His Silent Luna (Verity and Felicity) novel Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE: THOUGHTS OF HER

Cassian’s Perspective

The heavy doors slammed shut with a finality that echoed through the vast, empty throne room, the sound lingering like smoke in the cold air. The last image of her being dragged away clung stubbornly to the silence. I remained motionless, seated alone amid the cold stone and shadows, my fingers gripping the edge of the obsidian throne so tightly that my knuckles turned white. My breathing slowed, steady but shallow. The guards had already withdrawn, and the advisors quietly slipped away as well, none daring to ask what I was thinking.

Because even I didn’t have the answers.

Who exactly was she?

I had seen beauty before.

I’d witnessed the kind that was all surface—women of the court draped in velvet, their smiles polished and false, their eyes fluttering with practiced charm, hoping to ensnare a king with whispered lies. I’d also seen beauty drenched in blood—in the cold glint of steel, in the instant a man realizes his fate is sealed. But nothing—absolutely nothing—had prepared me for her.

They had dragged her in like a criminal, silver chains biting cruelly into her wrists. Dried blood crusted her temple, and her bare feet scraped harshly against the polished floors of my hall. Her hair was tangled and wild, her cloak soaked through and torn at the edges. She was smeared with dirt, broken, trembling—and yet, even in that shattered state, she radiated a strange, undeniable glow.

Not in some poetic way.

Literally.

There was a peculiar light surrounding her. It wasn’t soft or pure. It was something ancient, something dark and old, flickering faintly beneath her skin like a candle trapped inside glass. My guards muttered uneasily behind their helmets, unsettled by the aura she carried. They called her Felicity, queen of Valcaryn. But I’d met that snake before—once, at the summit where her bastard king spat lies with a smile. Felicity’s beauty was cold, artificial, all makeup and cruelty.

This girl, though… she was fire.

She fixed me with those strange eyes—goddess, those eyes—and for a moment, I couldn’t draw a breath. They were both familiar and utterly alien. A silver streak cut across them like a shooting star had shattered her gaze in two. Something inside me shifted. The silver strand in her deep black hair, like a jagged bolt of lightning, was hypnotic. It felt as though a taut string was being pulled from deep within my chest, stretched tight and fraying at the edges.

Of course, I didn’t reveal any of that.

She hadn’t uttered a single word. Not one.

She simply stood there—bloodied, chained, silent—as if silence were the only language she knew.

But her silence screamed louder than any shout.

It reached inside me, stirring memories I had locked away, awakening possibilities I hadn’t dared to entertain. She resembled Felicity, yes, but she was unmistakably not her. She was something… more.

“Who are you?” I whispered into the emptiness, my voice barely more than a breath.

No answer came. Only silence.

Still, she never broke eye contact. Even shackled like a prisoner, she met my gaze without flinching—unwavering, defiant. That alone sent a shiver down my spine, a sensation I hadn’t felt in years.

The High King of Valcaryn had many enemies, but none I despised more than myself. Yet here stood a girl bearing his face, and I found myself desperate to unravel her story.

Why?

Why did my heart pound so fiercely the moment she crossed the threshold?

Why did the very air seem to shift when she was near?

Was it guilt? Pity? No. I was no man to be swayed by pretty faces or trembling lips. I was a king forged in blood and betrayal. I trusted nothing—not even shadows, especially not those cloaked in beauty.

And yet…

I rose, pacing slowly toward the dais steps. Each footfall echoed sharply, bouncing off the stone walls as if trying to fill the void she had left behind. My thoughts raced, spinning wild theories only to tear them apart moments later.

Who was she?

Could she be the daughter of Theron’s enemy? Perhaps. She looked like Felicity, yes—but purer, stronger, and heartbreakingly more beautiful. She was ruined when I saw her, yet still seemed to glow with an inner light.

How was that possible?

That glow, that presence—it was unnatural. I had seen witches wear masks of illusion, and half-bloods cloak themselves in stolen power. But this was something different. This was hers.

A bastard child of the king?

A witch sent to deceive me?

A trick conjured by rogues to weaken my defenses?

But then, why had they dragged her here in chains, like a burden they were unwilling to bear? They hadn’t protected her—they hunted her. The marks on her body told that story plainly.

Something didn’t add up.

And that unsettled me deeply.

Because it drew me in.

I loathed that feeling—the pull toward something I couldn’t name or control. It reminded me too much of ancient myths, whispered tales passed down through generations. Cursed bloodlines, chosen ones, destinies that burned kingdoms to ash.

I clenched my fists, determined.

I needed to know what she was.

If she truly carried Felicity’s blood, then perhaps she was my enemy. Or maybe something far more dangerous—a wild card no one had seen coming, a secret so deeply buried that even she was unaware.

And yet, when I closed my eyes, I saw her clearly.

I would unravel her, piece by piece.

And if I had to tear it from her by force?

So be it.

I was no gentle man. I did not coax or plead. I commanded. I conquered.

And this girl—whoever she was—was about to learn that I never left puzzles unsolved.

A cruel smile tugged at my lips as I turned away from the window.

My reflection stared back at me from the glass—eyes like polished obsidian, cold, sharp, and calculating.

My kingdom lay quiet beneath my gaze.

And at its heart was a girl woven from questions.

My smirk deepened as my expression twisted into something darker, something eager.

“A mystery wrapped in beauty,” I whispered.

And now?

Now I had something new to fixate on.

Not a war. Not a throne.

A girl with violet in her eyes…

And a secret I was determined to pry from her bones.

The night stretched before me like a chessboard, and I was already plotting my next move.

Let’s see what secrets you’re hiding, girl.

I would find out.

By any means necessary.

With a lingering smile curling on my lips, I whispered into the darkness,

“Let the game begin.”