Read Moonlight for Free Online Page B

“me?”
    “Will you help me or not?”
    Sylas’s smile widened. “Yessssss…”
    Aowyn took a deep breath. “What must I do?”
    “Magic comes with a price, Princess. Are you prepared to pay it?”
    “If you end Ciatlllait and change back my brothers.”
    “I believe we can come to agreeable terms, Your Highness.”
    “What is the bargain?”
    Sylas raised his webbed hand and moved it in an arc through the air. “In one-thousand moons…”
    Aowyn’s jaw dropped. “That’s nearly three years!”
    Sylas blinked at her. “These things take time, Princess. I cannot simply magic it all away.”
    Aowyn sighed.
    Sylas continued, “In one-thousand moons, I will change your brothers back on one condition.”
    “Name it.”
    Sylas leveled his gaze on her. Aowyn felt as though his stare would bore through the very core of her.
    “You cannot breathe a word of it.”
    Aowyn’s brow knit. “That’s it? That’s too simple.”
    “Ah, yes, simple. It is the simple things that are the most difficult.”
    Aowyn tingled. The creature kept something from her. “What happens if I speak of our agreement?”
    The skin above Sylas’s jagged teeth rippled. “Your brothers die.”
    Aowyn gulped.
    Sylas extended his clammy hand. “Do we have a deal?”
    Aowyn’s hand reached forward hesitantly. She chewed her lower lip. How hard could it be?
    Sylas gripped her skin, sealing the deal with a hiss.
    Aowyn took in a sharp breath.
    Sylas backed away to the water. “Our deal is binding as soon as you leave the bogloch.”
    Aowyn watched the creature sink beneath the water that bubbled around him and then faded as if they had never been there to begin with.

THIS MEANS WAR
     
    Tall, dark-haired, handsome Bannock Blacksteed stood before his father proudly, almost too much so. There wasn’t a maiden he couldn’t rescue or a cause he could not save. He had muscles in all the right places. Firstborn of Lord Regent Rab, Vicomte of Blackthorn, across the sea from the Summer Isle, Bannock the Bold was the stuff of legend. His young brother, Xander, stood beside him.
    Bannock had seen his twenty-second summer, but Xander had only recently celebrated his sixteenth nameday. Baby fat still awkwardly clung to Xander in places while the rest of him was chiseled. He had seen plenty of sword play in training yards with Bannock, but had not been battle hardened or a war hero like his elder brother. Xander’s jaw flexed. He waited for his father to speak.
    “I’m sending you away.”
    Xander glanced at Bannock to see his older brother filled with bridled excitement.
    “I want you to take half of my army to the Summer Isle and claim it in the name of the Blacksteeds.”
    “Yes, Father.” Bannock’s voice was deep and rich and eager.
    “Aodhagáin, King of the Isle, has recently suffered the grievous loss of his beloved queen. Word has traveled that he is so forlorn that he hardly leaves his castle. Such a pity.”
    The two young men said nothing.
    Rab tilted forward in his chair. “He is weak and vulnerable now. Crush him.”
    Xander tapped the heels of his boots together like a good soldier.
    Bannock pounded his burly chest. “It will be my honor.”
    Rab waved for his servant and ordered ships, men, and all necessary equipment for Bannock. “You must arrive in time for their Bealtaine celebration. They will be at their weakest. Everyone will be distracted with festivities. Attack from the north end of the Isle. They have the fewest guards there. The Summer Isle has not seen war in many generations. The enemy is well-trained, but our men far outnumber them. Your job is simple.” Rab motioned toward his eldest son. “You may go.”
    Bannock went ahead of Xander and strode out of the room. Rab grabbed Xander’s elbow and pulled him aside. His expression went dark. “I’m sending you with him. Stay out of the way.”
    Xander’s brow knit. “Why must I stay out of the way? This is my chance to prove myself to you.”
    Rab’s jaw