Six

Moon

E verything happens so fast. One second, I’m swinging, and the next, I’m in the middle of a stadium, surrounded by screaming people.

“Congratulations to the newest Champion of The Tournament of Blood, War Blackblood!” the grating voice of the announcer shouts into the crowd of screaming fans.

I blink, then blink again. My vision is blurry, and I realize I’m covered in ketchup. That's just foul. On the bright side, I don’t remember being mauled by zombies.

That’s when the announcer's words click. Warrior… He won. I lost. As I look around, I also realize I’m not in the center of the stadium. I’m up in the crowd with the other losers.

I sit up since I was dumped none too gently on the fucking bleachers. I hear the whispers of the people around me as the stadium applauds their newest champion. The massive monitor that's displaying Warrior shows me the image of a man so unlike the one I met. The look in his eyes reminds me of the last time I saw Marcellus. A dark void.

He stands tall, shoulders back, head lifted with confidence. He was right. His mother sunk her claws into him the second he was away from me. I need to get down there to him. I made him a promise. Fuck!

“Moon!” Looking around, I find my men, including Kili and Crow, making their way to me. The seven of them crowd me, pulling me into their circle. Kili is staring at Warrior.

“We told them he’s one of your Heart Bonded, but Kili…” Arlo glances at my unhinged mate, “he’s losing it.” Looking at Kili, and then Crow, something clicks in my head.

“Blackblood…” I whisper, and a second later, Kili has a blade pressed to my throat.

“Who are you?” he hisses, and I raise my hands so he can see them.

“I’m yours.” His eyes flash, for just a second, but then they drift to the screen. To the image of Warrior. “Your brother?” I ask, and Kili nods, his movements jerky. “He has your hair.”

“Brother…” Crow asks, looking from Warrior to Kili. “The brother who only lived one day? He’s dead…”

“Necromancer,” Kili says so softly that we almost can’t hear him over the crowd.

“Here to crown our newest champion is your King and his new bride, Queen Genevieve Blackblood. As this is now a family affair, Kili Blackblood and our previous champion, Crow Blackblood, join us!”

“What the fuuuuuck?” I hiss, my eyes wide as the camera pans to Evie… “Oh, no,” I look at the two brothers, but both men seem frozen in place. That is, until Kili wraps his arms around my waist and slings me over his shoulder as Elven guards surround us.

“Leave the girl,” one of the guards barks, but Kili raises a blade.

“Touch her, and you all die,” he warns. There’s a pause. The guards exchange looks, and then collectively decide their lives are more valuable than leaving me behind.

“We’re coming too,” Tristan announces, and the guards look to the one guy who is probably in charge. He takes one look at the Elven prince and just shakes his head.

“Whatever, it’s your fucking funeral,” the guy snaps.

“Are you okay?” I ask Kili, as he starts toward the center of the stadium.

“I don’t know, Moonlight. I just don’t know.” He shakes his head, and I pat his back.

“We’ll get through this together.” I look over my shoulder until I can see the monitor. Until I can see Warrior. “He said his mother controls him. Hurts him…”

“His mother–my mother–is dead. The woman he’s talking about was my mother’s best friend. A Necromancer. That’s why she controls him. He was dead. She gave him a second life, and in return, he’s her puppet.”

“He told me his mind is clear when he’s near me. That her control fades.”

“I guess we’ll see how far her control goes once you're close enough to touch him,” Kili says.

“Are we going to kill the King?” I ask, whispering, so the guards don’t overhear.

“Immediately.” Kili and Crow growl in unison.

“Are we plotting mutiny?” Tristan whisper-shouts.

“Absolutely.” I grin at my playful Elf mate. I don’t feel very playful right now, but that never seems to matter to Tristan. He can lighten even the darkest of moments.

“Perfect.” Arlo cracks his knuckles, and my Murder Noodle nods. I pat the pebbles in my bra and fix my hair into a bun.

Premeditated murder requires an updo.

