His lips curled into a sly smile. “I suppose only time will tell.” He leaned forward, pressing one final kiss to Lunelle’s lips. “You should get some rest. You both should.”
Lunelle nodded, feeling so very different from how she had just an hour ago—almost hopeful.
Arcas left the library, leaving only her king, still buried inside her, as they lay on the sofa together, unable to give up on what they thought could be their final evening together.
Mirquios smiled against her neck, enjoying their shared weight as his breath slowed and his heart returned to its typical racing rhythm when she was near.
“We will have many more moments,” he whispered. “I promise you.”
ChapterThirty-Two
The temple loomed over them as the Moon climbed over the horizon, an eerie silence settling over their shoulders.
Lunelle stood between lavender pillars, her hair woven into an ornate crown around her foggy mind. Three men towered behind her, each more frightened than the next—but one movedwithher, the Tether sizzling between them, and another movedagainsther, the wisps of their strange connection tickling her ribs.
“Good morning,” Tula said, her silken voice tight as she absorbed the tension between them. “I hope you’re all well rested.”
Lunelle fought the urge to laugh as two sets of eyes flashed toward her. It was all so preposterous.
“You may enter,” Tula said, opening her arm toward the temple. Lunelle stepped softly into the crystalline walls, a bubbling spring in the middle whispering sacred prayers as they kneeled on velvet cushions around the azure waters.
“You’ve each chosen… or been chosen, rather,” Tula corrected herself, “to undertake a sacred ritual, stretching back to the very first of our Lunar demigoddesses, who built this realm with divine intuition and a deep understanding that to be whole requires a balance of our natures. One cannot love the light without respect for the dark, and one cannot survive the dark without the hope of light. They complete one another. When we are crafted by the gods, they pull our Soul and Shadow from Above and Below, stitching us together with gilded threads. It is up to us to honor them both throughout our lives.”
Lunelle’s eyes fell across the spring, fixed on the jade gaze of the king as he buried a smile. Beside her, Arcas leaned ever so slightly in her direction, the spring before them reflecting his pale blues. Tula held a long stick of incense over a black candle, waving it between them as she wove through their kneeling bodies.
“Upon our Descent, the Cleaver untangles us once more, giving us time and space to reflect on how our two halves can be reconciled. It is only upon our Souls embracing our Shadows that we can make our journey to the Court Above.”
Tula completed her circle, resting the incense on a silver tray, the smoke curling and falling to the temple floor. She lifted a bowl from her table, cradling it in her hands as she stepped behind Lunelle.
“Today, you’ll each part with your Shadow temporarily, offering it to the Nether as a symbol of your commitment to maintaining this holy balance throughout your reign.” Tula glanced across their faces. “No matter which throne you sit upon.”
Tula bent forward, offering the bowl to Lunelle. She plucked a round white palm stone from the top, the cool surface melting into her skin. The priestess made her way around the spring, offering a stone to each of the champions. She returned the bowl to her table and lifted a gauzy white crystal wand in one hand and a burning bundle of herbs in another.
“These stones will hold your Shadows as they’re delivered to Luciela, the Nether Queen herself. Close your eyes, let the darkest pieces of you slip away.”
Tula’s sweet alto voice rose in delicate notes above their bowed heads. The prayer wrapped around Lunelle’s shoulders and warmed her from within as the stone buzzed in her hands.
It was similar to the way her mind spiraled away from her when she found Proserpina, but the drain did not stop at her chest, falling through the veins of her arms and pouring into the stone in her palm.
Her mind swirled, and she felt the buzzing of the Tether fade as she collapsed into herself, falling faster as she heard a familiar giggle.
“We did not think we’d see you again,” Proserpina chirped.
Lunelle was not in the midnight seas of Pluto’s throne realm, but back in the dim forest with the goddess. This time, Pluto lounged behind her, tangled in a plush blanket as she fed him grapes. The sight amused the princess.
They seemed so light.
She giggled. “I find I’m as surprised as you.”
Pluto grinned. “You’re but a moment away from taking what you really desire, Princess.Everything.”
Lunelle pressed her lips together tightly.
Proserpina tilted her head in response. “You do not think so?”
Lunelle shrugged, her heart shuddering under the gaze of the goddess.
“I do not wish to have false hope.”
