Crescent (Book 1)

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My heart is a stampede when Moira helps me step into the dress. It's a stunning fire-forge red made of the finest lotus silk money can buy. And it's tight enough to kill. Its slim straps and low-cut top leave little to the imagination, and a slit crawls from the bottom of the billowing fabric nearly to the waist. Audelia was the one to choose the chainlike jewelry complete with poppy-red stones dangling from the ends.

I chose the sheath that now circles my thigh. The leather is fashioned like that of a snake's skin. The hilt of the blade itself is a snake's head that slithers up my leg and flashes every time light hits its serpentine scales. Tonight, I am the thing of nightmares, the cursor of dreams- I catch every eye and hold it. Sexy and daring and deadly.

And after all this time, I'll finally see them. I'll see sweet Rosie's face again and hold my mother's hands. I'll see my father, and even if... even if I'm not truly his daughter, I've spent months thinking about the fact that he's always been my dad. I'll be damned if I let Ceth change that.

Moira's eyes are sad, dark as she watches me. "I'm sorry," she says. "For everything that's happened."

I gauge the weight of what she's saying carefully, trying to consider whether or not this is her own way of saying goodbye. We haven't talked about what it will be like when I leave. Whatever our differences, Moira kept me sane while I've been here. I smile as she drags my hair back into a sleek ponytail. "I hope you are able to find your joy, Moira." Her eyes are still so sad, but I've seen glimpses of happiness in them before. There will be happiness in them again. "There is more than this," I promise her.

She gnaws at her lips, biting back words. "I've never met someone of your quality, Brenna James." She shakes her head, squatting down to flare the train of my dress behind me. When she stands and finally meets my eyes, her lips wobble. "I doubt I ever will again."

She urges me forward mindlessly, and I'm tempted to reach into the pocket of my dress, feeling the Brigid cross Thayer gave me last night. Music begins playing downstairs, and we walk until I find Ajax standing by the stairs. My eyes don't linger long. Instead I gaze down at the party.

Vivid shades of red drip down the walls and decorate tablecloths. Full-thorned roses are scattered throughout bouquets along the stairwell and blood-red poppies bloom violently at every inch of open tablespace. It's too much red. It swallows the room whole, much like the red in my dreams.

The party feels like a clamber of elbows and misstepping feet. Maybe it's just that my heart is racing, but Ceth hasn't appeared either. Somehow, that's worse. I just have to get through this.

The full moon has not quite risen when the music lulls slightly. I know by now to take my place at the base of the stairs, knowing Ceth will meet me at the top. I focus on the drooping flowers that decorate the steps as I climb. I let my fingers brush the petals, concentrating on the delicate swell of their blooms as I close my eyes. Ceth is standing at the top landing. His dark suit flickers from onyx to red in the light. Shadow and blood.

The green in his eyes is positively rabid. Untamed. Savage, and I stop when I spot a figure standing just behind Ceth. I recognize her immediately though her usual cloak is gone: Simantha. Two hands come round my arms like shackles. I turn. "Dominic?" His eyes are vacant, his face perfectly blank.

"Brothers! Sisters!" Ceth calls, and the whole world stops to take a breath. Nic shoves me up the stairs. "I am glad so many of you could be here to celebrate this momentous occasion. But I fear I have not been honest with you." My limbs freeze. Ceth watches me intently as he says the words. "Tonight, we celebrate the goddess Selene. We celebrate the unity of our realms. The strength of our people." He takes me in his arms, holding my back against his front as I thrash against him. "Tonight, we also celebrate the year-long promise I made to my darling Brenna."

The cathedral doors of the castle open, and everything in me crumbles. The crowd parts as Ceth's soldiers come into view. Five prisoners with cloaks over their heads come into view, swords held to their throats. My heart cracks.

"The gods never give so freely."

Magic swarms my senses, and I can't stop the sound that leaves my mouth when the lords and ladies of Crescent appear on either side of the stairs. I immediately find Gabriel, but his eyes are like hell frozen over. Rhiannon hold's the same glazed look. Gabriel is gone. Rhiannon is gone. Only stone remains. And seeing them is the nail in the coffin.

"I promised my sweet fiancée that I would reunite her with her family. I'll keep my promise."

The guards escort the prisoners up to the base of the stairs next to me. One of them, a girl, sobs as she hits the floor of the landing with a thud. No. NO. I squirm out of Ceth's grip, and he lets me fall as panic starts setting in. I'm left face to face with the prisoner for only a moment before someone grabs me.

Gabriel's hands are like bonds on my shoulders. No amount of struggling can get me away. "Gabriel, Gabriel, please. Please don't do this."

Playing Ceth's game is the only way to get out of this, but when the guards shuck the hoods of the prisoners off, I realize there's no winning. Rosie's eyes are red with tears and my mother's arms are black with bruises and my father's face is white with exhaustion. It was all lies. I tear at Gabriel's arms to get to them. I kick and flail until the very bones of my spine pop, and it finally dawns on me that Ceth has taken the one thing I never wished to have until now.

I can't shift. "CETH!" I spit at him. Gabriel lifts me to keep me from leaping off the balcony, but his eyes remain trained on Ceth, awaiting commands. The crowd watches mutely as my world is torn apart. My family doesn't bother fighting. The same mist is in their eyes as the others. Why won't they fight?!

Rosie's eyes water as terror overcomes her. The soldiers throw her at Ceth's feet, but no amount of might can keep me from her. I slam my head into Gabriel's at the same moment I thrust my weight downward. He drops me, and I grab Rosie, shoving her behind me. "You sick fucking bastard!"

My parents remain vacant behind us, and for a moment, I think maybe I can get them all away. Maybe I can stop this. But Ceth grins down at me, amusement dancing across his features. "It's an honor to be chosen as the gift to the goddess. An honor those in the mortal realms are kept unaware of. An honor these chosen six have yet to be imparted."

I don't turn as the rest of the prisoners are brought forward, thrashing and screaming. Two humans are brought forward first to await their demise. The crowd watches on in silence.

"Tonight won't be like any gala before," Ceth leans down, gripping my chin before he speaks to the guards. "Close the gates."