Chapter 34

  Bonds and Projects

  Jade caught up with Luna near the supply carts, where the princess was checking the contents like she was looking for a hidden battle plan.

  “You walk away like that and leave him looking like a kicked puppy,” Jade said, leaning against the wagon.

  Luna didn’t look up. “I did no such thing.”

  “Oh, you so did.” Jade’s grin was sharp. “You’ve got that little flutter in your chest when he talks to you. Don’t try to deny it.”

  “That’s absurd,” Luna muttered, eyes fixed on a sack of flour as though it might explode if she looked away. “He’s a soldier. I need him for his skill, nothing more.”

  “Uh-huh.” Jade folded her arms. “And the way your eyes keep finding him every time he moves? That’s totally just you… what, tracking troop positions?”

  “I have responsibilities,” Luna said, voice tight.

  “Which is exactly why I’m telling you—don’t waste a man like that. He’s risking his life for you, and not just because you’re his ‘leader.’” Jade’s tone softened, though a sly glint lingered in her eyes. “You might be surprised how far he’d go for you, personally.”

  Luna hesitated, lips parting without words.

  Jade leaned in and whispered with a wicked smirk, “And if you don’t make a move soon… well, I might just claim him for myself.”

  Luna’s head snapped toward her, cheeks warming—and that’s when Lux’s shadow fell over them.

  “Claim me for what?” Lux asked, glancing between them with that same calm, soldier’s expression he always wore—completely missing the undercurrent.

  Luna’s back went ramrod straight. “N–nothing of consequence,” she said quickly, adjusting the sleeve of her tunic like it had suddenly become a matter of royal importance.

  Jade, on the other hand, didn’t even try to hide her grin. “Oh, you know… just saying if you ever get tired of the princess here bossing you around, I’d be happy to put in a bid.”

  Lux frowned slightly. “A bid? I’m not a mule at market, Jade.”

  “That’s right,” Jade purred. “You’re more like a prize stallion. Rare. Strong. Oblivious.”

  He blinked. “Oblivious?”

  Luna coughed into her hand, glaring at Jade. “She’s… joking. Poorly.”

  “Mm-hmm,” Jade said, clearly enjoying herself.

  Lux shrugged it off like it was nothing. “Right. Anyway…” He crouched beside them, eyes scanning the supplies. “I came over to see how you two were doing. Everything holding together here?”

  Luna nodded briskly, forcing her composure back. “Yes. Perfectly fine.”

  Jade just leaned back, still smirking at Luna over Lux’s shoulder, mouthing, stallion.

  Lux didn’t notice a thing.

  Lux scratches his head and say well ladies im goikg to go help our blacksmith's.

  After a hour Lux brushed the soot off his hands and stepped back from the half-assembled revolver parts, giving Strenn and Garrick a quick nod of approval. He walked past the work tables, calling a few short instructions to the wolfmen guarding the door, and made his way toward Luna.

  Jade was already there, leaning lazily against a crate with her tail swishing idly. She watched Lux approach, her sharp eyes flicking between him and the princess. When Lux stopped to give Luna a quick nod, “Looks like we’re ahead of schedule—good work keeping everyone moving,” Jade’s lips twitched in a knowing smile.

  As soon as Lux moved on, Luna’s gaze lingered just a little too long on his retreating back. Jade tilted her head, the smirk growing wider.

  “Careful, princess,” she murmured in a singsong tone, “you keep looking at him like that, someone might think you actually like the man.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Luna stiffened, heat creeping up her neck. “I’m just… making sure he’s doing his job,” she muttered, looking anywhere but at Jade.

  “Mhm.” Jade’s grin turned mischievous as she leaned closer, voice low enough only Luna could hear. “If you don’t make a move soon, I might just claim him for myself.”

  Luna whipped her head around, eyes wide. “You wouldn’t.”

  Jade chuckled, straightening up with mock innocence. “Men are dense as rock, sweetheart. You’d be surprised what they won’t notice… until someone else points it out.” She gave a playful wink before sauntering off, leaving Luna caught between embarrassment and a strange, fluttering warmth in her chest.

  The rest of the day kept Lux busy. He checked in with Garrick on the bullet molds, helped Strenn adjust the forge’s heat, and even took a turn hauling scrap metal from the salvage pile. Every time he passed through the main room, Luna seemed to just happen to be there.

  When he bent over a table to inspect the first finished revolver, she was suddenly at his side, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off his sleeve.

  “You missed a spot,” she said lightly.

  Lux glanced at her, a little puzzled. “Uh… thanks?” Then he went right back to checking the gun’s cylinder, muttering about the fit being too tight.

