The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert Read Online
Chapter 60
Savannah stared at the white bear in front of her and didn’t know how to respond to her in this predicament.
The bracelet made the princess weaker, and she did not like it. However, she hoped to have enough strength to take down Brigit if it was necessary.
“If he finds you here, he will make you regret undermining him!” the girl warned her as she walked in and quietly closed the door behind her.
Quietly.
As if she did not want anyone to hear or disturb them. Savvy still wasn’t sure what to do about this. The most logical action would be to K*ll Brigit and forget about this encounter. That girl was still called a traitor here and Savvy could get away with the K*ll for a day or two until they put it all together.
And she only needed one day. One.
“What, you’re not going to tell on me?” Savannah raised her brow, playing indifferent as she shoved the scrolls back on the shelf where they belonged, cleaning up the evidence of her being there. She couldn’t waste time doing this afterwards if they ended up fighting after all.
“Why would I do that?” Brigit crossed her arms over her ch3st, watching the Princess with her discerning gaze. “If I wanted to give you away, I would have called Bjorn back when you knocked that guard out.”
So, Brigit knew. Which meant that this was either a trap, and she had already alerted everyone, or.. she wanted something. Savvy knew there were just a few things the she-bear could want from her.
“How’s your sister?” The lycaness met the white bear’s gaze and saw a shadow p@ssover Brigit’s eyes as her face twitched in response. “Was it worth it?”
“She chose to stay with her husband,” Brigit confessed dryly, each word hard for her to pronounce as she brushed away non-existent creases on her dress. “I wish-” she started speaking and stopped abruptly,swallowing the sob that threatened to escape her. The strong woman in her didn’t want to cry. She hated crying.
“Not worth it then,” Savannah sighed, as she made sure everything looked just as she found it. Only when her perfect memory told her it was exactly right, did she finally give Brigit her full attention.
“She is too afraid to leave him,” Brigit seemed upset, revealing the truth. “Even with Bjorn’s permission for us to leave after I did what he required of me. She chose to stay because she believed her current husband would follow us and take her back if she left. Bjorn’s promise to me would be fulfilled, and everything would go back to how it is now. Only her husband would never forget the humiliation and would keep punishing her. Those punishments… whatever they are… she is afraid of those more than anything else.”
“I’m sorry,” Savannah heard herself saying and felt like she meant it this time. She hated Brigit for the betrayal, but she still felt sorry for her and her sister.
Some part of her soul hadn’t d*ied together with Kai after all because she was still able to feel compassion. Not that she planned to act on it, though. “So, what now?
What are you going to do?”
“l am going to help you and see what happens,” Brigit stated, and a sharp laugh escaped Savvy’s ch3st.
“You can’t be serious!” the princess wiped away the tears from her eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, I do feel sorry for you, but I’m not going to believe a word you say. I made the mistake of trusting you once and Riannon trusted you, too. Look where it got us. You may love your sister, but at the same time, your own mate is chained to a wall in the square outside being t*ortur*ed without a break just because he trusted you. Because he loved you. And if you can do this to him, then you can do far worse things to me.”
“That is exactly why l’m offering to help you,” Brigit insisted. “I want a favour from you for the information l am ready to share.”
“Now we’re talking!” Savannnah folded her arms over her ch3st and tilted her head slightly to have a better look at the she-bear. “That’s the Brigit we all know and hate!”
The woman swallowed the insult and continued, “
When you leave this place, all I want from you is to take Aspen with you.”
That was Savannah’s plan already, but she decided to see what else she could get.
“He’s as good as dead,” the princess shook her head and slowly strolled towards the door, “if you really want to help him, just give him an easy death.”
Brigit went pale hearing this, and Savvy came to the conclusion that the white bear really did love her mate.
Even if they could never be together, even if Aspen would never forgive her, Brigit still loved him with her whole heart. She could have had it all, but she blew it.
“Destiny is cruel,” Brigit laughed through her tears, “I once told Riannon that all I wished for was to have a mate of my own. Someone who would only belong to me, whom I would never have to share with anyone else, someone who would love me unconditionally. And when I found that one person, I knew I would have to betray him. Maybe if he rejected me when l begged him to, it would have been easier for us both. Then I wouldn’t have been able to distract him on that night, and maybe he could have prevented Bjorn from entering the old palace and K*lling everyone.”
“You chose this,” Savannah said reproachfully.
Don’t complain to me now just because your sister rejected your help.”
“‘She may not have wanted it, but she was already paying the price for me insulting Bjorn when I chose to follow his brother. If l didn’t do as I was told, they would have K*lled Ingrid just to make an example out of me,” Brigit a*s*serted.
“But you chose to sacrifice Aspen, so l guess we’ll never know now,” Savvy wanted to stop her. The sad story did not change anything, and she did not want to lose her focus because she felt pity.
