Guardians of Moonlight: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (Guardians of the Fae Book 3)

by Elizabeth Hartwell

  In a purely instinctive move, Tyler ducks, dropping his blade as the edge bangs off the lip of the platform. He stands, raising his hand for quarter, but Eve slashes again. Ignoring his pride, he rolls off the platform, the glittering silver shine of the blade barely missing his throat as he falls to the mat.

  “Whoa!” Jacob yells, ducking under the rope and pulling Tyler back. “Eve, what the fuck?”

  Eve stops, dropping her sword over the side of the platform to the mat. “Sorry,” she says, climbing down. “I just . . . I guess I wanted to push it harder that last time.”

  “Harder, yeah . . . but you were going for his damn head!” Jacob growls as Tyler gets to his feet. “Eve, what were you thinking?”

  “Sorry,” Eve says, coming over and hugging Tyler. “I’m sorry, Tyler. I’m sorry I surprised you. It wasn’t fair, and I’m sorry.”

  She gives Tyler a kiss on the lips and steps back. “It’s okay, Eve . . . it happens,” Tyler says, even though he’s not sure it is okay. “Let’s not ruin our night with this, okay?”

  Eve nods and takes his arm. “Okay. Come on, guys, let’s get some food.”

  Eve pulls them into the night, but as they start to walk away, Tyler glances at his brothers, who all have the same look on their faces.

  There’s something seriously wrong with her.

  Chapter 24

  Eve

  The moon is starting to rise when I pry open the access point to the crawlspace in my toilet area. The guards are a little lighter right now, and I know Kaelen’s going to be busy. He was exhausted, and I figure he’s going to be so wrapped up in the administrative stuff he has to do that if I’m going to have a chance to pull this off, this is the time.

  I’m exhausted too, but I have to use the Moonstone again. It might be foolish, and maybe I’m not thinking straight, but I feel like there are so many answers resting in that bluish-white column that I have to take that chance.

  And tonight might just be my only opportunity. When we were done, Kaelen was nearly staggering when we dismounted our horses, and he didn’t check my bracers well. I noticed my left arm pinching as we rode and didn’t say anything, but when I got back to my room, I noticed that a scrap of my shirt and my skin had caught in the lock. I don’t need magic to pop the lock, and with one free hand, I’m able to muster up enough strength to get my other bracer and collar unlocked. I leave them on but unlocked for now, just in case I’m caught.

  By some miracle, I get out of the castle without being detected, and as the moon pushes its way higher into the sky, I find myself astride one of the Guard’s horses, glad my Guardians have taught me how to saddle one. With so many people at whatever’s happening in the middle of town, I am able to get out into the nearby woods without being noticed.

  I can still hear the sounds of the festival as I approach the chamber. Despite the secrecy, it’s really not that far from the outskirts of Solaria. Stepping inside, I shiver with the evening chill as I approach the Moonstone cautiously. Without Kaelen here, I’m not too sure what to expect.

  It’s a relief to slip off my bracers and collar, setting them on the floor before looking at the Moonstone. My first impulse is to reach out to my Guardians, to tell them where I am and that I can once again feel their presence in my mind again, but I need to be able to focus.

  “I’m here.”

  There’s a whisper from the Moonstone, and I realize fully now that Kaelen was right. It is sentient in its own way. I know. Why are you here?

  “To learn. What are you?” I reply, figuring it can hear my thoughts, but it’s just comforting in some way to be able to speak aloud.

  Do you not think I’m a heavenly love gift from god to goddess?

  I shrug, looking the Moonstone over. “You are beautiful. But what would a god need with a gemstone?”

  The Moonstone chuckles. You’re the first in generations to ever ask me that question. No wonder I bonded with you.

  I hum, stretching my arms over my head. Lot of bonding going on recently, although I much prefer my Guardians to the Moonstone. “So, what am I here to do?”

  The Moonstone pulses, almost as if it’s amused. To learn. I am but the conduit. You are the chooser.

