A/N: so it took 15 chapters to get here but Raven finally finds out what happened at Luna's Conclave. The funny bit is this is actually like the third chapter I ever wrote for this fic. It just took a while for it to feel right to include it. Also, I think I proofread this chapter like 30 times. I couldn't stop changing things.
Also I was going through the last chapter and I realized I accidentally italicized the wrong word in a sentence. I wrote 'She liked Luna.' but it was supposed to be 'She liked Luna.'
Past
"Your brother's spirit will find you again."
No. It would not.
What spirit returned to the one who had severed it from life?
Or perhaps many did.
Perhaps she would see her brother again - as he pushed her head under the water. Just as she pushed his.
Perhaps she would be haunted.
She did not know if this was a good or a bad thing.
Perhaps it would be good.
She would like to go into the water.
She would like to be with him.
"I didn't mean to."
But she had. She had.
She saw her brother and she felt the knife in her hand and she-
She thought, not today.
Not today.
I do not want to die today.
I do not want to die.
I do not want to die.
And then she thought nothing at all.
She should have died.
Death would have been kinder than this.
"Right now, you are in a nightmare. But nightmares end."
What did it say, that a part of her didn't want this one to?
That a part of her wanted to stay here, in the dark. With her brother's blood still tight on her skin.
She did not want to venture into the light without him.
Knew that she did not deserve to.
"Luna?"
"I didn't mean to."
But she had.
Present
Abby had finally kicked Raven and Luna out of the lab, saying there was little either of them could do right now whilst she and Jackson continued their study of her blood - in the fruitless hope that they might actually find a solution that didn't involve going into space.
Luna had vacated the premises far more willingly than Raven.
"Make sure this one actually gets some rest," were Abby's final words to Luna as they departed.
This whole Ravensitting thing was getting real fucking annoying.
She bristled but the woman beside her just chuckled, settling her hands on Raven's arms as she guided her out of the room. "I'm not sure anyone has that power, Abby."
Damn right.
But Luna understanding this certainly meant that their friendship - or whatever it was they had going on - had a much better chance of surviving.
Abby rolled her eyes and waved them off.
It didn't take Raven long to find out that Luna could, at times, be downright mischievous. At least, moreso than any other Grounder she'd ever come across. Moreso than most Sky People, as well. She thought, in another life, that they could have gotten into a lot of fun (read: trouble) on the Ark.
She suspected that illegal spacewalks would be right up her alley.
It was the first thing that made her aware of how young Luna really was. They weren't actually that far apart in age, Raven was sure, and since she didn't actually know Luna's age it was possible she wasn't any older than her at all.
Given everything Raven knew about her, that wasn't a comfortable possibility to linger on.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask but she wasn't sure that she wanted an exact number. It was easier to think of Luna as older and wiser. Somehow, that made it better. The suffering she'd gone through. Everything she'd lost. . .
Raven didn't know why it made it better, but it did.
She was sick of watching the ground tear children apart.
But child or not, Luna's youth was undeniable.
It was she who suggested that they play a game once they'd made their way inside the mansion. Raven scoffed at the idea, was fully prepared to turn around and hightail it back to the lab.
But Luna grabbed her hand and that touch - so carelessly given - set Raven's nerves on fire (for once, in a way that wasn't painful). She was helpless to do anything but allow Luna to lead her into one of the loungerooms and settle her at a small, two-person table.
She gaped a little, trying to catch her bearings as Luna rifled around in a drawer underneath the table before pulling out an ancient - and pristine - looking chess set.
When the hell had she stumbled on that?
"Chess? Seriously?"
The world was ending and Luna wanted them to play chess?
She shrugged and set it on the table before taking her own seat. "It requires enough concentration to be distracting, but not so much that it can't still be considered resting."
Raven bit her tongue on a snarky retort - which would have been more venomous than not - about having no need for rest in the first place. In fact, Luna could take her idea of rest and shove it up her-
She'd promised to try. Against her better judgment, she'd promised to at least try and accept a little fussing.
Didn't mean she had to like it.
Raven crossed her arms belligerently. "And what if I don't want to play?"
Luna shrugged, already setting up the pieces. "Then you can watch whilst I play myself. Or leave. It's up to you. But I really would prefer the challenge of an actual opponent."
It was exactly the right thing to say. Giving her a choice. Acting indifferent to whatever decision Raven made but still letting it be known that she would appreciate the company.
