My Marked Luna (Apphia and Nicholas) novel Chapter 26

Apphia

I love trains—I’ve loved them since I was a little girl! They are so intentional and different from life. I used to watch them in my pack every day after school. They were there at the exact time, and it was… settling.

“You want to ride a train…?” Knox asks, tilting his head to one side.

“Yes, and then we can go back,”

He seems content with that. I follow him quietly to the station, a ten–minute walk from the general hospital.

The large station has a high ceiling and over three nice lounges. It is neat.

We head to the booking clerk to get our tickets. When it’s our turn, Knox reaches into his pocket to grab a credit card and puts it on the reception desk.

” She wants a train ride to nowhere in particular, maybe around the pack?” he says, bored. The clerk behind the desk sees the golden card, and his bored face lights up immediately.

“O–Okay, Mr. Lavista…” he types on his computer and then looks up, beaming.

“We have the Sapphire Oriental Express coming in five minutes. It is the newest luxury train in the city, catering to tourists. It is not too fast or slow and has high service, including five–star dining,” he explains, looking chipper. ” But we also have an extravagant sleeper train coming in an hour, and it comes with a full–suite butler room.”

“We’ll go with the first one,” Knox cuts him.

“Of course,

again.

sir,” the clerk smiles. He hurriedly stamps our tickets and gives them to Knox, thanking him

I smile discreetly as we stand at the stop to the board, and within a minute, a long silver train rolls in. It looks new and expensive.

Princess,” Knox gestures towards the entrance with a serious, “A train?” face. I inhale and step inside.

My jaw is on the floor. I’ve seen and been on trains; they are delightful, but this particular train is beyond gorgeous. The interior is brown and cream.

A brunette in an impeccable uniform comes to us, beaming and welcoming us. She leads us up to our spacious cabin, which has tall windows and two leather seats facing each other, a polished table between them.

We take our seats, and she brings us tea. I thank her. Knox frowns.

I want a whiskey,” he says.

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Chapter 28

Her smile slowly dies down, but she gets it again. “I may have to see an ID, sir.”

He takes out his wallet to get an ID, but several fake IDs fall out, and the attendant chuckles, ” No whiskey for you, sir,”

“A spicy lemon ginger, two ways, please,” Knox says, sounding defeated.

11

Coming up,”

+25 Bonus

My gaze immediately goes out the window. It’s lovely. I hear a shutter and glance at Knox.

“I took a picture of you on my phone,” he says.

“Why?”

“It might save me from getting beat up later,” he murmurs. I squint my eyes, not understanding.

“I’ll send it to my brother later, and when he sees how peaceful and happy you look to be here, he won’t be too angry that I helped you escape the hospital,” he explains.

“You didn’t help me. I would have left by myself,” I frown.

“You wouldn’t have been here,” he shrugs, showing me his wallet. I flush. Of course, I don’t have any money. I planned to leave the hospital and sit outside for a while.

11

May I see the picture you took?”

He hands me his phone, and my eyes widen as I stare at the picture. It actually looks so good. I’m at peace, watching the scenery out the window.

“Here, I’ll take another,” he says, getting back his phone from me.

I look at the camera this time, smiling but blushing. It’s weird. I’ve never had anyone take a picture of me on their phone in ten years!

He glances at the phone and then at me,

“You’re a natural,” Knox says, looking between me and his phone.

An hour later, the train stops, and we are given a forty–minute break. The passengers start to leave,

“Can we go outside, too?” I ask.

He nods and gets to his feet. I follow him.

The station is crowded and offers many fun activities. There are also a few stores scattered around. We are watching board game tournaments, and I remember what he said earlier,

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