Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 244: Buried In The Garden

Tiana's POV

I looked at her like she was crazy. “That’s not helping me feel any better.”

She gave me a tiny smile before she broke into a soft and gentle laughter.

We stopped for the night under a strange-looking tree. Its roots looked like giant fingers reaching out of the ground. I built a fire and sat on the ground on a blanket.

“What’s Coldgrove like?” I asked, using my hands to support my chin.

“It’s very old,” she said. “And very cold. The place was built over forgotten magic. They say when you sleep there, you dream about things that never really happened.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I said.

“One day it will,” she replied.

That night, it was hard to fall asleep. But when I did, I had a dream.

In the dream, Theo was standing on the edge of a cliff. He had the talisman in his hands. Blood ran down his arms.

“I never wanted this,” he said. “I just wanted to keep you safe.”

I tried to reach out to him, but he fell backwards into the darkness.

I woke up suddenly. My heart was beating fast, and I was breathing heavily. Cecilia was already awake. She was packing up our things and putting out the fire.

“It’s time to go,” she said.

We rode quickly the next day. By the time evening came, I noticed something strange. The trees looked different. Their bark was silver, and their leaves were a soft blue color.

“We’re getting close,” Cecilia said.

A dark shadow flew across the moon. I looked up. “What was that?”

“Don’t talk about what flies here,” she said quickly.

We got off our horses and pushed through thick bushes until we reached a rocky hill. There was a small stone house hidden between the rocks. The door had weird symbols carved into it.

Cecilia walked up and knocked.

No one answered.

Then a rough and cold voice spoke from behind us.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

I turned around fast. My heart jumped. A tall, thin man stood behind us. He was wearing dark clothes and looked like he had come out of the shadows.

“Aelius,” Cecilia said.

He came closer. His eyes were pale and strange, like melted wax. He didn’t look friendly.

“You brought her,” he said as he looked at me. “The girl with the dead face.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“You don’t belong to yourself,” he said. “You’re living a life that was never meant to be yours. And the boy’s curse is all around you.”

Cecilia stepped in front of me. “She needs your help.”

He didn’t move. “So do many others. I ignore most of them. Why should I help her?”

Cecilia lifted the talisman. “Because you owe me. And if you don’t help now, Roman will win.”

Aelius narrowed his eyes.

He reached out and took the talisman. As soon as he touched it, the air got cold. Something had changed.

“Bring him to me,” he said in a serious voice. “Before the next full moon. If his mind is still whole, I can break the spell. But I will only try once.”

I stepped forward. “And if we’re too late?”

He looked at me. His eyes were a little softer now.

“Then you’ll bury whatever is left of him in the garden,” he said. “Next to Tiana. Next to you.

We both nodded at him and turned to leave. He escorted us a little way off from the house and then sighed.

"It is late. Shall you begin your journey today?" Aelius asked. "I won't advice it."

"Of course," Cecilia asked with a smile.

"Do not be stubborn Cecilia," he said, calling her name with some sort of familiar fondness.

"I would not like to inconvenience you."

"The house may not be spacious but there is enough room for you two," Aelius said. "Might be slightly uncomfortable but it is better than camping here in cold Grove. You know it is not necessarily friendly to the werewolves."

"I suppose it is not."

Aelius gave a small, tired smile as he looked back at the little house sitting quietly at the edge of the clearing. His voice was soft when he spoke. “Come inside,” he said gently. “There’s still some stew left from last night. The bread isn’t too hard yet, either. It’s not anything fancy, but it should warm you up a little.”

Cecilia gave him a quiet “thank you” as she stepped through the door. She walked like she had been in that place before like it was familiar to her somehow. She didn’t hesitate. She knew where to go like she remembered the space. I followed her inside without saying anything. As I walked behind her, I noticed how her shoulders were tight, like she was always ready for something bad to happen. Her fingers kept moving like they were ready to grab her weapon at any second. She wasn’t comfortable here. She didn’t fully trust Aelius. And, if I was being honest, neither did I.

The inside of the house was small. It almost felt more like a shack than a real home. The wooden walls were old, made of uneven planks that had probably been there for years. Hanging from the ceiling and along the walls were bundles of herbs, drying in the air. They filled the place with a strong smell, a mix of earth and plants. In one corner, there was a plain cot with a folded blanket sitting at the end of it. A small stone fireplace was built into the wall near the center of the room, and it still held a few glowing red coals from an earlier fire.

Aelius walked over to the fireplace and crouched down. He added some thin pieces of dry wood to the coals, blowing gently to bring the flames back to life. Once the fire was going again, he hung a black pot over the flames and stepped back.