A Fate In Moonstone (The Onyx Trilogy)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Princesses don’t lie.

So, when my mother asks how I spent my day, I won’t tell her I fought goblins and stabbed a stranger.

The man at the end of my sword blinked. Icy blue eyes looked at the polished metal with bluish blood splatters digging into his right shoulder and then at me.

He was beautiful, which shouldn’t have been the first thing I noticed as I dug the tip of my blade into his flesh. I think he’d jumped in to save me from the goblins, a trouble I went into the eerie Hallowstag woods to find, and fight.

Black hair brushed against his raised eyebrow as we stood there. Frozen with the sound of howling goblins regrouping nearby.

The corner of his pink lips lifted on one side. The side with three scars. Each line started just above his eyebrow, then carved space to his eyelid only to jump over his eye and continue down his cheek to the edge of his smirking mouth.

Was he attacked by some clawed creature?

I leaned in, questioning everything about him.

His smile shifted as he watched me.

Was he into this?

Or better yet…was I?

My heart skipped a few beats as I kept staring at his face and then his broad body. He wasn’t like the men in court at the palace. This stranger was dangerous and had seen battle.

“Are you trying to seduce me or kill me?”

Busted.

I withdrew the trip of my sword and pulled the dark blue hood back over my head.

“Neither. You can go.” I spun around as the two conscious goblins howled at me. Their sharp claws grew another inch, and they wiggled their fingers in my direction.

Not all goblins were bad, but the ones in these woods were corrupted.

They frequently tried to snatch small children from the edge of the tree line.

A string of livestock slaughters have also been linked to this particular group.

It’s one thing to kill livestock to eat, but it’s another to murder just because they can.

My mother was dealing with preparations for the visiting royal from Regno Dei Lupi tonight. She had enough on her plate running our immense kingdom. Two soldiers had been sent to find these goons, but they followed a fake trail to the opposite end of the forest.

It was up to me to handle it.

Anger crackled beneath my skin and burned in my chest. I needed to fight, to feel in control of myself. My destiny.

Finding the creatures was easy. As was fighting them. Then this stranger stepped in to rescue me. I figured he’d leave after being stabbed and dismissed.

He stepped softly to my side, a hand on the hilt of his black sword, and blood seeping into the gray tunic at his shoulder. I dared peek at him as he assessed the angry green creatures with their long-pointed ears, gangly limbs, and rounded bellies.

“Would you like assistance?” he asked.

“No, I’ve got a lot of pent-up anger and the skills to use it.”

The largest goblin hissed and ran for me. Its claws were primed for shredding, and its mouth opened wide, baring sharp yellow teeth that would surely take chunks out of my flesh in one bite.

I spun around, sword raised, and sliced faster than the goblin could react. It was fast which was why we had trouble seeing who was killing the livestock. But in the end, Fae were faster.

Three down, one to go.

Black eyes darted between the fallen before vanishing all together.

“Where’d it go?” the stranger asked, and I pressed my finger to my lips. Goblins had powers just like the Fae. But while ours were tied to our nature cores in some way, theirs were more chaotic. Fire, invisibility, shape shift, or telekinetic.

This one wasn’t using his powers to run away, but for a sneak attack.

I listened for the rustling of dirt from footsteps, or heavy breaths, and heard none. This one was good.

Breathing in and out, I pulled at the powers I’d absorbed from my mother. The queen with the diamond core turned her skin impenetrable in battle.

The heart rate from the man beside me picked up as little rainbows danced around us from the light bouncing off the shimmering skin on my face.

When the goblin attacked, the claws and teeth would break against my flesh rather than shred it.

Thanks, Mother.

Not that she gave bits of her power over willingly, even though she would to protect me. That’s just how my sapphire core worked. One touch and I absorbed a bit of that Fae’s power.

A twig snapped to my right, and I heard rather than felt the pressure of a powerful swipe against my neck.

Like the clinking of glass followed by the howls of pain.

“Your sheep are dead, your children will be dead, and you will watch your kingdom burn.” The creature hissed and I had enough. I came looking for a fight, and I got one. Now it was time to end their reign of terror against my home.

“We shall burn your—”

My blade sliced through its thick neck.

The stranger stood beside me quietly, and without the goblins as a threat, I turned my focus to him.

“Why are you still here?”

His eyebrows lifted.

“I don’t need a protector.”

“Clearly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then you get off by watching people fight or something?”

“Maybe I’m curious.”

“Well, good luck being curious. I’m leaving.” With a quick glance at the bodies, I debated if I should leave them like that or burn them.

My gut said leave them. In the kingdom of Crysia, we believed in symbiosis. Everything worked together to keep harmony. I’d slayed these creatures and they would feed others in the forest, thus continuing the cycle of life.

Footsteps followed me and a mass of gray and black came into my peripheral. “Are you from Crysia?”

“Okay, stranger, I’m not—”

“Rune.”

I stopped walking and faced him. “What?”

He smiled and tilted his head to the side. Something about him made that action feel odd. “Don’t fuck with me. I’m dangerous and I don’t like people” energy radiated off him in waves. My instincts told me to give him space.

Those icy blue eyes whirled, and I saw something flash inside them. It was only a second, but I wasn’t crazy. This man had something lurking inside him.

So why did I lean toward him, my free hand lifting as if to touch his face?

I shook my head and stopped myself from doing something I’d regret.

He stepped closer, and a wave of heat wafted off of him through my corset and undershirt.

“My name is Rune.”

“Rune.” I chewed on his name and a rumbling sound vibrated from his chest.

Was that him or whatever moved inside him creating the noise?

Should I be afraid?

Yes, deep down I knew I should be.

But I wasn’t. I was enthralled despite the warning signs.

We were both Fae, there was no hiding the interest coming off both of us. The heat, the rapid heart rate, the hooded eyes, the scents.

I needed to get laid. Maybe by this guy or someone else. Might be the last time before the arrangement with the incoming prince. Of course, I’d do what was expected. Mother and Father assured me that marrying the prince would be good for both our kingdoms.

As if Rune could see the thoughts in my head, he took a step back, giving us space. I guess I got my answer.

“I’m traveling to Crysia.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I fear these woods are quite deadly, and I may need protection from a warrior such as yourself.”

What a dumb charmer.

I scoffed. While I hadn’t seen him fight, it was clear he was a warrior. Scars, the build, the energy. It all screamed bred and forged in war. Still, he obviously wanted more time with me and there was plenty of time before I had to get cleaned up and dressed to meet my future husband.

I shoved my sword back into the scabbard at my hip and dug into the dirt as I spun around and waved him on. “Fine.”

A hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me against the warrior’s side.

“Tell me your name,” he demanded, but I forgot it.

My thoughts, the library of words in my head, vanished.

What was it about this guy that made me feel so out of sorts?

“My name…” I whispered and his gaze landed on my lips.

Oh my.