Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 363: Liora's Memories Nova's POV The attic was darker and colder than I'd expected. Dust floated in the dim light that streamed through a cracked window, and the air carried the faint scent of cedar and time.

This part of the Shadowfang Pack house had been sealed off for years-ever since Liora's death.

Drystan had givenpermission to look through her things, but stepping into the space felt like crossing into sacred ground.

Her scent was long gone, replaced by the mustiness of disuse, but I could still feel her presence here.

Liora had always seemed larger than life, unbreakable, but here she was just a collection of forgotten memories, packed away in old boxes.

I moved cautiously, my fingers trailing over the stacks of wooden crates and trunks.

A soft creak from the floorboards behindmadeturn.

"You don't have to do this," Drystan said, his voice low. He stood in the doorway, his face shadowed but his concern clear. "I can look through it if you want. You don't need to carry this." I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I need to, Drystan. I need to understand. She hid so much from me, and if there's anything here that can help us..." My voice trailed off.

Help us with the rogues. With the Rogue King. With understanding why she made the choices she did.

He nodded, stepping back but not leaving entirely.

He was givingspace, but I could feel his presence just outside the door-a silent reassurance.

I turned back to the room and began opening the boxes. The first few held little of note: old clothes, trinkets, and faded photographs of a tI barely remembered.

But then, in a smaller chest near the back of the room, I found something different.

A leather-bound journal. Its edges were worn, and the clasp that once held it shut was broken.

My hands trembled slightly as I opened it. The handwriting inside was unmistakably hers-strong, deliberate strokes that mirrored her personality.

With a strong blow, the thick dust covering the leather was removed and I started flipping through the pages. The entries were fragmented, scattered across years. Swere simple recollections of our tin the forest, little moments I'd long forgotten.

Others were darker, written in hurried script that reflected her state of mind. "Nova doesn't understand, and I pray she never does. The rogues are not what they seem. They're not just scavengers-they're soldiers. They want to destroy the Packs, to rebuild the world in their image. And they think I can help them." "The Rogue King isn't like the others. He sees everything, knows everything. I thought I could outsmart him, but I was wrong. He knows what I did, knows I'm hiding Nova. If I don't leave soon, he'll find us." My breath hitched as I read the words, the full weight of what she'd been dealing with hittinglike a blow.

I'd known she'd kept secrets, but I hadn't realized just how deeply. entangled she'd been in the rogues' plans or how far she'd gone protect me.

There was one final entry, scrawled hastily across the page: "If anything happens to me, find the man with the mark. He knows the truth. He knows what the Rogue King is planning. Trust no one else." I stared at the words, my heart pounding. The man with the mark. Who was he? Did he still exist? And what truth did he hold? I read through the pages thinking that I would find answers, but instead more questions entered my mind as I read through them.

My sister, who I had always admired. I never thought she was facing such things on her on and carrying the burden of protectingall on her own.

I didn't hear Drystan step inside until he was standing behind me. His shadow fell over the journal as I clutched it tightly.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice quiet but insistent.

I turned the book toward him, a pointing to the last entry. "She was looking for someone-a man mark She said he knows about the Rogue King." th Drystan's brow furrowed as he leaned closer, reading the words. "A mark..." he murmured. "What kind of mark?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But it has to mean something she wouldn't have written it if it didn't."

He straightened, his jaw tightening "If this person exists, we need to find him. Whatever Kiora knew, it was important enough for the rogues to kill her over it." The weight of his words settled heavily on my chest.

I'd chere looking for answers, but all I'd found were more questions.

Who was this man? What truth did he hold? And, most importantly, why had Liora kept it all from us? What kind of life was Liora exactly leaving before we met Drystan and after our parent's death? "Do you think he's still alive?" I asked quietly.

Drystan's gaze hardened. "If he is, we'll find him. And if he's not, we'll it find someone who knows what he did." As we left the attic, the journal clutched tightly in my hands, I felt a new sense of resolve.

Liora's secrets had kept her alive for so long, but they had also isolated her, forced her to carry burdens no one should have to bear.

I wasn't going to let her sacrifices be in vain.

Whatever truth she'd been hiding, whatever the Rogue King was planning, I would uncover it.

For her. For me. For all of us.