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Archdemon Empress Luna

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Brows knitting into a scowl, Luna couldn't figure out how to spill her secret when she couldn't seem to find the right timing to do so.

She was busy thinking about how to open up the topic and what she should talk about first.

How will she find the right opening so that his husband wouldn't be shocked when Apollyon finally found out about Lilith trapped in her body while Luxen had put a baby in her stomach?

Closing her eyes, Luna inhaled the late morning breeze as their horse descended from their house to the fields of golden ears of wheat.

Apollyon promised to bring her outside and breathe in the fresh air because she was cooped up inside the house on top of the mountains for three days already.

Luna exhaled as she glanced upwards, blinking at the clear blue sky while she prayed for the goddess' guidance.

She had too many secrets with her, and she was afraid the time would come when she would take everything to the grave.

Luna never knew these days if she would still live long enough as an immortal or would she perish by one of those Archdemons.

If she wouldn't take matters into her own hands, the days will not come where she could finally tell her husband the truth.

The truth will set her free from this overwhelming guilt and paranoia.

"Apollyon. I have been working very hard trying ahead, run as fast as I can to outrun the Archdemons chasing after me, but it seemed like I was stuck in the very same place." Luna began as their brown stallion continued treading downward with care. She was seated at the front as she leaned her back to Apollyon. "There is no discernible progress for my efforts."

"At this point, the only answer I can see is to work even harder," Apollyon replied as he casually circled his hands around her waist as if she would fall anytime.

Her husband was protective, which Luna thought was too much. "The only way to get out of our current situation is to accelerate, get intense, and push for the breakthrough just ahead of us. We can get rid of the Blood Beast as your mate by figuring out how to cut the mating bond first."

"You are an Archdemon now, and the possibilities are endless with the new power you acquired." Apollyon's tone was a sharp blade as if he was a little envious. "You might have the ability to cut the soul cord yourself."

Luna nodded as she rested her nape on his broad shoulders.

Having a reliable husband was a dream come true.

"I can't figure it out yet, but I will try. Nevertheless, I have already eaten the souls of the demons." Luna's eyes never let the tall golden ears of wheat, reaching for the sun, and she thought it was ready for harvest. "It increased my power as an Archdemon, so maybe, I can teach myself to learn new tricks."

"Let's have faith that what is happening is for the best."

Clearing her throat, Luna declared. "Apollyon. I have something important to tell you."

There.

Luna thought this was the perfect opening.

"I have been trying to gain the courage to get it off my chest, but you said you wanted to get acquainted with my body on the bed, so I lost the chance to tell you." Her muscles tightened in preparation as she quit resting her pliant form on him and straightened her spine. "I—"

"I think I have something more important to tell you, so hear me out first, and then I will listen to yours." Bending his head, Apollyon moved his chest closer in a slow deliberation that Luna could feel his heartbeats from the fabric of her golden thin-strapped low-cut sun-dress embellished with precious gems and embroidered flowers.

"I am also going to explain why I was gone," Apollyon added. "I wasn't only picking flowers for you near the foot of the mountain."

"I was negotiating with the Spring Monarchs." His tone was so sharp it would probably draw blood. "They want to declare war on us."

"War?! For what reason?!" Luna said incredulously as she strained to turn her head to face him. "They have no gratitude when I sacrificed myself to contain the souls of demonic fairies!" She scowled, narrowing her eyes at him. " I took their deaths as my responsibility!"

"Stop it, wife. I told you before that it wasn't your burden to carry. The fates of their souls were in their own hands." Apollyon snapped, and Luna could tell his temper was spiking up again when he loosened the reins, urging the horse to move faster to get to their destination—a destination only Apollyon knew. "They chose to be utilized by an Archdemon in exchange for the limited power they can wield—making Lilith their source of Archdemon Magic." He gritted his teeth. "Do you understand?"

Luna drew breath and released it before speaking. "It might be tempting for you to oversimplify death and sum it up as nothing, Apollyon. The resonance of death can't be contained. Witnessing this massacre—the ending of another creature after relinquishing their control in all forms—had deep consequences in someone's life. Mine and everyone else's!" She told him with an impatient sneer. "he witnesses' lives are forever changed, and I will not turn back to normal. What happened at Ostara—" Her voice strained with reason. "It left a mark of ash upon my heart."

"You need to bring yourself back here to the present, Luna. You have to get yourself together. Don't be all in your head and not in your heart." Apollyon said quietly as he settled one hand to her throat, forcing her to tip back her head and relax in his shoulders. "You're pretty squeamish for an Amazonian Warrior, and here, I thought you had seen it all as an immortal. I guess being sheltered in a temple of a goddess can equip you with strict morals. You killed a lot of possessed faeries at Ostara, and you didn't seem to have a problem with that, nor did you hesitate."