The Black Moon's Curse (The Stellara Trilogy Book 1)

by Alicia Restucci

  He had been in a rush to leave, and now she realized it wasn’t because Asher was making his way toward them. It was because he had a schedule to keep. He'd even said he was in Iron Kress for a job. Clearly, attacking her home was in that plan.

  There wasn’t time to sit there and drown in her guilt as the guard’s painful yell was heard from the other side of the door.

  “Quick, the candles. Put them out." Malia ordered as she went to work on dousing the few by her bed. Ember only hesitated a moment before jumping into motion and doing as she was told.

  Once the room was dark, Malia was quick to grab her hand and pull her into her bathing room. The door slammed shut, separating the two rooms to give themselves a few second longer to figure out where to hide. How could the pirates have made it so far into the palace with no alarm given? None of this made any sense. She had been surprised when Nikolas made his appearance hours ago, but hadn’t though anything of it when she hadn’t seen him again. She had assumed he had left, or rather he had been forced to leave.

  The sound of her bedroom doors breaking open startled her back to the present. She couldn’t worry about Nikolas right now. They needed to hide. She had to focus on that. With a look around the room, she noted there were no other doorways. There were no closets for them to hide in either. “We’ve got nowhere to hide.” Ember whispered, her fear taking control as she fought to keep her composure calm.

  Her eyes searched for any kind of weapon, anything they could use to defend themselves until help could arrive or to give them an opening long enough to make a run for it. Her gaze finally landed on her only option.

  A broom. It would have to do.

  Grabbing onto the object, she held it as she would a sword. “Hide in the behind the basket there. If you have an opening, take it and run.”

  Malia hesitated, not wanting to leave her lady to fend for herself. A quick glare over Ember's shoulder had Malia doing as she was ordered. She could hear the pirates on the other side of the bathing door searching for something. She wasn’t sure if it was treasure or herself, but it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t be getting her or anything else for that matter without a fight.

  Her heart was pounding when suddenly she heard footsteps approach the door. It was the only thing that stood between them and immediate danger. Her grip on the broom handle tightened as she adjusted her stance. Just as she heard the knob twist, the sound of more footsteps approached. One pirate, maybe two, she might have stood a chance against, but no more than that.

  Her body jolted as the sound of a gunshot rang through the silence. The noise was followed by a groan before a body fell to the floor with a thud. Pure terror came over her, her hands shaking as she moved to the side of the doorway. Holding the bristle end of the broom above her head, she stood ready to attack whoever came inside.

  The knob twisted for a second time, the door pushing open with a pop. With the room being so dark, the man who entered was nothing but shadows. Without giving the pirate the chance to spot her first, she swung her weapon of choice. The man went down with a groan, falling to his knees as he held the back of his head.

  “Run, Malia! Now!” She called back.

  She noticed the pirate on the ground trying to get to his feet again. She didn’t hesitate before giving him a swift kick to the stomach, causing him to gasp as he fell to his side. She turned to run out into her bedroom when she ran right into another solid body. A scream released from her lips as the man’s arms struggled to get a good hold on her.

  She fought him with everything she had as he turned her around, pressing her back against his chest as he moved a hand over her mouth to keep her from screamingagain. “Cut it out. Relax, Ember. It’s me. It’s Asher.” The man whispered into her ear.

  Her chest raised high with every deep breath she released. Her struggling came to a halt the moment she heard his familiar voice. Her eyes darted to the doorway where Malia knelt beside the man she’d attacked. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she realized her mistake. It wasn’t a pirate sitting on the ground beside her maid. It was Cassius. He and Asher had come to rescue her. They hadn’t left her behind.

  The broom was suddenly taken from her grip as Asher released his hold on her. A chuckle rumbled in his chest as he examined her weapon of choice. “Brother, you need more training if little Emberlyn took you down with a broom.” He chuckled, his voice barely above a whisper. They didn’t draw any unwanted attention, she realized.