“Just take him with you when you run!” Brigit begged, casting a desperate gaze at her.
“Why do you think I am going to run?” Savvy scoffed, but the white bear waved her hand, implying that her plan was kind of obvious now.
“Because l know you,” Brigit snapped. “l know you will never give up.”
“Well, I feel like giving up,” Savvy let her shoulders drop as if she was defeated already. “What can I do when l am cuffed, and my strength is literally drained from me? What can I do against Bjorn, who is enhanced by a deity?!”
“You can use a divine weapon to K*ll him,” Brigit said, and now Savvy turned to look at her with interest.
“And where would I find one?” she asked bluntly.
“The bracelet on your arm is a divine weapon.
Everything Joran makes is a divine weapon. Including the dagger he always tucks behind his belt.” Brigit informed her. “Get one of them to take your bracelet off, use that dagger and you will be golden.”
“And while I do all that, what are you going to be doing?” Savvy arched her brow, her heart full of hope.. and suspicion.
“I will be where my people need me,” the white bear admitted “But I will do everything in my power to help you and Aspen to escape.
“Who is he? Who is Joran? What do you know about him?” The Western Princess wanted to get as much information as possible, but Brigit only shook her head to stop her.
“No one knows much about him, but one thing is for sure,” the she-bear lowered her voice, “Bjorn listens to him even though he doesn’t like him much. And his strength comes from Joran.”
They stood staring at each other, a silent understanding forming between them.
“We need to go,” Brigit sighed finally, “He is inspecting his army on the outskirts, but he will be back soon. And then he will go straight to your room.”
“Fine,” Savwy agreed, “but since we are besties again, do me a favour.”
“What do you want?”
“Go to Chloe and Claude and give them a message from me,” Savannah smirked because now, finally, the last bits of her plan were falling into place.
“What is the message?” Brigit did not seem too eager to go to the twins, but that was oddly rea*s*suring. If she seemed too eager, it could have been fake. It could be fake even now, only time would tell, but the message itself was safe. Only the siblings would know what to do after hearing this.
“Tell them to do their job,” the princess’ l!ps curled into a grin.
Brigit was wrong, and Bjorn did not come during the night, which gave Savannah a few hours of sleep. She spent the rest of the time planning and plotting. On the one hand, everything seemed so simple, but on the other, there were a million scenarios of how it could go wrong.
The maids entered her room without permission, bringing in dresses and jewellery in luxurious sparkling boxes.
“What is this?” Savvy rubbed her temples, tired of it all already.
“Gifts from the King,” one of the maids replied, arranging the presents before her. Beautiful dresses in different colours were arranged on chairs and the bed so that she could see them better. At the same time, boxes from the best jewellers with necklaces and earrings in diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires were opened and placed next to the matching outfits.
“For your marking ceremony,” another maid added but quickly bit her tongue when Savvy’s eyes darted to her. She wasn’t angry, though, as Chloe had already told her about that during their brief meeting.
“My queen,” one of the girls approached her with a royal blue dress in her hands, “Could you try this on, please? You can pick whichever dress you like for tonight, but we need to make sure first that the size fits you.”
Everything inside of her told her to object and to make a scene. Athena growled in protest, but Savannah nodded and stood up. She was going to play a good girl tonight and she had to make it believable.
She was in the middle of the dress fitting when the doors opened again and Bjorn walked in confidently.
There were many women in the room now, but his eyes only found Savannah, greedily devouring every inch of her in that beautiful shimmering gown. She was his perfection, and his l!ps curled involuntarily into a smile as he took her in.
“You look beautiful,” he breathed out, gesturing for everyone else to leave them alone.
Thank you,” she responded dryly. “It’s not like I have a choice, do I?”
His smile dropped, but he did not deny himself the ple@sure of brushing his fingers over her bare back, creating goosebumps. Bjorn believed with his whole heart that she was already starting to feel their bond.
Soon all this would pass, and they would be able to properly embrace each other whenever they wanted it.
The anticipation of that moment helped him to keep waiting. Why rush things if he could have it all?
However, Savannah flinched from his touch and was about to step away from him when he wrapped his hands around her wa!st, holding her in place. She was standing in front of the mirror, beautiful and perfect, the queen he had always dreamed of, and even her cold eyes couldn’t take away from his happiness.
“Don’t be angry,” he placed a soft k!ss on her shoulder, wishing to do so much more, but knowing it was too early for that. She was unhappy again, exasperated to the tipping point.
“Why would I be?” A sneer distorted her pretty l!ps. “
My mate is going to mark me today, no matter whether I want it or not!”
He froze, holding her tight in his hands. Did he mishear it? Did she… did she just call him her mate?
For a few seconds, he couldn’t form words, watching the image of the two of them in that mirror. She was so tiny in comparison. He could crush her if he wasn’t careful.
And she was all his. All of her. His mate, his woman, his future Queen.
