had done. They had known what they were doing, whether it was delivering poison or staging a distraction.

If Layla didn't remember it now, someone must have taken those memories from her mind. Was it to protect her, or to keep her useful? Either way, it meant I was getting close to something real and that something was dangerous.

King Roman had power, but he didn't get involved in magic. Corvin, on the other hand, did. If Layla's memories were truly gone, it's likely that Corvin, her father’s ally, had something to do with it.

I stood at the window, staring out into the night. The wind howled outside like it knew secrets I hadn't yet uncovered. I wasn't close to the truth yet, but I had made a start. And if I had to fight my way through lies and danger to find the rest, I was ready to do just that.

They had buried me once, but they wouldn't do it again. I was determined to uncover the truth, no matter what it took.

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

I paced my chambers the next morning after training, thinking about Maris.

Her idea about Layla being controlled by magic was starting to make sense. It was eating away at everything I thought I knew. I leaned against the window, looking out at the moonlit courtyards below. I could feel that something darker was going on. The wolves were getting bolder and more involved in things forbidden to us.

I had been feeling it for weeks, but I had ignored it. Now that the idea had been spoken aloud, I couldn't pretend anymore. A knock at the door startled me, and I straightened up.

"Yes?" I said. The door creaked open, and a young girl with soft brown eyes and a bowed head entered. She was carrying a tray with food on it.

"Evening meal, Commander," she said. "The kitchens sent this for you." Her voice was too careful, and her hands were shaking slightly. When she looked up, I saw a bit of nervousness and fear.

I stepped forward, studying her closely. She was young, maybe a few years older than I had been when I died. "What's your name?" I asked. She looked down at the tray again.

"Thessaly, Commander," she said. I repeated her name, trying to remember if it meant anything to me. And then I recalled.

"You used to serve in the Luna's wing, didn't you?" I asked. She froze, and I watched her carefully. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. "Before she was poisoned."

"I'm not supposed to talk about those days," she said. I took the tray from her hands and set it on the table.

"You just did," I said. There was a silence between us, like fog rolling in. "Why are you really here?" I asked. She looked up at me, then stepped closer.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Because you called on Maris," she said. I froze, surprised by her words. She continued, "No one from the palace has spoken to her. Not since... since she died."

She didn't say Tiana, but I felt the name hovering between us, unspoken.

"How did you know I saw her."

"I went to visit her yesterday and saw you leaving."

I nodded. I hadn't been as discreet as I thought I had been.

"I used to serve her," she whispered, "before the story was different."

"What story?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

She swallowed hard before answering, "The one where she died a traitor. I never believed it, neither did Aunt Maris," she said.

My throat went dry as I asked, "Why?"

She hesitated before answering, "Because the night she died, I saw something no one else did."

Her voice dropped again, barely above a whisper. "Before even Layla and Elara came. Aunt Maris wasn't in the kitchen then, someone ordered the guards out. He has enough power to do so."

"Do you remember who it was?"

Thessaly hesitated before answering, "Alpha Theo."

The name hit me like a slap, and I felt a wave of denial wash over me. "No," I said too quickly, too sharply. "He wouldn't—"

Thessaly cut me off gently, "He wasn't there long, but I saw him. His hand was bleeding when he left, there was a broken glass and everyone seemed to look fearful and wouldn't talk. But his eyes... they weren't right."

I sank onto the edge of the bed, feeling like I'd been punched in the gut. Theo had always been the golden one, the loyal one, my anchor. But that night...

Could he have been part of it? Or was he a victim too? I

"Was he... like he was in a trance?" I asked Thessaly.

She nodded, "Like he didn't know where he was. Like he was following someone else's orders."

"He put the poison, Layla came to check with Elara. And she added something else.”