The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven novel Chapter 680

Chapter 680: Last Moments

[Third Person].

The night before the war was quieter than expected.

The palace, though fully aware of what awaited at dawn, did not fall into chaos. Instead, it settled into a strange calm, as though everyone had reached the same unspoken understanding—there was nothing more to prepare, nothing more to delay.

Only to face what was coming.

In one of the private sitting rooms, Meredith and Draven sat across from each other, a map spread between them. The candles burned low, their light steady, casting soft shadows across the table.

They had already gone over the formations twice. Yet neither of them moved to roll the map away.

"If the eastern flank collapses," Meredith said, her finger resting lightly on the marked terrain, "they will push inward from here."

Draven followed her indication. "Jeffery’s unit is there. He won’t let it break easily."

"He won’t," Meredith agreed, "but if they’re targeting me, they might not need to."

A brief silence followed. Draven leaned back slightly, his gaze shifting from the map to her. "Then they will try to isolate you."

Meredith met his eyes. "Yes."

Neither of them softened the truth.

"That’s why I won’t stay behind the main line," she added. "If I do, I will become the centre of everything again."

Draven nodded once. He had already come to the same conclusion. "If it comes to that," he said after a moment, "you don’t hold your position."

Meredith’s brows drew slightly. "You want me to retreat?"

"I want you alive," he replied calmly.

She held his gaze for a second longer, then shook her head lightly. "If I retreat, they will follow. That only moves the danger somewhere else."

Draven didn’t argue immediately because she wasn’t wrong. A quiet pause settled between them before he spoke again.

"Then if it turns," he said, his voice steady, "we split their focus."

Meredith understood instantly. "You draw them."

"And you break them."

The plan sat between them, dangerous, yet necessary.

Her lips pressed slightly, then eased. "That’s risky."

"So is everything else."

That was true. They both knew it.

Another silence followed, softer this time. Then Meredith spoke, more quietly. "If something happens..."

Draven’s gaze didn’t waver. "It won’t."

"If it does," she continued, "Stormveil comes first."

His jaw tightened faintly, but he didn’t interrupt her.

"You don’t abandon the war for me," she said. "No matter what."

Draven watched her for a long moment before replying. "You are asking me to ignore you."

"I’m asking you to lead," she corrected gently.

That settled more heavily than anything else they had said that night.

After a moment, he nodded once. "Then you do the same." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Meredith didn’t hesitate. "I will."

Their eyes held no dramatics or promises they couldn’t keep. Just understanding.

Then Draven reached across the table and took her hand, his grip firm but calm. "We end this tomorrow or in two days," he said.

Meredith nodded. "We do."

Not long after, a soft knock came at the door. Draven released her hand and said, "Come in."

The door opened, and a maid stepped in quietly. But both of them recognized her immediately.

"Xamira," Meredith said.

The woman stepped forward, then dropped to one knee, her head bowed deeply. "Your Majesty."

She turned slightly, addressing both of them, but her focus remained on Meredith. "I have come to ask for your permission."

Meredith’s expression shifted slightly. "Permission for what?"

Xamira lowered herself further. "To stand with you in this war."

A small, heavy silence followed, then Meredith said, "You owe me nothing."

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