  “But I don’t know what I’m here to learn,” I protest, biting back a snarky comment about a Key Master and a Gatekeeper. I don’t even know if the Moonstone would understand.

  Well, I’m more than a doorway, the Moonstone says in a tone that somehow sounds in my head like it can read my thoughts and is amused by my cultural lens. Come, Eve. Let me show you more of the story.

  I touch the Moonstone, and the flash happens again. This time, though, I’m not in any point in history that I’ve ever known before. Instead, I’m in a place that looks like the most untouched, beautiful forest I’ve ever known.

  Suddenly, out of the brushes to my left runs a young man and a young woman. They’re dressed in skins, well-cured and adorned in different patterns. The girl’s lithe and beautiful, with that graceful elegance that transcends her flawless skin, firm handfuls of exposed breasts, or regal cheekbones. She has black hair, but the man’s hair is nearly platinum white, and while I’m shocked to see that he’s a doppelganger of Noah, I’m not so shocked as to not see him catch the girl and wrap his massive arms around her waist, lifting her into the air and tossing her before catching her, both of them laughing. Any man would chase this woman, she’s so lovely.

  “Caught you.”

  The girl giggles, squirming in his arms to wrap hers around his neck. “That you did, E’dom. Now that you have your prize, what are you going to do with me?”

  E’dom hums, and I know that hum. Noah makes it right before he wants to make love with me, but he’s still got something on his mind. “What will your father say if he catches his First Daughter with me?”

  “Let him stew,” the girl says, running her hands through his hair. “I want to go to that special place you showed me. It’s . . . it’s better there.”

  E’dom nods, taking the girl’s hand, and suddenly, they vanish. Moments later, a group of older men wearing skins decorated like the girl’s emerge from the surrounding forest, their eyes confused as they realize that somehow, the two young lovers have escaped them.

  Before I can hear them, we flash forward to a place I recognize, the plains where Solaria now stands. There’s a village there, nowhere near what this place will become, just a small collection of huts, hides, and frames near a lake, with people working and living together.

  In stop-motion, time skips like something Michael Bay would do in one of his old movies, the village grows, wood-framed buildings replacing the hide huts before stone starts to be used. People come and go, and I can see that there are other places as roads grow into the woods. It’s not perfect, but in a lot of ways, it seems idyllic.

  Suddenly, darkness seems to fall, and war enters paradise. An army approaches, and the Solarians fight back, magic against bronze weaponry. The streets run red with blood. The Solarians are being pushed back until a bright light flashes in the sky and a beautiful Fae woman rises into the air, clad in white robes and her hair flying in all directions. She casts her arms to the heavens, then to the sides, white beams shooting out to smite her enemies and save her people. In a flash, she disappears, and only a blue-white columnar gem remains.

  Happy birthday to me.

  Time passes, and now the flashes change. I see other places, interiors of palaces as the Fae struggle with their human cousins. Another war breaks out, and this time, the humans have something new on their side. A being who’s been corrupted, twisted by hate and by jealousy.

  No.

  The Moonstone’s silent as I see his face, handsome beyond all measure, golden ringlets cascading down his neck and over his muscled back. He’s not wearing dark armor, not this time, but instead, he uses his words, bringing others to his cause.

  “The Dark Rider . . . is a Fae?”

  No. He is far older than the Fae. But he took his time to e
merge, waiting until the time was right in his estimation.

  I watch and realize that the Moonstone’s right. There’s another type of being, and with a start, I see that humans, Fae, and demons lived together until the next war. The Fae, with the humans who believed in the Light and the creatures at their command, fight with everything they have against the demons led by the Dark Rider.

  The war devastated both sides, and this time it’s the sacrifice of another woman that seals the gateways between the Dark Rider and his demons, the Fae, and humanity. The gateways are not perfect, but once again, a quiet falls over the Fae lands. Not quite a happy one, but at least a semi-peaceful one.

  And so the Veil has remained, along with the Gates, to this very day.

  “But what am I to do with this knowledge?”