“First, we save Daire’s sister, and then we free Cato and Odas,” I announce, and my men all grunt their agreement. I fix my attention back to Warrior, and even though this position is uncomfortable, I keep my eyes on him.

The closer we get to Warrior, the clearer his eyes become. I watch as he shifts his stance and relaxes his shoulders. He’s not holding himself so tightly now. The second he realizes I’m close, he starts searching for me. It’s not until we’re on the stage, heading toward him that he spots me. He relaxes, but then his gaze drifts to Kili and then Crow. The curiosity in his eyes is undeniable. Did he know he had brothers?

Kili and Crow are shoulder to shoulder, and when we stop before Warrior, Kili places me on my feet, standing strong at my back, so I can face my newest mate.

“Did you know you had brothers?” Crow asks, voicing my earlier thoughts, and Warrior nods his head once. His eyes are blue, like Kili’s. His hair is the same silver shade. It’s clear to see that they’re brothers.

“She never told me who you were. Only that you hate me,” Warrior says, his gravelly voice making my heart ache. His words are just as upsetting.

“Did she tell you I’m the one who named you Warrior? Because you fought to live? You fought for every breath you took,” Kili asks, pounding a fist over his chest. Over his heart. Warrior shakes his head, but the look in his eyes is devastating. He never knew he was loved. Right from the instant Kili met his little brother, there was love there.

That woman stole that from both my men, and she’ll pay the price for that. For spending years leading my Warrior to believe he wasn’t wanted.

“I know the name carved into my heart. I knew someone called me Warrior, but she calls me War.” Warrior takes a step closer, and I can’t restrain myself anymore. I rush him, wrapping my arms around him and holding him tightly. I hold on until he stops trembling, then I peek around his large arm and get a good look at Evie. She looks unharmed.

She fucking better be. The Elven King will die. But how he dies will depend on how he’s treated Evie.

“Come, we have a sister to save, big brother,” Crow says to Warrior, giving him a strong pat on the shoulder. Tristan and my other mates keep a small distance from us. I think they want to give the brothers space to handle this how they like. I imagine Tristan will want to be a part of this as well, though.

The King has wronged a lot of the people I love.

I almost feel bad for him. He probably assumes he’s untouchable because he’s the King. Does he know his own son wants him dead? That several people are plotting his death?

I do a double-take because Fenrick is gone. He must be doing that light-bending thing so he can hide. Silas is also missing, but one look at the ground, and I find him. I lean up on my tiptoes, kissing Warrior’s cheek.

“Stay close. You’ll be safe,” I tell him before hustling over to my tiny Murder Noodle and scooping him up. Silas wraps himself around my wrist and gets slightly larger. He’s pure white, and I have to resist petting him. Now is not the time. But I make a mental note to pet him later…that sounds dirty, now that I think about it… ‘Hey Silas, can I pet your snake?’

“People of the Elven Realm, you are in for a treat tonight! Not only are we crowning the champion, but we have an execution as well. Three, in fact! For there are traitors to the crown among us,” the announcer says. I get my first good look at him.

He’s my height with circus clown red hair and pale skin. His eyes are too big for his face, and his nose is turned up in a way that makes his nostrils look like deep caves on his face. His lips are thin, and when he does his creepy smile, they basically disappear.

“I don’t like him,” I decide, and Kili chuckles. “Also, is he talking about you two?” I ask Crow and Kili. The brothers both nod.

“He’s got his guards moving in on Arlo,” a low voice whispers in my ear, and I shiver. Fenrick. I tip my chin down, so he knows I heard him. “We’re ready for them to make their move.”

“First, we’ll crown the victor! War, Congratulations. Your reward for your bravery in The Tournament of Blood is three Elven Crystals.” The announcer gestures to a levitating platter that's carrying the crystals.