  Later, while he was outside organizing the wolfmen into rotating watch shifts, Luna showed up again—this time holding out a water flask.

  “You’ve been at it all day,” she said, her tone softer than usual. “Don’t forget to drink.”

  He accepted it with a grateful nod but didn’t catch the faint blush she tried to hide as she walked away.

  By the time dusk fell, Lux was back inside, going over supply counts with two of the older demi-human men. Luna drifted closer, listening in, then casually rested a hand on his shoulder as she leaned over the ledger.

  “Hmm… we might need to ration more tightly,” she commented, but her fingers lingered a little longer than necessary before she pulled away.

  Each time, Jade was somewhere nearby, quietly watching with that same smug grin, clearly enjoying herself. To her, it was like setting bait and waiting to see if Lux would ever catch on.

  He didn’t.

  Lux finished the day thinking nothing unusual had happened—completely unaware that Luna’s small, almost shy touches and Jade’s scheming smirks were connected.

  The following morning Lux was wiping his hands on a rag, ready to call Garrick and Strenn over to discuss the next project, when Jade suddenly slipped up beside him.

  She leaned against the wall, arms folded, her amber eyes glinting with mischief. “You know,” she began casually, “if you don’t make a move on our dear princess soon…” She let the words hang for a heartbeat, then smirked. “…I might just claim you for myself.”

  Lux froze mid-step, rag still in his hands. “Wait—what?” He blinked at her, baffled.

  Jade tilted her head, grinning wider. “Mmhm. Dense as a rock, just like I said.” She gave him a playful pat on the chest as she walked past, leaving him standing there looking like someone had just switched his sword for a chicken.

  From across the room, Luna glanced over, noticing Lux staring after Jade with a confused frown. She quickly busied herself with a crate of supplies, but there was a faint flush in her cheeks.

  Lux shook his head, muttering under his breath, “What is with you people lately?” Then he called out, “Garrick! Strenn! Got a new project for you—ever heard of an M1 Garand?”

  Garrick and Strenn were across the settlement, finishing up work on the last crate of revolver rounds. Lux had already called their names, but they were taking their time walking over.

  That left him standing alone for a moment… which meant Jade’s words had room to echo in his head.

  If you don’t make a move… I might just claim you.

  Lux rubbed the back of his neck, frowning slightly. Why would she even say that? Was she serious? Or just messing with me? He glanced over at Luna, who was speaking softly with some of the noncombatants, her hair catching the light from the forge. There was a calm grace to the way she carried herself—grace that somehow coexisted with the steel he’d seen in her eyes during battle.

  He exhaled slowly. Nope. Not going down that rabbit hole right now. Focus, Lux. Guns first, awkward conversations later.

  By the time Garrick and Strenn finally reached him, he’d forced his thoughts back onto task—though Jade’s teasing still sat stubbornly in the corner of his mind, like a splinter he couldn’t quite dig out.

  “All right,” he said as they came up. “Time to move past revolvers. We’re making something better—an M1 Garand.”

  Garrick leaned over the rough sketch Lux was making, brows drawn together. Strenn stood at his other side, tail flicking as she studied the lines and measurements.

  “So you’re saying,” Garrick began, “this thing’s faster than a revolver and hits harder?”

  “Eight rounds before you have to reload,” Lux confirmed, drawing the receiver. “Semi-automatic. Means every time you pull the trigger, it fires without you having to cock it again.”

  Strenn tapped the barrel section of the sketch. “We can forge this… but the tolerances’ll have to be tight. You sure this isn’t overcomplicated?”

  Lux started to answer, but his mind flickered—unbidden—to Jade’s grin earlier. If you don’t make a move… I might just claim you.

  He forced himself to focus. “We’ll need the barrel rifled. That’s not optional. Rifling gives the bullet spin, makes it accurate.”

  Strenn nodded. Garrick began jotting down a list of metal pieces they’d need.

  Lux was halfway through explaining the gas system when his eyes drifted over the forge’s glow and caught Luna speaking to a group of scouts. The way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear… the way her voice softened when she smiled…

  He blinked and looked back at the paper. “Uh—right, so the clip’s gonna be this en-bloc style—” He stopped himself, catching Garrick giving him a questioning look. “Just… trust me. It works.”

  Another quick image flashed in his head—Jade smirking, Luna’s surprised blush at the forge earlier—and he gritted his teeth, trying to shove the thought aside.

  “Focus, Lux,” he muttered under his breath.

  Garrick raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

  “Nothing. Just… measuring in my head.”

  The three of them bent back over the plans, Lux’s pencil scratching on the paper, but that stubborn corner of his mind kept poking him, making every hammer strike and hiss of hot metal a little more distracting than it should have been.