Chapter 173: The High Luna Forgives Herself

The High Luna handed Nova a glass of white wine and Maria a glass of red, then turned back to the credenza to pour her own.

"Thank you, High Luna." Nova took it with her good hand.

She wasn’t sure what to make of the color difference.

Maria looked at Nova’s glass, then at her own. She took a sip of hers and mouthed, this is good, to Nova.

Nova lifted hers to her nose, brows creasing.

Alpha Thunderfang stiffened next to her just as the scent registered and plucked it out of her hand. "Gran. What is this?"

It smelled like dish soap. Nova knew that smell.

"Oh my." The High Luna called it across the room without turning. "Does Nancy not care for her wine?"

Maria’s eyes went so wide the whites were visible from across the room. Tavian took a drink of his own whiskey so large it could have been classified as medicinal.

"I’m holding it. It smells funny, Gran."

The High Luna spun around, squinted at the glass in her grandson’s hand. "Oh, dear. I think I might need my eyes checked. You’re right. That one was meant to be washed, not poured."

Maria’s glass froze halfway to her lips. She looked at Nova’s swapped wine. Looked at her own. Took a very deliberate sniff of hers before committing to another sip.

Tavian stared at the floor, wearing the expression of a man confirming for himself that this was, in fact, real life.

"Nova, Gran," Alpha Thunderfang stated.

"Nancy. That’s what I said."

"There we are." The High Luna handed another glass of white wine to Nova but Alpha Thunderfang intercepted it before she could take it.

He sniffed it. Took a sip. Then handed it to Nova.

"Oh, stop being dramatic." The High Luna waved Alpha Thunderfang off. "You’re making a spectacle in front of guests. Were you raised in a barn? You were not. I raised you. Honestly."

Tavian watched his Alpha taste-test a glass of wine for poison in front of his own grandmother and his face said this is where we are now.

Then the High Luna settled back onto her couch, folded her hands, and turned to Nova.

"It has come to my attention that there was some sort of mix-up at the hospital, and I would like to apologize for the confusion." She said it the way a person apologizes for a late hover train they personally scheduled to be late. "We wanted to keep my grandson’s status confidential, you understand, and we had maximum security around it on account of the ongoing investigation."

"There is no investigation, Gran," Alpha Thunderfang cut in.

"Investigations." She corrected him with a raised finger. "He is not the only one, Landon. There are multiple ongoing investigations. Please do keep up, dear."

She turned back to the room.

"I have made my peace with what I did through the Goddess. I have found forgiveness for myself, and I am here to extend that peace downward to you, Nancy."

Tavian’s hand came up and covered his entire face. Not his mouth. His entire face. Maria pulled it off his face and held it.

The High Luna did not see. She pressed a hand briefly to her own chest, and closed her eyes, the gesture of a woman reporting her personal growth. "I feel much lighter. You’re welcome."

Then she pivoted to Maria.

"Anyway. I am sorry that you got caught up in all of it, dear. The last thing Thunderfang wants is an Emberclaw princess sitting in one of our cells."

"That’s alright, High Luna," Maria managed.

The High Luna clapped once, brisk. "Well. Now that we have all that taken care of—"

"Gran."

This was, without contest, the most uncomfortable apology Nova had ever been present for. It was also the first apology she’d ever received, but she had a strong suspicion this one was going to top the list for a long while.

The High Luna turned to Nova.

"Nancy." She folded her hands.

"Nova," Alpha Thunderfang corrected.

"Nova," she began, not acknowledging Alpha Thunderfang. "I am sorry that you are the prime suspect in an attempted murder investigation of my grandson, after he turned gold from touching you and fell into a coma and the east wing of my keep caught fire." She delivered the clause like a weather report. "The SWAT deployment was correct, of course. One does not leave a comatose Alpha unguarded against a known threat. But I’ll grant you the execution lacked grace. I asked them to be gentle, and I was informed by my Landon that they left bruises on your arms regardless, and for the ugliness of those bruises, I am sorry."

"That was not what we discussed." Alpha Thunderfang’s voice carried the patience of a man who had rehearsed this conversation with his grandmother and was watching her go off script in real time.

"I am sorry for the arrest. I am sorry for the bruises. I should not have sent armed officers after an unarmed woman with an injured shoulder." She paused, warming to it. "I do hope this serves as a lesson to you, Nancy. One should not sneak into places. Had you simply not tried to sneak into that room, the armed men never would have happened at all. And I hope it serves as a second lesson, on the matter of sneaking around the system. If there had been proper documentation on you, a holo-credential, a surname anyone recognized, you would not have read as nearly so suspicious. You really did bring a great deal of this on yourself, dear. I say that with love."

Tavian closed his eyes, retreating into the darkness.

"Nova," Alpha Thunderfang said.

"What?"

"Her name. Is Nova."

The High Luna blinked once. "Of course. Nova."

"She was not sneaking into a hospital. She was going to see her mate, and you had her arrested. She didn’t have a holo-credential because slaves aren’t given them and Thunderfang registered her under what the Moonfire gave us. The system failed her. You accusing her of trying to sneak around something is the most ridiculous thing in that entire apology. Try again."

Tavian opened his eyes. Maria released a breath. Both of them watched Alpha Thunderfang correct his grandmother with the shared relief of two people who had been waiting for the adult in the room to arrive.

A silence stretched long enough for the High Luna to understand that the next words out of her mouth were going to be evaluated by a man who was not going to ask a third time.

"Nova. I apologize. Without caveat. Without condition. The arrest was my doing. The bruises were my doing. The circumstances that made you vulnerable were my doing. None of it was your fault. I was wrong." She sat perfectly still. "I would like to stop apologizing now, if that is permitted."