Something very strange happened when Sage grabbed Lizzy’s hand. Sage multiplied into four, and so did Zwaantie by extension. She didn’t recognize herself. Nobody from Sol would recognize her, and she wondered if Leo would.
Most of the dancing that night was done in groups, but three times the Lovers’ Chance played. Zwaantie danced with many different men. Most were polite and handsome. Some were a little scary, and some were overly friendly. Then there was Ari.
He danced with Zwaantie every chance he got. He rescued her a couple times from the overly friendly men. Most of the time he didn’t talk, but he did hold her close, and she was very aware of the way his body felt against hers.
“Do you still love Phoenix?”
She hesitated. Phoenix had ripped her heart to shreds. Did she love him? “I don’t know. It’s very hard for me to connect the Phoenix I know now and the Phoenix I knew in Sol. To me they are hardly the same person. But then I’ve changed since I’ve come here. I’m not sure Phoenix and I would even be compatible anymore. There are things Stella’s offered me that I won’t give up even after Leo and I move back to Sol.”
“Like what?”
“Like the clothes. And I’m bringing a beauty mage home with me.”
He pulled Zwaantie closer so she was pressed against his body and his lips were right near her ear. They danced silently for a moment, and then the bell rang to signal a change of partners, but he didn’t let her go. The music shifted at that point, slower, a ballad, and Ari sang quietly in her ear.
“You have a nice voice,” Zwaantie said.
“Thank you. What does love feel like?”
Zwaantie pulled back and looked up at him. His eyebrows creased together in a look of concern. “I just want to know what it feels like.”
“Why? I thought you were happy in all your lustful adventures.”
He grimaced. “I can trust you, right?”
“Of course.”
He pulled her close to him again and spoke low into her ear. “At first, it was about the sex and the fun. But for the last several years, I’ve been searching for the one person who I can be with forever. I’m tired of different girls. I want a best friend and a lover as one. But to me, they all feel the same. I’m attracted to them, sure, but I can’t seem to care about them beyond that.”
“I thought you never wanted to marry.”
“I don’t. I’d resent my wife forever if I did, but it doesn’t mean I can’t be with just one person. I want to know what love feels like.”
“Why would you resent your wife?”
“Because then I’d have no choice but to remain faithful. At first I probably wouldn’t care, but over time I’d resent her. Please. Tell me about love.”
Zwaantie sighed. She was about to admit something to him that she hadn’t even admitted to herself.
“I don’t think I was ever in love with Phoenix. I mean, I thought I was, but I’m not sure it really was love. I think I was infatuated. Here, in Stella, I feel things so much more intensely. Phoenix seems like a dream. I’m not sure I ever really knew him. I think I was in love with the idea of him. Plus, I so desperately wanted to marry for love that I latched onto him, thinking he was the one. But now I’m not so sure.”
Since Zwaantie had arrived in Stella, her emotions had taken such a beating. She hardly knew what she felt anymore. She couldn’t imagine not fulfilling her duty and marrying Leo. She had to save that baby.
She also knew she liked the feel of Ari’s arms around her, and once again, she was left confused.
Chapter 34
The Old Mother
The bell rang, and Ari gave Zwaantie up to a man with horns growing out of his head. As the night wore on some people disappeared behind closed doors. Others lounged on couches and chairs that were spread out around the edge of the dance floor.
The illusions were starting to wear off. Zwaantie could see the tiger still had a tail, but his face was beginning to resemble a man. Sage danced with a blue man, and her wings were gone, and Zwaantie’s body was fighting to stay awake. She spotted an open cushion and decided that maybe she’d go sit for a while, but Ari caught her arm.
“Last dance?”
Zwaantie smiled and nodded. The music was slow and soft. The incessant beating of the drums had stilled, leaving only several pianos playing a haunting melody. Ari pulled her close to his body, and his heart beat against hers. It struck Zwaantie again how odd it was to be so close to someone who weeks ago she would’ve considered naked, even though he was wearing pants.
Ari bent his head down to Zwaantie’s ear and whispered. “Tell me a secret.”
This again. Oh well, at least now she was prepared. “I don’t want to go back to Sol. I want stay here. Forever.”
He grinned. “Why don’t you?”
“Because I have a country to run. I will be queen.”
He was quiet for a few minutes.
“Your turn,” Zwaantie said. “I want a secret from you.”
This time he didn’t lean down to whisper. He didn’t have to. The music had faded to nearly nothing, and they were almost alone on the dance floor. He looked Zwaantie straight in the eyes, and she was startled by how bright they were.
“When people take Glow, they glow yellow. I asked Sage what color you were because I was having trouble believing it. She said you were yellow.”
“That’s not a secret.”
Ari leaned closer so that his nose practically touched hers. “But I don’t see yellow. For me, you glow pink.”
He leaned down, and Zwaantie knew he was about to kiss her. She wanted this kiss, and yet she didn’t.
“You’re my soul mate,” he breathed against her lips.
Zwaantie tightened her grip on him, knowing she was about to delve into something she shouldn’t. Something forbidden.