If manipulation was an art, Luna was a master at it.
Maybe that was what happened when you were raised from birth to rule an entire kingdom of warring nations.
Raven sighed but relented.
There was a certain tension to Luna's brow as she worked to set up the board and it occurred to Raven that this game of chess might not be entirely altruistic. That maybe Luna needed the distraction as much as she did. She'd been through a lot, just in the last two weeks alone, and was likely still coming to grips with it.
Maybe she needed the company. And Raven was all she had left after her last friend had died right in front her, forfeiting his life for hers in the blink of an eye.
That had only been days ago. But Luna hadn't mentioned the incident since.
Raven didn't believe for a second that this was a sign the loss no longer weighed on her, though.
She knew that Luna cared too much to move on so easily.
Raven sighed, toying with one of the chess pieces she'd set down. "I'm sorry about what happened to Nyko. You seemed close."
Before finishing the trek to Becca's lab, they'd burned the healer's body. The whole affair had felt rushed and somewhat disrespectful. Though, cremation seemed to be a tradition for most Grounders, including Trikru, so he'd received that small show of respect at least.
Luna's face had been impassive throughout, the crumbling emotion that Raven had been given a window to only hours before once again under lock and key. It was an impressive skill but it also had the effect of making her feel slightly uneasy, wondering what else besides grief could be kept so well hidden.
Raven didn't like being around people she couldn't read. Ones who didn't wear their emotions as explosively as she did. And she had a sense that Luna's own feelings were definitely of the explosive variety.
Maybe that was what all the meditation was for.
At the same time, she was kind of envious of her flawless composure. Raven could try to bury the pain, pretend it didn't exist, but most days she couldn't even succeed in fooling herself, let alone anyone else.
Luna suffered no such limitations. Raven suspected that, if she ever was in pain, no-one would be able to see it. Not unless she allowed them to.
There was a freedom in that.
That day, Luna had murmured some perfunctory prayers - the syllables and intonations different to what she'd heard from her before, so Raven suspected she was repeating what was custom for most clans, rather than the eulogy that was unique to Floukru.
Still, it hadn't felt like enough. Not by a long shot.
But Nyko seemed like the type who would understand.
His last request had been floating around in Raven's head all week. He had wanted her to be kind to Luna and she was endeavoring to do just that, but only partially because it was a dying man's wish.
She was hard not to be kind to.
Luna fingered the chess piece in her hand - the queen - before placing it on the board. "I'd known him a long time."
"Yeah, he said that." Luna's eyes flickered to hers momentarily at this before returning to her task. "He also said that you knew him from before all this. That he used to look after you when you were sick. As a kid."
The amused smile that creased her face momentarily was too bitter to be soft. "'Sick' is one word for it. But it was rare that any of our illnesses were natural. I knew him outside of that, though. He was my uncle."
Raven blinked. "Huh. Somehow he failed to mention that."
"Respecting my privacy, probably." Luna's attention was wholly focused on what she was doing, not sparing her a glance as she went about her task. "Blood ties aren't given much importance in my culture. Individuals and family matter less than the collective. Duty always comes first. The good of the many, rather than the good of the few. Attachment, even between family members, is frowned upon. In theory, anyway." She heaved a shrug. "Reality is always different."
"Sounds harsh."
Not that Raven could really talk.
Her own culture was equally as fucked. Abby had turned her husband in to be floated because she thought it would serve the Ark better, and she was hardly a rare example. Octavia's mother had been executed for the crime of having a child; Murphy's father had been killed for daring to save his son's life; and they'd locked Octavia up, for God's sakes, sentenced her to possible death, just for being born. . .
Survival is a cruel master.
"It's worse for a nightblood," Luna murmured. "We're meant to forsake all family ties completely. The clans become our children, and our duty and love must be reserved for them alone. But it's a distant love. Never so close as to actually form a connection with any one person or clan." She smiled wryly. "Lexa and I failed at that. Obviously."
Raven watched, feeling somewhat useless, as she continued to set up the board. It surprised her to see that Luna clearly knew what she was doing, that she must have done this before - though, maybe it shouldn't have, she just had a tendency to see Grounders as primitive, at least compared to her own people. Raven had a general distaste for anyone who didn't love technology as much as she did, or even know how to use it.
