The Vampire's Luna

Luna inhaled deeply, setting the napkin down. "I’m not choosing. I want both bonds severed."

And silence, truly crushing silence, descended upon the dining room.

Ravena gasped so softly it could have been mistaken for a breeze.

Magnus finally spoke. "Do you even know what that means, Luna?"

"Yes," she replied quickly. Then repeated it slower, more vulnerable. "Yes, Father. I know exactly what it means." Her gaze dropped for a heartbeat before she met his eyes again. "And please... accept my decision."

The pain in Magnus’s expression was enough to make the moon darken. "Even if I do... as your father, how can I just watch you cut off the two halves that make you whole? Then stand by as you waste away? And what about the kingdom?" he added, straightening, stepping into the full weight of his royal role. "You have a duty, Luna. A bond to the people. A future."

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Yes, I know. I’ve thought about it. Father, it doesn’t matter what we do, we all know how this ends. I die, don’t I?"

"No," Ravena whispered. "No, we don’t know that."

"If I’m going to die, then let me go out clean. I don’t want to take two people I love down with me. I’d rather sever the ties before they break everyone."

Magnus looked as though he’d swallowed glass. "You’d throw away the only chance of survival you have because of... guilt?"

Luna shrugged. "Find someone eligible. We’ll make an heir. You and Mother can raise the child. Done and dusted."

Ravena looked horrified. "Is she joking?"