98

“What?” Layla gasped, dropping her hand from his face. He killed the former moon child?!

“I told you you would hate me.” Alaric sighed as he stood up and walked to one of the paintings on the wall. “But it’s true. I killed the previous moon child, the one before you, and betrayed my best friend.”

“H-how?” She whispered, clutching her skirt.

“Ashton was my childhood best friend. We both got into Nox-Luminis as elite students, graduated, and even explored the human world together. When we returned to this world for a break and to be given our duke title, he suddenly began to act… strange. Distant. Like he was hiding something.” He explained, running his hand on the edge of the painting. It was that of a boat in the middle of a calm sea on a beautiful sunny day, a stark contrast to the current mood in the room.

“After months of probing and grilling him for his behaviour, he decided to confide in me. He took me to the rebel base, showed me the moon child, Nyx, and revealed that he was her