  Cassius didn’t find the humor in his brother’s teasing as Malia helped him to his feet. His hand was wrapped around his middle, the only hint that she might have caused any harm to him. “Then you’ve never been kicked by her, brother. It hurts like hell.” He said as he got to his feet.

  Once he was sturdy on his feet, he nodded his thanks to Malia before she moved away from him and stood a good foot away.

  Asher grabbed Emberlyn’s shaking hand, tugging her towards the now broken doors. “We need to get you somewhere safe. I have my boat ready to leave.”

  Confusion crossed her face as she let him pull her along. “We’ll never make it to the docks quick enough to get to your boat, Asher. Not if they’ve already gotten into the palace. Where are your guards?”

  As they entered the hallway, Ember took notice of the fallen guards lying dead on the floor. “They fought bravely and made sure we got to you. They had honorable deaths.”

  With a brief glance towards Asher, she wasn’t sure she agreed. There was no way to justify death like this. It was hard to believe her life was worth saving over these men. She wasn’t a royal like Cassius or even Asher. She didn’t deserve their sacrifice.

  Her eyes lifted when a hand dropped onto her arm. Lifting her gaze, she saw that the hand belonged to Cassius. “I know you feel guilty, but they made their choice to fight for us. To give us a chance in getting to you and Malia. The only way right now that we can honor their choice is to make sure we get out of here alive.”

  With a small nod, she took a deep breath and continued to follow Asher’s lead. Cassius kept to the back with Malia in front of him. They were covering both sides in case they were to run into any trouble from either side. “My boat’s not in the harbor anyway. I moved it earlier before Cassius called for you to meet us in the library.” He explained, flashing her a grin as they headed down the hallway.

  “What about our parents? Are they okay? Is my father” Ember started to ask, her worry getting the best of her.

  Cassius cut her off. “Our parents are fine. Last I saw of them, the guards were getting them to safety. We need to get you out of the palace before it’s too late, Ember.”

  Cassius shared another look with his brother before moving closer to her. When he reached for her hand, she almost recoiled from his touch but pushed back the reaction. “The curse on your bloodline, Em. There’s more to it, more we haven’t been able to explain to you. I wish we had the time to and maybe we will once we get on Asher’s boat, but we can’t right now. I know you’re scared. I am too, but we need to keep moving. We’re pigs waiting for the slaughter if we stay here for any longer than we already have.” He said softly, knowing she was hoping for a better answer than that.

  Unfortunately, this was the best she could get at this given moment.

  Every fiber of her being wanted to demand a better answer than the one he’d given her, but she knew deep down he was right. Against her liking, she nodded her head and motioned for Asher to lead the way. “We’re headed for the King’s study then?” She whispered, remembering the passage they’d found only months ago on accident.

  Asher gave her a small nod, telling her that the study was exactly where he planned to take them. She could tell he didn’t think she fully believed them about the curse, but there wasn’t time to call her out on it. If she was going to accept their half-assed answer, he had to take what he could get. All that mattered right now was getting to the study.

  Asher went first, peeking around the corner to see if the hall wa
s clear, only for his head to jerk back as an arrow violently flew by. It’d missed his head by inches. “Nope. Can’t go that way. Hurry, into oneof the rooms.” He whispered, motioning for them to get moving.

  Ember’s eyes searched for a room that would conceal them all but found nothing. Her room was the only one in this hallway and given the broken in doors, she knew it wouldn’t do them any good. This was the quickest way to the study, but if it was blocked off there was no way they’d be able to get there safely.

  They needed another way down to the tunnels below the palace. Her eyes roamed around the area before spotting a familiar painting that Asher had showed her earlier this month. She knew where they could go. “Asher, the painting.” She whispered, nodding her head to the hallways they currently couldn’t go down.

  “I know, but our swords won’t do us any good against the arrows currently being shot at us and we used the last of our bullets on the pirates in your room.” Asher whispered, giving her an annoyed look in return.