Someone grabbed her shoulder and whipped her around. An old woman glowered at her. She had a weather-beaten face and wore an old tattered coat. Zwaantie squinted.
“Wilma?”
She cackled. “You never learn, do you girl?”
“Excuse me?”
Ari gripped Zwaantie’s arm and pulled her close to him. “That’s the Old Mother,” he hissed.
“No. That’s Wilma, the midwife in Sol.”
Wilma closed the distance. Zwaantie looked around. No one else seemed to notice the intruder.
“You’re both correct. Shame I’m bound by prophecy at the moment, or you’d be dead.”
Wilma’s eyes had taken on a cold glare. Zwaantie still wasn’t sure what was going on.
“I…I don’t understand.”
Wilma gave her a sugary smile. “Tell me, how do you feel about Prince Leo?”
“We’re in love. Everyone knows that.”
“Don’t lie to me, girl.” Wilma took a step toward her. “The vipers attacking people. All your fault. They know you don’t really love the prince and that your marriage will be a sham. Not a true union. The wedding will change nothing if you don’t love him.”
Zwaantie felt as if a fist had slammed into her chest. The deaths. Her fault. How was this possible?
“A prophecy,” Ari whispered in a low voice. “Do you have one?”
She turned her glare on Ari. “Ever the meddlesome one, aren’t you? The union between Stella and Sol must be unshakable. Right now, it is weak. The vipers are warming up. They are restless, and they know their time is coming. They are ready to take the child prince and unleash their wrath against the people of Stella. As long as they sense the weak union, they will become bolder. You’re failing, princess.”
Without warning, she disappeared.
Zwaantie stood frozen to the spot.
She’d been willing to sacrifice her happiness. Her shot at true love. Her freedom for the people of Stella. But now destiny demanded more.
It demanded her heart.
The End
I hoped you enjoyed reading Prince of the Moon. If you are interested in the next book in the series
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Check out this excerpt from Kimberly Loth’s exciting series, The Thorn Chronicles.
Birthdays are supposed to be special like my Kaiser Wilhelm rosebushes. They bloom once a year, huge violet and crimson cups full to bursting with petals. When I part the petals with my nose and inhale, I go weak in the knees from the fruity perfume. But my birthdays are more like the daisies that grow alongside the roses. Ignored.
The sink looked odd next to our front door. My mother had it installed after I kept tracking in dirt and fertilizer from my greenhouse. I washed the soil off my hands with the warm water and used a file to clear the dirt out from under my nails. Then I exchanged one dirty pair of ugly tennis shoes for a pair of clean ugly tennis shoes and made my way into the kitchen. Mother didn’t allow a speck of soil from my greenhouse to dirty her home.
Paint on the cabinets peeled away in white curls. A single light bulb gave enough light to cook but not enough to read a recipe. My mother stood by the tiny window, her bottle blond hair twisted in a bun on the back of her head. She wiped her hands on her apron then smoothed a stray hair from my braid. I knelt down to tie my shoes, anything to avoid her touch. Physical touch burned, even something as little as a finger brushing my forehead.
“Wash your face. We have guests for dinner.” My stomach knotted. I tied and untied my shoes three times, wondering how to respond. Years ago, my father had closed our home to visitors. No one crossed our threshold. I was allowed to leave only to go to school and to church. Well, if you want to call it that. I’ve watched movies in school and I went to the Baptist church until I was eight. Our new church, Crusaders of God, was a bigger shock than no more pants. But Mother and Father called it church.
“Why?” I asked. My curiosity overrode my memory of the last question I asked when Grandma died and I wanted to know why I couldn’t go to the funeral. I stood and waited for the slap and a lecture.
Instead, she smiled like she was hiding something important.
“For your birthday. They’re friends of your father’s from church. We have a big surprise for you.”
Of course. Friends of my father. Nothing ever happened in our house unless he was the center of attention. Even on my birthday. At least they remembered. The surprise concerned me though, as the last surprise they announced turned out to be a drastic lifestyle change complete with long denim skirts and strict obedience. Oh, and no more birthdays. Until now, apparently. Maybe the surprise would be that my father finally found his sanity. That would be an amazing birthday present. I doubted I’d get that lucky.
Dinner took place in the dining room. The cheap chandelier struggled to fill the room with light as two of the bulbs were out and nobody bothered to replace them. Our mysterious dinner guest turned out to be familiar. And not the good kind of familiar either.
Dwayne Yerdin sat at the table. He was a senior at my school but ended up in quite a few of my classes even though he was two years older. I probably shouldn’t judge him. But with his heavy lidded, half closed eyes, buzzed head, and classic bully laugh, I had disliked him the moment I saw him. Perhaps he would prove my judgment wrong tonight. Seated next to him was a pudgy man in a suit. He wore a tie, but his neck was too thick to fasten the top button. He had the same heavy lidded eyes as Dwayne.
My father, a tall thin man with thick blond hair, saw me waiting in the doorway.
