The Hidden Luna Queen



"Yes," he finally chimed in, addressing the visibly disappointed clerk. "I'm afraid I'm useless when it comes to fashion or jewelry, so I thought I'd enlist the help of His Highness and his... remarkable intuition."

He... could have been more convincing, but his performance would have to suffice for now.

The clerk exchanged a look with one of his colleagues out of the corner of my eye. It was more than apparent he

was still very skeptical, but to his credit, he didn't press the matter with us any further.

*Forgive me, sir," he said with a smile before turning to Burke. "What style of ring are you looking for?"

Burke looked pitifully lost."... Where does one begin?"

"How about we start with the band of the ring? We have gold, stainless steel, rose-gold.."

Burke peered at me. "What do you think, Xaden?"

"Well," I hummed, pretending to appear disinterested, "you can never go wrong with silver."

He nodded, following my lead.

*Are you... sure?" the clerk questioned with some worry. "You would fare much better with stainless steel or even titanium."

Silver was, unfortunately, a rare metal in our lands and, even so, one that was scarcely used. Most werewolves had some minor aversion to such a pure substance-a flaw even the Moon Goddess herself couldn't reverse. But it mattered not.

If silver was what Maeve wanted, she would get it.

"No, he's right," Burke interjected. "My intended happens to love silver."

After a moment, the clerk slowly nodded. "Silver, it is."

He then led us to a corner of the store with a small selection of silver rings. He offered to pull out every single one for us to inspect, but, while they were all beautiful in their own way, they weren't what I envisioned giving to Maeve.

That was, until one ring, in particular, caught my eye.

It was small... a mere fragment compared to that which Isabelle wore, but it wasn't the size that stood out to me. It was the iridescent gemstone attached to the simple silver band. The same shade of blue that swirled deep in Maeve's eyes shone from one angel, interwoven with the same violet that glowed in her mother's one-of-a-kind crystal at another angel.

I saw Maeve in this ring, and I was... mystified.

"That," the clerk said, noticing my intense focus, "is cut from one of the most rare gems in our stock." He pulled out the ring from the glass case with careful, steady hands and held it up for us to take a closer look. "Behold, the Amethyst of Artemis."

"It's beautiful," Burke commented from somewhere beside me. "And you say it's rare?"

The clerk nodded emphatically, leaning in close as if to tell a forbidden secret. "They say it was mined in a country of ages past, whose people haven't been seen in generations," he murmured, gazing intently between the two of us and the gem. "What you see here is likely one of the last remaining remnants of a long-missing civilization."

That sounded a lot like a bullshit story for naive customers. The things a desperate clerk would come up with to sell precious, lovely merchandise such as this were limitless. But, still, for some reason...Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I couldn't take my eyes off this ring.

There was a prolonged moment of silence before the clerk broke it by clearing his throat. "Shall I take the silence to mean you like it?"

It was astonishing, but I was actually at a loss for words. What could one possibly say when they found the perfect ring for their mate?

"You know what?" Burke suddenly said. "I think this is the one. I'll take it."

"And I'll pay for it," I interjected, startling the clerk. "It's a gift to my friend and his betrothed." I smiled, mostly to myself. "May they always be happy together."