The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power Chapter 354: Sephiria Is Dead

Cindy's POV:

Buzz!

My mind went blank in an instant. My ears rang violently, as if a thousand-pound hammer had smashed straight down on my skull.

"No—" I took a step back instinctively, shaking my head over and over. My voice was dry and brittle, like a handful of withered grass. "No way! She ate so much today! She promised me she would get through this winter! She even smiled at me! You're lying! You're lying!"

"Cindy!" Viola rushed out as well, grabbing me just as I was about to collapse. Her face was just as pale as paper.

"It was her final surge of life... Your Highness, it was a final surge!" Carla cried as she knelt on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. "Lady Sephiria's body had already been hollowed out by the Bond-Breaking Order. The energy she showed today... it was the last bit of strength she could summon, just to keep you from worrying. She forced herself to look well for your sake..."

I shoved Viola aside and ran toward Sephiria's room like a madwoman.

Bang!

I slammed the door open.

The room was quiet.

The fire in the fireplace had already died out, leaving only the faintest trace of warmth.

Sephiria lay quietly on the bed.

Katie made no sound, tears silently streaming down her face as she gently wiped Sephiria's hand with a clean, warm towel.

Step by step, I moved toward the bed.

She had passed peacefully.

The faint flush on her face was gone, leaving only the pale gray of death.

But her brows were relaxed, and the corners of her lips still held the faintest curve.

She was no longer curled up in pain as she had been before. Instead, she lay flat on her back with her hands folded neatly over her chest, as if she had fallen into a beautiful dream she would never wake from.

"Lady Sephiria passed in her sleep," Katie said hoarsely as she looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen. "There was no pain. No struggle. She left very peacefully. You could even say... she's finally free."

Finally free.

Those two words were like a sharp dagger, mercilessly bursting the last fragile bubble in my heart called hope.

"No... No..."

My knees gave out, and I collapsed heavily beside the bed.

My trembling hand reached out and grasped the hands she had folded over her chest.

It was cold.

The kind of cold that held no trace of life. It spread from my fingertips, creeping slowly all the way to my heart.

"Sephiria... you lied to me..." I buried my face in the bedsheets, a desperate sob tearing out of my throat like the cry of a wounded beast. "You promised me... You said you would come home with me..."

My tears burst forth, soaking the blankets that covered her.

Viola stood in the doorway, watching the scene unfold. This red-haired warrior, who had always shed blood but never tears, covered her mouth as silent tears slipped down her face.

I lifted my head and looked at Sephiria's face. She looked pale and sorrowful in the candlelight. A crushing wave of grief and anger surged through me, so powerful it felt as if it would tear me apart.

Sephiria had once been the most respected Luna in Prince Niall's territory, an Omega born into a noble family.

She had lived her entire life gentle and kindly. She had never harmed anyone.

Yet at the moment she died, who was around her?

Not the Alpha husband who had once formed a sacred bond with her and sworn to protect her for life.

Not the children she had nearly died giving birth to, the ones who should have been standing at her bedside.

There were no flowers. No mourning music. No grand funeral befitting a Luna.

She died alone in this forgotten Coldmoon Monastery, on a bitter winter night.

The only ones who stayed with her in her final moments were two loyal maids and me—someone with no blood relation who had come only because of my mother's old friendship.

If I hadn't come... If Queen Isabella's concealment had caused me to miss this visit... Would she have lost even the last shred of dignity she had left? Would she have died in endless despair and neglect, like a stray dog choking down its final breath?

"Niall... Leanna... Beatrice... Amara..."

I called out their names through clenched my teeth. Each syllable tasted thick with the metallic scent of blood.