Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 293

Chapter 293

Ashley drove down the high road with both hands tight on the steering wheel, trying to keep her breathing steady even though her heart would not calm down. The road ahead was long and lonely, and every mile she covered carried her closer to Ceenas, closer to Sebastien, and closer to whatever danger was waiting for her there. She knew enough to be afraid. Sebastien was not a man people should approach carelessly: What he had done to Whitewood and Ceenas proved the depth of his evil, and the thought of being alone in his territory made her stomach twist. Still, she did not turn back. She had already made the decision, and pride alone was not what kept her going. She needed to get close to him. She needed to charm her way through if she could, learn what he was hiding, and expose not only his secret but the master behind him.

She knew Sebastien was in Ceenas, and that was where she was heading. There was no reason to stop for food or accommodation because stopping would only give fear more time to talk sense into her. Her mission was clear, even if her safety was not certain. She had gone over it in her head so many times that it now sounded almost simple, but nothing about it felt simple in her chest. Get in. Reach Sebastien. Make him notice her. Find a way to learn the truth. That was the plan. The only problem was that plans

sounded better before one had to risk their life carrying them out.

Ashley called her mother on the road because the silence was beginning to press too hard against her. Leaving Maya behind at the mercy of her father did not sit well with her at all. It felt wrong and selfish, even though she knew dragging her mother into this would have been worse. Maya sounded alright on the phone, and Ashley held on to that small comfort like it was stronger than it really was. Her mother was worried, of course. Ashley could hear it in her voice no matter how gently Maya tried to hide it. No mother would be comfortable knowing her daughter was going into a place taken over by a dangerous man, but Maya did not beg her to turn back. Maybe she understood that Ashley needed to do this. Maybe she was only too afraid to make the fear worse.

“I will stay in touch when I get to Ceenas,” Ashley promised.

“Please be careful, Ashley,” Maya said.

“I will,” Ashley replied, even though she knew being careful might not be enough.

After the call ended, Ashley drove in silence for a while, her mother’s voice staying with her. It made her feel guilty, but it also gave her something to hold on to. She was not only doing this for herself. She was doing it because something had to be done, and because Joseph’s face would not leave her mind. Since he dumped her, she had not been able to live normally. She had not gone out to mingle the way she used to. She had carried the humiliation and the ache like a stone in her chest. Losing the one person she cared about had broken something in her, and she hated that it still had power over her. Maybe if she could do this, if she could crack the case and help him, then the pain would mean something.

By the time Ashley reached the borders of Ceenas, her hands were stiff around the steering wheel. She slowed the truck as the border came into view, and she was not surprised to see the place heavily guarded. That was what happened when a pack was taken over and the new owners wanted to make sure no one took it back. The guards stood like they owned the air itself, hard-eyed, broad-shouldered, and ready to treat every stranger like a problem. Ceenas did not look peaceful. It looked held down. It looked watched. It looked like a pack that had learned quickly that power could change hands, but suffering remained with the people.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna