The Missing Luna

Chapter 8: Hope's POV

Trigger warning! This chapter contains explicit torture, gore, murder, and psychological torture. Material that can be sensible for certain readers.

Readers' discretion is advised.

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"I can’t," I whispered, defeated while the tears streamed down my face. "I can’t choose."

Jona didn't stop yelling at me while Elisa cried. I was going to disappoint them; after all they had done, after how they had saved me, I was going to let them down.

Caelan was done waiting; his eyes squinted as he looked at me like I was a worm, something insignificant.

"Fine. Then watch."

Before I could react, he gave a signal, and one of the demons holding Jona unsheathed a blade, pressing it against his throat. Jona gasped, his eyes wide with terror as he struggled against his captor.

"No!" I screamed, the sound ripping from my throat. "Stop! Please!"

"Then choose!" Caelan roared, his voice cutting through my panic like a blade.

"I… I choose…" The words wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. But then I saw the look in Elisa’s eyes—resignation, acceptance. She knew what had to be done and told me, without words, to save Jona.

"Elisa," I finally choked out, my voice barely audible. "Save Jona. Please, save him."

Elisa closed her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek as she nodded. "It’s okay, Hope. … promise me you’ll get out of here."

Caelan’s smile returned, cold and triumphant. He nodded to the demon holding Jona, who released and shoved him to the floor. Jona scrambled away, but he didn’t run. He just stared at Elisa, his face crumpling in despair.

And then, before I could even process what was happening, Caelan drew a blade of his own and, with a swift, merciless motion, plunged it into Elisa’s heart.

She didn’t scream. She just gasped, her eyes locking with mine for a brief, agonizing moment before the light in them faded, and she slumped to the ground, lifeless.

I felt like the world had been ripped out from under me. My body shook with silent sobs, and I wanted to scream, to rage against the world, but nothing came out. It was like I was trapped in a void, the horror of what I had done echoing in my mind over and over again.

Caelan stood over her body, his expression unreadable. "This is what happens when you try to defy me, princess. Remember this moment. Let it burn into your memory."

Jona’s screams pierced the heavy silence in the air after Caelan left. His voice was raw and broken, and each word was a jagged shard that cut through me.

"You killed her!" he howled, his face twisted with grief and rage. "You chose me, and you killed her!"

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. The horror of what I had done was all-consuming, a tidal wave of guilt that crashed over me, drowning me in its relentless surge. I had made the choice. I had sentenced Elisa to death. Her blood was on my hands, and the weight of it was unbearable.

"I didn’t… I didn’t want to," I whispered, the words barely making it past the lump in my throat. "I didn’t know what to do…"

But my excuses felt hollow, even to me. Nothing I said could erase the fact that I had chosen to sacrifice her. I had made the decision, and now I had to live with it.

"She trusted you!" Jona shouted, his voice cracking with the force of his grief. "She told you to save me, but you… you let her die! How could you do that? How could you just… choose?"

His words stabbed at me, each one a fresh wound that bled guilt and shame. I wanted to scream, to tell him that I had no choice, that I was trapped, that Caelan had forced my hand. But deep down, I knew that none of that mattered. The choice had been mine, and Elisa was gone because of it.

"I’m sorry," I choked out, my voice trembling. "I’m so sorry, Jona… I never wanted this…"

But he wasn’t listening. He was lost in his grief, his sobs shaking his body as he knelt beside Elisa’s lifeless form. He cradled her in his arms, rocking back and forth as if that could somehow bring her back.

My heart shattered all over again as I watched him. I wanted to reach out, to comfort him, but I couldn’t move. I was frozen, paralyzed by the guilt that clung to me like a suffocating fog. The room felt too small and dark, and the walls seemed to close around me.

I killed her.

The thought echoed in my mind, relentless, merciless. It wasn’t Caelan who had driven the knife into her heart—it was me. I had chosen. I had decided. And now, the weight of that decision crushed me, suffocating me in its cold, unyielding grip.

"You should have saved her," Jona rasped, his voice hoarse from crying. "You should have let me die. She was the stronger one… she would have made it. But you… you let her die!"

"I’m sorry," I repeated, the words a broken record, meaningless in the face of what I had done.

But Jona didn’t want my apologies. He wanted Elisa back. And I couldn’t give that to him. All I had left were the hollow echoes of my regret and the knowledge that nothing I did would ever undo my choice.

"She didn’t deserve this," Jona murmured, his voice barely audible now, as if the fight had drained out of him completely. "She didn’t deserve to die like this… not because of you."

His words were a knife twisting in my gut. I felt like I was suffocating, the guilt pressing down on me from all sides, threatening to crush me under its weight. I had never felt so helpless, so utterly powerless.

I killed her.

