The Black Moon's Curse (The Stellara Trilogy Book 1)

by Alicia Restucci

  Ophelia wiped her hands clean of sand as she looked between them. “Until we can look for him, let’s get to preparing that shelter, shall we?”

  Ember wasn’t sure if she agreed with that plan. It could be a waste of time if Klaus had a big enough shelter prepared. The sooner they had everything planned, the more prepared they could be when it was time to do the spell. “I think we should split up. We’ll get more done and get it done faster. We only have until nightfall before we need to hide from Klaus. Maybe sooner in case he isn’t so sane as Asher so nicely pointed out.” She said, her eyes narrowed as her gaze shifted to Asher.

  “We both know splitting up is a bad idea. It leaves us open to be picked off one by one with no chance of back up. We don’t know what else is on this island, or even how close my father’s ship is. He and your father have to know where we were going by now. If they didn’t know already, they have a witch to torture it out of Sebastian and his crew.” Asher was quick to remind her, and even quicker to point out the flaws in her plan.

  Before Ember could defend her suggestion, Ophelia moved between them. Her eyes narrowed as she looked from one to the other. “We cannot start picking fights with each other now. I know you’re both scared and grieving because I know I am too, but arguing and bickering with each other won’t change what happened. So, even if you don’t agree for good reasons, Asher, I think a little space between you two would do you both some good. Ember can start on finding food somewhere close by and in hearing distance and you and I can start on the shelter. Does that sound fair?”

  Neither spoke for a few minutes. Though Ember didn’t know if it was out of stubbornness or something else. Ophelia crossed her arms, sending them both a pointed look that clearly said someone better speak up soon before she really gets upset with them.

  Another minute passed before Ember’s eyes rolled at the childishnessof it all. “She’s right. Bickering every other breath won’t get us

  anywhere. I won’t wander off too far from the beach because you’re right. We don’t know what else is living here and we don’t know what state of mind Klaus is in.” She said, hoping this was enough of a compromise he’d see it as her meeting him halfway.

  Asher held out another minute, and Ember was sure if he was quiet any longer Ophelia was going to smack him herself. If Ember had to drop coin on that fight, she’d gladly put it on Ophelia coming out with a smirk on her face as she flipped her hair with no hint of injury. She knew Asher would agree, much to his pride’s disappointment.

  Clearing his throat, he finally caved and nodded. “Fine. You’re right, bickering will only slow us down. Don’t be gone more than an hour, hour and a half at most because I will come searching for you if you’re gone any longer than that. Don’t make me come in there searching for you, Ember, because it won’t be a pretty sight.”

  She knew he wasn’t joking.

  With a hesitant nod, she squeezed Ophelia’s hand as a silent way to wish her luck before she took off for the line of trees.

  She didn’t dare look back to see if they were watching her. Mostly because she knew for a fact that they were. Pausing at the entrance into the trees, she pressed her hand against the bark as her eyes searched as far as she could see. Nothing jumped out at her as dangerous, but usually things that wanted to eat someone didn’t reveal themselves until they were already in the process of killing their prey.

  Taking a deep breath, she took the first step forward and she didn’t stop until she deemed it far enough to start looking for anything that could be safe to eat. It meant it was also safe enough to look back without the risk of caving when she saw the worried faces on her friends. She just had to take a deep breath and relax. Her nerves were shot after the past twentyfour hours and she wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could take.

  It couldn’t be that hard to find something edible.

  She really hoped she didn’t just jinx herself by thinking that.

  Chapter 28

  By the time Ember had found enough food she assumed would feed the three of them, or at least enough to get them through the night, she knew more than an hour had gone by. The humidity had spiked significantly, meaning the sun had fully come up at this point. She was currently dying for some kind of string or rope to tie her hair up just to get it off her neck.

