Chapter 32: The Luna's Accession

Lyra

I smoothed the sleek fabric of my designer gown, the lavish ivory garment whispering against my trembling fingers. My heart thundered in my chest like a caged bird desperately beating its wings, trying to escape the snare of doubt and dread enveloping me.

Would it be fine? To crown the Enemy as Luna?

This grand ballroom of the Blackmoon Estate should have inspired awe, yet all I felt was an icy grip of fear. The polished marble floors and towering crystal chandeliers gazed down with silent condemnation as I paced the anteroom, awaiting the call to begin my coronation.

"You look positively radiant, Lyra dear," Kira's gentle voice murmured. The graceful woman glided across the plush carpets, her kind eyes warmly appraising me. As Gabriel's most trusted adviser, and aged healer she had become like a nurturing mother to me. "An absolute vision befitting this new dawn you're ushering in."

I managed a tremulous smile for the elegant older woman who had been my sole ally in these stra