Page 126 of Treasured

Luna straightened, those beautiful black eyes I loved dearly widening. “I felt that.”

A smile crept on my face. “That was the point.”

She chuckled, tugging on the bond between us. It was a good effort, as though someone was pulling at my core. Not hard, but insistent, like a toddler yanking on their parent’s leg.

“Good job.” I opened my palms, widened my stance, and let shadows flow out of me in a thick storm of darkness. “Try again.”

When Luna went to grab the bond this time, I formed a sphere of shadows and threw them at her. She didn’t notice them in time. The ball slammed into her, dropping her onto her ass.

A yelp slipped out of her mouth. “Why’d you do that?”

My heart ached at the sight of her on the ground, but I didn’t let it show on my face. “Get up,” I said firmly.

She snarled, her wings snapping out behind her as she stood. “Answer the question. What was that for?”

Because she wasn’t ready yet. Because the queen was powerful. Because I was so gods-damned worried I’d lose my beautiful, book-loving wife. I’d do everything to get her ready, including pushing her as far as possible.

“The bond is there,” I said. “That’s great. But we need to do more.”

“So you attacked me?” Luna growled. The sound would’ve been adorable if the Blood Moon hadn’t been looming over our heads.

“Yes.” As much as it pained me, I would do it again and again until she was ready.

Bewilderment crossed her face. “Why?”

“The queen isn’t going to sit around and wait for us to get our act together, Luna.”

She just stared at me, so I threw more shadows at her. What better way was there to make my point?

This time, Luna darted out of the way just in time. The shadows slammed into the wall. She cursed.

“Get angry,” I said, shaping another sphere. “Yell. Swear. Fight back. Defend yourself.” With each word, I threw shadows at her. “I need you to practice because I won’t survive if you don’t make it out of this alive.”

Queen Marguerite would be the most difficult opponent we’d ever faced, and the sooner Luna realized that, the better.

Creating twin balls of night, I threw them at Luna. She barely batted them away in time.

Growling, she climbed to her feet. Shadows swirled around her. They danced around her wings, swirling over her arms like ribbons of pure darkness. Anger pulsed through the bond.

Good.

I needed her mad. Furious, even. I needed her to tap into every part of herself if she was going to survive this.

Firm in the knowledge that this was important, I steeled myself against the part of me that hated hurting Luna.

I gathered more shadows. “Not good enough,” I growled. “Again.”

A Horrible, Exhausting, Not-At-All Fun Routine

LUNA

Once, I thought Sebastian was an imperturbable teacher.

That was no longer the case. Whatever patience he’d exhibited when he taught me how to wield my shadows had disappeared. Again and again, he attacked me until darkness surrounded us on all sides.

Still, he didn’t stop.

We had been at this for hours. My feet ached, my back burned from where my wings dragged on the ground, and my thighs felt like they were on fire. Was that supposed to happen? I’d fallen on the floor so many times my bottom was numb.