(though, A.L.I.E. was certainly making her rethink that love. Maybe the Grounders had had the right idea, after all)
Nor did she possess any desire to learn more about the civilization that had taken Finn from her.
Or, at least, she hadn't.
Luna glanced up at her, interrupting the train of her thoughts. "Do you know how to play?"
A little late to ask now.
But maybe she wasn't all that interested in the answer and was just using it as a deflection. Raven could understand that.
She nodded and Luna twisted the board around so that the white pieces were facing her. "I've always played black, I hope you don't mind."
"Uh, I get to go first - why the fuck would I mind?" She moved a pawn forward two spaces; because, apparently, that was what they were doing - playing chess. "I didn't think Grounders would have much use for this."
Luna shrugged, making her own move. "Most don't. But it teaches strategy so it was a part of my lessons as a novitiate. We would craft the board and pieces ourselves. But I couldn't take mine with me when I fled. I made another one a few years ago, Adria and some of the other children liked to play once I taught them how." She cocked her head to the side. "But I left it behind on the oil rig."
Ouch.
Attempting to avoid Luna's plethora of wounds was like stumbling around on a minefield, blindfolded.
She didn't know if it made it better or worse that Luna didn't seem to mind whenever she triggered an explosion.
Time for a subject change.
"Fair warning, I'm kind of a badass at this game." Raven moved another piece, stomach twisting when she caught the faint smirk playing at Luna's lips.
"Good. So am I. That means it will be a challenge." She didn't hesitate before choosing another pawn. "Though I could rarely beat Lexa. This was one arena in which she always reigned supreme." Her mouth twisted slightly. Raven didn't want to call it a pout but. . .
It was most definitely a pout.
She snorted and picked up her horse. "You don't like to lose."
Luna chuckled. "I once threw a bishop at Lexa's head when she beat me four times in a row. I like to think I've gotten better at accepting loss since then, though."
Raven hesitated, looking from the board to Luna and back again. "You're not going to throw anything at me, are you?"
She ducked her head, hair falling into place to cover her smile but not before Raven caught its entrance. "I suppose that depends on how good you are."
She groaned. "I'm gonna get a chessboard to the head."
Luna let out a surprised chuckle. "I wouldn't worry. I have a far greater rein on my temper these days. And it's unlikely that you'll win, anyway."
Raven sputtered. "'Unlikely?' I'll have you know-"
"One of my lessons involved carrying out a game with one novitiate whilst engaging in a physical fight with another. I broke two ribs and nearly lost an eye but I still won on both counts." She looked downright smug about it, too.
Raven stared at her. "You're joking."
"I'm really not." Luna smiled. "'It's important to maintain focus and a level head, even in the midst of battle'," she quoted with an almost imperceptible roll of the eyes. "Titus was very proud of that lesson. Though, I think part of it was down to the fact that he got to whack me with a stick during stage one every time my attention wavered."
Raven made a noise. "Titus sounds like a dick."
She shrugged, not looking up as she pondered her next move. "He was much better at handling books than children. But my brother and I used to play tricks on him so we earned a special place in his disregard."
Luna finally decided on a move and, of course, it was a good one, taking out one of her castles.
Okay, so she knew how to play.
Raven used her horse to demolish one of her pawns in retaliation.
"Right, brother. You mentioned him before. Is he still. . .?" She wondered whether he'd been living on the oil rig, too. Hoped not, considering what had happened to all those who had.
Luna shook her head but kept her eyes focused on the board, toying with her castle a little longer than necessary before moving it forward. "No. My brother was a nightblood like me. We were twins."
"Oh." Raven had assumed he was dead the first time she'd mentioned him but had still kind of hoped for the opposite.
Somewhat distractedly, she stumbled through her next move, picking a pawn at random.
Luna watched her closely. "Did Clarke or John tell you what happened at my Conclave?"
"I don't even know what a conclave is." Not entirely true. She knew the definition of the word. That it could be a meeting or gathering, often of great import, and that it had been used to elect popes in the past, back when Christianity and the church were still a major thing.
And she'd heard the word thrown around once or twice in the past couple of months, knew it had something to do with being a nightblood, but beyond that? She hadn't a clue.
To be honest, the ceremony or practice or whatever it was, hadn't really interested her.
Very little about the Grounders did.
Until she met Luna.
"Consider that a blessing," Luna muttered, moving one of her bishops forward and taking out the pawn Raven had just chosen.
She grimaced a little. "It's a religious thing, right?"
