Guardians of Moonlight: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (Guardians of the Fae Book 3) Read online

  Guardians of Moonlight

  Elizabeth Hartwell

  Contents

  Also by Elizabeth Hartwell

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Elizabeth Hartwell

  Guardians of the Fae Series:

  Book 1 - Guardians of Magic

  Book 2 - Guardians of Hellfire

  Book 3 - Guardians of Moonlight

  I’d love to hear from you!

  Contact - [email protected]

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  Chapter 1

  Eve

  “So this is the Sun Emperor’s Court,” Jacob muses as we enter the gleaming, high gates of the castle. “Not impressed. I’ve seen better.”

  “Oh, really?” I ask, trying to keep my nerves under control. The whole trip to this kingdom has been disconcerting for me. “And just where is that?”

  “Eilean Donan Castle,” Jacob says after slightly too much consideration. “Of course, I saw it when the buildings were new and original. Made this place look small in comparison.”

  I snort, taking his hand. “You’re full of shit, Jacob. But thank you.”

  “Always a pleasure, Princess,” Jacob says, giving my hand a squeeze. I know that he’s just trying to reassure me, distracting me from the fact that I’m scared stiff.

  With my ‘new’ bracers, along with the collar around my neck, I have full reason to be scared. I’m powerless. I can’t even get a whisper on our Link, and as for using any of the power that I had just a week ago? I don’t think I could even pull a rabbit out of a hat. Considering that six nights ago I was floating in a ball of green dark energy, it’s unbalancing. Unsettling.

  “Remember your rights,” a quiet, calm voice says on the other side of me. I look to see Lorelai, my advocate and I guess my sister-in-law, considering she’s Cole’s older sister. Taller than me, her face is clad in one of her tighter masks, forming to her slightly sharp jawline and regal nose like a second skin. She’s going to be the representing me at today’s . . . whatever it is. “And have faith.”

  “I believe in what I have,” I reply honestly, looking at my four Guardians. Jacob, Noah, Tyler, and Cole, four men I’ve pledged my heart to, who’ll be my strength and my support, no matter what. “And I have the power to shape realms with me.”

  Lorelai nods as we reach the bottom of the steps and stand in front of a huge stone gate. She pauses, taking a deep breath before looking up.

  “Here we go.”

  “Wait,” I say quickly, laying a hand on her shoulder. “You have done this before, right?”

  “In the Vale, yes,” Lorelai admits. “But this is considered the highest court in the realm.”

  “Great,” I mutter, shivering a little. “Let’s hope Lady Justice is blind here then.”

  We walk up the steps, twenty-seven, I notice for some reason, before we get to the top and two heavily-armed Solarian warriors open the door for us. From inside, a quiet murmur of voices rises into a hum.

  “Lady Lorelai Wintersong of the Vale, representing Eve Carter of the human realm!”

  The six of us step forward into a gorgeous pure white room that looks like a miniature colosseum. Fluted marble columns support an upper tier where I can see spectators looking down on us, some hostile, some curious, some afraid. Across from us is a long bench arrayed in an arc. Sitting in seven seats are four men and three women, all of them radiating a sense of power.

  One of them, in the middle seat, sits slightly higher, and the power radiating from him is almost a physical light, his blond hair in loose ringlets that go down to his shoulders and his face beaming.

  The second person who catches my eye is a beautiful woman in one of the seats, not for her nearly incomparable beauty but because of the utter rage and hatred radiating from her face. If she has any type of demonic power, I’d expect fire to shoot from her eyes to burn me to a cinder where I’m standing. I can only assume that I’m seeing Cassina for the first time.

  “Take the podium,” Lorelai says quietly, urging me forward. “I will speak first.”

  I nod, glancing behind me as my Guardians array themselves three steps back, unarmed, unfortunately, but the love I feel radiating from their eyes helps. Tyler nods, flashing me a little smile.

  You can do this.

  I mount the podium, placing my hands on the white stone railing as Lorelai steps forward. As soon as I do, Lorelai steps in front of me and lifts her eyes to the man in the center of the bench.

  “I object, Sire.”

  “And what is the nature of your objection?” the man in the middle asks, his voice calm and slightly amused. He’s not mocking this proceeding, but instead, I get the sense that to him, everything is to be approached with a smile, even the most somber of events.

  “We haven’t even begun yet. Can we at least do that before you start objecting?”

  Lorelai glances back, and I nod. Lorelai turns back to the bench and bows. “Of course, Sire. But I reserve the right to object at the proper time.”

  “As you wish,” the man says. He clears his throat and for the first time looks me directly in the eyes. His eyes are the standard amber gold of Fae, but they sparkle with an intense inner light.