  She was also hoping Ophelia was able to keep Asher busy enough he didn’t notice more than an hour had gone by. Though she doubted that was a real possibility. Her loss of time was mostly to blame on the fact she’d gotten turned around a few times, but she could almost smell the sea water. She knew that meant she had to be close to the beach, and in turn, it meant she was close to where she’d parted from Ophelia and Asher.

  The forest wasn’t as bad as she expected it to be. Sure, there were more bugs than she was comfortable admitting to seeing. She was also pretty sure that’d been a snake that had slithered by her at some point in her search, but she realized if she didn’t bother them? They weren’t going to bother her.

  Unless it was blood lusting killer beast cursed by a witch.

  Butshe wasn’t going to think about that.

  No, she was going to do her task and get back to the beach to see if they had made any progress with the shelter.

  If she managed not to get turned around again, that is.

  Pausing, Ember scanned the surrounding trees as if there was suddenly going to be an arrow pointing her in the right direction. It was ridiculous, but at this point she was hoping Ophelia could pull something like that off with her magic.

  Ember had taken three steps before she heard it. A branch snapping. It was a sign someone, or thing, was following her. Her eyes quickly scanned the area for anything that stuck out to her, but she knew she wouldn’t find anything.

  “Hello? If you’re a person who’s following me, I don’t want any trouble. I was just looking for some food. If you’re a terrifying beast, I want to help you. I don’t know if you can understand me, but I want to help. My friends and I do, I mean.” She finally made herself stop talking when she realized she was rambling.

  Silence met her in response, but she knew something was out there in the cover of all the trees around her, watching her as if she was some kind of prey. If it was some massive beast, she supposed that was exactly what she was to it. She could feel their eyes on her. She just hoped they were friendly and not going to attack her.

  Taking a deep breath, she let herself moved a step forward. She couldn’t afford to have her fear leave her standing there frozen. It made her easy prey for whatever was hidden out there watching her. Ember refused to be something’s lunch. She didn’t make it all the way here just to be eaten by some slithering beast right before she can break her curse. If she could just get another twenty feet further, she might be able to scream loud enough to get Asher and Ophelia’s attention.

  For right now, she just needed to stall until she could do that. “Maybe I should have started at the beginning? My name’s Emberlyn.” She said as she another couple slow steps forward. She didn’t want the spook the beast by moving too quickly, especially when she didn’t know where it was hiding. It could be anywhere. She could be running right for it instead of away from it for all she knew.

  She could see the break in the trees now. As soon as she felt hopeful, dread filled her when she spotted movement behind one of the trees. She was right then. Something was following her. She just couldn’t make out if it was a person or an animal. “Can you at least come out so I can know if I should start to run and scream?” She called out, her gaze trying not to linger too long as if to make it obvious she knew where the creature was now hiding.

  She was so close. Close enough she could make a run for it, screaming to the heavens for Asher and Ophelia to somehow help her. Even if all she could do was just warn them of the danger coming for them before it crept up on them too. With one last glance back, she decided to count to three before she’d break off into a run for the beach. She was two and a half before a voi
ce stopped her.

  “How do you know who I am?”

  Her breath caught, her eyes widening as she slowly turned to face the man who’d spoken. She took in his appearance first. The man only wore his pants, though because of the tears and ware from only owning them for this long, they were no longer long enough to be considered pants. His chest was bare, except for the strip of dark hair that started at his navel and disappeared under the waistband of his pants.

  Her eyes traveled up, noting all the cuts and scars that marked his body. Some were new, a lot were old and already healed. He had a few tattoos covering his arms, most were faded making it so she couldn’t make sense of what they were. The only tattoo that stood out to her was a name she knew very well.

  Liliana was written in a beautiful black script underneath his left peck, the patch of skin he’d chosen was closest to his heart. It made it just the right spot so anyone who shouldn’t see it wouldn’t be able to. His skin was the same golden color as his brother’s, maybe a shade darker given how much he was out in the sun with nothing to keep him covered.