  The group was silent for a moment. They were trying to come up with a better plan before they were found just sitting in an open hallway with no cover. Their only hope of getting out of here was that passageway behind the painting.

  Cassius was the one to break the short silence. “I’ll hold them off. Asher get the girls out of here. Don’t argue with me. I know what I’m doing. Getting them out of here is the only way to keep them alive. I’ll be fine, trust me.”

  Ember immediately shook her head, there had to be another way. She wasn’t about to let her best friend put his life at risk to protect her. Her life was not worth the life of the only legitimate heir to the throne. “No. No way, Cassius. They’ll kill you without hesitation. We’ll find another way to get down to the boat. If we can get to the study, we can find the second passageway.” She said, shaking her head furiously. She would not allow this.

  The determined look on Cassius’ face told her that he’d already made up his mind, whether she thought it was insane or not. “This is my choice, Ember. If the last thing I do on this earth, is protect the two people I love most? That makes it all worth it to me.” He whispered, giving her a look that asked her to just trust him on this.

  She wanted to say no so badly, that she couldn’t let him do this, but she knew better than to take that choice from him.

  “He won’t be alone.” Malia spoke up, her voice shaking from her frightened nerves.

  The maid’s hands shook, but the bravery was strong behind her eyes. She had made her choice as well. Ember wanted to shake her head and stomp her foot. She wanted to tell them both they wereinsane and there was no way she’d let them do this, but Asher’s hand on her arm stopped her from doing so. “It’s a plan then. We need to move now. We’ve already wasted enough time as it is.” Cassius whispered, glancing back, checking to make sure the pirates weren’t right there ready to capture them.

  Once he was sure they weren’t at risk of being attacked, he pulled a blue gem studded dagger with a silver hilt from the holster on his thigh and held it out for Malia. Ember always thought it was silly he wore that old holster everywhere, but now she was suddenly thankful that he did.

  Malia’s eyes widened, her hands shaking, as she reached over and took it from him. Ember wasn’t even sure if Malia knew what to do with a weapon. She was sure she’d never been trained how to wield one.

  Cassius seemed to realize just how nervous the young maid was. He hesitated before touching her arm to gain her attention. “I’ll hold off as many as I can. You just worry about getting to the passage with my brother. If any of them do manage to slip by me? I want you to stab them with this before they get their hands on you. Hold it like this and you strike to kill. Do not hesitate because they will not.” He instructed as he showed her just how to hold the dagger in her hand.

  Malia was frightened but nodded in understanding regardless.

  Ember had major respect for the timid maid as she watched her adjust the dagger in her hand. Even though she was afraid, she was willing to risk her life. It didn’t seem fair. She knew Malia had family in town, family that was probably worried about her during this disaster. Yet here she was, willing to sacrifice herself for her and the two princes.

  When it was decided, Cassius moved to the front of the line. His eyes searched for something on the walls. His gaze paused as it locked on a shield hanging across from them. Sharing a glance with his brother, the two crossed the hall and reached for the shield. The two boys let out a low grunt before they yanked it off the wall entirely.

  “What do you two intend to do with that?” Ember whispered, curiosity coating her voice.

  Cassius flashed her a grin, winking as they returned to the girls. His grin told her to watch and be prepared to be impressed. Ember watched as his eyes flickered to Malia and their earlier

  conversation returned to her mind. Cassius cared about the young maid and this might be their last moments together.

  Her heart went out to her friend, knowing he wouldn’t get that chance to dazzle Malia with his charm, not if they didn’t make it out of this alive. For Cassius’ sake, she prayed those two would get their chance to get to know each other after this awful night.

  She watched as the king-to-be peeked his head around the corner, once, twice, before he held the shield up in front of him and went out into the open hallway. A second after he did, an arrow whizzed by, knocking right off the shield with a clang. “Go!” He shouted, his eyes only flickering to them briefly as he blocked another arrow that came his way.