  “Eve Carter, since you are new to our realm, and I am not sure your advocate may have fully informed you of where you are, let me take a moment. I am Kaelen Lightwing, King of the Solarian Court and Emperor of what you know as the Fae realm. The other six with me are known as The Council. They represent the other six dominions. The other Fae you see on the floor with you is the . . . prosecution. Today is a hearing, what you might call a trial. A vote will decide your guilt or innocence. Understand so far?”

  Lorelai gives me a nod, and I clear my throat. “I do.”

  Lightwing nods, smiling a little. “Good. Now, if the charges will please be read.”

  From next to the bench area, another Fae stands up that I haven’t noticed before, reading off a list of charges from a scroll. Some of them I expect. Suspected murder, incitement to violence, practicing of demonic arts, maybe even arson . . . but seduction of my Guardians? Destruction of wildlife? It seems they’re throwing everything they can think of, trying to paint me in a bad light. Judging by the reaction of the gallery and the Fae on the bench, it’s working.

  Once the charges are read, Lightwing looks at Lorelai. “I assume this is where you’d like to state your objection, Lad
y Wintersong?”

  Lorelai nods, squaring her shoulders. “I do. I demand that one of the Council be recused from the case. Queen Cassina is not objective in this case, considering that the charges of murder, theft, and seduction are all directly related to her or her subjects.”

  The woman who’s been staring at me with utter hatred recoils, her lip lifting in a sneer. “You would dare accuse me of—”

  “She has a point,” Lightwing says, cutting her off with a raised hand. He looks at me, then at Cassina, who can’t tear her eyes off me as her hands clench on the bench in front of her.

  “Agreed. While Queen Cassina may be allowed to question the accused, she will not have a vote in the determination of Eve Carter’s guilt.”

  For the first time, Cassina turns her fury away from me for a moment to glare at Lightwing. “I have never, in six hundred years on this Council, been told to recuse myself from a case. A history stretching back to your father’s reign—”

  “And my father’s reign was glorious, but it is five decades past,” Lightwing replies, his eyes firm. “Queen Cassina, I may be half your age, but on this Council, it matters for not. I am the High Throne, and you are recused from this case. Now, we will proceed.”

  Lorelai turns to me, her eyes twinkling as she gestures me down. “That’s good for us. A tie is equal to a not guilty.”

  The hearing starts, and I feel like I’ve been sent back to my time on the New Haven Police Department. I’ve always hated court cases. Testifying is like a trip to the dentist for me. I think it’s part of growing up an orphan. I always feel like judges and lawyers are doing their best to make me look like an idiot, a little whelp undeserving of the court’s time. Now, of course, I’m the one being questioned not for someone else’s guilt, but my own.

  Still, Lorelai is as smart as she is beautiful, and as the arguments from the Fae prosecutor continues, she answers them perfectly. I quickly realize that she’s my best chance of walking out of here clean and free.

  First, of course, each of my Guardians is called forward to answer questions from the Council, stating their mission to gather me from New Haven and outlining the basics of our adventures there. After they’re done, the prosecution continues.

  “In the matter of the murder of the Handmaidens—”

  “Miss Carter cannot be held accountable,” Lorelai counters. “First, the deaths occurred not in the Fae realm, but in the human realm. In her parlance, she wasn’t in our jurisdiction. Second, she did not know who the handmaidens were. She just saw two of the four men she cared for being assaulted by magical beings who invaded their dwelling. Self-defense clearly applies here.”

  One of the other members of the Council scoffs. “Are you honestly trying to tell this court that even after multiple days of these four . . . Guardians speaking with and . . . lying in bed with them, she did not know who Queen Cassina’s Handmaidens were or their authority?”

  “Why don’t we ask her?” Lightwing intrudes. “Miss Carter, how do you remember the incident?”

  I clear my throat, looking the Council in their eyes. “I saw a group of women using weapons on four naked, unarmed men whom, looking back, I can say I loved even then. I reacted to protect them.”

  Some on the Council scoff, but the emperor doesn’t as we continue.

  The next accusation that surprises me is that of ‘property damage and arson.’ “Specifically, the court accuses Eve Carter of burning significant portions of the city and castle of Vale, as well as the portion of Queen Cassina’s borderlands known as the Twisted Woods.”

  Lorelai objects. “How can you charge Eve with burning down the Vale when I am of the Vale nobility? I accuse her of no crime!”

  “Perhaps, but your father and mother do,” Lightwing says, his hands folded on his lap.

  “I also do not accuse Eve of a crime!” Cole declares, interrupting.

  “Silence, before I accuse you and your brothers of treason and abetting a half-demon’s evil!” Cassina hisses, her eyes burning. “You, who swore your sword and life to me!”

  Cole looks like he’s about to argue, but I beg him with my eyes to not push it further.

