Crescent (Book 1)

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Two more guards are positioned at every post the next day. It might be because Ceth thinks I'll try and run again. Or maybe it's because of the servants whispering of an attack on the border. Moira and Nic are absent from breakfast which means I eat alone in the servant's hall, watching Janice hustle back and forth while cooking. She casts the occasional dark look at the guards hovering at the edge of the kitchen.

Even Saren is silent as she leads me down the path beneath the castle. The soldiers are like phantom mists behind us until we reach the old mining cavern. We walk the rest of the trek alone.

Saren makes me shift so many times that when I finally come to, I'm practically a puddle in the snow. Shifting comes as easily as sleeping now. I close my eyes, my mind goes blank, and when I wake, I feel the burning cold again. Then I blink, and it starts again. Never without pain. Never without a bout of sickness after. My hand trembles as I lift it to wipe the bile from my mouth.

Saren's nowhere to be seen, but I'm surprised when I look up and see Moira. She wears a thick wool coat, and for a moment, I think I've imagined her out of the snow. She frowns when she sees me, and my eyes fall to the canteen of water she carries. Fresh clothes dangle from her other arm. She settles beside me, gently pulling my hair back from my face as she holds the canteen to my mouth.

I'm not sure I can hold it down. But I need it, so I drink, my lips chapped, my hands shaking. Her jet black hair hangs over her shoulder, and she gives a small encouraging smile as she coaxes more water down. "I'm sorry," she whispers. I'm sorry he's doing this. "I heard about yesterday."

I don't bother acknowledging the statement. I blink at her, at the frost clinging to her lashes. The flakes fall slowly as my mother's words echo in my memory: "Never let them take it from you. You are everything."

Moira continues: "It won't be like this forever."

I nod weakly, but the day this stops seems so far off. "Does Ceth... make everyone shift like this?"

Her hands ball into fists. "Not everyone." The look in her eyes speaks wonders. She knows this feeling.

"You too?" I croak. A nod. The thought of her on the ground with Ceth watching- Nic even- makes me sick. "He's Nic's father," I blurt. Nic already confirmed the story, but there's no dancing around it. There's a reason that Moira herself isn't the twin ruler of Vervale.

Her eyes glaze over. "Yes, Ceth is Dominic's father."

"And?" I push. It's not my business, but something tells me that if I ask, she'll answer. I want answers from somebody, at least.

"Ceth is not the person I thought he was," her voice breaks, and she glances away. She motions toward the footpath that leads back to the castle, and I understand. Not here.

Though every muscle in my body protests, Moira helps me stand. I nearly whine as my muscles adjust to the weight. She offers my clothes again, and I'm slow changing into them. She offers a hand, helping me limp through the snow once I'm dressed.

She holds me upright, my bones grating against each other, and we find a steady, limping gait along the path. Her hands run soothing, absent-minded, circles over my back, and she clears her throat. "I'm bound to this court," she starts. "Once you swear your oath, it's nearly impossible to leave. There are rules. If I leave the grounds, Ceth will have me killed. He'll force me to shift and then he'll scalp me, and hang my body for the other beasts. A traitor's death." A lump forms in my throat- one far too difficult to swallow. I focus on our feet, each step burning. "I made my choice years ago, before Nic when... when my mother died. I took her place as Head Mistress and grew close with Ceth."

Her grip is harsh, and there's longing in her voice. "I loved him.... He was- just a man and I was just a woman. I knew I could never be his lady. Pureblooded or not, I'm a servant. But I was okay with it. He just- changed in the months leading up to his father's passing. He became..." she stops herself, voice hoarse. I can hear her tears falling now, her composure crumbling. I desperately want to hug her, to show how sorry I am. "He became cruel and forceful... I will never regret my son. If nothing else, he was the gods' only kindness," she sniffles and her voice hardens. "But I do regret the naive girl I let myself become. Some part of me knew that after Dominic, Ceth would be through with me. I knew."

A small smile forms and she seems to laugh a tad as we approach the hollow leading to the cavern door. "You don't know me, Brenna. And by gods, I don't know you. But I see the way you challenge him." I nearly smile at that. Challenge is a word for it. She cautions. "You will do things you won't like... Shameful things. Painful things." My stomach turns leaden all over again. "This gala only happens once every century. The front he'll expect you to pull will not be an easy one."

I consider her words. All this time, I've danced around the idea of seeing my family again. Now looking at Moira, hearing the things I suspect spoken to life, I wonder just how tightly I've bound myself to this man. I haven't even considered that I might not be able to fulfill my end of the bargain.

She spots the doubtful look in my eyes, grabbing my hands one last time. "I don't know anyone that's survived a silver bullet to the chest," she motions to my shoulder, the one I hadn't realized I've been rubbing. "If anyone can do this... You can."

Two guards are waiting on the other side of the tunnel's stone exit. I step out toward them, ready to be escorted to dinner. With a nod, Moira smiles. Then she's gone.