Luna Everleigh's POV
***
The moon was full again, watching over me like an old friend.
The last few months had passed in a blur—days filled with rebuilding, with whispered promises of peace, and with the quiet realization that, despite everything, I had survived. We had survived.
Yet, something had changed.
It started as a whisper beneath my skin. A subtle shift in the rhythm of my body. At first, I thought it was the remnants of Morganna's darkness, lingering like a shadow. But then, I felt it.
A presence. Small. New.
Life.
I pressed my palm against my stomach, standing alone on the balcony of our chambers, staring at the endless night sky. The weight of the revelation settled in my chest—heavy, yet strangely light.
I was carrying a child.
A future.
A legacy.
The soft creak of the door behind me was the only warning before warm arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me against a familiar body.
"You're awake," Rhydian murmured, his lips brushing against the curve of my neck. "You should be resting."
I let out a slow breath. "I know."
His hold tightened, as if he could sense the storm inside me. "What's wrong?"
I hesitated. Not out of fear, but because I knew—this moment would change everything.
Taking his hands, I guided them over my stomach. "There's something I need to tell you."
At first, he didn't react. Then, ever so slightly, his fingers tensed against me. His heartbeat, steady and strong, faltered.
"Luna." His voice was barely a whisper.
I turned in his arms, meeting his gaze. "I'm pregnant."
The words settled between us, fragile yet unbreakable.
His golden eyes widened. "You—"
A breath. A pause.
Then, suddenly, he dropped to his knees before me, pressing his forehead gently against my stomach as if he could already feel the life growing inside me.
My fingers slipped into his hair.
"I never thought—" His voice was raw, filled with something too vast to name. "I never let myself hope."
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "Me neither."
Slowly, he looked up at me. "This child… will they be like you?"
The question hung in the air. Would our child inherit my connection to the moon? The remnants of the Lunar Guardian? Or something entirely new?
"I don't know," I admitted. "But whatever they become, we'll protect them. Together."
His hands cradled my waist, reverent. "Always."
And just like that, the last piece of fear inside me vanished.
—
***
To be continued...