The Hidden Luna Queen

Chapter 93

"Well, if you insulted him, all the better," I boldly insisted. "I'd consider that well-deserved payback for all the horrible treatment you've endured."

He hummed. For a moment, silence surrounded us once again, until Eric slowly came to a stop.

"You know what... I'm sorry, I can't do this. I would rather be alone right now."

I wanted to protest. I didn't feel right leaving him alone, but if this was what he wanted, there wasn't anything I could do to stop him. I certainly did not want to force him or make him any more uncomfortable than he already

was.

"Please," he begged. The pain in his voice grated at me.

"Okay..." I ultimately whispered, pulling away.

And then he continued his way down the hall, leaving me with a heavy feeling in my stomach.

I hoped he was going to be okay.

THIRD PERSON POV

Arlan stormed into the privacy of his chambers, closely followed by his queen.

*Leave us," Leonora ordered to the guards standing at the door, "please.*

The two guards exchanged glances. The queen, renowned and loved by all of her subjects for her gentle and caring nature, never gave orders unless it was urgent or a matter of the utmost importance. Whatever was going to happen, it was not going to be good.

Once she was finally alone with her mate, she slammed the door shut behind them and whirled around on him. "What on earth has gotten into you?" she demanded, red with anger and humiliation, following him further into their room. "I hope you understand how barbaric you came across as-and in front of all those people, too!" She was met with a frustrating silence as he paced their ornate rug.

She took a step closer. "Well-are you going to say anything?"

"He knows."

Leonora huffed impatiently, crossing her arms. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

All of a sudden, Arlan punched the wall, startling her.

"Arlan!" she scolded, dumbfounded as he removed his hand from the newly formed crater in the wall of their foyer. Small pebbles of debris fell from his clenched, white knuckles, but he felt no pain. "What is-

"Eric-" he spat, their son's name spewing out of his mouth like the most potent of venoms, "that useless boy- knows."

Something frantic swirled in the depths of her mate's green eyes, something haunted and wild that she hadn't seen in a long time. Many things displeased Arlan, but very little could elicit a rage of this caliber in the long time she had been with him.

And it was like time stopped at that moment.

Oh, she thought as it dawned on her, her arms falling to her sides. That's what he meant.

It had been years-no, decades since she was last reminded of that. She had long hoped it was something to be left behind in the past, that they could all move on from, but she could still feel the pang in her chest, dull but deep and completely unmistakable. Bandages work wonders at helping wounds heal, but they do not prevent

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Her features turned stoic, too difficult to be able to read, even by her husband of nearly thirty years. "It finally happened, then."

"I don't know how he knows." Arlan couldn't stop moving, pacing the length of their bedroom. "I was so careful to ensure he never found out."

She only nodded. She wished she could say she was surprised by this revelation, but she had always known that Eric was too clever for his own good. And, of course, it didn't help that he was forced to live in what was practically solitude, surrounded only by ink and paper and the broad expanse of his mind.

This was inevitable.

*But I am absolutely certain of one thing, Leonora. That boy will never have another moment of freedom ever again.

"If he's telling the truth, this will only make things worse," she murmured, trying to reason with him. "Perhaps it's time to speak with him about this."

"I have nothing," he spat, simmering with loathing, "to say to that boy."

"And why not?" she demanded, her eyes blaring. "It's not like it's his fault."

All of a sudden, Arlan whirled around on her, almost blind in his overwhelming fury, but Leonora stood her ground, meeting his deadly gaze straight on, daring him to make another move.

After a long, tense minute, he rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly heavy with the weight of a million worlds on his shoulders. "You must understand, Leonora," he muttered, "this is for the good of our family. And it is for our family, that I make this decision."

Silent tears welled in her eyes for the boy who never asked for any of this.

*From now on," he darkly vowed, "he is to be kept on a tight leash."