  Emperor Lightwing clears his throat. “Now let’s move on . . . regardless of your objections, your father has primacy in that matter. And the Twisted Woods—”

  “Were evil!” I growl, unable to hold back my frustration. “Filled with monsters, Childless Ones who feasted on the unwitting and unlucky for centuries! It was a good thing that I burned that place down!”

  One of the other Council members, a bushy-browed older Fae whose hair is starting to go whitish-gray, snorts. “Typical short-sighted thinking. If it weren’t that your other half were demon, I’d say almost human.”

  “I’d rather be human than an arrogant twat,” I growl under my breath, making the old Fae growl in anger. Behind me, I can hear Jacob chuckle, and even the emperor seems to crack a smirk at the comment as he clears his throat.

  “The accused will try to always address the Council in a clear and easily heard voice,” he gently admonishes me. “Continue.”

  It feels like the whole thing both takes forever and goes far too fast. Most of it is the prosecutor listing his evidence, making statements that I can read in the Council’s eyes that they’re swallowing most of it, especially after my lineage is defined.

  Finally, it’s time for the closing arguments. The prosecutor tugs on the hem of his blindingly white double-breasted tunic as he strides to the middle of the room.

  “My Lords and Ladies of the Council, you have heard all the charges, the acts of which are undeniable. Even my esteemed opposing advocate, Lady Lorelai Wintersong, a Fae whose own use of magic has sometimes been highly suspect, cannot refute them. Regardless, Eve Carter is a threat. It is obvious, after what you have heard today, that if she is allowed to remain unchecked, her lack of control of her powers will lead to calamity. Already, she has admitted to burning down forests, attacking soldiers, and nearly opening one of the legendary gates between realms. What else would happen if she were to continue? You must decide for the safety of the entire Fae realm.”

  Emperor Lightwing looks at me, leaning forward. “Miss Carter, the final statement is yours. Your advocate cannot speak for you.”

  I nod, clearing my throat as I look down, trying to decide what to say. Finally, I reach over and take a sip of water, relishing the deliciousness of the inherent magic of the Fae realm.

  I speak my heart. “Six months ago, I would have agreed with the prosecution,” I say, setting my glass of water down. “As a cop on the 54th Para Justice Squad, if you’d told me that a being existed who is capable of doing what I’ve done in the past few months, I’d have shot first and asked questions later. Even when my own powers were starting to emerge and I thought I was going insane, I would have tried to kill any being with the power that I now know courses through my body and is held back by these bracers and collar that I wear.

  “But I’ve learned something in the past few weeks. These five individuals here on the floor with me taught me to let go of my hatred, to embrace who I am. Yes, I am a halfling. A halfling who is apparently half-Fae and half-demon. I am a being of light and darkness, and in the past six weeks, I’ve done some things that I will always regret. I’ve taken innocent lives, and for that, there is no excuse. It was from my hands that the power came, regardless of whether I was being controlled or not. I unleashed Hell, I rampaged . . . and I’ll have that blood on my conscience for the rest of my days.

  “But I also believe, deep in my heart, that I am not guilty of what you accuse me of. Cassina’s handmaidens, especially Lysette, were guilty of crimes that I won’t go into here. I defended those whom I hold close, and I swear here in this Council chamber that I have learned more about controlling my powers in the past few weeks than I’ve thought possible. I’ve been given a power that I’m cramming every minute of time I can into learning to control. But until I do, I must trust in a magic more powerful than the Light o
r the Dark, more powerful than the Fae or Hell.”

  “And what is that?” Emperor Lightwing asks.

  I glance at my Guardians and turn back to face the Council. “I place my faith in the magic of love.”

  A ripple of conversation rings the Council Chambers, and the emperor sits back, raising an eyebrow. “I see. Well, this is highly irregular, but then, you are highly irregular. Before we conclude, I have a few questions for you. Your lineage, you are sure you are half-Fae and half-demon?”

  “As far as I know. This is all still new to me.”

  “In your case, I believe we are all new. And you have no idea how a union that could produce you came to be?”

  I shake my head. “Sorry, but no. I know the Dark Rider showed me flashes, but as everyone keeps telling me, if he really was the avatar of the King of Hell, I can’t trust a word he said or a thing he showed me.”

  “That gives me great pause to worry,” another member of the Council says. “Whether you know the details of your conception or not, your very existence is cause for worry, based on the evidence. For centuries, the demons have been trying to tear a greater hole in the veil between realms. Queen Cassina is not the only monarch who needs to spend considerable coin to keep highly-trained warriors for dealing with threats. For you to just walk away with four of them is . . . troubling.”

  “I’m sure Cassina will have no shortage of volunteers to take the positions that she had in store for my Guardians,” I retort, making Cassina’s face turn red in fury . . . or maybe embarrassment. I wonder how many know of her use of the draining magic?