Luna cocked her head to the side, considering that. "I suppose you could call it that. The Fleimkepas do worship the Flame like it's a religion. Most of our people do, in fact. Though, some are much less reverent, like Azgeda."
So if it had to do with the Flame, and Conclaves were traditionally used to decide on the head of the church then. . . "It's how you elect the Commander?"
She nodded and, feeling slightly victorious in this, Raven moved her horse to take out the bishop.
Luna's mouth twisted a little in displeasure. "It's the last lesson one faces as a nightblood. The final test. But only one can pass."
Raven frowned, watching as she toyed with her remaining bishop. "What do you mean?"
"It's a fight to the death."
That stopped her short. "Between. . .?"
"The novitiates. The ones who are old enough, anyway. Or what our people consider to be old enough." Luna shook her head in derision, moved the bishop forward three squares.
Raven studied the board, trying to detect a reason for the move but couldn't find one. "When you say 'fight to the death'. . ."
"It's exactly as it sounds. Only one novitiate can survive - by killing the others. That's the price of receiving the Flame. Of becoming Commander."
Her tone was far too casual for what it was they were discussing.
Murder. Of children. By Children.
Raven closed her eyes, next move forgotten. "They make you kill each other?"
"Yes." Luna's expression didn't flicker, no trace of emotion marring her face.
It was unsettling. She wondered whether Luna really didn't feel anything whilst talking about this, or whether she felt too much and was just better at hiding it than most.
With all Raven had witnessed in the woman since the day they'd met, she knew it was the latter.
She might have to get Luna to teach her that skill.
Her hand hesitated on another pawn. She couldn't think through her next move. Could barely think at all. "That's why you ran away."
And also probably one of the reasons why she'd refused to take the Flame when they'd gone to her for help. Raven wouldn't want that thing anywhere near her, either, knowing its history and, as Luna said, the price of receiving it.
Though, she still didn't really approve of that decision. The fight against A.L.I.E. would have been a hell of a lot quicker if Luna had just taken the Flame.
And less bloody, too.
Probably.
Luna nodded. "Yes."
Raven pushed the pawn forward, barely even looking at the board.
Luna took a breath, focusing on the pieces before her. Raven thought it might have just been an excuse not to meet her eyes, though. "I fled my Conclave. But not before killing my brother in the first round."
She glanced up then, taking in Raven's horrified silence. Her lips twitched up in a humorless smile. "See. I told you I had no right to judge you."
She obliterated her horse in a single move.
Raven barely noticed.
('I don't respond well to being forced into things. That usually ends with me having to kill someone, often someone I love.')
She stared at her. "I'm sorry."
Luna frowned a little. "Why? I'm not the one who died."
Why?
Because being raised to participate in some demented twist of a gladiatorial battle was fucked up, that was why! Because even on the Ark, they hadn't sunk that low.
But she had a feeling Luna knew exactly how fucked up it was. Why else would she have run?
Raven swallowed. "How old were you?"
"My brother and I were thirteen. The eldest. Lexa was twelve."
She sputtered. "You killed your brother when you were thirteen?"
Luna nodded carelessly. "It's your move, Raven."
She blinked. Huh?
Luna nodded down at the board.
Oh, right. They were supposed to be playing chess. Though, how the fuck either of them was meant to concentrate on that right now was beyond her.
Then again, Luna seemed to be managing it okay.
Maybe it wasn't her blood that made her superhuman.
Shaking her head, Raven picked up another pawn at random. Barely looked to see where she put it down.
Luna watched her actions carefully but seemed even more interested in the flickering of expressions upon her face, as if she was preparing herself for a certain kind of reaction.
Judgment, maybe?
Or disgust?
Luna had taken her time in telling Raven this, time that she clearly hadn't afforded to Clarke or Murphy. Which suggested that Raven's response mattered to her, that perhaps she was even wary of it.
Well, Raven felt plenty of disgust - and judgment. But none of it directed at Luna. So if that was what she was looking for, Raven sure as hell wasn't going to provide.
She cleared her throat. "What was his name?"
Luna looked slightly thrown by the question - a perceptible crack in her demeanor - and Raven wondered whether it was something anyone had ever bothered to ask before.
She wet her lips, hesitating on the answer. "Sol."
Raven made a noise. Of course. "Like the sun."
Latin.
Did Grounders read Latin? Did they even read at all?
