His Silent Luna (Verity and Felicity) novel Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Kin’s Perspective

I had to get out of the library. The atmosphere inside was suffocating me, thick with tension I could no longer bear.

Cassian sat there, his stormy grey eyes locked unwaveringly on Verity. Caleb, silent and distant, seemed lost deep in his own thoughts. And Verity herself lay pale and still beneath the heavy fur, her presence marked by that infuriating scent I couldn’t shake. It was like a weight pressing down on my chest, stifling and relentless.

I’d never confessed this before, but there was something about being near her that seeped into me, an intangible feeling I couldn’t quite label as good or bad. It clung to my skin like a thorn I couldn’t pry out, an itch beneath my calm exterior.

There was something undeniably strange about her.

For starters, the fact that she survived the Darklands at all was nothing short of a miracle. That cursed wasteland had devoured warriors twice my size, men twice as ruthless, and spat them out broken or dead. Yet she—fragile, voiceless, wolfless—had somehow stumbled out alive. Broken, yes, but breathing. I’ve seen enough of the Darklands to know survival there isn’t random luck.

And now, Veyran the Hollow himself wants her. The rogue king—the monster who commands shadows and whose name alone once made hardened soldiers shudder—has set his sights on her. Why? Why not Cassian, or Caleb, or even me? Verity doesn’t speak. She doesn’t fight. She barely understands the kingdom’s workings—Caleb has been teaching her like she’s a child who grew up under a rock. Yet the Hollow sends letters, taunts dripping with menace, threats that make even Cassian’s jaw clench.

Then there was her face.

She reminded me of Felicity, the queen of Valcaryn—our enemies, a kingdom of serpents draped in fine silks and jewels. The same sharp jawline, the same soft curve to her mouth. But Verity’s skin was paler, and her presence… different, somehow stranger.

I’d been to a ball in that cursed kingdom once and seen Felicity up close. She was manipulative, yes, but when genuine, she had a warm laugh and a fierce spark in her eyes. Verity, on the other hand, was cold—frost and shadows wrapped in silence louder than any scream. The resemblance unsettled me more than I cared to admit.

But there were differences, too. Those unusual purple eyes held a knowing beyond the clueless act she put on. And the streak of white in her hair—like she’d been marked by something, something not of this world.

And then there was the secret I’d never shared with anyone.

The day I captured her.

She was lying broken at the edge of our border, barely clinging to life. But in that brief moment before we reached her, I thought I saw something deeper in the forest—a rogue, perfectly still among the trees. Not chasing her, not threatening. Just watching. Watching as if it had delivered her there, waiting for us to find her.

Or worse—like it was guarding her.

That thought made my stomach twist. Rogues don’t protect. They kill, hunt, and destroy. Yet that day, in a blink, I saw something that defied every rule I knew.

And the shadows.

That night, as we carried her back, the shadows felt wrong. I can’t explain it. They were too thick, too alive, crawling at the edges of my vision like they wanted to swallow her—or shield her. I blinked, and suddenly everything was normal again.

The seer’s words echoed relentlessly in my mind: “Be careful with her, or you will be consumed by the darkness you feed.”

Consumed.

I don’t know what Verity truly is, or what she carries inside her, but this I do know—she is no ordinary girl. Something about her doesn’t belong here, doesn’t belong anywhere.

And I can’t tell if that’s what’s going to save us… or doom us all.

I ran a hand through my hair, jaw clenched so tight I thought it might snap. Cassian and Caleb—they’ll protect her no matter what. They’re already halfway under her spell. But me? I can still see the other side. I can still feel the shadows lurking just behind her.

For now, I’ll play along. I’ll watch. I’ll wait. I’ll tread carefully, just like the seer warned.

But if Verity ever becomes a threat—to this kingdom, to Cassian, to Caleb—

I won’t hesitate.

I will end her myself.