The following morning, I blinked.

That familiar haze between sleep and wakefulness dissolved as I registered the horror in front of me. Kael’s gaze was like ice—dead and unblinking.

My vision cleared bit by bit, but I was too stunned to react.

When I regained my senses, I noticed two maids—women I’d seen last night, the ones who’d helped me settle into this strange, cramped chamber, kneeling before me. Their heads bowed low, eyes on the floor, lips trembling.

Then they lifted their hands, pointing directly at me.

“She’s the one who told us to loosen the steps in the west wing stairwell,” one of them said, her voice shaking.

“That’s where Miss Freya slipped and fell.”

“She said it’d only scare her,” another added, tears already brimming.

“We didn’t know she was pregnant…”

My stomach dropped. The words hit like a slap.

“I—I never said anything like that!” I gasped, my throat tight with disbelief. “I didn’t even know she was using those stairs—”

“She nearly lost the baby!” the second maid cried.

My heart plummeted. I could barely breathe—each inhale shallow and tight.

“I—I didn’t do it!” I choked, my voice barely holding together. The accusation was so surreal, so twisted, I couldn’t even begin to form a defense.

But they just kept repeating it, like a rehearsed script they’d been forced to memorize.

That I had crept into the servant quarters just past midnight, offering gold and threats in equal measure, ordering them to loosen the bolts on the west wing stairwell, knowing Freya would pass through there in the morning.

They claimed I warned them to keep quiet… or disappear.

This sounded so absurd and ridiculous!

I collapsed back, hot tears burning at my eyes.

“I wasn’t anywhere else—I’ve been in this room, crying myself to sleep!” My voice shook with desperation.

“How dare you think I would even dream of hurting her?”

Freya sat on the edge of the bed, looking pale and weak.

Her hand hovered protectively over her swelling belly.

Watching her, I tasted bile in my throat.

She was performing sorrow, but she was undeniably expectant.

“I’m certain Freya is behind this!” I snapped, jabbing a finger at her.

“She did this because she wants to destroy me completely! To make me look guilty!” I no longer cared that Kael and the maids would see me break. The ache of betrayal roared so loudly I couldn’t even breathe.

Kael’s jaw clenched slowly. Alone in the charged air of that chamber, he first stared at me—then snapped.

He strode forward, raised his hand, and delivered a brutal slap across my face.

My cheek burned like it had been branded.

Before I could hit the floor, he caught me by the throat, gripping with unyielding strength. His voice was a low growl.

“How dare you lie to me? Do you want to die tonight, Melina?”

Pain packed every bone in my body. My head swam, vision narrowing. I gasped for air through his grip, managed to hook one hand onto his wrist to try and pry free.

Tears pricked my eyes—not fear, but grief so deep it shattered my soul. He believed them. The maids.

He took their claims as gospel. My outrage was eclipsed by something far darker: heartbreak.

Because believing these liars over me—his Luna, the woman he’d loved and married, hurt worse than catching him cheating ever did.

“Freya was with me… in this room… last night!” I rasped, voice ragged.

“She didn’t even speak to those maids! She was too weak to stand on her own two feet!” I pointed at her.

“She was unconscious half the time. You think she’d walk the stairwell? That makes no sense!” I forced words out between sobs.

He tightened his hold on my throat. Veins stood out on his neck. He leaned in, eyes blazing. “Last night, you told me you’d do anything to keep this throne. Would trying to kill my future heir, even killing my baby, be part of that plan, Melina?!”

I shook my head violently, wet tears sliding down my cheeks despite my efforts.

“No. I swear it’s a lie!”

He reeled back and shoved me to the floor.

My body ached with the impact.

I scrambled back up on trembling limbs, whispering desperately, “Kael, please… you know me. Trying to kill someone? Ever?” My voice broke.

But he was already sharp and cold.

“I, Kael Ravenswood, hereby reject you, Melina Knowles, as my mate and Luna. You are officially stripped of your title.”

The words hit me like a blow. Luna no more. Mate no more. My entire world evaporated in that single sentence.