Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 432: The Choice

Astrid's POV

The night stretched on, endless and suffocating. The dim glow of the bedside lamp cast long shadows against the walls, but the light felt hollow-cold.

The Packhouse was eerily quiet, the usual hum of distant conversations and footsteps replaced by an unbearable stillness.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers twisting the fabric of my shirt, my thoughts a hurricane raging inside me.

Elara.

Her name was carved into every thought, every breath, every aching second that passed.

She was out there, in the dark, in the hands of the man who wanted nothing more than to see me broken.

And I was still here. Waiting.

I had tried. I had tried to listen to Killian, to hold on to the logic that we could save her together, that there was a plan, a chance.

But how could I gamble my daughter's life on a chance?

What if they were wrong? What if we weren't fast enough? What if she needed me now?

My throat tightened, the guilt curling around me like a noose. I had waited too long already. I had let Killian convince me that we had time.

But I knew better.

I had seen the way rogues worked. They didn't take prisoners out of mercy. They took them to make statements, to break their enemies.

And I would not let my daughter become a casualty in this war.

I inhaled sharply, my mind made up.

I was going to Ardan.

Alone.

The clock on the wall read 2:47 AM.

I had been sitting in silence for the past hour, listening. Waiting.

Killian was downstairs, still working with Ryder and the warriors. He hadn't come back to bed-not that I had expected him to.

He had been watching me too closely, afraid I would spiral again.

But he had let his guard down just enough.

I exhaled slowly, steadying my nerves as I pulled on a dark jacket. My hands trembled as I zipped it up, but I forced myself to breathe.

couldn't afford to

last glance at the door, I crept toward the window. The cool night air brushed against my skin

the second floor, but that didn't matter.

the gutter and lowered myself down carefully. My

alarms. No guards spotting

Good.

my ears as

the Packhouse, avoiding the

the entrances, expecting an attack-not an

expecting

reached the treeline, my breath coming

restless, warning me

But I ignored her.

doing this for

nothing-not even Killian-was going

Killian's POV

was colder when I

hadn't changed-but something was

A sharp, uneasy sensation curled in my gut before I even stepped through

threatened to drag me under. I hadn't slept in days. It didn't matter. Elara mattered. Astrid

reinforcing patrols, sending out another wave of scouts,

I couldn't

Not yet.

was home. Not until I saw Astrid's eyes light up again, not until the ghost of grief that clung to her skin like a shadow finally

needed to check on her. I had left her alone long enough, and after everything, I wasn't

inside the bedroom, my boots making

slightly ajar, just

second I stepped

inside me locked

Something was wrong.

The air felt... hollow.

The bed was untouched.

The window was open.

violently, dread clawing up my

No.

No, no, no-

forward, gripping the window ledge so tightly my knuckles went white.

inside of me, sensing the truth I

She was gone.

rumbled deep in my

darkness outside. Nothing.

shut as I stormed out of the room.

ears, a deafening drumbeat