Curse of the Fae Moon: Allied Kingdoms Academy Book 2

by J. M. Kearl

  Even if it didn’t matter, I didn’t confirm the rumor. I’d promised not to tell.

  Zyacus whispered. “What do you think?”

  I lowered my brows in confusion. “About?”

  “Does it disgust you?”

  Disgust? Some things about the vampire nature did disgust me. I wouldn’t admit in front of Aric that my instincts wanted me to believe him to be a dangerous predator that I should be wary of. I glanced at Aric then back. “No.” To my rational mind he was still a friend too. Other than what he’d described a few moments ago I wouldn’t know a difference. “Why?”

  He shook his head. “Just curious.”

  I watched Zyacus for a moment. His long dark lashes covered his beautiful eyes as he looked down at his plate. Shiny, almost black hair waved under his silver crown. It hit me what he might be getting at. No way. No way would I allow him to turn into a blood drinker for more time with me. Aric hated what he was, and what if the change made Zyacus not want me anymore? With Aric sitting so close I wouldn’t bring up my suspicions but if he hinted at it anymore, I’d set him straight.

  ∞∞∞

  As the first week went by, I grew used to the new arrangements. Students bowed to me more. They moved out of my way in the halls. Professors didn’t say a word if I arrived late. A small part of me wanted to test the limits of my new bounds but I held off even though Legacy and Taz both begged me to try some pranks. “If they’re giving me this sort of leniency and power then I must not abuse it. They are treating me like a leader; I need to act like one. Besides we’re planning a secret party, doesn’t that settle your rebellious side?”

  “I guess,” Legacy smirked. “I’m so excited for this by the way. Let me make sure I have all the details right for tonight. It’s at the edge of the property on the far side of the lake behind the big willow trees. Taz and I raided the wine and punch stash last night so we’re set there. I have the joy unicorn cookie girls making and serving the food.”

  Taz chimed in, “Zyacus’s cousin Gracie talked some of her Collweyan friends into doing a dance or something. We don’t know the details but she said it would be spectacular.”

  “Oh, and we’re doing some surprise decorating.”

  I pulled them both into a hug. “You two are the best. Thank you.”

  Legacy tapped the crown on my head. “You’re welcome. But do you have to wear this?”

  I knew she wasn’t being serious so I shrugged. “The Headmaster asked us to wear them unless we’re sparring or during strenuous activity. But even then I’ve spelled it to hold its place.”

  Taz glared at Legacy. “He’s right you know. She’s the princess. Leave her alone about it.”

  I patted Legacy’s head. “If you’re so jealous about it, you could challenge me for the throne one day.”

  “Like I’d want it,” Legacy said with a scrunch of her nose. “And I’m not jealous. It’s just odd seeing you wear it all the time when you never have before.”

  I lifted a shoulder. “I need to go. I have to meet Zyacus and you two need to send out invitations.”

  I rushed to the barn where we planned to meet. When I arrived the horse keeper had four saddled and ready to go. Unfortunately, Zyacus and I couldn’t go alone. We were leaving academy grounds for one, and no students left without escorts, and two, the crown royals of two kingdoms never went anywhere alone. Unless we happened to drink potions and snuck away but I wouldn’t be doing that again any time soon.

  “Good morning, Princess,” the horse keeper said, running a brush along the chestnut fur of a tall mare. “I hope you’re doing well today.”

  “I am, thank you,” I said, pulling my riding gloves on. “Who is the fourth horse for?” Bindy would be joining us of course but I hadn’t planned on anyone else. We’d take a host of guards too but then that would draw attention to us. People in the city would know who we were and that would cause unnecessary crowds.

  “Prince Zyacus’s personal guard, Mateo, I believe.”

  “Mateo?” I repeated. I’d thought he was just Zyacus’s friend. It made sense when I recalled some of the things Mateo had said to me but he didn’t follow Zyacus close, or he was so good at blending in that I didn’t notice him.

  “Yes, your attendant Bindy came by earlier and told me he’d be joining you.”

