Luna Meadows's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

A week passed, and Luna barely spoke to the prince at all. Draeven belonged to the court from dawn to dusk. Advisors trailed him down every hall. Nobles filled his study. Luna watched from doorways, wanting one quiet moment with him, but she never found the nerve to break through the crowd. Each night she went back to her room alone. On the seventh morning, a servant told her the prince would ride out at noon. Luna decided to catch him before he left. She wore the blue chiffon dress he had chosen, its skirt floating around her heels. She let her rabbit ears rise from her curls to steady herself, then hid them again. The courtyard was worse than she feared. A burgundy carriage stood ready, its blue drapery pulled back, gold trim shining. Nobles clustered near the wheels. They pressed papers at Draeven and asked question after question. Luna stood at the edge, mouth dry. Two courtiers near her whispered and laughed behind their hands. She knew that laugh. It was the same one from the ball. Her courage sank. She turned to slip away. Then she saw the wolf. Draeven's gray wolf lay beside a flowering vine bush, its edges smoking like shadow. It lifted its head and looked straight at her. Then it rose, walked through the crowd, and pushed its nose into Luna's hand. The nobles went quiet. They stepped back from the strange beast. Draeven followed the wolf with his eyes. He found Luna at the end of its path. He smiled, and this time he did not wait. "Leave the papers," he told the advisors. "They can wait until I return." He crossed the courtyard, ignoring the nobles who reached for him. He stopped in front of Luna. "You came to find me," he said. "You've been trying all week. I saw you in the doorways." Luna's face went hot. "I didn't want to interrupt." "Interrupt," he said. "Always." He opened the carriage door. "Ride with me. Just us." Luna's heart pounded. The whispering courtiers watched, waiting for her to stumble. She let her ears rise once more, small and warm, and this time she left them up. She took his hand and climbed inside. The carriage rolled out. The drapery swayed. For the first time, Luna sat alone with the prince, no crowd between them. He looked at her ears and smiled. "You kept them up," he said. "In front of all of them." "I wanted to," Luna said. Her voice did not shake. Draeven leaned closer. "Good. Because I mean to spend far more time alone with you." He paused. "Which means the court will start asking what you are to me. And they won't ask kindly." Luna's smile faltered. She had won her quiet moment. But now the whole palace would want to know her place beside him.