Dark Side of the Moon (The Lost Royals Saga Book 2)

by Rachel Jonas

  “When the time is right, it’ll happen, and it’ll be incredible,” he smiled. “But tonight … it’s okay for you to hurt.”

  A tear slipped down my cheek as I took him up on that, letting myself feel. Letting myself fully grasp what I’d done; what I’d lost.

  Closing the distance between us, I moved into his arms, settling against his chest as the warmth of an embrace tightened around my shoulders. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he stopped me. He’d made it his duty to be my protector.

  And, apparently, that sometimes even meant protecting me from myself.

  *****

  Liam

  She was warm and perfect beside me where she slept, sharing my bed tonight because she didn’t want to be alone. Sleep never came, not for me anyway. Probably because I was still in shock after having turned her down.

  It had nothing to do with not wanting her, but had everything to do with not wanting her to regret it all by morning. She was in no frame of mind to make such a life-changing decision. Not after what she’d been through.

  I had zero expectations when it came to our progress. That way, if things moved slowly, or didn’t move at all, there was no room for disappointment. That was the only thing that got me through tonight—lying beside the woman I love, exercising an inhuman measure of restraint as I struggled not to go back on my word. She needed me, but not in that way. Not tonight.

  I traced the bracelet she moved from my wrist to hers right before she drifted off. We’d never been traditional in any sense of the word, so exchanging rings didn’t appeal to me or her back then. The bracelets were uniquely us, and taking hers back, wearing it, she made it clear she didn’t intend to run.

  At the risk of waking her, I laced my fingers with hers where they rested on my chest, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it. Her heart beat against my side and I didn’t imagine heaven could even be so perfect.

  This, here with her, was my heaven.

  However, the next instant, our little slice of paradise was interrupted by a frantic knock at the door.

  Evangeline startled awake, quickly sitting upright in bed, clutching a hand to her chest when the pounding hit the air for a second time.

  “Sit tight. I’ll see who it is.” I moved quickly through the darkness, trudging toward the door.

  Squinting when light filtered in from the hallway, my eyes landed on Elise. Hers were wild with concern and the sight of her panicked expression made my heart race.

  What now?

  “Can I come in?” she asked. Peering over her shoulder as a monitor passed by, making his rounds.

  I glanced inside my room where Evangeline climbed out of bed wearing the t-shirt I’d given her before bed.

  I stepped back and closed the three of us inside, hitting the switch on a nearby lamp that brought the space to life in the middle of the night.

  “I’m sorry to bother you so late, but we’ve got a problem.”

  Of course, we did.

  “What is it?” I asked, knowing I’d regret this.

  Today had been a strange mix of highs and lows. And now, from the way Elise rushed to open and boot her laptop, I knew this was another low. The cycle continued.

  “This,” she sighed. “Kas got Dallas on the walkie when he found her.”

  I peered at the camera, staring at one of the combat instructors on the ground with a heavy pipe lying beside her. I could only guess it’d been used to knock her out cold.

  But what was even more problematic was the empty cell beside her.

  My fists clenched at my sides.

  “He did this?” I barely got the words out, my jaw was so tense.

  Elise shook her head. “No. He had help,” she replied, rewinding the footage further, pointing toward a still of Roz and Nick escaping.

  Hand in hand.

  “His accomplice,” Elise added.

  My gaze moved toward Evangeline as worry spread across her face. I hated seeing it there, but was honestly relieved she wasn’t taking this so lightly anymore.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked, shifting my gaze back toward Elise. “We’re gonna need reinforcements to keep an eye on her. Do we even know where he is?”

  Elise breathed deep. “All we know is he left the facility. Straight up the elevator shaft like before, but with less finesse,” she added. “Meaning, he’s conscious of what he’s doing this time.”

  The blood in my veins ran hotter than usual. “Do we have eyes topside?”

  Elise nodded. “Dallas assembled a team,” she assured me. “If he returns … we’ll know about it, but … I have a feeling he doesn’t intend to come back.”