The words repeated in my mind, a cruel mantra I couldn’t escape. I wanted to scream, to tear my hair out, to claw at my own skin until I felt something other than this unbearable guilt. But all I could do was sit there, chained to the chair, my body shaking with silent sobs.

I had been so sure of myself, so confident that I could outsmart Caelan and escape this place and save the people I cared about. But I had failed. I had failed Elisa, and I had failed myself.

Caelan had won. He had broken me in the most brutal way possible, and there was no coming back from this.

You killed her; you are weak, Hope.

I was weak; if only I had been stronger, I could have saved them, but instead, I had to watch them die.

You did this, she said again. You’re the reason she’s dead. You chose wrong. You failed.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out, but the voice grew louder, echoing in the hollow spaces of my mind.

You were supposed to be strong. You were supposed to save them. But you couldn’t even do that, could you?

The door creaked open, and I tensed, every muscle in my body going rigid. Cat strolled into the room, his steps light, almost casual, as if returning from a pleasant walk rather than entering a horror scene.

Cat is an asshole, too; everyone here was one. Everyone except Elisa and Jona, and I was the reason one of them was dead.

“Well, well,” he drawled, surveying the room with a smirk. “What a touching reunion. Almost brings a tear to my eye.” He glanced down at Jona, his expression darkening with something cold and predatory.

“Get away from him,” I whispered, though my voice was weak, barely more than a rasp. I wanted to scream at Cat, to fight, but I had no strength left. I was empty, hollowed out by guilt and despair.

Cat ignored me, his eyes narrowing as he approached Jona. “You know, I never liked you, Jona,” he said conversationally, twirling a blade between his fingers. “Always skulking around, pretending to be so noble, so righteous. But you’re just like the rest of them. A coward.”

Jona didn’t move, didn’t react. He was too consumed by grief to even register Cat’s presence. I could see the life draining out of him; his spirit shattered beyond repair.

You did this, the voice in my head hissed again. You killed her, and now you’re going to lose him, too. Your decision didn't save anyone; it condemned both.

“Leave him alone,” I tried to shout, but my voice cracked, the words coming out weak and pitiful. Cat glanced at me, his smirk widening as he saw how broken I was.

“Oh, princess,” he said with mock sympathy, “You’re really not in a position to make demands, are you?” He crouched down beside Jona, his movements slow and deliberate, savoring the moment.

Without warning, Cat plunged the blade into Jona’s back. The sound of metal tearing through flesh was sickening, a wet, crunching noise that echoed in the room. Jona’s body jerked, a strangled gasp escaping his lips as he collapsed fully onto Elisa.

“No!” I screamed, the word tearing from my throat with a rawness that burned. But it was too late. Jona’s body went still, his eyes wide and glassy, staring at nothing. He was gone.

See? You did nothing.

Cat stood up, wiping the blood off his blade with a casual flick of his wrist. “Oops,” he said, feigning innocence though the wicked gleam in his eyes told the truth. “Looks like he didn’t make it. What a shame.”

I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. The world tilted around me, a whirl of dark, suffocating despair. Jona was dead. Elisa was dead. And it was all my fault. I had failed them both. I had been so sure of myself that I could outsmart Caelan, escape this place, and save the people I cared about. But I had failed. I had failed Elisa, and I had failed myself.

Caelan had won. He had broken me in the most brutal way possible, and there was no coming back from this.

You’re nothing, Hope, the voice whispered, softer now. Why was she so evil? Nothing but a broken little girl who thought she could be strong. But you were wrong. You were always wrong.

Tears blurred my vision, spilling down my cheeks unchecked. The pain in my chest was unbearable, a crushing weight that made it impossible to breathe. The bond with Caelan, the twisted connection that should have repulsed me, now felt like chains tightening around my soul, pulling me deeper into the abyss.

This is what you deserve, the voice continued, relentless. This is what happens when you think you can fight fate. You lose everything.

I looked down at the bodies of Elisa and Jona, their lifeless forms tangled together in a grotesque parody of peace. My stomach churned, and I turned away, unable to bear the sight any longer. But the image was burned into my mind, a permanent scar that would never fade.

Cat sheathed his blade, his smirk still in place as he walked toward the door. “Don’t worry, princess,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m sure Caelan will find a way to cheer you up. He’s got plenty more surprises in store for you.”

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving me alone in the suffocating darkness. The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of my ragged breathing and my heart pounding.

You’re alone now, the voice whispered, a cruel reminder of the truth. No one’s coming to save you. No one ever will.

No one was coming to save me; I was utterly alone, a failure, and didn't deserve a mate; that is why the Moon Goddess paired me up with someone so evil because I didn't deserve a chance in love. I was not my mother or father; I believed I was a princess, but I was nothing.

Nothing...