“Naomi, it’s about time. Come and meet Dwayne and his father. They go to church with us. Here, sit.”
My father indicated the chair next to Dwayne, but I sat across from him instead. My head buzzed with the act of disobedience and the air smelled faintly of wisteria. I almost smiled. A look of irritation passed over my father’s face, but he didn’t say anything. Next to my father, the pudgy man stared at me with piercing gray eyes.
My mother served us all pot roast and baked potatoes. She piled every plate high but hers and mine. Hunger kept me humble. And skinny. I focused on my food most of the dinner, not wanting to meet the pudgy man’s gaze. Or Dwayne’s. His eyes shifted rapidly around the room as if he were looking for the nearest exit. But when his eyes met mine he smirked, like he knew something I didn’t.
My father and Mr. Yerdin talked of politics and religion, not once acknowledging that anyone else sat at the table. Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised since more than one sermon had been preached about the place of women and children. We were inferior and didn’t deserve an opinion that differed from our husbands’ or fathers’, so it was best that we just didn’t say anything at all. As the conversation turned to the medical experiments Dad performed on the dog that had been dumped in our yard last week, I tuned out and tried to think of what I would get if I crossed an Iceberg rose with a Sunsprite. A nice pale yellow and only a few thorns. Could be interesting. If Grandma were still alive, she’d appreciate it.
A quick glance at the clock told me they’d only been here forty-five minutes, but it felt like days. After another excruciating hour, Mother presented the cake. The carrot cake (my father’s favorite) had sixteen candles on it. I had not had a cake with candles since my eighth birthday. On that day, the cake was chocolate, my favorite, but that was before Father went insane. I missed those days, the ones before he went crazy. When he would come home and take me canoeing and fishing. When we would wake up early on Saturdays and go to breakfast at Sheila’s Café. I blinked back tears thinking of the father he used to be.
After the cake, I moved to help my mother clean up, but Father put a hand on my wrist, a signal to stay seated. The skin burned where he touched it.
“See,” my father said, “she’s obedient.”
Mr. Yerdin grinned. “Yes, of course she is. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Dr. Aren. Dwayne, what do you think?”
Dwayne shrugged and shifted his eyes. Me, I kept my mouth shut and listened for the words that weren’t being said.
Mr. Yerdin eyed me up and down. “Well, she certainly has the required blond hair and blue eyes.”
“And she’s a virgin.” My father spoke this a little too loudly and I flinched. My mother paused before picking up Mr. Yerdin’s plate. She met my father’s eyes and nodded. Then the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly.
My stomach sank at the thought of what my birthday surprise would be. Although part of me did not want to hear the rest of the conversation, but to escape back into the quiet world of flowers and dirt, another part of me needed to know what my future held, where being a virgin was important.
I cleared my throat. Dwayne smiled a wide toothy smile and my father glowered like I’d done something wrong. Which, of course I had, but it would be worth the punishment if I got the answers I needed.
“Could someone please explain?” There. I asked the question. So out of character for me and yet satisfying in a strange way, like the way I felt when a teacher praised me for a good job. I bit my bottom lip and tasted butterscotch, which was weird because the cake we had, contained nothing of the sort. While I knew asking questions was not an act of disobedience, I also recognized the power in the asking. As if I was taking control, even if that control was small. I took a sip of my water. Father hesitated for a moment and then frowned. He looked up and saw my mother standing in the kitchen, her eyes boring into his. He didn’t look away from her when he answered me.
“You’ll be marrying Dwayne.”
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About the Author
Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. She spent two wild years in Cairo, Egypt. Currentl
y, she lives in Shenzhen, China with her husband and two kids as a full time author. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. She’s the author of Amazon bestselling series The Dragon Kings.
Also by Kimberly Loth
The Thorn Chronicles
Kissed
Destroyed
Secrets
Lies
The Dragon Kings
Obsidian
Aspen
Valentine
Skye
The Kings
Omega Mu Alpha Brothers
Snowfall and Secrets
Pyramids and Promises
Folly and Forever
Monkeys and Mayhem
Stella and Sol
God of the Sun
Prince of the Moon (April 2017)
King of the Stars (May 2017)
Queen of the Dawn (June 2017)
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I have to thank my loving heavenly father for allowing me to take this journey. Writing has been hard lately and this book would never be here without his guiding arm and mercy. Without his help, I wouldn’t have been able to move forward in spite of my own internal demons.
Will, you are my rock. Thank you. I love you.
Virginia, you have no idea how much I love you and appreciate all you do. Thank you.
Xandi and AJ, you’re growing too fast. Stop. Thanks for being great kids (teenagers, now….seriously, stop growing up.)
Mom, Matt, and Tiffany, Thank you for being such a supportive family. I’m so blessed.
Peachy and Ashley, my new bffs, you guys have no idea what your friendship in the past few months has meant to me. Thank you for listening and advising. Love you two!!!
BS, you know who you are. Thanks for teaching me that it’s okay to take a chance, fail and still be loved in the process.
Stella and Sol Box Set Page 34