Chapter 23 - Luna [3/3]
So, he parted his lips to tell her the same thing that every Moroi, and most other Bloodkin, told their child at some point: that the decision was up to them.
Yet… when he actually wanted to give voice to his thoughts, he froze… because a wave of disgust rose up inside him. He blinked in surprise and recoiled a little. "What the… hell?" he muttered, a little bewildered.
Luna snarled, her expression truly worsening now. Finally, she started to wriggle herself away from him a little. "If you thought that was such a ridiculous question, then I'm not interested in continuing this conversation! Please leave! I need to think about my and our child's future!"
Damian instantly panicked a little. He didn't want to react like that; he was just confused about these unfamiliar feelings. He certainly didn't want to leave things like this, as it was obvious Luna was doubting if she even wanted to have him in their child's life.
"W— Wait!" he exclaimed, extending his arm to grab hers before she could get away, but quickly retreating when Luna snarled at him furiously. Obviously he could overpower her, but he didn't want that, so he quickly raised his hands to indicate his surrender.
"You misunderstood!" he quickly explained. "In all honesty, I was going to tell you that I would leave the decision up to our possible daughter, but…" He frowned thoughtfully. "I— I don't think I want that. In fact, I don't think I'd ever want to touch a child of mine in that way. I was merely… surprised by my own feelings."
Luna narrowed her eyes suspiciously but also calmed down a lot. She stopped moving at the edge of the bed and looked at him sceptically. "What the hell are you talking about? I mean, the first option also doesn't interest me, but why the change of mind?"
"I—" muttered with a frown… and then shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. "I think it's the awakening… I've been acting a little strangely in some matters, ever since waking up."
"Hmpf," Luna snorted with narrowed eyes. "I wouldn't say refusing to sleep with your daughter is strange, but… fine."
Relaxing slightly, she now looked at him more calmly. Although she still didn't like the answer he was going to give originally, it wasn't bad either. Surprisingly, that meant her love for him was now rearing its head again, and she felt worried. "So… what do you think is going on…? I mean, you still don't mind doing… things… with your mother and sister, so…?"
Damian sighed, a wry smirk on his lips. "Well… I'm not exactly a Bloodkin anymore, you know. I mean, a part of Bloodkin culture certainly comes from our upbringing, but… it's also in large part due to the quirks of our kin-type. And I guess I don't have those anymore."
"Not exactly, anyway," he continued in a strange tone, as if still unsure how to think about all this. "According to my mother, my new genetic make-up has traits of both Moonkin and Bloodkin. At the same time, my body is clearly awakened, so…"
Luna blinked and looked at him in shock. "Are you… saying you've become a whole new kind of Eldkin?! Like the primogenitors of old?! How?!"
A playful smirk started spreading on Damian's lips, before opening his arms wide, invitingly. "I'll tell you everything I know… But only if you come back to me!"
Luna blinked a few times. And then snorted once again, without saying a word. She narrowed her eyes at him, as if trying to decide what to do; how she thought about him now.
"Come ooooon," Damian drawled charmingly. "You know it was a misunderstanding just now, and I swear on the feelings I bear for my family that I will absolutely not touch our possible daughter in such a way. Everything else is still negotiable, right? So can we just reset?"
Luna stayed silent for another moment, but then took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine…" Resolutely, she crawled back over to Damian and settled back into his chest. At first, she remained a little stiff, but Damian was glad to notice she quickly became comfortable again.
"Alright…" Damian smiled gently. "Here's everything I know…"
So, Damian recounted everything his mother had told him. He knew most of this was supposed to be top secret, but he'd already decided to tell Luna everything. At least, mostly everything. He'd leave out some of the things pertaining to his mother only, as that was Lavinia's story to tell.
In the end, Luna was a woman he loved, and if he wanted to convince her to spend the rest of her life with him, despite his philandering ways, the least he could offer her was honesty.
"So what was on the note?" Luna asked softly when he was near the end. So far, she'd been completely absorbed in the story and had begun to feel compassion for her lover's situation.
"Just some basic information," Damian sighed and shrugged wryly. "I was… created… through the use of the method he'd designed together with Mom, but the effort was a failure, as I still needed a catalyst. In fact, the catalyst he left behind, Nox Aeternum, had been specially made to accommodate my mixed bloodlines."
"What about the reason for this Marcus' wounds?" she then asked, ponderously.
"Nothing," Damian answered with a thoughtful frown. "Which is a little annoying. I can't say I particularly care about his well-being, but if his wounds had anything to do with me, then I'd like to know… Just in case someone is after me."
"Right…" Luna nodded with a hint of worry. Despite the remaining tension that existed between them, she was worried about him. She knew his life would become quite a bit harder due to all this.
Yet, Damian could only smile when he never noticed any hesitation during all this. It didn't seem like she was concerned about her own involvement with him, despite the obvious troubles in his future.
"What about my father, though?" Luna asked, a strange expression on her face. "What did he have to do with all this? Why did he try to awaken you, using my pregnancy as a front?"
"Well, similar to about half this thing, your father's involvement is… still a little unclear," Damian answered, ponderously, before explaining what he knew of it…