Chapter 292: I Am Being Proactive
Damien smirked, pulling her close with his free arm as they stepped into the castle’s warmth.
"It’s still going to be a problem though."
"Yeah, I know. The council’s aversion to hybrid heirs." Damien rubbed his temples as if just saying it out loud gave him a migraine.
"Isn’t there anything you can do about that?"
"It really is up to the council, Luna. Can we focus on our now problems and leave future problems for the future?" His eyes flicked toward her lips, betraying where his focus actually wanted to be.
"I am being proactive." Luna narrowed her eyes, shifting Magnus carefully to cradle him.
"Put the baby to sleep and come be proactive with me," Damien muttered, the wicked curl of mischief tugging at his lips.
The door creaked, and Eryk stepped in. "Your highness."
"Eryk..." Damien drawled. "How has life been without me?"
"Peaceful, your highness." Eryk said with a smile. His gaze flicked briefly to Luna and the baby before returning to Damien. "Councilman Richard is here. He has stopped by a couple of times already."
"Send him in," Damien answered.
"I’ll put Magnus to sleep," Luna said softly, catching the way Damien’s eyes hardened at the mention of Richard. She kissed the crown of her son’s head and swept out of the room.
Moments later, Richard entered. "Your highness," Richard intoned. "I hope your weekend away was refreshing, because we have a problem."
Damien sighed. He rubbed his jaw, then waved a hand. "Hit me."
Richard’s gaze gleamed, hungry for the drama he was about to unleash. He leaned forward slightly. "Do you know a woman called Isolde?"
"Why?" Damien asked. A single syllable laced with irritation.
"She says she is pregnant by you."
"Fuck my life," Damien snapped. His curse was weary resignation. He dragged a hand through his dark hair, muttering curses.
"She came into the council office, looking for Lord Luciver. I told her Luciver had retired to Silver City. Then she began to cry—hysterically. Said she was pregnant and didn’t know what to do." He paused, his eyes darting to gauge Damien’s reaction. "Naturally, I assumed Lucivar had knocked her up, but then she said it was you. What is going on, your highness? I know you love the queen and you would not do anything like this. Tell me she is lying."
"Who is lying?"
Luna stepped back into the room, Magnus absent from her arms now.
Richard shrunk instantly. His shoulders hunched a little. "Your highness," he stammered, bowing low, "welcome back."
Damien moved quickly, striding toward her, his hand reaching for hers. "I need you to take a deep breath, Moonlight."
Her brows furrowed, her hand tightening in his. "What is going on, Damien? You’re scaring me."
Damien’s chest rose and fell, a sharp inhale before the plunge. "Isolde is pregnant."
The silence after that was suffocating.
Luna’s eyes snapped to Richard, searching for the lie, the manipulation, anything that could excuse what she had just heard. Then back to Damien. Her lips parted as if to scream, but no sound came. She wanted to shout, to curse, to throw something sharp enough to wound. She wanted to claw at his chest until he bled the truth. But the weight of Richard’s scrutiny held her in place. The council member’s eyes devoured every flicker of her reaction, and she could not give him the satisfaction of seeing her crack.
Inside, though, her mind spun.
Her nails dug crescents into her palms as she forced herself to stand straighter, her face carved into an unreadable mask.
Damien saw it—saw the scream she swallowed, the fire she shoved deep behind her eyes.
"Okay. Fine. So?" Luna said.
Richard blinked, utterly taken aback by her poise. "She knows?" His eyes darted between Damien and Luna. "Your highness, would you please enlighten me?"
Damien turned back to Richard, jaw tight, his whole body radiating reluctant confession. "Isolde was my true mate." His throat felt raw as he said it.
Richard’s brows shot up, confusion painting his expression. "I...I don’t understand. You said the queen is your true mate." He sounded almost offended, as if Damien’s explanation violated some personal law of the councilman’s tidy worldview.
"Yes," Damien said, meeting Luna’s eyes, desperate for her not to shatter in front of him. "Artificially bound by Morvakar. And...and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Richard, this cannot get to the council."
"I am afraid that this ’Isolde’, I don’t think she plans on being quiet about this. My goddess. You think you are done with one problem, another one springs on us. The child cannot be cast away."
"Then bring the child." Luna said. "But without the mother."
Richard’s eyes widened, then narrowed. His lips parted slowly as he let the queen’s words simmer. "That...that is an idea." He smiled then. "As long as the queen doesn’t mind. I am sure we won’t have a problem."
Damien stayed quiet. His silence was a battlefield, every thought a sword clashing with another. Take the child. Leave the mother. Is this who we are now? Have I cursed us all? A flicker of guilt cut through his chest. He had promised her everything—his fidelity, his eternity, his soul—and now another woman carried his child. He began to wonder, if perhaps it would have been better if he had died after all.
Richard bowed then. He armed himself with the queen’s decree, already rehearsing how he would tell Isolde that her child would be taken care of... but she would not.
Luna stood still, shoulders squared, eyes fixed on the door Richard had exited. Her body screamed for release. Her heart, betrayed her, cracking loud enough for Damien to hear it in the way her breath hitched, the way her body leaned back slightly.
Damien took a step forward, hands outstretched. "Moonlight—"
Her head snapped toward him, eyes blazing. "Don’t."
"How? How could you let this happen?" Luna’s eyes burned with ferocity.
Damien’s throat worked, his tongue heavy as stone. "I... what was I supposed to do?"