Page 23 of Only in Moonlight (The Moonlit Court #1)

Emmeline

I crouched over Valen, who was lying facedown on the floor. I held the finest lock pick set I’d ever seen, but the lock on the clasp was so damned tiny and delicate. If I could just...

The clasp popped open. I yanked the replica necklace off Valen and stood.

“Not fast enough,” he said, sitting up.

I threw back my head and groaned.

We’d been practicing for hours. Well, I’d been practicing. Valen had been doing an impression of the princess passed out from dream dust.

“That was the fastest I’ve done it yet,” I said.

He got to his feet and took the necklace from me. “But you could be faster.”

God and Goddess, I hated it when he was right. Every instant counted during a heist.

“Can we take a break? I’m losing feeling in my fingers.” I wiggled them in his face for emphasis.

His eyebrows arched. He was going to be a strict taskmaster again, wasn’t he?

I stepped forward and pecked him on the lips. “Pretty please?”

He stared at me, mouth slightly open but no words coming out. I’d wanted to stun him like that for a long time. Who would’ve guessed kissing was the secret?

“That... isn’t playing fair.”

I cupped his face and kissed him again, more deeply. I could get used to this.

“Fine,” he grunted, a faint flush to his face.

He went to his desk and sat down. We were in his chateau’s library. The circular chamber rose two stories high, crowned by a domed ceiling that mimicked the night sky. The air carried the comforting aroma of aged parchment and ink, and thick stone walls prevented outdoor sounds from intruding.

I sat on the edge of his desk, causing him to glance at my ass before looking back at his paperwork and pretending he hadn’t.

I’d rarely been pleased by a man’s attraction to me unless I was distracting one before robbing him.

Attraction meant danger. I stole money and valuables, but too many men stole much worse from women, especially poor nobodies like me.

It had been different with Philippe since I’d found him attractive, too—not particularly handsome but so slick that he could’ve talked a rat out of its last crumb. His interest had flattered me, especially since my natural form was nothing special.

Did Valen only find me attractive because I didn’t look like myself? He’d only shown interest recently after getting to know me, so I hoped it wasn’t just physical...

Hell, I was probably a fool. I kept telling myself I couldn’t trust him, but I wanted to kiss him again more than anything.

He was a much better kisser than Philippe.

It made me wonder what else he was better at, a fantasy I’d never dared to entertain.

I’d grown up in a place where sex meant women faking pleasure while men used them.

Ysabel, Alainne, Jacotte—they’d all died in childbirth.

The stillbirth of my half-sibling had nearly claimed my mother.

Philippe’s careless fumbling hadn’t convinced me that sex was worth the risk. But Valen… Oh, Valen was dangerous.

“Working doesn’t count as a break, you know,” I said as he did paperwork.

He held up two pieces of paper. “These came the other day.”

Thick, well-made paper. Ornate border of glimmering stars. The ink looked like it might be real gold. Expensive, but I couldn’t tell anything else.

“What are they?” I asked.

“Invitations to the royal ball.”

“Oh.” I took them, fingers brushing over the papers’ smooth finish. “Who else gets one?”

“All the major government officials and court appointments. The knights, magistrates, members of the lunar council. Every noble lord and lady along with their named heir. A few ambassadors...”

A roaring in my ears drowned out the rest of his sentence. Every noble lord?

“So Tullus will be there.”

Valen looked up sharply and considered me. “Doubtful.”

“But you said every lord.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t have heard. You returned to Earth before it happened.

” He turned his chair slightly to face me better.

“It turns out his amazing winery was smuggled in from Earth. He got caught not long after the party. Normally, he could’ve afforded the fine, but with a thief having absconded with his fortune. ..”

I smiled savagely. “He’s in prison?”

“Unfortunately not. He had to sell off all his possessions, but he managed to pay the fine.”

Rich bastard. People with money got away with so damn much.

Valen smirked as if reading my mind. “Don’t feel too disappointed. The scandal ruined him. Last I heard, he lost his manor and had to move in with his cousin. He hasn’t shown his face in public for months.”

It wasn’t enough, not if he still had a roof over his head and food to eat. But at least he’d faced some sort of consequences. And I’d helped make it happen.

“What did he do to you?” Valen asked softly.

I jerked, nearly falling off the desk. “Excuse me?”

“You obviously targeted him for a reason. The heist was about revenge, not just the money.”

I looked away, not knowing how to explain.

I didn’t talk about my past. Even if someone cared enough to ask (which they didn’t), it was a dangerous topic in magic-hating Thallence.

My mother had told me in a hushed whisper even though we’d been alone in a meadow.

And she’d barely spoken of it since. It pained her too much.

“I apologize,” Valen said. “If you don’t wish to speak of it—”

“He’s my father,” I said before I could chicken out.

Valen blinked.

“I’d never seen him before the party,” I explained. “He courted my mother, promised her marriage and a life of luxury on the moon. But all those promises turned to shit when she told him she was pregnant. He left her—left both of us, I guess.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t look at him. “Things are so different here. You can’t imagine what it’s like for unmarried mothers in Thallence.

People see them as impure. Maman’s family kicked her out.

No one would hire her. The only place she could find work was a brothel.

She should have abandoned me and pretended she’d never given birth, but. ..”

“She loved you,” Valen finished softly.

“Yeah.” My throat felt raw. “So she suffered to keep us clothed and fed. Plenty of times we went to bed hungry anyway. I caught the pox that swept through town when I was a child. She picked up diseases from her clients. And all the while, Tullus was up here drinking wine and throwing parties.”

My hands were clenched into fists, my back so tight it hurt.

“When Maman was dying—” I nearly choked.

“I burgled every shop and fancy manor in the city to get enough money for a cure. I found one of those wands that opens portals and thought of him.” I took a deep breath.

“He owed us that money. If he’d had a shred of decency, we wouldn’t have been sick and starving. ”

I slumped, drained.

Valen stood, hesitated, and then wrapped his arms around me where I sat on the desk. I half-expected a kiss, but he simply held me. The action, devoid of lust, felt more intimate than when we’d been all over each other in the forest.

I leaned against him, my body softening against his.

“I thought his punishment was fitting.” Valen’s voice had turned cold. “But it’s not nearly harsh enough.”

It was nice hearing him wish suffering on the man I hated most of all.

“Agreed.” I hopped off the desk and shook myself. “But I don’t want to waste any more breath talking about him.”

Valen nodded and grabbed the replica necklace. “Back to practicing, then.”

That hadn’t been what I’d meant, but instead of annoyance, I felt a strange fondness.

Was this what my mother had felt for Tullus once upon a time?

Valen seemed so different from my father.

Valen was a two-faced scoundrel plotting to steal the princess’s treasure, but he’d hinted— No, he’d tried not to hint that he was stealing it to disgrace her so she couldn’t launch a coup and invade Earth.

Was he acting on his own or on behalf of the queen?

Either way, he was acting for the good of others.

He could be hard and cold, but he was noble and caring, too.

God and Goddess, I had it bad, didn’t I? Maybe I was a fool making the exact same mistake as my mother. I just had to hope my own romance with a fey man would end better than hers had.