Luna's POV
My heart felt like it was being ripped in half.
She doubled over in pain as the Night Realm wizards tried to break her connection to Sunny. Their magic felt like ice-cold needles stabbing through her chest, trying to freeze the warm purple bond that linked her to the boy from her dreams.
Sunny! she screamed in her mind, but his mental voice was getting fainter by the second.
I'm here, he gasped back, and Luna could feel his pain mixing with hers. Don't let them break it!
I'm trying!
But Luna's magic felt weak and scared. Every time the wizards chanted another spell, the bond between her and Sunny stretched thinner, like a rope about to snap.
"Stop fighting us, Princess," said Master Shadowmere, the oldest of the court wizards. "This connection is dangerous. We're trying to save you."
"You're not saving me!" Luna cried, tears streaming down her face. "You're destroying something beautiful!"
Queen Celeste stood in the corner of the room, her face pale and worried. "Luna, darling, please trust us. We know what's best for you."
"No, you don't!" Luna shouted, surprising herself with her anger. "You don't know anything about Sunny or me or what we can do together!"
The pain in her chest suddenly stopped. Luna looked up to see the wizards backing away from her, their faces confused and a little scared.
"The connection is fighting back," whispered Master Moonwhisper, staring at Luna like she had grown extra heads. "It's protecting itself."
"That's impossible," Master Shadowmere said, but he didn't sound sure anymore.
Luna felt the purple bond pulse with warm light, and suddenly she could hear Sunny's voice clearly again.
Are you okay? he asked urgently.
For now. What happened on your side?
The same thing. Their spells stopped working when they tried to break our bond.
Before Luna could reply, her mother stepped forward with a determined expression.
"If we can't break the connection safely," Queen Celeste announced, "then we'll have to try something else. Luna, pack your things. You're leaving the Night Realm tonight."
Luna's blood turned cold. "What? Where are you sending me?"
"Far away from here," her mother replied. "To your Aunt Stella's castle in the Frozen North. It's a thousand miles from the Day Realm border. Maybe distance will weaken the connection naturally."
They're sending me away, Luna thought desperately to Sunny.
Mine too, came his horrified reply. My father just said I'm going to live with my uncle in the Fire Mountains.
Luna felt sick. The Fire Mountains were on the complete opposite side of the world from the Frozen North. If both their families carried out their plans, she and Sunny would be as far apart as it was possible to be.
"Mother, please," Luna begged. "You don't understand. The prophecy we saw—"
"What prophecy?" Queen Celeste's voice was sharp.
Luna realized she had made a terrible mistake. She had been so upset that she forgot her parents didn't know about the visions she and Sunny had shared.
"I... we..." Luna stammered, trying to figure out how to explain without making things worse.
But she was saved from answering by a soft knock on her door.
"Your Majesty," came Captain Starweaver's voice. "Master Shadowmere is needed in the council chamber immediately. The Day Realm has requested an emergency meeting."
Master Shadowmere frowned. "At this hour? What could they possibly want?"
"They claim to have found an ancient text that mentions the bonding between their prince and our princess," Captain Starweaver replied.
Queen Celeste and all the wizards exchanged worried looks.
"Stay here," Queen Celeste told Luna firmly. "Don't try to leave this room. We'll be back soon."
After they left, Luna slumped onto her bed, feeling more alone than she had in her entire life. Even with Sunny's voice in her head, the thought of being sent thousands of miles away made her want to cry forever.
What are we going to do? she thought to him.
I don't know, Sunny admitted. But I have a bad feeling about this meeting between our parents.
Luna was about to ask why when she heard voices in the hallway outside her door. Not her mother's voice, but Captain Starweaver talking to someone quietly.
She crept to the door and pressed her ear against it.
"...found the complete prophecy scroll in the deepest vault," Captain Starweaver was saying. "Both kingdoms' advisors are terrified."
"Why?" asked another voice Luna didn't recognize.
"Because the prophecy doesn't just talk about bonding," Captain Starweaver replied, his voice grim. "It talks about what happens if the bond is broken by force."
Luna's heart stopped. She pressed her ear harder against the door, straining to hear every word.
"The ancient text says that if a prophecy bond is severed against the will of both parties, the magical backlash will kill them both," Captain Starweaver continued. "But if they're allowed to stay connected, the prophecy claims they'll either save both realms... or destroy them completely."
"Which one?" the other voice asked urgently.
"That's the problem. The middle part of the scroll is too damaged to read. Nobody knows if the bonded pair will be saviors or destroyers."
Luna staggered away from the door, her mind reeling. She and Sunny were connected by a prophecy that was either their salvation or their doom. And if their parents tried to break it by sending them far away, they would both die.
Sunny, she thought desperately. Did you hear that?
Every word, his mental voice was tight with fear. Luna, I think our parents are about to make the worst decision possible.
What do you mean?
I can hear voices from the council chamber. They're arguing about whether it's safer to risk us destroying the realms or to guarantee our deaths by breaking the bond.
Luna felt like the world was spinning around her. Her parents were literally deciding whether to let her live or die based on an ancient prophecy that nobody could fully read.
They're scared of us, she realized with growing horror.
Not just scared, Sunny thought back grimly. I think they're going to choose our deaths over the risk of destruction.
Through their bond, Luna felt Sunny's despair mixing with her own. Their families, who were supposed to protect them, were about to make a choice that would kill them both.
And the most terrible part was that Luna wasn't even sure they were wrong.
What if the prophecy really did mean she and Sunny would destroy everything they loved? What if their connection was dangerous?
Don't think like that, Sunny's voice whispered in her mind. Whatever happens, we face it together.
Even if we die?
Even then.
But as Luna heard footsteps returning down the hallway, she wondered if "together" was about to become impossible forever.