  I went to the golden horse, Proud Boy, I’d rode on my last venture outside the wall. Stroking his neck, I stepped into the stirrup and threw my leg over the saddle. I gave his sides a little nudge and he stepped forward. I figured I’d get in a quick jaunt around the area while I waited for the others. After a few rounds around the barn, I spotted Zyacus and the tattooed, muscular Mateo beside him.

  “Leaving without me?” Zyacus called, walking the red-brown path. He’d changed out of his uniform and now wore black leather riding pants and a thin, airy white top that opened to reveal part of his chest. Over that he wore a dark blue vest embroidered with gold markings. The epitome of a Hesstian royal.

  I smiled. “You’re late. I considered leaving you.”

  Bindy came out of the barn as if she’d been there all along, and mounted the chestnut horse. Her stealthy nature both awed and intimidated me.

  “As the crown prince I think I can arrive when I’d like,” Zyacus teased and hopped on a shiny black gelding and trotted to my side.

  I turned on him. “No, you can arrive whenever you’d like on other people’s time, not mine. I don’t care about your title, crown prince.” That arrogant side of him still made me want to punch him sometimes.

  His warm laugh washed over me taking my edge away. “My apologies, your highness. Lead the way.”

  Mateo and Bindy rode several yards behind us and our horses galloped out of the front gates, headed toward the nearby city of Henalae. At first everything appeared normal. The mostly barren land with huge boulders dusting the flat plane. Sagebrush and dry grass scattered about. Small scurrying animals darting from cover to cover. Plain, ugly, Gap of Freeole—no man’s land.

  Memories of fighting vampires flashed in my mind. Cries of pain, and sharp teeth, and blood, and rain pounding the ground. It didn’t seem so long ago. It was the memories of that night that now made me realize something wasn’t right. An ominous feeling slithered down my spine. I looked around trying to figure out what felt off.

  “What special thing have you planned for me?” Zyacus asked, pulling me out of my worry.

  Good pixie, he looked good on a horse. More regal and manly somehow. I didn’t know how he could have been any more attractive but he made my usually steady heart kick up its pace. “You’ll see when we get there,” I said. Though my tone was light, an eerie feeling swept over me. I couldn’t help but sense we were being watched. A raven perched on the branch of a dead tree. As we passed, it’s yellow eye followed us with unnatural focus. Like a predator watched prey but when would a raven hunt humans?

  Zyacus turned to me with a sly grin that instantly made me wonder what he could be thinking about. “Race me to that boulder.”

  I looked ahead and the distance was about four hundred yards. “Say when.”

  “A wager?”

  I shook my head but smiled. “You and your wagers. I’m curious, what is it you want this time? ”

  He laughed and reached down to adjust his boot in the stirrup. “There’re a few things I can think of I want from you that I haven’t had yet, Princess.” He paused before going on. I rolled my eyes. A smirk followed as if he got the reaction he’d waited for. “Stay the night with me.”

  My face warmed and I peeked back to see how far away Bindy was. Far enough not to hear, thankfully. Of course I’d thought about staying the night with him and what that could entail but we’d never talked about it and his abrupt request had my tongue tied. He must have taken my silence as an answer.

  “I don’t mean it that way,” he pulled his horse closer to me and softened his voice. “I mean, stay up with me, lay outside and watch the stars, make wishes on those that fall and
talk and be with me. There are always people around, when all I want is to be with just you.”

  That sweet side of this boy made an appearance again. The side of him that won me over. “You don’t have to make a bet to get that.”

  “This way is more fun.”

  “So if you win we lay out and watch the stars. If I win?”

  “We lay out and watch the stars and I’ll give you a foot rub.”

  I grinned. “Oh, I like the sound of that.” I kicked my horse and sped off.

  “Cheater!” Zyacus called racing up behind me.

  I gripped the reins and squeezed with my legs, galloping at Proud Boy’s top speed. Wind whipped my hair and my eyes watered. Zyacus, being probably seventy pounds heavier than me, kept up well with his horse’s nose level with mine’s flanks.

  “Faster boy!” I shouted.

