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“He had nothing on you, though, of course,” Luna said, seeing the temporary discomfort in Adrian’s eyes.
“No, I know,” Adrian replied, trying to hide the unease in his voice.
Luna smiled.
“Every day, I was reminded that I’d let down my father. I still lived with him even though I’d already chosen Darius, and he made my life a living hell. I think he felt like he’d lost control of his life a long time ago after he lost my mom, and the thought that I’d be running the pack made him feel utterly ineffective.”
Adrian held Luna tighter. He was glad she had chosen him to confide in but felt it was unfair for her to harbor the blame for her father’s failures.
Still, he stroked her hair gently, looking at the stars he could see through the curtains.
“That’s when I met Victor,” she said. “He was just this strange elderly man, and at first, I thought nothing of it. But …”
“You knew immediately,” Adrian said.
“I did, yeah,” she added. “He had all these wild stories. He told me my mother was alive somewhere and had just chosen to reject me. I knew it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.”
“Had you seen your mother toward the end?” Adrian asked.
Luna shook her head.
“It’s been so long,” she said. “And even if she isn’t dead, what does it really matter to me? Because that wouldn’t be the mother I remember. That would be a careless shadow of a woman who …”
“The point is, Victor polluted your mind with lies,” he replied.
Luna nodded. “When I thought about the outrageous claims he made, I began to see what he was doing to me, effectively gaslighting me about my own life. But his effect on my father was so much worse.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow, a random thought occurring to him. “It’s strange that he focused on you and your father, isn’t it?”
“To be fair, he kind of targeted everybody,” Luna replied.
Adrian stroked his chin, holding Luna’s hand. “But not as much as he targeted you,” Adrian countered. “Do you think he was trying to take power for himself?”
“I have no earthly idea. I’m not sure why that’s relevant right now.”
Adrian shook his head, dismissing the thought. “It’s nothing. Just an inkling of a thought, I suppose.”
“Anyway …”
Adrian heard a knock on the door and became very aware that they were both naked, curled up under the covers.
“Who the hell could that be?” Luna asked.
Adrian jumped out of bed and started sticking his legs through his jeans, looking at Luna apologetically.
“We’ll pick this story up in a bit,” he said, trying to hear the knock.
Two quick raps and another in succession.
Either Victor had learned Herald’s signature knock, or Herald had come by.
Once they were both dressed and Luna was standing behind Adrian, warily brandishing a silver knife just in case, Adrian cracked open the door, trying to get a glimpse of who was standing there.
He could just make out a figure in brown robes, its face covered in shadow.
Adrian was about ready to slam the door shut, unwilling to take any chances, when the figure threw off the hood, revealing Herald.
“Dude, it’s me,” Herald said. “We need to talk.”