  Asher didn’t hesitate in taking her hand and tugging her forward. They rounded the corner and hurried down to the end of the hallway where the painting she’d pointed out to him was hanging. Malia was not far behind her, clutching the dagger to her chest. “Watch out!” Malia shouted as she turned back to them. A stray arrow shot past their heads not even a moment later.

  Asher had barely enough time to duck before it hit his shoulder. The arrow instead found its mark on the wall just past them. Ember stood, startled, as she realized how close that had been from striking her friend down instead.

  Asher reached the painting first, his fingers immediately searching for the hidden latch that would open the passage. The girls stood behind him, frantically shifting their gazes from him to his brother who was slowly backing toward them. If he had a chance to follow them into the passage way, Ember was hoping he took it.

  “Hurry, Asher. He won’t be able to hold them off much longer.” She pleaded.

  As if he needed more insensitive, Cassius’ cry of pain erupted through the hall. Ember’s head immediately turned toward the noise. Her eyes widened with fear for what had happened to her friend. Her stomach churned at the sight of the arrow now embedded in Cassius’ thigh.

  “No!” She screamed, taking a step toward him.

  Asher’s voice stopped her. “Stop, I’ve almost got it.”

  Shaking her head, she felt the hot tears that had been threatening to fall before now staining her cheeks. “We can’t just leave him, Asher. They’re going to kill him.” She said, pleading with him to go back and help his brother.

  Asher ignored her.

  “I can get the door open. Please, just go help him.” She begged, hoping to get through to him. She knew this had to be torture for him as well.

  Another cry of pain caught their attention. Looking back, terror played in her eyes as she saw a pirate hidden under a cloak standing above a wounded Cassius. Another arrow had pierced his shoulder, the shield he’d been using was discarded a few feet away from him. The pirate unsheathed his dagger and knelt beside the Prince.

  Ember was so caught up in begging Asher to help his brother she hadn’t noticed her maid moving beside her. The movement and a small flash of dark metal caught her attention. Malia had thrown the dagger with all she had in her just as another pirate from the other end of the hall had released an arrow.

  Both weapons hit their targets.

  Chapter 6

  E
mber watched as the dagger sank into the shadowed pirate’s hand, knocking the pirate’s own knife from their hand. It clattered to the floor as the hooded figure fell back holding their wounded hand. It gave Cassius his chance to drag his body far enough away from the cloaked form and grab onto the shield again.

  The sound of a thud beside her drew her attention away from Cassius. Her eyes widened at the sight of the arrow sticking out of Malia’s chest.

  “No!” She vaguely heard Cassius roar. There was so much pain in his voice, but she couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from Malia. Blood dripped down the sides of her friend’s mouth as Malia’s own eyes stared down at the wound confused. A gurgled gasp left her lips as she struggled to breathe.

  “Malia,” Ember gasped. Blood poured down Malia’s stomach, staining her plain dress. Her hands were stained red as they shakenly tried to apply pressure to her own wound. Her chin raised, her eyes locking on Ember’s, pleading with her to do something. Malia was dying right before her eyes. Ember stood there frozen in fear, not knowing how to help.

  “H -help mme,” Malia gasped as her body fell back.

  Her eyes were glazed over as her head hit the floor. Her chest had stopped moving, the breath no longer struggling to be released. Malia was gone.

  A yank on her arm pulled her out of her trance, her eyes lifting to meet Asher’s. He’d gotten the doorway to the passage open. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.” He said, leaving her no time to argue as he all but pushed her inside.

  He didn’t follow behind her.

  She turned in time to see him run back, no doubt to help Cassius. Fear came over her as she debated staying to help. She suddenly heard swords clashing, Asher’s battle cry following soon after, and knew she couldn’t wait for her friend. He was just doing as she asked, more like pleaded, by going back to help Cassius.