Crimson Howl: The Luna's Tale

ena

in to without resistance, thinking perhaps it was the only sliver of leverage I had left. But when I heard his

so easily.

e churned

es, the layout, the towering elegance, it mimicked a human city but pulsed with something else.

. Dinner is at seven-thirty every day in

was

come. Just instru

oft tray brought in on polished silverware. Just a shared

creaked every time I moved. It was quiet. Too quiet. No maids bustl

vals. Fewer eyes on me. Goo

ob spread ac

arely four steps away from my bed. The wardrobe looked like it had been

w. It didn't. My fingers ran over the one silk dress that had ma

stuttered

this was

realized, I didn't know wh

eeve up and ch

1 p

upright, grabbed a sweater from the back o

ching endlessly as I ran through. Two guards in

all?" I asked

r lingered with a half-curious

de a slow sound as

t scrape of cutlery. Long tables stretched across the space, mostly empty. Tra

perfect triangles. Her chef's hat sat slightly askew, hair c

anaged, still ca

oward the far end of the counter. "You'r

d midair as I s

ared across the bottom of the bread

tighter, the edges p

les," I said, trying not to

hat's available. It's formulated

choice. Not cul

and a forkful of sticky noodles.

ad, the leaves and cream shining under the well lighted l

urned

st of the salad vanished onto my plate. Crisp lettuce. A few

my way to the corner table, the one pushed up agains

e sl

noodles clung together like a mass of glue. Th

e closest to the drink stati

the salad on her plat

now how to share. W

in my chest. I d

rom Crestmoon, right? The one who scream

ks she's

sed halfway

oed as lettuce crack

down. Not hard.

path to the trash. It felt like e

with a lazy groan. I

Just the quiet weigh

I t

ut witho

swallowed me whole. My breath caught as I turned corners, unsure where I was even going. I

moved

curling in my bones. I ran. Not out of weakness. Out of need

here it was

Faint a

g the iron garden gate before pushi

aths. Flowering trees stretched toward a dusky sky. My feet pound

the bac

till. The old wooden door to the equipment room cr

shut be

the cold stone floor a

I just breathed. No

ey tore our

ents' caskets w

e Bernard with a trembling

I let the silen

ulders

curled into

another. Not a river, just a lea

d used to stir his tea wrong, always too lou

space fel

eraction,

ped from my lips, p

usty room. Ho

'd made it t

ried in fr

out on my o

that c

o visit during the winter solstice. How som

ren't so di

hed slightly a

ent... if someone took them from

it aloud, not yet. B

r creak

tst

. The room flooded

lin

doorway. Hands in his coat p

s. Just

like he wasn't

't loo

, my voice quieter than in

dn't

ot here. Not... not where I'm a shadow to p

ghter. Shou

l said

ime, I didn't feel

s as

served a