Another Chance for the Luna Queen

Ella POV

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked for the fourth time as we neared the entrance of the dance club.

“I'm 100% sure," I replied, smiling and shaking my head. The cops took the reports. There's nothing more we can do about it tonight. James is going to let Alexander know what happened. I'm not really injured-just a little scraped up and shaken. There's no reason we should cancel the rest of the night.

"But that was so scary," she repeated, her voice trembling slightly.

"I mean that in the nicest way possible," I said, wrapping an arm around Elizabeth and giving her a reassuring squeeze. "I've been through scarier situations."

"You're going to have to tell me about it sometime, 'cause don't really believe you," she teased with a small smile.

"This is your bachelorette party," I declared, smiling broadly. "We're going dancing, we're going to have a great time, and you're going to stop worrying so much, okay?"noveldrama

"I guess," she replied, glancing over her shoulder at our security detail-which was now much more visible than at the start of the night.

As we approached the club, I saw the bouncers recognized Elizabeth, the rope lifted as they waved us all in. Immediately, our conversation was drowned out by the thumping bass of the music blasting through the speakers.

I was grateful for the noise; I knew Elizabeth still felt unsettled by the incident, but trying to reassure her further would only stress me out more. I was fairly certain it wasn't an accident-everyone agreed it was a drunk driver- but I couldn't prove anything.

James, who was more in tune with the latest updates, promptly called Alexander to inform him of the situation. Part of me felt guilty for not calling him myself, but I didn't want to draw more attention. If anyone heard me talking to Alexander, there was a good chance Fiona would pick up on the fact that something else was going on. Rumors were the last thing we needed right now.

So we decided to push through the night and pretend everything was normal. I watched as the rest of the surged onto the dance floor. I turned away and headed to the bar instead.

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I ordered a cola, and while the bartender busied himself preparing more drinks, I absentmindedly picked bits of gravel off my skin. James had saved my life; a bit of road rash was a small price to pay-but it still stung.

I took a long sip of my cola, trying to steady my nerves and push the unsettling events to the back of my mind, even as the pulsing music reminded me that tonight, for now, we were all just trying to have fun.

I was halfway through my drink when Fiona joined me at the bar. She ordered a water and smiled at me, slightly breathless.

"I see you've been tearing up the dance floor," I said, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned. "Oh yeah," she said with a laugh. "If by 'tearing up' you mean stepping on my own feet."

We both laughed, and she turned to look at the floor where he others were still dancing. “We're having a lot of fun out there. You should join us."

"Maybe in a little while," I said uncertainly. "I'm just trying to steady my nerves.'

"That's understandable," she said, offering a knowing smile. She thanked the bartender as they set a bottle of

cold water in front of her. Twisting off the cap, she took a deep drink before glancing at me again.

"Has Alexander called you yet?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, but I'm sure that's because he's trying to be supportive. I feel a little bad-he probably gave poor James an earful."

"He's very protective, isn't he?" she mused. "Carlos is the same way. If that had happened to me, he'd probably be driving around town looking for that creep himself.".

"Really?" I asked, surprised. Carlos had seemed so soft-spoken and nervous when I met him that it was hard to picture such a reaction.

"Oh yeah," she said, nodding enthusiastically. "He's something else when he's mad. I guess that's what makes him so good at his job."

"He's a border guard, right?"

"Sort of," she said with a small shrug. "That's what he likes to tell people because he's a humble man. The truth is, he's a superior officer at the border. He's responsible for a long stretch of it."

My eyes widened at her words. If that was true, then it might explain his reaction to Alexander.

Now that I knew Alexander had contacts at the border-people he essentially bribed to allow him to carry on his work as the Ice King-it made sense that someone in charge of a large section of the border would recognize him and be wary of his presence.

I wondered if Carlos had known about Fiona and Alexander's friendship when they met.

"What?" Fiona asked, drawing my attention back to her. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "I'm just having trouble picturing Carlos in a position of authority like that. He seems like a pretty gentle person."

"He is," she said with a bright smile. "But I'm sure you know from Alexander how complicated powerful men can be sometimes."

I nodded slowly but avoided her eyes. Fiona had no idea just how complicated Alexander truly was-despite their childhood friendship-and it wasn't my place to let on.

I glanced over Fiona's shoulder as a flash of blonde hair caught my eye. My heart lurched, adrenaline surging through my veins. For a split second, my mind screamed Sabrina. But as I focused, my breath steadied-it wasn't her.

"Are you okay?" Fiona asked, her brows knitting together in concern.

I nodded automatically. "Yeah." A pause. "Actually... can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything," she said, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"What do you know about Sabrina?"

Alexander's ex. The name alone carried weight. Fiona blinked, caught off guard. "Sabrina? What about her?" I hesitated, then exhaled slowly. "I know this might sound paranoid, but... I think I've seen her around the capital recently. And I'm worried." I swallowed hard. "Alexander is basically running for King unopposed now that David's been arrested. If someone wanted to sabotage him, she'd be the perfect person to do it."

Fiona's expression turned thoughtful. "I guess that makes sense,” she admitted. "But I'm not sure what kind of dirt she could dig up that would actually hurt him." Then her gaze sharpened. "Have you told Alexander you think

she's in town?"

I shook my head. "It's complicated. I don't want to upset him."

"I get that," she said gently. "But it's probably better to be honest with him."

I nodded slowly. "You're right."

"Well," she said, suddenly shifting her focus over my shoulder. "No time like the present."

Confused, I frowned. "What-"

A warm hand landed on my shoulder. My breath hitched. I turned-and met Alexander's bright, unreadable gaze. His grip wasn't tight, but it held an urgency that sent a chill down my spine.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, his voice quiet but firm. “But you need to come with me."