Possibly. Luna had mentioned the language earlier when they were having lunch. And she'd said something about Titus and books so. . .
Raven was beginning to think that her lack of interest in Luna's culture was a misstep on her part. She was feeling kind of behind, struggling to catch up to a worldview that was completely foreign to her.
She was used to being prepared. Having at least most of the answers if not all of them. She was used to knowing her shit.
But she didn't know shit about the Grounders, or what Luna's life could have been like.
Until now.
The surprise in Luna's eyes grew at her insight and she smiled a little. "Yes."
Raven remembered the tender way she'd touched the scar her brother had given her. She wondered suddenly if that was the only thing Luna had to remember him by.
It was macabre.
They proceeded through the next three rounds in silence before Luna spoke again.
"Nyko helped me after I ran away." Raven blinked, once again thrown by the subject change. Right. Nyko. The reason they were having this conversation in the first place. "He shouldn't have, but he did. I could never repay him for that." Luna squeezed the pawn in her hand a moment. "And now that he's dead, I suppose I never will."
Well, shit.
Seeming to read the direction of her thoughts, Luna shook her head. "It's okay. We weren't close."
Raven very much doubted that. The interactions she'd seen between them conveyed nothing but closeness.
Either, Luna was trying to disconnect herself from the hurt of that, from feeling the full extent of his loss, or she was attempting to downplay her pain in order to make Raven feel better.
With all she knew about Luna so far, she had a sneaking suspicion it was more likely to be the latter.
"Yeah, you were."
Luna faltered slightly in the process of picking up her bishop. "Maybe. But we rarely saw each other. His absence from my life is something I'm more than used to." She put the bishop back down. "I loved him. But I can live without him."
Didn't mean it didn't still fucking hurt.
Just because you could live without someone didn't mean you wanted to, or that it was easy.
"Why were you guys so close?"
"My father was his brother," Luna started. Raven furrowed her brow, listening closely. "But as I said, family relations matter very little to a nightblood. Or, at least," she smiled somewhat wryly "that's the way it's supposed to be. Real life doesn't always work out like that." Her smile grew when she saw Raven move her horse and, fuck, now she felt like she'd made a mistake. "I barely interacted with him as a child. Though, he did patch up more than a few of my injuries - just as he told you." She shrugged. "I think he felt a duty to me because of my father."
"What happened to your father?"
She studied the board a moment. "He won his Conclave. Became Commander. For a while."
So. Dead.
"And your mother?" She was almost afraid to ask.
"She died from complications brought about by our birth." Her head tilted to the side, thoughtful. "Perhaps that was another reason Nyko wanted to help me." At Raven's questioning look, "He was there, delivered us. But he couldn't help her. Couldn't save her."
And the hits just kept coming. Raven blinked. "I'm sorry."
It felt entirely inadequate but Luna gave another shrug, seemingly unbothered.
Unlike before when they were talking about Nyko's death, Raven felt slightly more confident that this particular display of nonchalance, at least, was genuine.
"I don't feel one way or the other about it. She was a nightblood, so she likely would have died soon anyway. They held a Conclave a week after I was born. I never would have been allowed to have her in my life, regardless. That's how it works. Dead or alive, nightblood or no nightblood, she would always have been a stranger to me." Luna hesitated. "Though, I'm not sure her death was a worthy trade, considering the fate of her children. The world is better off without more nightbloods."
"That's not true," Raven interjected with a frown. "I mean, just look at what we're dealing with now. Your blood might be the only thing that can save all of us. That's point one for nightbloods in my book."
Luna's expression was unmoved.
"I think you would feel differently if you understood the price that comes with having this blood. Lived it." Raven opened her mouth to protest, but she continued. "But Nyko would have agreed with you. He had that same view of things."
"You said he helped you after you ran away?"
Luna nodded. "He sheltered me after I fled my Conclave. I had nowhere to go, by law he should have turned me over to the Fleimkepas to face punishment but he hid me for weeks. Gave me supplies. And later he. . ." She shook her head. "Well, I've always been able to rely upon him in times of need. It's why I sought him out when my clan started dying. I didn't want to come to you for help. Not after everything that had happened the last time our people crossed paths." Her eyes lifted, connecting with Raven's. "But he told me you could be trusted."
