Chapter 175: The Phantom Mark [Part 1]

Chapter 175: The Phantom Mark [Part 1]

"Y-You..." I stuttered. "How?"

She took my hand. "You needn’t worry about which appearance you see, for we’re all one."

"How come I’m the only one who can this appearance?"

She didn’t reply, her smile only getting wider.

"You’re a mystery."

"That is what the Fates are. Tell me what worries you?" she asked, reaching for my neck and rubbing gently against it.

"I have a feeling you already know."

She sighed, walking to sit. "Do not mind this old woman. Come sit by me."

I gulped, sitting next to her. "This throb, does it have to do with Damon?" I got straight to the point. "This is the spot where he bit me, and even though my body rejected his mark, I still feel it."

"You’re right, your body rejected the mark and it’s gone."

"Then why?"

"That throb you feel? That sting of cold and hot. It is called a phantom mark, a signal to your body of what could have been."

"What are you trying to say? That Damon is my mate?"

She smiled, her blind eyes strangely glowing. "Not the one the goddess chose for you."

"You’re not making any sense..." I rose to my feet, pacing as my nerves worked me. "Is Damon my mate or not?!" I demanded.

"Your destiny is also tied to Damon."

A cold chill swept through me. "N-No..."

"What does your heart tell you, Luna?"

My heart?

The thought of being tied to that man terrified me. I thought I had escaped the devil.

Refusing to hear any more of this, I turned on my heels and hurried out of the Moonhall.

I shouldn’t have come here. I made a mistake.

~•~

I couldn’t sleep.

"Drevon..." I said with longing, but the pain wasn’t letting me have a moment of clarity.

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to force sleep, but it was a far cry from it. I wish Drevon were here, because whenever he was close by, I felt nothing but happiness, but now it was just bleak.

I recalled how much he didn’t want to leave, but I urged him to because I didn’t want to be that wife who’d stop him from doing his duty as monarch.

I tried to picture him beside me and his arms wrapped around me in an embrace. He never took his hands off me and made it his mission to always hold me close.

I smiled. "Damon..."

I flashed my eyes open and sat up with a start, slapping my hand against my mouth as my eyes trembled.

What did I just say?

Goosebumps found my skin, and my heart thrashed heavily against my chest. My hand moved to my neck, and I just stayed there for over a minute or more until I pulled the covers off me, put on my shoes, and grasped my robe.

I walked to the table and took the lit candelabra before stepping out of my room.

"Don’t follow," I told the knights.

My legs carried me to a place I didn’t expect I’d go to. I kept screaming at myself to go back, but the throb in my neck drowned out everything.

It began snowing as I walked through the courtyard to the next corridor before I exited our wing. The cold air quenched the candles, but the moonlight gave me a source of light.

However, when I stepped into the next building, I needed light, so I stretched the torch against the wall and lit the candles once again. Turning to face the view, I released a cold breath.

This dark path led to Damon’s wing. I didn’t move, I stood like a statue mulling over my choices, but as I did, the Fates’ words echoed loudly.

Your destiny is also tied to Damon.

Why? After everything he had done to me, I had a connection with him? Was this the goddess’s will, too? I chewed the inside of my mouth.

Whatever it was... I’ll sever it! And if going there will stop this throb, then I’d gladly walk into hell.

I walked down the path that led to his wing. It was deserted. No knight or servants, not a single soul, it was akin to a graveyard.

The snow had covered every courtyard, and with no one to clean them, it was all piled up. It was very chilly too.

But the cold didn’t bother me, not when I was heavily focused on getting to my destination. I hadn’t ventured around his wing, and I only knew the courtyard and garden, but strangely, I could navigate my way as if I knew where he’d be.

The closer I got, the more I could feel several emotions that weren’t mine, and the phantom mark pulsed. My frown turned into a softened look as extreme loneliness grasped me, hitting so hard the tears almost dropped.

How could one hold such profound loneliness and pain?

I halted in front of a door and I pushed it open, the loud creak filled the air as I stepped into the room, it was in a sorry state.

The furniture was broken, and the window glasses were smashed, the shards scattered on the floor. The walls had claw marks on them, and the floors were split like a mini earthquake had happened.

Something moved in the shadow, and I gasped, moving my light to it, but it was so dark that I couldn’t see. I thrust my hand forward, and I froze when a bare chest was before me.

With shaky eyes, I lifted my gaze, and Damon was standing in front of me.

His once oxblood eyes were now obsidian, mirroring the light I held. His dark hair was longer, draping down his chest to his abs, like ink.

He stared down at me, but I don’t think he was even aware I stood before him.

"Damon," I uttered.