Chapter 103: Amber Run - I Found
Luna gave him a small smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She hesitated before she spoke again. "About last night, Damien." She still remembered the sharp pain he’d been in, how he’d tried to hide it from her, and what Lucivar had said.
Damien immediately shook his head, his eyes reassuring. "I promise, I am fine. It was nothing," he said. He ran a hand through his messy hair, looking away for a moment. "All I needed was a good sleep. And that was a damned good one. Because you were here..."
Luna’s heart skipped a beat at his words.
"Now eat," he added with a sudden lightness, breaking the moment with the gentle command, but there was an undeniable softness in the way he spoke, as if he were both teasing her and protecting her at the same time.
Luna laughed softly, trying to shake off the lingering tension. "Yes, sir." She gave him a playful wink, the motion coming as naturally as breathing. "But only if you promise to eat too."
"Deal," he agreed, his smile slowly returning to its usual playful warmth, the familiar mischievous glint in his eyes.
*****
Kyllian stood outside the castle doors longer than he needed to. His hands were jammed into the pockets of his coat, and his usually confident stride had deserted him somewhere on the journey. The guards recognized him and offered a respectful nod, which only made him feel more awkward. Great, he thought. Even my eyebrows feel guilty. Luna had asked him—no, insisted—that he come. And what Luna wanted, Kyllian found himself doing... even when it meant walking straight into the lion’s den.
He had expected the king to be in the throne room. But no. The steward had informed him that King Magnus was in his quarters, specifically in the grand parlour.
When the steward opened the grand parlour doors, Kyllian stepped inside and found Magnus seated in an armchair, reading. Magnus looked up and blinked, squinting as though he didn’t trust his own eyesight.