  The scene flashes again, and I see dark pulses at the Gates, pulses that are shut down by courageous Fae magic users . . . but there’s a weakness. The magic users are all women, and the Dark Rider is so handsome, his dark sexiness calling to the baser side of their personas. It is the same side that the long-ago beautiful girl and Noah’s doppelganger had, but corrupted and twisted. No longer love, but just lust.

  One falls, and a rift opens. Brave Fae seal it. It cannot let the Dark Rider through, but with one rift comes another. Fae learn that the rifts go both ways, and they try to stitch the damage, putting patches over the tears in the fabric with middling results. It becomes a brush war, the human realm most of the battlefield between the two sides.

  But I see the decay working its way through the Fae realm. They don’t even realize it, how with every freedom curtailed, every restriction put in place . . .

  “They’re becoming what they fear and hate.”

  The Moonstone hums. They don’t know it, but the powers that created me have tried to send messages, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so successful.

  “What messages?”

  Love thy neighbor as thyself. Upon this hangs all the law and the prophets, the Moonstone intones before sighing. That one was old-school by your terms. They’ve tried it by other means too. Music, poetry. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Then we tried even popular culture. With the first link, the chain is forged . . . sometimes, those messages worked. Only rarely.

  I gasp, marveling at the forces involved in all of this. This is more than one mortal being should be able to understand, and I feel like my head’s about to explode . . . but I can’t stop. I must know more. “So, what am I?”

  The scene flashes, and I see a Fae woman. I can’t see her face, it’s from behind, but as she enters the human bar, I can feel the eagerness and anticipation flowing in waves from her. She’s been isolated for so long, but now she has a taste of freedom. No duty, no worries about the court . . . just fun.

  She enters the bar, the sound of music filling the air as she makes her way over to the bar. The place isn’t packed yet, but it’s definitely a singles bar, and tonight, it’s a total meat market. “Uhm, what’s good?” she asks the bartender. “I’m new.”

  The bartender looks her up and down, and I try to catch a glimpse of her in the mirror, but the glass is too wavy. “You’re gonna have no problems here. And I’d say you look like a Mai Tai type. Just a hint. Take ‘em slow. They hit hard. You know, unless that’s your thing.”

  The woman chuckles, and I can hear my own voice in that laugh. “I have her laugh.”

  Watch.

  The night progresses, the woman moving to a table. No matter what, I can’t get more than half a glimpse of her face, but I can feel the dark energy in the air when the door opens again and he enters. He might not be in armor, but the black jeans and black silk shirt that’s open just enough to show off his flawless muscles tell me exactly who he is. His hair’s cut, slicked a little to jive with the fashion of the time . . . but the ringlets are still there if you look closely enough.

  He sees the woman, and I shiver as I see the green flash of magic in his eyes. She doesn’t, though, and as he goes to turn to her, the light flashes again, and I’m back in the Moonstone chamber.

  “No!” I hiss, my skull thudding. “No, I have to see more! I have to know who!”

  Why?

  “She’s my mother!”

  Is she? She gave birth to you . . . but is she your mother?

  “Don’t you understand? I need to know! I need to know why she did it! Why she . . .” I plead, desperate to get the Moonstone to understand me. The primary question that’s haunted me since birth, even in a life of having a family that loved me, and the clues are there. She could even be alive . . . somewhere in the Fae realm. If I could see her face . . . “PLEASE!”

  A horse whinnies outside, and before I can think it’s mine, another horse answers. Boots scuff on the dirt, and Kaelen enters, his eyes glowing in fury.

  “I . . . I trusted you,” he rasps, his face flushing. “You betrayed me. Why?”

  “Kaelen, please. I had to come see, to find out—”

  “WHY?” he screams, spittle flying from his lips. He raises his hand, and magic crackles off his fingertips. “Why did you betray me, Eve? I trusted you . . . trusted you!”

  A magic fight with the most powerful wizard in the Fae realm. I can’t quite think of a way this could get any worse.

  Chapter 25

  Noah

  The moon’s almost at its perigee, high in the sky like a light pink grapefruit just waiting to be plucked. Normally, Noah would love this time of night. When he had to pull late-night guard duty around Lunare, he always wanted to be out at this time.

