Luna didn't particularly want to talk to Lukas. But she knew she had to if she wanted to understand what he was doing here.
So she went out to the garden after the rest of the guests dispersed.
The garden was the place she was most likely to find him. Or rather, it was the place where he was most likely to find her.
So Luna sat on a bench, waiting.
The gardens that ringed this level of the tiered palace were from all over Alaxia, and unlike the other nobles' exotic gardens, there wasn't a single plant not native to their kingdom. It may not be as physically impressive, due to the nearly monochromatic green foliage, but it was a mark of pride to their family, and it was the only thing that Luna agreed with her mother about.
Other kingdoms had different environments, and other races had different cultivation methods, but Alaxian humans had only their wits and the land they were born in. Magic had come to them later, as they didn't have a deity that granted it to them, and still they had a lower affinity for it than almost every other sentient race.
But before the Emperor had come, humans weren't at as much of a disadvantage as that facet of their history made them seem. After all, they had discovered iron much earlier than the other sentient races, which was resistant to all magic.
Each of the other races, along with magic, were assigned by the deities a metal that would nullify their race-specific magic, except for humans, who had no innate magic in the first place.
But iron, although not as effective as the correct metals, was enough to lend humanity the military might they needed to defend their borders, even begin to expand.
The other sentient races called it "the Blight", and once the Empire was formed, its use for military implements had been banned.
Luna grimaced.
If only they knew what was happening on the lower levels of the Alaxian palace at this very moment.
"If only you knew," Luna whispered, thinking of the Emperor. What would he do if he discovered her father's experiments? One of his predecessors had nearly wiped out the entirety of the human nobility a few generations ago when he had discovered the secret forgery of iron-tipped arrows.
"Knew what?"
The deep voice came from beside her, and she jumped, turning her head.
There he was.
Lukas Warwick.
Luna quickly scrambled to her feet and bowed.
"Your Majesty," she said in a soft voice. Rather than use her normal voice or her superior voice, she used one she had practiced but rarely utilized.
It was gentle and quiet, and made to be used when she was directly receiving commands from her father in private. It made him feel good to order Luna around. He was doing that less and less, though. Likely because of the rift growing between them.
"What were you thinking of?" He repeated in the same voice. He was either unaffected or didn't care. Luna honestly wasn't sure. It was probably both.
"I was wondering what brought you to our humble kingdom," Luna responded simply.
"You mean the former greatest military might on the continent?" he said with a small chuckle.
Luna froze.
That laugh, it wasn't good. For her, or for her kingdom.
"Former?" she asked with a small whimper.
Try as she might, she couldn't keep it out of her voice. She'd been trying to portray a girl who was obedient, but not weak. This might be good for her image in his eyes, but all she could think of was how bad it was for her pride.
Her pride was a shield, the only one she was allowed. As long as she had her pride, she maintained her dignity through the horrors.
And if she lost that, what did she have left?
Her guise of perfection was nothing in front of her father. Any defense he saw, he would tear it down brick by brick until there was nothing left.
Her dignity had been one of those defenses. Until she had learned to rely on her pride, he had almost broken her. There simply was no tool that could break determined pride.
"Naturally, the Empire is the stronger, is it not?" he asked coldly. "Or do you still see yourselves as a separate nation?"
"Not a nation, my lord," she responded quickly, letting a little of the panic she was feeling creep into her voice.
He had to think that she was scared. Because then he would assume that he had all the power. That was the easiest way to control an arrogant man.
It worked with her father.