A Touch of Moonlight (A Court of Moonlight Book 1)

by Zora Marie

  Fen scowled at his shadows and she quirked a brow. “What, magic not doing what you want it to?” she teased.

  He wrinkled his nose at her. “Not the method I wanted, but apparently it can be cuddled into behaving.” Slowly, his gaze slid to her, a sly smirk curling his lips.

  “Traitor.” She playfully scolded the light across the field as it spread and almost seemed to dance with Fen’s darkness.

  “Well, at least we know how to give a demonstration without killing someone tomorrow. I’ll just let my magic out to cuddle with yours.”

  Rina rolled her eyes and moved to lean into his side as he sat up. His hand brushed her side and she hissed.

  “You’re hurt.”

  “Captain Obvious much? My ribs are protesting my existence. How come Sealar and Wafren could heal my other wounds but not them?”

  “The salve has to make direct contact with the tissue to work and with how much it hurts to do it and the risks, they probably thought it best to let them heal the old fashioned way. Besides, healing bone that fast tends to leave phantom pains.”

  “Hm. Why does it sound like you have experience with that?”

  “Because I do. Though I only ever got hurt that bad when I did something stupid or used the wrong technique while training.” His hand settled on her hip, well away from her tender ribs. “Nothing like you have though.”

  “Broken bones are broken bones. The fact that fae bodies heal faster is nice, but that doesn’t change the injury.” Her magic dimmed, quelled by her thoughts. A moment later, Fen’s shadows disappeared too.

  48

  Fen

  He and Rina sat outside after dinner, watching as the sky darkened and came to life with the light of the stars. He dreaded the time when they’d have to go inside and turn in for the night. Or perhaps it was Rina’s dread he felt. It was hard to tell where his emotions ended and hers began when they sat this close.

  He was glad he didn’t have to try to hide his feelings for Rina from Lord Engar and Airin, especially if she had a seizure in front of them. As much as he’d like to think he could control himself, he knew he wouldn’t be able to if she collapsed like that again.

  “We meet with Lord Engar and Lord Airin tomorrow,” Rina whispered as she stared up at the moon and stars.

  “Yes, but that also means I get to show you the library at the palace. I’ve made it my life’s mission to have read all of the books in there. Well, except the ones written in languages that are nearly impossible to read.”

  “Only nearly impossible? Just how many languages do you know?”

  “Several, but I’m really only fluent in a couple. I can read and write in more languages than I can speak.”

  “I take it that’s something else I need to learn.”

  Fen studied her, the way she still looked hopeful even while lost in a sea of uncertainty. He hoped to take her mind off of meeting with the Lords, but it seemed that every time he said something, he made it worse.

  “It’s fine, Fen.” Her gaze slid to him. “I always wanted someone to teach me all the secrets of the world.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at how perceptive she was, at the fact that she cared about those around her—so much about him. “Well, I don’t know about all the secrets, but we can teach you a few things.”

  “A few things? Apparently, your definition of a few is a smidge bit different than mine.”

  “You might understand why after you see the library at the palace. It’s huge compared to the one here, yet small compared to many others.”

  “How many books have you read from the library?”

  “Not sure. I stopped keeping track after a couple thousand, that’s when Father noticed the missing books and banned me from bringing any more home without taking some back.”

  “Is that how you ended up with a library here?”

  He chuckled. “No. Most of those are actually from Lyra’s and Dorn’s own collections.”

  “So where did you keep a couple thousand books?”

  “In my room. Father sent me to a carpenter intown to help build shelves for my rooms once when he figured out where all of the missing books were. I thought he would be upset, but instead he had struggled to hide his laugh. After that, he started buying me my own books when he traveled and for holiday presents.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. He’s bought me so many, I’ve had to cut back to only having twenty books from the palace library.”

  The door to the house opened and his father strolled across the deck. “He may claim that there is room for all of his books, but really his room is a bit of a safety hazard.”

  “Just remember, you’re the one who fed my addiction.”

  Farin clicked his tongue. “Good night, see you in the morning.” He shifted to his panther form and ran off for his nightly run before either of them could respond.

  Beside him, Rina yawned and he held her a little tighter. “We should get to bed.” She nodded, but didn’t make a move to stand. “Do you—may I stay with you?” Rina tensed and he scrambled to correct his overstep. “It’s up to you. I can even stay in my panther form, if it would make it less,” he tilted his head, “awkward.”

  “Thank you, Fen, but…” she trailed off and scanned the pond’s edge.

  He studied her, the way her lips pressed together, and the moonlight glimmering in her eyes. She was going to turn him away, but he couldn’t let her. “It won’t change anything. I don’t want you to be alone like that again, but I’ll leave anytime you want. This is your choice, Rina, but I would like to stay with you. No matter the form.” He hoped she would agree. He didn’t want to wake up to her all but gone to him, or to wake up to her fear and not be there for her. “And I actually like sleeping as a panther, so as long as you don’t mind a bit of fur on your bed…”

  Rina sighed as she shook her head. “Fine, you’ve swayed my mind. I think you’re kind of cute as a panther anyway.”

