Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 41

The group was back in the Training Room now, still trying to catch their breath.

Lloyd picked up Lily's hand, staring down at their entwined fingers. "Lily... I have to tell you something..."

Her heart had started to pound against her ribs. "What is it?" She rested her shaking hand against the line of his jaw. "You can tell me anything."

"I just wanted you to know..." he sighed, trying to hide his eyes, tears threatening to spill over.

Lily hesitated, gently moving his head until he looked her in the eyes. His eyes were wide and glistening with fear, but to her they were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. She could get lost in his brown eyes, colored like honey and chocolate. For a moment she wished she didn't have to do anything but stare into them. "What is it Lloyd? Are you okay?"

Lloyd couldn't tear his gaze away from Lily's eyes, those bottomless pools of blue that reflected the entire twilight sky. They were filled with life, staring up at him with terror behind the warm stars. "I just wanted to tell you... that no matter what happens in the coming days..." his voice hitched as the first tear rolled down his cheek and over her hand. He covered her hand with his, tilting his head against it. He sighed, moving his hands to her waist and dropping his head to her shoulder.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his hair. "It's okay Lloyd, we'll be fine, we all will. No matter how the war ends, we'll always be together. All of us."

A sob shook through him, startling her. "I just wanted to tell you... that I love you, Lily. I love you and I don't ever want to see you hurt."

Her eyes widened as she backed up to look him in the eyes. "Lloyd, I... I love you too... and don't worry. Everything is going to be fine, I promise." She tried to smile, but she was shaking too much. She wove her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. She felt him smile against her lips, his grip around her waist tightening.

☆★☆

"The war is official and public now, I hope you all know that. They're calling it the Final War. They say that however this one ends, it'll be the last," Luna explained to her friends, all gathered around the table in the Conference Room. It was finally just them, no trainers, no parents, no newscasters.

Colin scoffed. "Are they serious? What if we lose?"

"We won't," Luna snapped. "We'll fight to the end if we have to, at least I will." She pulled up the blueprints of the Castle of The Eye, staring at it with a blank look in her eyes. She was on edge, her shoulders tense and her vision blurry. "I think I have a plan." She blinked a few times, trying to focus on her friends. "The DoSD wants us to shut things down from the inside, before the final battle starts. It'll be hard, and we'll have to be careful, more careful than we have been, but I think we can pull it off." Her stomach was burning with guilt. She knew she was endangering everyone around her, but she didn't want to have to believe it. They were all pawns in the plan of the universe. In the grand scheme, they were expendable. Luna knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if anything happened to any of her friends. If she lost someone... if it was her fault... She didn't want to be there. She didn't want any of them to be there. They should be at the park, or at the movies, or playing video games in Colin's basement with Trae, or eating ice cream at the arcade... Luna wished she could snap her fingers and fix everything. She wished she had just said no to Cleo. She wished....

"Luna, are you okay?" Harper's voice drifted through her thoughts. "Luna, breathe."

Luna noticed she had started shaking. "I-I-I," she stammered. "I was just-"