Page 113 of Heir of Darkness

Valerio set down the rifle, pulling her into his arms. She held on to him as tightly as she could, unwilling to let him go. She wanted to just say fuck it to the plans, to keep him at home where she knew he would be safe. But this was bigger than her, it was bigger than him.

“I will always come back to you,” Valerio said.

“I love you,” Luna said. “I love you so, so much.”

“I love you too, my little moon,” he whispered. “I love you more than you'll ever know.”

He pulled back for a second, only to kiss her. It was perfect, like all kisses they ever shared. This one held nothing but love and hope. They were desperate to make it last as long as possible, but it was the lack of air that forced them apart. Her heart had never felt as empty as it did when he pulled away.

“I will see you after,” he told her with one more kiss. “I swear.”

Luna wiped a single tear that slipped from her eye. She stepped away from him completely, wrapping her arms around herself to stop her from reaching out and pulling him back to her. He stared at her for a long moment, flexing his hands as if he wanted to do the same to her.

Then he grabbed the rifle and walked outside with Allister.

Luna turned to Dante, who stood there watching them. “Good luck, Dante,” she said, grabbing his hand. “And when all of this is over, I hope you can find your own happiness.”

“Despite how much of a dick I was to you before, I couldn’t imagine life without you in it,” Dante said, squeezing her hand.He gave a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to him.”

She could only nod, the emotion thick in her throat. He walked out as well to join the other two.

It was just her, the girls, Finn, and Augustus who remained now. “When are you going?” Luna asked Finn.

“Any minute now,” he said, fastening himself into the bulletproof vest.

“Be careful,” Luna said.

“I kind of figured.” He snorted.

She grabbed his arm. “I’m being serious. Be careful, Finn, more careful than you’ve ever been in your life. You need to come back.”

The seriousness settled onto his face after that. “I’ll come back.” He pulled Luna into a hug. It had to have been the first one he had given her since they were children, making the moment all that much more bittersweet.

When they finally pulled away, Luna let the words she had been waiting to say all morning leave her lips. “Let me come with you.”

“Valerio doesn’t want you there,” Finn said, pulling back completely.

“I know he doesn’t. But I need to be there. Please. You can’t go in there alone.”

He was silent, his jaw clenched. “Fine, but if he asks, you jumped into the fucking car when I wasn’t looking.”

Luna nodded quickly, not expecting him to have agreed. Her Plan B was to do exactly that, but now she wouldn’t have to.

She put a bulletproof vest on, one that was entirely too big but would do the job. She was in a rush, but still stopped to share a group hug with the girls beforehand.

“You’re stronger than you know,” Gianna said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You’re my hero, Luna.”

“Stay with Finn. If anything happens though, run like hell,” Blair said, fixing Luna’s hair. Luna could only nod, attempting to seem confident.

“Please come back to us,” Cecilia said. “You need to, okay? I can’t live without you.”

“I can’t live without any of you,” Luna said. “I promise I’ll come home.”

With one more hug, they were pulling away. She and Finn got into the car, driving to their parents’ home. The place they grew up, the place they left, not realizing they would never return, and the place where they would take their father’s life.

FORTY-SIX

LUNA

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