For just a moment, I stare at them. They’re different colors and shine brightly in the light. One is hot pink and looks like it sparkles. Another one is purple and has an almost pearl-like quality to it, and the last is blue. They’re beautiful. I can understand why everyone is so obsessed with owning one. I’m so distracted by the sight of the crystals that I miss the announcer placing a crown on War’s head. He promptly removes it, and places it with the crystals.

“Now, onto the finale–”

“Would you shut the hell up, you creepy little asshole?” I snap, rushing forward, snatching the mic out of his hands. The glare he shoots me would be intimidating if he didn’t have fire engine red hair and his eye line wasn’t beneath mine.

He lunges forward, but Silas hisses and snaps his snake jaw at him.

“A Light One,” the announcer snarls, jumping backward away from me, and I grin.

I have scary snake privileges. Murder Noodle perks.

“Enough!” the King barks, lifting his arm. That's when his guards move forward, but my mates were ready. They move as one, surrounding me, as Tristan steps between us and his father, lifting his hand.

“All those loyal to me, stand down!” Tristan’s voice booms loudly, and everyone pauses. “All those loyal to the King, lay down your weapons!” Tristan’s voice is layered with his coercion magic. There are just a few guards who lay their weapons down, but the majority of them remain armed. “My father’s reign ends tonight.”

The entire stadium falls silent. There’s a shift in the air. The Elven people are known for their ruthlessness. There’s a reason they host The Tournament of Blood. They’re bloodthirsty…

I don’t think, as a whole, they’re loyal to any one king over another. As long as their king does what's best for the people, they don’t give a shit what kind of person he is.

They can’t be bothered to start a rebellion because if the king was abusing his people, they would simply kill him. The people of this realm outnumber the king. They outnumber his guards…

Luckily for the royal family, most of the population has no ambitions when it comes to ruling.

That being said…

They also love a good show.

And that's exactly what they’re about to get.

“Tristan!” the King shouts, moving toward his son. He makes it three steps before his own guards restrain him.

“You have a lot to answer for, and we don’t have all night,” Tristan interrupts, holding his hand up. “Let's start with my mother. People of the Elven Realm, you all know my father’s wives have a tendency to disappear. My own mother was killed, or so I was told. The truth is, she wanted to leave my father. She even fell in love with another. Then she tried to have my little brother murdered! But here he stands, alive and well.” Tristan gestures to Arlo, who waves. I smile at my cute mates, with their black hair and magenta eyes.

“This is treason!” the King shouts, but Tristan lifts his hand, and two more guards cover his mouth.

“Now he’s married to the youngest Blackblood. An Elven woman of barely eighteen,” Tristan goes on. The second the guards surrounded the King, Crow and Kili moved to their sister. Tristan has a handle on this, so I check on Evie.

“Are you okay?” I ask her, inspecting her more closely now. She looks tired but appears unharmed. Some wounds can be hidden, though.

“He hasn’t touched me. I’ve been drugging him. He sent the guards to collect me the same day my brothers followed you into the games. He was just waiting for the moment to strike. He wasn’t expecting me to fight back, though.” Evie shivers, but not because it’s cold. It’s hot enough out here that I’m sweating.

“I’m glad you’re okay. He won’t get another opportunity to hurt you,” I say, squeezing her hand.

“The only reason the King wants to execute anyone is that he knows the new Queen’s brothers would never allow their union to stand. And my half-brother, Arlo, is a threat to his reign. But don’t worry, people of the Elven Realm, you will get your blood.” Tristan lifts his hand once more, and this time, the guards force the King down to his hands and knees.

“Would you like to do the honors, Queen Genevieve?” Tristan offers, as a massive guard brings out a huge blade.

Evie scrunches her nose and shakes her head. “No, I’ll pass.” I chuckle at her words.

“I could always turn him into a bag of dicks?” I suggest, and Evie snorts a little giggle.

“Or blow his head up?” Daire adds.

“Yeah, or that.”

“If you want to satisfy the people's bloodlust, we might want to give them a show,” Tristan suggests.

“Fine.” I shrug. “I feel like blowing his head up would also be satisfying, but whatever.”