Book 5: Portrait of a Queen

Maddy

Once a Luna, always a Luna, at least that’s how I perceive the woman sitting across from me in a high back armchair. Soft afternoon sunlight makes her glow a pale gold, an aura nearly the same color as her long, silken blonde hair. Her eyes are exactly like Isaac’s, and it gives me a start to look directly into them. I’m sitting before a goddess–kind and warm–and I am no one, yet I’m taking her place.

“Isaac says your parents are no longer alive, but you have a stepmother and stepsister. Will you be inviting them to the wedding, now that we’ve… been given more time?” She blushes a bit, which surprises me. I don’t know what was said before I came into the room, but it’s almost as if she feels guilty for throwing off the rushed order of things.

“Oh, them,” I sigh, unable to stop myself. I meet her eyes, blue gems behind gold dusted lashes. “We’re not close.”

“How come?”

I grit my teeth in an effort to stop myself from speaking befor