"We can be," Raven promised. "I'm sorry we couldn't save your people. If there'd been a way. . ." She thought of the medicine that she'd refused to spare. She couldn't regret it. Logically, it had been the smart thing to do. And she knew, knew it wouldn't have been of any help to them. But she still felt terrible about it. Especially looking at Luna now.
But Luna shook her head. "That wasn't your fault. If anything, it was mine. If I hadn't isolated them out at sea with only fish to survive on. . . they never would have gotten sick in the first place."
Oh hell, not this again.
Raven rolled her eyes. "And if I hadn't helped to destroy A.L.L.I.E., maybe nobody would be getting sick or we'd all be living it up in the City of Light. Don't play the 'what if' game with me, I'm also someone who hates to lose and I will beat you."
Luna's smile was faint but real. "I think you made the right decision in regards to A.L.I.E. What she did to my people. . ." Her lips parted a moment as she gazed down at the piece in her hand. "They slaughtered each other. They would have cut Adria's throat, a girl many of them had known since she was a small child. They tortured me, and Derrick. . ." She shook her head, face a mask of disbelief. "Something that can do that to someone, can never be allowed to exist. Forcing people to kill the ones they love. . ." Another shake of her head, this one more adamant, decided. "I've fought against a world in which that happens ever since I was thirteen." She offered Raven a small smile. "You did the right thing. At least, from where I'm sitting."
Raven smiled back, appreciating that. It would be a lie to say she had no conflict over the choice. That she hadn't wondered. Especially when she'd had to stand by and watch a little girl die in agony, incapable of doing anything to help her. But then all she had to do was remember the scars on her arms, the ticking clock in her head, hastily counting down to zero. And the conflict left.
"I know." She frowned. "Honestly, being under A.L.I.E.'s control isn't something I'll ever forget. I wouldn't wish that experience on my worst enemy."
Luna hesitated. "Were you aware the entire time?"
She seemed almost afraid of the answer and Raven thought back to what Bellamy and Jasper had told her about what happened on that oil rig. What Luna had been forced to do to her own people. She shook her head. "I was aware, but I wasn't me. At the time, I actually felt good. It's the aftermath that's hard to swallow." She offered a smile she hoped was comforting. "I don't think your people suffered, Luna. They never had the chance. They were still under her control when they died."
Luna took a breath, not looking entirely convinced, but nodded, returning the smile, albeit weakly. The gratefulness in her eyes, however, shone through. "Thankyou, Raven."
She resisted the urge to reach out and take her hand. "It's the truth."
Luna's smile twitched, becoming fuller for a moment before she exhaled, gaze returning to the board. "I feel bad for beating you now."
Raven snorted. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves-" then her eyes caught the castle Luna was moving, widening at where she placed it. She searched around for a possible error or escape route. "What the fuck?"
"You got distracted." The smile on Luna's face had become small again but there was a glimmer of amusement to it now, a playfulness. "Checkmate."
Raven narrowed her eyes. "Did you just share a bunch of tragic backstory in order to win a game of chess?"
Luna's smile grew. "I did warn you that I hate to lose. What I may have failed to mention is that I was always considered the most ruthless of the novitiates."
Raven continued to stare at her in disbelief.
She shrugged. "People tend to underestimate me. I've learnt to use that to my advantage."
That sparked something inside Raven. She'd experienced the very same thing for most of her life.
That didn't make Luna's smug smile any easier to bear, though.
"You're welcome to try the same tactic on me in the future," she said breezily, eyes twinkling. "Share your pain."
Raven narrowed her eyes. "Why do I feel like you're trying to trick me into some Grounder version of therapy?"
"Maybe because I am."
Her eyes narrowed further. Unbelievable. "You're kind of diabolical, you know."
"It's been said."
Somehow, she had no trouble believing that.
Luna didn't stop smiling for the next ten minutes and Raven hated how it made losing the game of chess seem worth it.
She hated to lose.
But she didn't mind losing to Luna.
Fuck.
It was then Raven realized that Luna had somehow managed to distract her from her quest to save humanity for almost a full hour.
Double fuck.
It was becoming increasingly clear that Luna was more dangerous than she'd first assumed.
A/N: the next two chapters are in Luna's POV and they also deal with the Conclave/her training.
Also, if you remember/have the time I would absolutely love if you told me what paragraphs/sections you like best in a chapter cos I post bits to instagram to sort of advertising the fic but it's hard for me to know which bits are most appealing. It's also just really interesting for me as a writer to see what people like the most.
