Luna stood quietly on one of the open verandas of the palace, her gaze lost in the distant horizon. The meeting, now turned banquet, was still in full swing inside the grand hall below her, but she knew the night was far from over.
And she couldn't shake the unease tightening in her chest.
The new master of Seiryu knew English. A language foreign to Solmara.
That could only mean one thing.
He wasn't from this world.
Was he from Earth, like them?
Was this Lucifer's doing?
Had he sent this outsider to Solmara to sabotage Caelum's goal… to prevent the completion of the deal forged between them?
Even if Lucifer was the creator of this world… even if he was worshipped here as the Celestial Solmara… they knew the truth. They knew what he really was.
The Devil.
The trickster.
The master of manipulation.
And devils never acted without reason. They never offered without cost.
Their father had already suffered too much. She could no longer bear watching Caelum endure the pain alone. But as much as she longed to help him, this time, for the first time in over a thousand years, Luna felt real fear.
Because she could not see the enemy.
She didn't know who he was. Didn't know his next move.
And knowing that Tuf, her Tofu, would soon be walking beyond the Mist alone…
Her blood turned to ice every time she thought of it.
Tuf was capable. More than capable. Among all the Demon Lord's children, he was the most dangerous, the most cunning. Before the demi-human empire even rose, it had been Tuf who stood beside Caelum.
It hadn't been Alpha.
Only him.
Tuf had worked in the shadows, did the impossible, made the unthinkable happen, all to ensure the foundation of the empire they now ruled. Where Alpha would always choose the right path, Tuf was the one who would walk through fire, embrace sin, and spill oceans of blood, just to reach the goal.
And yet… despite all of that…
Caelum had not offered him the throne.
Because, as he once told Luna, and only Luna, Tuf could do more when he wasn't shackled by the weight of a crown. When he wasn't chained by law, by duty, by politics.
That was why Caelum offered the Regent Seat to her.
Because he knew, if Luna ruled, Tuf would always stand behind her.
He would guard her.
And through her, the empire would always have his strength.
But Luna… declined.
She knew why their father wanted to isolate himself.
Why he chose to vanish from the glorious empire he built with his own hands.
Caelum didn't want his children to see the way he grieved.
He didn't want them to see the endless sorrow in his eyes. Didn't want them to feel guilt for living their new lives, for finding joy, for embracing freedom, while he was still drowning in sorrow for the one he lost and trying so hard to find.
He wanted them to live. Unburdened.
Luna understood but she could not leave him to grieve alone.
The five centuries Caelum had given them, the second life he forged after their deaths, was enough for her. She had lived fully. She had danced beneath twin moons. She had fought beside her siblings. She had kissed, ruled, wept, and bathed in magic. A second life, filled with everything her first had been denied. That was enough. More than enough. She had lived.
And so, she chose to go with him. Not as a daughter claiming a throne. But as a child keeping her father company in his solitude.
To remind him that he wasn't alone.
Soon after, Vivi and Milo followed her. They, too, felt they had already tasted enough of the world. That what they hadn't found in life, they didn't need. They too felt that they had lived long enough, fully enough, to trade freedom for silence. For closeness. For presence.
Now, they all resided in the Spire, the isolated island sanctuary where time moved differently than anywhere else in Solmara. Sometimes slower, sometimes faster, sometimes in sync. Milo constantly shifted the timeflow, bending it in quiet attempts to ease their father's grief… to shorten the ache of missing the one woman he could never forget.
And yet, despite all her choices, Luna knew.
Her decision to step away from the throne had hurt Tuf.
He never said it aloud. He never needed to.
She saw it in his eyes.
In the way he looked at her before she left.
In the silence that lingered longer than it should have.
The ache of being left behind by the only one he would follow without hesitation. The bitterness of losing his anchor. The person he would burn the world for.
But Luna had dismissed that pain.
Because they could always see each other. Because they weren't truly apart.
Tuf had the freedom to enter the Spire whenever he pleased. And she could leave its boundaries just as easily. They had done so, countless times, across centuries. Quiet reunions. Secret nights. Moments stolen in between duties.
But now… it was different.
This time, he would be journeying beyond the Mist.
And that terrified her.
Because for the first time, Luna couldn't see the path ahead. The new master of Seiryu was cloaked in shadows, shadows even she, with all her foresight, couldn't pierce. And if she couldn't see him…
What if Tuf couldn't defeat him?
What if, despite all of his strength, his magic, his madness, none of it worked against this being?
What if this man wasn't just powerful, but the one being who could sever their life-bond to their father?
The one being who could kill them… without ever touching Caelum.
She couldn't say it aloud.
She couldn't confess that the futures she couldn't see were the ones she feared the most.
She regretted playing her part in that charade during the last High Council meeting. Had she not worn the mask so well, had they dropped the performance just once, maybe their father wouldn't have made the decision to send Tuf beyond the Mist.
Maybe… he wouldn't have risked the only son who would walk through hell without question.
She could only blame herself.
And the bitterness only deepened with the resurgence of her own unexpected jealousy.
