Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 384

Chapter 384: Illusion

Eve

Montegue’s expression was unreadable as he walked beside me, his silence louder than most screams.

The kind that came after the breaking point.

I pitied him, but the unexpected incident had just stoked the flames of urgency to get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on.

"Bring in Council-grade warding equipment," he barked to one of the guards. "I want my Manor scanned room by room. Floor by floor. Nothing leaves, nothing enters without my permission. No servant steps inside until I say so."

"Yes, sir."

I pulled my arms tighter around Elliot and quickened my pace. The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly before us, the Tower now feeling colder than it had ever been.

"She never stood a chance," Montegue murmured suddenly. "Lucinda. She walked in there thinking she could see her daughter, speak to her like a mother would... and that thing wrapped around her soul like smoke."

I hoped it were that simple, that this ’spell’ could be broken.

I looked at him carefully. "She tried to fight it. That still means something."

"It means we’ve underestimated Felicia," he said bitterly. "Again."

The elevator ride was excruciating.

By the time we reached the parking lot, transport was already waiting. A black obsidian car sat idling at the gates, sleek, warded, reinforced. Gammas lined the perimeter.

I buckled Elliot in beside me. He clung to my hand silently, his green eyes wide and glassy, still too quiet for his age. Still too haunted.

I knew my son.

I could tell exactly what he was thinking right this moment.

He felt guilt; he blamed himself.

I smoothed down his hair and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "It’s not your fault," I whispered before pulling away.

Montegue slid into the seat across from us.

I met his gaze. "When we get there, I want to search her room first."

He nodded. "You’ll have it. I’ve already told them to unlock everything."

The ride through Obsidian Capital was a blur of motion and memory. Every turn reminded me of that day at the Tower, the explosion, the blood, the chaos. People were on the streets, as expected, with banners and signs, protesting.

"Where is the transparency?"

"Power without protection is tyranny."

I closed my eyes, unwilling to torture myself or let my heart sink even further.

And I couldn’t shake the feeling that something still lingered just beneath the surface. Waiting. Watching.

The gates of Montegue Manor creaked open like the jaws of a beast.

The grounds were eerily still. No welcoming steward. No servants in sight. Even the ever-burning hearths at the entrance had been extinguished.

"Why is it so quiet?" I asked.

Montegue stepped out first, hand already on his dagger. "Because I gave the order hours ago. Everyone out. Every last one of them."

I exited the vehicle with Elliot, holding him close. The wind bit at my cloak.

"Bring Lucinda here as soon as she stabilizes," Montegue added to one of the guards. "She’ll be safest behind my personal wards. If anyone even breathes wrong in this house, I want them detained."

He turned to me. "Ready?"

I nodded.

We entered the Manor. It was cold. Not just in temperature, but in presence, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. Or maybe it was all in my head.

"I don’t like this," Rhea whispered in my mind.

Neither did I.

The portraits seemed to watch us as we passed. Echoes of power, pride, and secrets clung to every inch of the ancestral halls. Somewhere in this house, Felicia had hidden something. Or someone.

Montegue stepped closer to the vanity, his eyes narrowing. "That’s not natural," he muttered. "I can feel it in my bones." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

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