  “Awe, yes, falling to the charm of my panther,” he purred. “I must admit, I struggled with the urge to boop your little nose this morning while you slept. You make a pretty cute panther yourself.”

  Rina shoved him, her grin only half hidden by a smirk. This was the side of her that he couldn’t get enough of, the part of her that made the light within him want to shine just a little brighter. He loved all of her, sure, but this is what he felt he could hang his existence on.

  49

  Rina

  Rina woke to fur tickling her nose and Fen curled up beside her, pressed against her chest. She wondered if she had moved closer to him in the night or if he had moved closer to her. His purr vibrated through her and it was tempting to fall back asleep.

  “Good morning,” she murmured. Her arm fell to the bedding as he moved away from her. There was a flash of light and then Fen was sitting on top of the bedding with his hair in messy spikes atop his head.

  “Good morning to you, too. How’d you sleep?”

  “Better than I have in a while.” She stretched and sat up. “I take it that it’s time we got ready?”

  “Yep. Dorn and Arlen have been debating who should wake us up. I thought I’d saved them the trouble.”

  “Good call. We’d be late if we waited for them to decide.”

  Fen smiled as he shook his head, his hair falling over his eyes. But despite knowing they needed to get ready, neither one of them moved. Rubbing the back of his neck he got up. “We’d better get ready.” His nearly soundless footsteps disappeared down the hallway, past the sitting room. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then straightened the bedding. She felt lighter than the day before, still tired, but she no longer felt weighed down by exhaustion.

  “Would you like some tea?” Dorn called through the wall.

  “Sure,” she said as she walked into the sitting room. “I also need to know what I’m supposed to wear today.” She stopped dead in her tracks as she came into the sitting room to find a silver and black dress with a thick skirt
draped over a chair. “I am not wearing that.”

  “Told you she’d say that.” Arlen did not even bother to hide his smile.

  Dorn’s exasperation with both her and Arlen was written all over his face. “Women of the other courts wear dresses. It would help today if you would. Ash dropped it off for you yesterday. It’s a bit adjustable, so should fit you fine.”

  “You know I didn’t like any of the dresses I tried on.”

  “Yes, I know. But if it helps, Ash picked one like what she wears for big formal events. She carries a small armory on her no matter the occasion.”

  Rina shook her head. She wasn’t going to win this one even though she absolutely hated dresses. “The armory doesn’t matter since I’ve hardly learned to fight.”

  “You actually weren’t horrible the other day. I’ve seen worse,” Arlen said.

  “Well that’s reassuring,” Rina said, then chuckled at Arlen’s cringe. Maybe he’s not lying, but he is definitely exaggerating my abilities.

  “So you’ll wear it?” Dorn asked.

  “May I at least wear leggings under it?” She hated how vulnerable dresses made her feel. She couldn’t see how anyone liked them.

  Dorn let out a long sigh. “Yes, you may.”

  “Want to explain how to get into this one?”

  Now it was Dorn who chuckled. “That’s the other thing, Ash picked a simple one. Just slide it on after your bath and I’ll help you tie the back. I already put fresh towels by the tub for you.”

  Turning, Rina went back to her room. She pulled out the black leggings Ash had insisted she get, then grabbed the dress and headed for the bathroom before she could change her mind.

  As she slipped into the tub, she thought about how Fen had read more of that book to her before dinner. Then they had just sat outside together in peaceful silence. Fen’s eyes had shown silver in the moonlight as he watched her, and shadows had curled in his hair. She’d caught shadows over his shoulder before, but after yesterday, she knew it wasn’t just her imagination.

  She toweled herself off and tugged on the leggings as she glared at the dress. It was pretty, but that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t want to wear it. Didn’t change that she couldn’t run, climb, or fight in it. Knowing she couldn’t get out of wearing it though, she sighed and pulled it on. It smelled faintly of Ash, with that little hint of smoke that always followed her.

  Running her hands over the silky fabric, she paused on a harder, stiffer part of the dress. She fingered the edges of it until she found a slit and slipped the thing free. It was a thin blade, even thinner than Arlen’s throwing knives, thin enough that it bent a little as she pushed on the flat of it. It was only about the width of her thumb with the tiniest of indents on one side to keep the wielder's fingers from slipping up to the blade. Tilting it in the light of the candle nearby revealed tiny etchings that looked almost like letters—but not. She wondered if it was the old language of the fae and if they held some purpose.

  Feeling a little more relaxed knowing she had a weapon again, she slipped it back into its place before leaving the bathroom.

  “So is it better than the dresses you tried on in town?” Dorn asked.

  “Slightly. I have to admit that I like Ash’s taste better than Amber’s.”

  “I think most of us do,” Arlen grumbled.

  “Us perhaps, but you have to admit that Amber makes a superb distraction in some of those outfits.”

  “And she wonders why Watren is so infatuated with her.”

  “He had a thing for her way before she started wearing revealing dresses to events.”

  “Either way,” Rina drawled as she held the ties for the back of the dress, “would you dry my hair the rest of the way and tie this blasted thing?”