  His face was what caught her attention. He shared the same eyes as Sebastian and it made her wonder if they got their beautiful eyes color from their mother or their father. She felt as if it was Sebastian’s sea-green eyes were staring back at her and for a moment she wished it was him and not his brother. While Sebastian’s eyes held mischief and adventure, excitement even, she saw none of that hidden behind Klaus’ eyes. All she saw was haunted memories, sadness, and guilt.

  It was the scar running down from the center of his brow to his cheek that truly ruined the fantasy of Sebastian standing in front of her for her though. The past years had not been kind to this man, given his unshaven beard and his dark golden shoulder length hair. Wrinkles crinkled his skin, but otherwise he looked surprisingly healthy for a man who’s been stranded for over a decade. He didn’t look starved, though his sanity was still under consideration.

  He said nothing as he patiently waited for her to answer his first question. Once she had a moment to take in his appearance, she found the ability to speak again. “I know your brother Sebastian. He’s my friend. It’s a long story, but we came to break your curse.” She said, though immediately regretted her wording when she saw the hope fill his eyes.

  “Seb is here?” His voice was so hopeful.

  It broke her heart to explain why his brother couldn’t be here to greet him himself.

  Her gaze lowered, the guilt eating her up from the inside as she debated how to explain what had kept his brother from being here. “He should be. He wouldbe if we hadn’t been attacked last night by the King’s ship. We fought as hard as we could, but they boarded the ship and it didn’t go in our favor. They had a witch that could control the storm. We were outnumbered and he let himself be captured so a few of us could get here. He wanted to make sure this wasn’t for nothing, that we could still break the curse over you.”

  For a moment, she worried she had overloaded him with too much information, but after a moment it seemed as if he was able to process it.

  “It was a wasted sacrifice on his part then. You need specific people to break my curse, specific items.” He said, disappointment

  overcoming him as his shoulders seemed to cave in on him. The flicker of hope she’d seen behind his eyes disappeared before she could open her mouth to explain it wasn’t a wasted sacrifice as he thought it was.

  Ember wondered how he’d feel after knowing Sebastian had prepared everything, that he’d come up with backup plan after backup plan to make sure this ritual happened. “He knew about it all. We have the son of King Ivan, the Princess of the Stellara, and me. I’m Emberlyn Lethorne, daughter of Liliana Leblanc. I have the coin you gave to Sebastian before you left to rescue my mother and me. I have her locket that’s been passed down by each generation of my family. The black moon is tomorrow night. Sebastian prepared everything. The only thing that’s missing is Sebastian himself so he could be the first to greet you.”

  She wasn’t sure when the tears had fallen down her cheeks, but she didn’t dare move to wipe them away. She didn’t dare do anything as Klaus approached her cautiously, his eyes searching the trees as if he was waiting for some sort of trap. His hand lifted, meaning to touch her cheek in a way she wondered if it was to feel if she was real or not. “I thought the fates were playing a cruel trick on me when I spotted you by the water. You look just like Liliana. Though, now I understand why. You were just a baby when I last saw you playing in the water with your mother.She loved you so much.” His voice was low, almost as if he was a doe who could be easily spooked and was ready to run on a second’s notice.

  He remembered her mother, but what was more shocking to her? Was that he remembered seeing her. It broke her heartto know her mother’s ghost still haunted him after all these years. “Come meet my friends. We can come up with a plan to rescue Sebastian and the others once you and I are free from our curses. We can save them.” She said, hopeful that he’d agree.

  She shouldn’t have expected so much from him after he’d been left alone on this island for so long with his guilt.

  Suddenly spooked, he slowly took a step back from her. His hand dropped from her cheek as if she’d burnt him. “There’s no saving me, Liliana. I’m a monster. I can’t be saved.”

  If her heart could have broken any more for this man, it’d be dust at this point. His grip on the present was slipping if he was calling her Liliana. She didn’t have the heart to correct him. Not right now at least. “Sebastian believes you can. Don’t let him down. He needs you, Klaus. Please, do this for him.” She said, reaching out carefully toward him.

