<h4>Chapter 221: Don’t Fold Her</h4>
"Your Highness, I strongly rmend we get you to the royal clinic now!" Doctor Thessa interjected, rushing forward. Her gloves were stained with a sheen of blood. "Your body is trying to deliver. You won’t be able to dy much longer."
Luna’s eyes flickered toward Thessa but didn’t soften. "I would rather die than bring this child into a world that wants to kill it."
Her words were volcanic. Cold on the surface, but filled with explosive grief just beneath. Her entire body trembled from the sheer, unbearable injustice. She could feel the baby moving within her, her womb aching with pressure. And yet, the child’s very existence was now a death sentence.
And still, no one offered a solution.
No one offered to save it.
Damien was done listening to the madness. After everything, she would not end it like this.
She was not going to die on him.
He moved without warning.
In a fluid, lightning-fast motion, he scooped her up into his arms, one powerful arm beneath her thighs, the other curled protectively around her back. Her weight pressed against his chest, her belly rounding between them.
"Your Highness, be careful! Don’t fold her!" Doctor Thessa gasped, reaching out as if she could somehow stabilize the impossible.
Damien ignored her.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Luna snapped, furious. Her hands pressed against his chest instinctively, her re zing.
"Taking you to the clinic."
Her heart pounded against him.
She knew he wouldn’t let her go.
"You don’t get to make this decision!" Luna hissed, even as another contraction hit her. Her nails dug into his shoulder, anchoring herself against the pain.
"You stopped making sense when you chose death over our child." His eyes met hers, and the fire there matched her own.
And then he was walking. Past the doctor, past his father, down the corridor.
Behind them, Doctor Thessa scrambled to follow.
Luna gritted her teeth as another surge of pain spread through her belly.
"Damien, please, I just need to get out of here."
The steps of the pce blurred beneath them as Damien descended, holding her tightly in his arms.
Damien didn’t slow. He tightened his hold, the muscles in his arms straining with determination.
"You are not dying on my watch."
Outside the house, Talon and Kyllian were just arriving.
"Of course, he is here," Damien muttered under his breath with a snarl, his jaw clenched hard.
Luna turned toward him. her eyes pleading. Her breath hitched as she fought through another wave of pain, her belly rock-hard against Damien’s hold. "Kyllian! Help me, please."
And just like that, Kyllian was gone from Talon’s side and in Damien’s face. His presence radiated protectiveness, his dark eyes shing.
"I suggest you put the princess down, King Damien," he said, his body bristling.
Damien’s grip on Luna didn’t loosen.
"It’s Queen Luna to you."
"She is still our princess," Kyllian snapped, the edge of a growl in his tone. He took a step forward, but Damien didn’t move back. The two men stood chest to chest now.
"Kyllian, now is not the time," Damien warned. "I do not have the patience for your inted need to show you are more capable than I am, because you are not. Get the fuck out of my way!"
Luna turned to Damien, her gaze locking with his, soft and agonizing. "I will have the baby, Damien. Just not here. I need to protect this child first."
Damien set her gently on her feet, his hands lingering at her waist as if his body refused to let go. Luna wavered slightly, but Damien steadied her with one arm and with the other, he cradled the back of her head and kissed her.
His fingers tangled in her hair, tugging just enough to ground her, to say you are mine without needing words.
"I love you," he murmured against her lips, hoarse and full of the pain he didn’t have time to show.
"The fight is up to you now. Finish it," she said. "Gabriel cannot get the throne. Find something—anything—to bury him, and the council may rethink their decision. I will keep the baby safe, but you, only you, can bring both of us back home."
Damien nodded, jaw locked in stone, eyes gleaming with fire. He would.
"Go."
The word was gravel, torn from his throat.
Kyllian reached for Luna. His arm extended instinctively to help steady her weakened form—but before his fingers touched her, a sharp growl shattered the air.
"Get your paws off my wife!" Damien barked.
Kyllian dropped his hand wordlessly, stepping aside.
Damien’s warning was crystal clear: Touch her again, and you’ll lose that hand.
Seeing the growing tension, Damien turned to Talon.
"Take her into the car."
Talon responded and moved. His arms were gentle as he supported Luna, helping her shuffle to the open door. Her breath was getting shorter, the contractionsing closer, the child within her demanding entry into a world already stacked against it.
Damien’s eyes turned to Doctor Thessa. "Go with her."
Thessa nodded immediately. "Of course, Your Highness."
As soon as Luna and Thessa were inside, Talon closed the door.
Talon turned, preparing to step into the driver’s seat.
Damien was already behind him.
Their eyes met.
"Talon..." Damien began.
But Talon cut him off.
"I will protect her with my life."
Damien nced at his wife onest time through the retreating car window, watching as the transport carrying his world slipped beyond the gates. The taste of Luna’s lips still lingered on his mouth, and the sound of her pain echoed in his ears. He turned to his father, the old king standing just a few feet away.
"Gabriel is going to pay for every single thing he has done to my wife, and he will pay painfully."
"Do not let rage consume you, Damien," Luciver said, stepping forward. "If you want to do this, do this right. Your child and wife depend on only strategic decisions."
"You should have taken him down long ago, father," he said. "I inherited your problems along with the throne."
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