Chapter 49 Preparing for battle 2

Chapter 49: Chapter 49 Preparing for battle 2

Talia’s POV

"Nora said her cousin has supernatural hearing, but we are yet to hear from her. So until then, we will stick to this plan. Okay?" I said.

Piper nodded. "All understood."

I looked at her properly, and I noticed she was thinner than I remembered. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and her hands were rough from traveling.

"You look tired," I said.

Piper laughed. "I have been sleeping on the floor for three days. Of course I look tired."

"You should rest, Piper, because you will need your strength for the celebration," I said.

"I will rest when you are safe." She squeezed my hands again. "Promise me you will be careful."

"I promise." I smiled and squeezed her hands back.

She did not look convinced, but she let it go.

"Promise me you will not do anything reckless," she said.

I hesitated.

"Talia," she called.

"I promise," I said.

She let out a breath. "Good." Piper studied my face. "Are you scared?"

I hesitated. "Yes."

"Do you want to back out of being Luna?" she asked.

"No." I shook my head. "I cannot. If I back out now, Vivienne wins, the pack will say I was too weak to face them, and Serena will have more ammunition."

"So you are going to go," Piper said.

"I have to," I answered.

Piper was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Then I am going with you."

"You cannot, because you are not supposed to be here in the first place. If anyone finds out you snuck into the territory..." I argued.

"I do not care," Piper cut in, and her voice was firm. "You are my best friend, and I am not letting you face Vivienne and Celeste alone."

I stared at her, and my eyes were burning with unshed tears.

"Piper..." I called softly.

"I said I do not care." She squeezed my hands tighter. "I wanted to go to the celebration without telling you, because I had planned to wear a disguise. But I won’t do that anymore, and we will figure it out. We will find a way to get me into the celebration, and we will watch each other’s backs."

I blinked back tears. "Okay."

"Okay." Piper smiled. "Then it is settled."

I stayed with her for another hour, talking about everything else and going down memory lane.

We talked about Cresswood, about the nights we sneaked food from the kitchen, and about the times Piper made me laugh when I wanted to cry.

We did not talk about the celebration, or about Vivienne, and we did not talk about the trials.

For one hour, we were just two girls, hiding in a small room, and pretending the world was not falling apart.

When I stood up to leave, Piper hugged me tight.

"Do not worry," she whispered. "We have survived worse."

"I know," I said.

I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me.

I looked around, and the hallways were empty.

The torches flickered, and the shadows danced on the walls, as my footsteps echoed in the silent hallways.

I thought about what Piper had said. ’We have survived worse.’

She was right. We had survived Vivienne for fifteen years. We had survived Celeste’s cruelty and the storage room and the hunger and the cold.

So we would survive this too.

I walked back to my room and opened the door.

The room was dark when I entered. The fire had burned low, and the shadows stretched across the floor. For a moment, I thought Kaelen was still out.

But then I saw him.

He was sitting in the chair by the window, with his back to me. But he did not turn around when I walked in.

"You were gone for a long time," he said.

"I went for a walk," I answered.

"You say that every time," he said.

I did not answer, so he turned his head just enough to look at me over his shoulder, and his gray eyes were unreadable.

"You are scared," he said.

"I am fine," I answered.

"You are not fine." He stood up and walked toward me, then he sat on the edge of the bed and folded his arms. "But you do not have to be. You just have to be ready."

There was silence for a moment, as he studied my face. "Have you started preparing all the things you need to go to Mooncrest Hall?"

"No, I have not," I answered.

"Let me know what you might need for the event that you do not have, so that I can arrange for it on time," he said.

"I do not think I will be needing anything new," I said, a little too quickly.

Kaelen looked at me for a long moment, like his eyes might burn holes in my skin. But he did not push.

He stood up and started walking to the bathroom. "Before we leave for Mooncrest Hall, a servant will bring you some items for you to prepare for the trip. Go to bed and do not stay up too late."

Then he was gone.

I stood in the middle of the room, staring at the closed bathroom door.

Time was ticking, and there were five days left until the Luna Celebration.

I would be ready.

I had to be.