  A black mist crept from behind the boulder as we neared. I jerked back so hard on Proud Boy’s reins that he raised up in protest and I tumbled off him. Then I hit the ground and the breath whooshed from my lungs. My first thought was, what is it with me falling off my horse in the Gap of Freeole?

  I coughed and rolled onto my belly with an aching left shoulder. Black boots hit the ground and Zyacus dropped beside me. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

  I lifted my eyes to the boulder where the mist grew thicker and swirled into various shapes. Forms of the winged creatures—imps, and human skulls, and serpents. I pushed myself up, rubbing my eyes and blinking to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. “Look,” I breathed, pointing.

  Zyacus turned and slowly rose to his full height. “What in the name of Crighton is that?”

  Crighton? I’d heard the name before but I couldn’t remember which Hesstian god he was. But right now that didn’t matter. The black mist… you better pray to your gods you never see me again because if you do, you will be in chains. That’s what the Winter Fae prince had promised. Had he followed me here? Why would he if he let me go then?

  I stood beside Zyacus as Bindy and Mateo caught up to us. All of us watched the mist creep toward us.

  “Get on your horses,” Bindy commanded.

  Proud Boy had wandered a few yards away as had Zyacus’s horse. I took three steps before the mist suddenly enveloped us all. I heard Zyacus, Bindy and Mateo hit the ground, groaning in pain.

  I whirled in the darkness surrounding me, wondering why I wasn’t on the ground too. My heart leaped into my throat when the mist parted to make way for the silvery blue-skinned Fae I’d met previously.

  “You fooled me,” he said with that otherworldly voice. A voice like wind howling in the tops of trees, like waves crashing against a shore. Terrifying and powerful.

  My magic surged and pulsed beneath my skin like its own beating heart. Ready to unleash. “Fooled you?”

  He gestured a hand up and down my form like that was supposed to be an answer. “You are not a Hesstian commoner.”

  “Please stop hurting my friends.” I didn’t know why it mattered to him who I was.

  He curled his fingers and my crown lifted from my head and floated to his hand. He inspected it as if it were of great importance. “You are a princess. Perhaps the Princess.”

  The Princess? “What does it matter to you?” My eyes searched the fog for Zyacus; I could hear him nearby, grunting and hurting. I wanted to draw my sword, throw a spell, something but with how easily he took me down last time I didn’t dare until I had an opening or some advantage.

  “Are you powerful? Do you have a special ability?”

  Was he worried I could kill him? He wasn’t afraid at all so why ask these questions? “Stop hurting them.” I set my jaw.

  With the wave of his hand the mist cleared and with a second wave all three of my companions lifted off the ground and with toes dragging, drew closer to us. “This is how we will move forward. You answer my questions or your friends suffer.”

  Their cries and groans of pain stopped but they all looked like they couldn’t speak. The red in Zyacus’s cheeks and sweat in his brow made me think he struggled to break free of the magic holding him.

  The Winter prince’s black eyes—no, such a dark blue they appeared black, looked me up and down. “Your answer.”

  “I’m of average magical power and have no ability.”

  His white hair moved in the breeze when he stepped closer. “It is ironic that I can’t tell a lie when I am so good at detecting them. See, when I try to, the words get caught in my throat. Probably an ancient curse from your kind.” He leveled me with a hard gaze and the fog began to grow and swirl around us. “Let’s see, whom should I torture first? I could start with you but if you’re noble and self-sacrificing,” he rolled his eyes, “which I suspect, then it will be a waste. So the woman? That usually gets the reaction I’m looking for.”

  A scream of agony tore from Bindy. Within seconds tears rolled down her cheeks. I’d never ever seen her cry.

  My heart thundered. “No! My magic is average. That wasn’t a lie.”

  Bindy stopped screaming but her chest heaved up and down at an alarming rate.

  “Ah, now that wasn’t a lie. But now I know the lie is in your ability. Why are you hiding it?” His eyes drifted away from me. “Perhaps you care for the handsome boy more than the woman or maybe the tattooed brute?”

  I blurted out questions to distract him. “What do you want? Why is your kind here?” Zyacus wasn’t wearing his crown. This man might not know who he was and since he seemed interested in my status it seemed Zyacus would be safer as a nobody. One of my guards like the others.