“You are angry,” he did not tease her this time, just drew circles with his fingers on the place where his mark would go very, very soon.
He wanted to give her something she would like, something that would help him to melt the ice, and he knew that he hadn’t done it yet. She was a princess by birth and wouldn’t simply fall for things like jewellery and gowns. It was a given she had to have the best things, so those weren’t going to earn him points.
“Don’t ask me questions you don’t like to hear the answers to,” Savvy avoided his gaze, but she didn’t take her words back. She called him her mate as if she accepted it, and although he knew better than to push it, he wanted to show her what it meant to him. What she meant to him.
“If you are not ready,” he heard himself saying, and their eyes locked, “we can postpone the marking.”
Savannah’s mouth opened slightly in surprise. He was shocked himself, because just a few minutes ago, he wanted to move the ceremony to a few hours sooner than it was scheduled. Now he was offering her to cancel it because of that one word she said.
“You’re not serious!” Naturally, she did not believe him. He couldn’t blame her for it, of course. He did not give her any reason to trust him yet.
Yet.
“Savannah,” he pressed himself tighter to her body, trying to soak in her warmness and that delicious scent of bluebells that her skin radiated. “If you are still not ready today, we will push it to a later date. I promise. I would, of course, prefer to mark you and start our life together today, but I understand that you’ve been the one making sacrifices during the whole time we’ve known each other. And it’s not fair. So, I want to level the playing field. If you don’t want our marking ceremony to be today, it’s fine. We can do it another day.”
“Haven’t you announced it already?” his mate quirked her brow up, searching for his reaction.
“l have,” he nodded slowly, cupping her chin and tracing her l!ps with his thumb, enjoying their softness.
But I will tell them that you don’t feel well. nobody will dare to question me.”
“Are you sure?” she taunted, and his bear roared inside, begging him to claim her now.
“l’m sure,” he stood his ground. “We will be celebrating our victory tonight in the main hall. If you come and join me, we will have our marking ceremony there and then, but if you decide that it’s too early and you need time, stay in your room. My warriors will guard you.”
“Bjorn-” she looked as if she was considering his offer and wanted to ask something else when he slammed his l!ps over hers, finally getting a proper taste of his mate. His tongue roamed inside of her mouth, letting her know whom she belonged to now. For a moment, it seemed like she wanted to pull away, but he held the back of her head, holding her closer.
A m0an escaped her, or was it a whimper? He did not care, because the tingles were erupting through his whole body, and he hadn’t felt that in so long. There were times when he thought he would always be alone.
However, now he had her, and the future did not seem so grim anymore. Not when she was a part of it.
He broke the k!ss when he realised he would take her and mark her here and now if he didn’t stop, destroying the little progress he had achieved.
“Darius,” he said when he tore his l!ps off her, and she blinked. “I want you to call me Darius, not Bjorn.
He traced his index finger over her now-swollen l!ps, proud of the fact that he was the cause of this.
“l am Bjorn for everyone else,” he smiled at her sincerely for the first time ever. “For you, I am just Darius, Savvy.”
She nodded silently, lost for words.
When she was finally about to say something else, he stopped her again.
“Don’t respond now,” he leaned lower and placed a small peck on her nose. She wasn’t flinching away from him anymore, and he took it as a good sign. He was on the right path. “I will wait for you tonight, but either way, whatever you decide, it’s fine with me. If you appear at the event, we’ll mark each other tonight. If you don’t, it’ll just happen later, and I will see you after midnight.”
This time he k!ssed her forehead softly and stormed out of the room, leaving her stunned.
Savannah waited for him to leave and listened to the sound of his receding footsteps.
This was a new development, for sure. She took the nearest dress and tore a decorative piece of fabric from it to wipe her l!ps.
She had to think of how to play her cards right and decided to go on a stroll with her guards to check if the map she saw yesterday was correct. No one stopped her, and she simply wandered the halls in her blue dress, watching how everyone was preparing for the celebration.
After a while, she stopped in the gallery with tall, large windows, looking out of one and seeing the inner square off Bjorn’s castle. There, another surprise awaited. Two huge black cars were being checked by security.
She was contemplating why they were doing such a thorough search when she heard two men not far from her snorting.
“‘So, is that the compet*ition for Petra?” one of them was eyeing the guests below.
“I think these are sent by her father,” another spoke.
“l heard he is quite rich and she is his favourite child. He would pay a lot to get her back.”
“Wasn’t he selling her to the lycan in the first place?” the first one scoffed.
“Yeah, but I guess white bears aren’t the buyers that he dreamt of!”
Both men laughed and kept walking as Savvy stud*ied the men whose arrival she observed.
Just then, she noticed something, or more accurately, someone, she hadn’t expected to see in a million years.
“It couldn’t be!” Savannah gasped as the man with hazel eyes stared back up at her as if he felt her watching.