  It’s something about the moon, Noah knows. He’s not a believer in the ridiculous mythology so many other Fae believe. It’s nothing to do with power, or magic, to him. It’s just that he doesn’t think there’s another time of night that looks quite so beautiful or so special.

  And tonight’s a very beautiful moon. It’s that perfect time of autumn, almost the beginning of winter when the nights are cool, and the air carries with it a soft scent of harvest, but things aren’t so cold he wants his thicker tunic. The moon hangs as a misty pale fruit in the sky, not quite as clear as it’ll be at the height of winter, but it’s still clear enough that it’s Noah’s perfect time.

  But tonight isn’t perfect. It hasn’t been perfect since the first moment they left the castle and Eve started this . . . whatever it is that she’s been up to.

  At first, Noah thought that perhaps she was just overly excited or something from being cooped up for three days. Or maybe it was just the combination of stress on all fronts.

  But this . . . this is more than that. First was Eve’s aggressive feeling and groping of them, but Noah first grew truly worried when she nearly killed Cole in the ridiculous knife throwing game. Cole hadn’t said anything at the time, but Noah filled in the invisible outline . . . that knife would have buried itself in Cole’s right eye if he hadn’t moved. And enchantment or no enchantment, a thrown knife to the eye would kill.

  Then the fight with Tyler. Noah had always found Fae festivals somewhat low-class, filled with stupid distractions for lowborn people who didn’t care if they cracked a femur or even picked up a concussion. After all, the Fae’s natural healing magic would assure them of being cured in a day or so. And it’s a lot more fun than trying to make rings go around the neck of a bottle.

  But in both instances, Eve took what should have been a fun, if slightly thrillingly dangerous, game and turned it into something far darker. She’d nearly cleaved Tyler in half with that final swipe of her sword, and now she’s still acting like everything is fine.

  Noah?

  Yes, Jacob.

  I’m worried about Princess. You don’t think maybe she’s . . . under the influence?

  Noah can’t be sure, honestly. Whether it is due to her dark side coming out more strongly than normal or to an outside enchantment, Eve isn’t acting like the woman they’ve come to love.

  It’s not the bracers, that much he knows. She�
�s never acted this way, even when the bracers were off and her dark side was taking control in the Withered Forest or against the Lunarian attackers to the Vale. Then, she might have been vicious, she might have been destructive, but she wasn’t this almost callously flirtatious.

  I’m not sure, Jacob. But I’m not doing any more of these games.

  Jacob nods, but both of them groan a few moments later when Eve stops at another booth. “Ooh!”

  “What is it . . . oh, this isn’t too bad,” Jacob says, looking at the sign above the structure. “I actually like the Mirror Maze.”

  “I loved doing these as a kid,” Eve says, her eyes gleaming. “We’d go to the county fair and it was always a total blast.”

  “Your parents would let Alyssa in a mirror maze?” Cole asks warily, and Eve nods.

  “Sure, why not? I mean, it’s not like she could get that lost, right? Wander around in circles a bit inside a building at most? Big deal.”

  “Right,” Cole says uncertainly. “Well, it still looks like fun. Why not?”

  “Eve, a bit of warning,” Noah says as they hand over some copper coins to the maze attendant. “This isn’t just a simple maze.”

  “That’s okay, it’ll be fun,” Eve says, giving Noah a wink before running into the maze. Noah blinks, his mouth tightening as he wonders just what’s going on with her.

  “Cole?” he says quietly as Jacob and Tyler follow Eve into the maze, probably in an attempt to keep her safe.

  “I know,” Cole says, his eyes narrowing. Eve has always been one unafraid of risk, but there’s risk and then there’s running into danger. She hadn’t even asked what a Fae maze was like, with their trick walls, magical trap doors, and depending on the maze, things that could hurt you. Nothing major, of course. A half-inch knife in the ass is perhaps the realm’s favorite ‘dangerous trick’, but for a being like Eve without magical powers right now, it’s still enough to make it a risk.