  “Of course, turn around.” The soft warmth of Dorn’s flame tickled her scalp. Walking behind her, he tied the back of the dress until it hugged her curves. “You know, you’ll be able to dry your own hair once you master your powers.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. The power of light itself is not just light, but rather heat and energy as well. All our powers are some form of energy, but yours is among the purest and easiest to shape. That is why you broke through Trazar’s shield so easily.”

  “Though we must all refer to him as Lord Trazar today,” Farin said from where he leaned in the open doorway. “And apparently Rina gets ready faster than Fen.”

  “Yes, well, I’ve yet to convince her that a nice long hot bath can sometimes be a good thing,” Dorn mused. “Do you want to leave your hair down or would you like me to braid it?”

  Which would be best? She seldom left her hair down growing up; it had always gotten in the way while hunting, but that didn’t matter here. “Down is fine.”

  Fen stopped beside Farin. “And I don’t take that long—when we have somewhere to be at least.”

  Rina couldn’t help but look Fen up and down. He wore a black suit like Farin, but where his Father’s shirt was black, his was silver like her dress. She wondered if he’d purposely chosen the silver shirt, or if a certain someone had picked out his outfit as well.

  50

  Rina

  Portaling to the Moonlight Court castle made her nerves worse as she swayed, her stomach a little queasy. She didn’t even have a chance to take in her surroundings before Fen was tucking her into his side as he guided her off the platform. Holding her stomach, she willed the world to stop spinning. Fen’s hands were warm as they smoothed over her wind chilled skin, over her shoulders and down her arms.

  “Need a bucket?” He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice, and she shook her head. “Portaling through wards is the worst, especially the first time.”

  Sucking in a deep breath, Rina shoved Fen a little. “You could have warned me.”

  Fen huffed. “Why do you think we made plans to eat breakfast here rather than at home?”

  Straightening, Rina skimmed her gaze over the grey stone of the castle and mountain it seemed to grow from. There was a small ripple of power and soft flash as Farin and Ash appeared on the platform. Apparently the house platform couldn’t handle more than three people, the limit acting as a security measure.

  Ash stopped in front of her. “You good?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Let’s go get some food, then you can get the tour while we check over some stuff before the others arrive. It would be good for you to know your way around should we get stuck here.”

  Rina nodded and fell into step behind Ash, Fen still at her side. As they passed into the dim interior of the castle, she found it was not as she expected. Where Sadoren’s palace was light, clean, and full of wide spaces, this one felt old, dark, and tight. Thick wooden doors lined the halls, but no one paid them any mind as they passed. The walls, floors, and ceilings were all made of the same shabby grey stone as the outside. There were no decorations, no ornamentation. A fortress, Rina realized, and nothing more.

  “Portals are often used in attacks, so we don’t put anything too important near them,” Fen said.

  Fidgeting with the skirt of her dress, Rina followed them to the dining room. Conversation flowed easily around the table, yet there was an undertone of tension and unease in the room that made her glad to escape to see other parts of the castle. She desperately needed a distraction before the prospect of having to meet more people—fae lords no less—made her hurrle her guts up.

  51

  Fen

  Fen loved the awe in Rina’s expression as she stared up at the shelves. I wonder how she would react to seeing the great library in the city of learning. That one’s not just big, but beautiful too. He glanced around at the shelves in here. They were practical, not awe inspiring, but they were to Rina.

  Lit candles dotted the tables that extended into the gloom. Someone had either expected him to come here or had forgotten to blow them out before they’d left. Still, Fen created a little orb of light and made it float just ahead of Rina as she r
an a finger across the leather spines of books. His light wasn’t the bright blinding light of some though; rather his was like the soft glow of a full moon.

  “Well, that’s useful.” Rina stared at the orb.

  “Just a bit.” He hadn’t even thought of the fact that they hadn’t used much magic around her.

  “You know, you never told me what all you can do.”

  “Hm. I didn’t, did I?”

  She flicked her brows at him in silent question and challenge.

  Shrugging, he made a book shoot out of a shelf and into his hand. He studied Rina as he coiled tendrils of shadowy magic around the book to ease it back into its place. She didn’t bat an eye at him, just watched with rapt fascination. “Pulling things to me is far easier than floating things back to a specific spot since the power is really only meant to push and pull. We can also shape light and shadow into shields and weapons.” Shadows formed a dagger between them, solid as the metal one at his side, and he handed it to her.

  She turned it in her hands. “Why haven’t I seen you or Arlen use your powers before?”

  “They’re not very practical for day to day use.” He waved his hand at the dagger and it vanished like wisps of smoke. “The light orb is about as useful as it gets, so we don’t use our powers outside of training, shifting, and the portaling platforms. Besides, darkness and shadows scare most humans, and I don’t want them to see me that way. I want their trust, not their fear.”

  Rina nodded slowly, her hand tightening on his.

  “Before you ask, no, I don’t really know what you can do. Queen Nexi was gone long before I was born. I’m sure one of these books talks about it though. We can look for one if you like?”