Seeing Tuf protect another woman in front of her, no matter how insignificant, had struck a nerve so deep it burned. Even if Luna no longer considered the elf a threat, the fact that she once had was enough to fuel her fury.
She knew Tuf's heart was hers.
She accepted his indulgences, his flirtations, his toys, his games. She understood them better than anyone.
But that didn't mean she could silence the rage. Especially not when one of those toys started believing she mattered. When they started stepping out of place, forgetting who she was.
And when it came to that particular brother of hers, it had always been hard to reign in her emotions.
With a sigh, Luna stared down at the glass of wine in her hand, swirling the crimson liquid gently. It caught the moonlight like blood in crystal.
She didn't turn when she felt the familiar presence behind her. Her voice was calm, but laced with steel.
"Do you need something, elf?"
Naelira stepped into the veranda, keeping a cautious distance.
"Was it you?" she asked.
Luna's brow rose in mild amusement.
"I do not read minds like Nugget, elf," she replied coolly. "So if you want an answer, be specific with your question."
Naelira didn't hesitate. "The one who told Tuf to start the rebellion. Was it you?"
A long pause.
Luna gave a soft laugh, low and dangerous.
"You forgot the 'Mistress' in there," she said, tilting her head. "And what makes you think that?"
"Because I know," Naelira said, her voice tight with restrained fury, "that when you speak… when you ask him for something… he always gives it to you."
"Well," Luna said, setting her glass down on the marble rail beside her, "at least you knew that much."
Her tone shifted, mocking, sweet with poison.
"I was starting to think I had overestimated your brilliance. You've been sounding and acting exceptionally stupid these past few weeks."
Naelira's face flushed, but Luna didn't give her the chance to reply.
"But to answer your question…" Luna said, lifting the glass to her lips and sipping slowly, savoring the taste before continuing, "No. I didn't tell him to start the rebellion."
She let the words hang in the air like a knife between them.
"This is just Tuf playing a game of chess. A game he's always enjoyed. You should know that by now."
She turned to fully face her, gold-black eyes gleaming under the moonlight.
"I'm just here to cheer him on. His number one fan."
Luna tilted her head slightly, the ghost of a smirk playing on her lips.
"Something you'll never be."
Luna's gaze sharpened as she looked Naelira over, slowly, like a queen eyeing a servant who'd forgotten her place. The elf's jaw was clenched tight, rage simmering in her eyes, her teeth grinding audibly from the force of her restraint.
Luna's gaze didn't waver. She drank in her rage like wine.
"You know what, elf?" Luna said, stepping closer, heels silent against the marble floor. "I'm feeling generous tonight."
She leaned in, her tone velvet-lined with venom.
"I'll give you another chance. A small payment, let's say… for all your efforts entertaining my brother. But listen closely, this will be your last chance."
Luna's smile was wicked. A thing of beauty and threat.
"What you heard earlier… was just the tip of the iceberg. That wasn't what I asked Tuf for."
She leaned in until they were nearly nose to nose, her breath soft against Naelira's cheek.
"But he'll give it to me. Tonight. When the clock strikes midnight."
Naelira's throat tightened, but she didn't speak.
"I suggest you speak to your uncle," Luna continued. "Have him take you away from here, before the hour comes. You want to know why?"
Luna's eyes gleamed like cold stars.
"Because if it broke your heart to realize that after centuries of being by his side, playing the pathetic little mistress of his empire, you still don't know who he really is…"
She tilted her head. "Then the moment you see what I asked him for… and the moment he gives it to me willingly…"
Luna's voice dropped to a chilling whisper.
"…it will break your soul."
Her voice turned soft, intimate, dangerous.
"So take this final offer I'm giving you, elf. Spare your life. Have mercy on yourself."
Naelira, to her credit, didn't flinch. She stood her ground, though her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
"No," she said, her voice unwavering. "I don't care if my soul shatters into a thousand pieces. If this is the only way I can take back my place in his life, then so be it. You can't stop me."
For a moment, Luna stared at her.
Then she laughed.
A full, elegant laugh, rich with mockery, gleaming with cruel delight. A sound that cut deeper than any insult.
"Your place?" Luna repeated, eyes wide with wicked amusement. "You actually believe you had a special place in his life? That there was something in him that belonged only to you?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I take it back," Luna said, grinning. "I didn't overestimate your intelligence, I grossly misjudged it. But I have to say… I admire your tenacity. It's almost charming. Keep it up."
Then, softly, almost tenderly, she reached out and adjusted the collar of Naelira's suit as if straightening a child's clothing… or a queen touching a pawn before discarding it.
"When you finally find that 'special place'," Luna whispered, voice like poison wrapped in silk, "please… invite me."
She leaned closer, lips brushing Naelira's ear.
"The least I can do is raise a glass to your delusions. Hopefully you find it before your heart and soul turn to ash."
She stepped back, her smile never faltering.
"And to think," she added with a shake of her head, "they say you're the most brilliant of the Silverbough siblings. But all I see…"
She looked her up and down, one final, withering glare.
"…is a stupid, delusional elf who doesn't know her place."
With that, Luna turned her back and walked away, her every step a declaration of power, of certainty.