  He looked as if he considered her offer, but her name being called from the beach ruined any chance of him accepting it. Startled, he moved further away from her before turning and taking off deeper into the forest.

  “Klaus, wait! Please!” She called after him, reaching out as if she could catch him.

  He was already gone though, not sparing her a single glance back.

  A hand touched her arm, causing her to jolt in surprise. Looking behind her, she saw Ophelia standing there. If she looked past her, she’d see Asher not far behind. “It was Klaus. He spotted me and followed me back. I talked to him.” She said softly, her eyes shifting back to where the older man had disappeared.

  “What did he say? How did he sound?” Ophelia asked, her eyes studying her friend for any sign of injury.

  Sadness filled her as she remembered the haunted look behind Klaus’ eyes. He was broken, no longer the man he’d been over a decade ago. “He’s been trapped here alone for almost twenty years, Ophelia. If that wasn’t bad enough? He’s cursed to live as a beast every night and who knows what that has done to his mind. He’s broken and still drowning inhis guilt.” She said softly, finally tearing her eyes away from the trees to look to her friend beside her.

  “How do we know he’s alone?” Ophelia asked, her eyes shifting to the trees around them curiously.

  Ember crossed her arm as she replayed her conversation with Klaus over in her head. He didn’t imply he had anyone here, but he hadn’t said he was alone either. She wondered if there had been others on the island with Klaus and how many still lived after all these years of being trapped with the beast that he turned into every night.

  Ember was quiet for a moment before she dismissed the idea. “He called me Liliana before he ran, Ophelia. His tether to reality isn’t strong, if it even exists at all anymore.”

  Ophelia opened her mouth as if she wanted to argue, but her eyes suddenly darted away from her as her gaze scanned the area around them. It was as if something had caught her attention and she was trying to find it.

  Her brows stitched together in confusion, causing Ember to turn toward her friend. “O, what’s wrong? Did you see something?” She asked, her eyes searching for anything that could have spooked the witch.

  Ophelia was quiet for another moment before she shook her head. “I can feel s
omeone’s magic here. It’s …. different than any kind of magic I’ve felt before. I’ve never been near someone who’s cursed like Klaus is though, I’m sure that’s what it is.”

  The Princess didn’t look convinced, but Ember wasn’t sure how many more surprises their group could handle.

  Which meant she was going to pretend she didn’t catch that look of doubt crossing her friend’s face.

  “Did he hurt you?” Asher said as he approached the two.

  Ember found her eyes wandering back to the direction he had run off and wondered if he had truly left or if he was just watching them from a distance now. She was going to guess the latter of the choices.

  Taking a deep breath, she turned back to her old friend and Ophelia before she started back toward the beach. “No, Asher. I’m fine. I think he only followed me because he thought I was my mother. He was confused, but he wasn’t hostile. I didn’t see any anger behind his eyes. Just sadness.”

  As she broke through the trees, she paused as she searched the water for any sign of either the Obsidian or the Black Eel. Her heart held a small amount of hope that by some dumb luck Sebastian and the other might have turned the tables on King Ivan and had escaped. She knew if that had happened, they would have seen them by now though.

  She could feel a presence beside her, but she didn’t turn to look to see if it was Ophelia or Asher. She didn’t have to. The familiar scent of honey and with a hint rum he might have drank at some point before the attack invaded her nostrils and she knew it was Asher.

  “I hope for Sebastian’s sake he doesn’t mention you. If your father is aboard the ship, he’ll skin him alive for even thinking about you. If he thinks for a second that Sebastian might have ruined you? He’ll kill him in the cruelest way just to silence any rumors from spreading. He won’t risk your reputation being ruined. If my father found out you were intimate with a pirate? He’d sooner have your head then let you marry into my family, you know that.” He said, his eyes scanning the open ocean in front of them.