  The Fae prince clicked his tongue. “It astonishes me how ignorant everyone is in this realm.”

  I cringed at the insult.

  A cruel smile pulled at his lips. “I can’t give away the best part but I will tell you that the fun is just beginning.” He began a slow walk in a circle around me. His fingernail dragged along my back as he went. Bumps erupted on my skin and a cool shiver rolled over me.

  His dark gaze slid to my friends. “Now, where were we? Ah, you.” He pointed a finger at Zyacus.

  Arching his back he grunted through clenched teeth. His face twisted in pain.

  “Stop! Stop!” I screeched.

  “Your ability? We have a prophecy in my lands about a human princess. I need to know if it’s you.”

  Zyacus bent forward now, shaking, pressing his hands to his temples as if his head might explode if he didn’t.

  “I see when people will die. If I touch them and their death will be soon, I’ll see it.”

  Zyacus dropped to his knees, the anguish gone from his face. His eyes found mine and he pulled a half smile. He was alright.

  The Fae prince’s dark blue brows furrowed as he looked me over. “Interesting but not what I expected. It must not be you.”

  What must not be me? What was the prophecy?

  His mist grew and began to swirl around him but suddenly it stopped, frozen in place and he stepped out of it. His eyes lifted to the barely visible red moon and then back to me. “I wonder…”

  He stretched a hand toward Zyacus. Zyacus lifted into the air and arched in pain again.

  “Aren’t you going to try to stop me?”

  Tears welled in my eyes at the agony on Zyacus’s face. “I told you what you wanted to know!”

  “Maybe I should snap his neck,” the Winter Prince crooned. “Your healing potions can’t bring back the dead.”

  Zyacus screamed and the horrible sound tore through me. My magic flared, swelling inside me like a geyser ready to blow. “No!” I roared, pulling my sword. I sprang at him and magic exploded out like a tidal wave, blasting everyone and thing around me at least twenty feet back. Sagebrush and dirt had ripped away as if a tornado had torn through here.

  I panted at the sheer rush of power that had—unlocked within me? I’d heard of my mother doing this but I’d never been capable before. I glanced down at the two-foot hole I stood in. Panic shooting through me, I spun around in
search of Zyacus and the others. If I’d hurt them...

  The Fae prince slow clapped. He’d been blown back too but clearly not injured. Bindy struggled to her knees and Mateo rolled onto his stomach and pushed up off the ground. But Zyacus didn’t move. A sharp pain stabbed my chest. Zyacus…

  Chapter 13

  I watched in horror as Zyacus lay unmoving. Bile rose up in my throat as Mateo shook him and he still didn’t move.

  “Interesting what the blood moon brings out in people. Maybe you are her.” The Fae prince drew out the word like it brought him great joy. Then the blackness grew to a cloud around him. “See you soon.” When it cleared, he was gone.

  I dashed to Zyacus, dropping to my knees beside him. “Is he breathing? Is he alive?”

  Mateo pushed his prince over onto his back. Zyacus’s face scrunched at the brightness of the sun and he mumbled, “That bastard needs to die.”

  I practically dove on him, pulling him into a vice-like embrace. “You’re alive!”

  He winced painfully and said, “I am but not without injury.”

  “Oh, sorry,” I loosened my hold, “where are you hurt?”

  Ignoring my question he pushed up onto his elbows. “Was that you—that blast of power? Or him?” He looked me up and down with—appreciation? Awe? Maybe a touch of fear?

  I swallowed to wet my suddenly dry throat. My eyes flitted to Bindy who watched me silently. I almost couldn’t believe it was but that attack had been from me. Not only had everyone been blown away and I was left in a two-foot weathered hole, but the strength that coursed through me at that very moment affirmed it. I had seemingly endless energy and the thrum of magic intensified so much from before, I felt I could run a hundred miles and not tire.

  “It was me.” I stood and tried to hide my excitement but how could I? Had I inherited my mother’s gift after all? I’d never heard of someone having two gifts or curses, whatever one called them. My visions of death had manifested itself long ago. Had the blood moon released this ability?