  “Not consciously,” I corrected. “Who knows what he’ll do or where he’ll go if he blacks out.”

  I paced and thought, adding, “There has to be more we can do.”

  Elise didn’t chime in, prompting me to glance her way. She had a thought, but wasn’t sharing it.

  “What?” I asked, pausing mid-step.

  Her gaze flitted toward Evangeline for a moment.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Elise began. “Ever since you mentioned earlier that, when she faced the witches … their magic didn’t work on her.”

  I nodded. “What about it?”

  Elise pursed her lips together and, for the fraction of a second, I thought I saw hope in her eyes.

  “You’ve got a plan?” I was ready to hear it. Whatever it was.

  “Well … it’s half a plan,” she began. “If we can get Hilda here, I think Evangeline may be ready. I think she’s powerful enough.”

  My brow tensed. “Powerful enough? In what way and for what purpose?”

  I followed Elise’s hand when she shoved it inside her pocket, bringing out a tightly closed fist as words left her mouth. Words my brain could hardly register.

  “…To bring them back,” she replied. “My boys.”

  Her eyes went to Evangeline again. “I’ve already explained that Hilda is your father’s sister, one of the most powerful witches to ever live,” she explained. “That power is inherited, passed down from one generation of women to the next.” A kind smile touched her lips. “Meaning … there’s a reason those witches couldn’t touch you today, a reason, despite a curse that was placed on me centuries ago … you were still born.”

  “Curse?” I’d never heard anything about it.

  Elise nodded, breathing deep before she explained. “It was the Sovereign’s witches. Shortly after Noah and I fell in love, word traveled quickly, mostly because it was unheard of for a dragon and a lycan to coexist—let alone for the originals to fall in love. One evening before we were married, Noah sent for me. Said he couldn’t survive another night without me,” she shared with a distant smile. “So, I left with the two guards he sent, but our path was intercepted. It was the Sovereign.” A cold look filled Elise’s expression.

  “He knew he had no one powerful enough to kill me, so he did the next best thing,” she explained. “He’d given his witches orders to hex me, damning me to only ever give birth to male children and that they would be sterile, unable to bare children of their own, just to mock me. It ensured that, if we were to ever be killed off … our bloodline would die with us.”

  Her gaze lifted toward Evangeline.

  “…And then you came, defying their magic—a girl child born to a dragon, one who’d been cursed to only ever have sons.” She crossed the room and stood before Evangeline, locking eyes with her only daughter. “You’re more special than you realize.”

  Her thin fingers unfolded, finally revealing what she’d removed from her pocket. Six gold rings with smooth, black stones set in their centers—rings that matched one of my own I’d kept locked away for years.

  Elise’s eyes were alight with hope as she stared into Evangeline’s, speaking two words that filled the room with so much uncertainty for the future.

  “It’s time.”

  To be continued…

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  HEART OF THE DRAGON

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  Even the deadliest dragon warrior has a weakness … his answers to the name Evangeline.

  Liam suffered the loss of his mate once before, but with forbidden magic, Evie has returned to him. His reputation as “The Reaper” is one he earned … one kill at a time. So, if there’s any warning his enemies should heed, it’s that he’ll stop at nothing to keep history from repeating itself; will stop at nothing to protect her.

  Evie senses the walls rapidly closing in as her role in the revolution becomes clear—a movement in which the supernatural order has begun to shift. All who stand for the cause have made sacrifices, including Evie who’s faced several hard truths. The hardest lesson being one that brought loyalty into question—a single, careless act at the hands of someone she trusted.

  Someone who nearly cost her everything.

  Nick never wanted any of this. As he struggles to understand the nature of his dual identities, he’s haunted by the pain and destruction he’s caused as his dark side gains strength.

  Escaping his cell and running was the only option, but that doesn’t mean he’ll escape the repercussions.

  No one’s out of the woods yet. The line between enemies and allies blurs for the Seaton Falls clan amidst rising tension, rumors of a traitor among them ... and the arrival of an uninvited guest.

  *

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