Page 45 of Only in Moonlight (The Moonlit Court #1)

Valen

I eased the temple door open, and after checking over my shoulder that no one had seen us, Emmeline and I hurried inside.

Incense hung heavy in the air, and our footsteps echoed loudly in the wide chamber.

It was dark inside, which just made the Selenian Jewel’s pulsing light seem stronger.

I strode past religious carvings and paintings on the walls to an altar where a priest knelt.

“Ran into some trouble, Sir Valen?” he asked.

I ignored the jibe and held out the jewel. “Lady Lurena is tracking it magically.”

“Haven’t seen a spell like that in a while.”

The priest rose. Head shaved, with a star symbol tattooed on his forehead, he wore the billowing robes of his office. He shuffled unhurriedly through a side door behind the altar and returned with a small iron box inlaid with magic-suppressing stones.

I placed the Selenian Jewel inside. The lid closed with a satisfying thump, swallowing the jewel’s cursed light and leaving us in soothing darkness.

Each heartbeat made my injuries throb, but a fragile calm settled over me. It was done. With any luck, I’d never see that damned necklace again.

“I’ll take it from here,” the priest said.

I nodded in thanks and led Emmeline from the temple. When the door closed behind us, I slowly inhaled the smoky outside air. The tall temple gates were closed in front of us, hiding us from view of the street. We had a moment to catch our breaths but still so much to do.

“What now?” Emmeline asked.

“We sneak back inside the palace and find an out-of-the-way room. We’ll tie ourselves up and pretend the shapeshifting thief attacked us.”

“Nice.”

“And then…” My throat clenched, and I swallowed. “No one will think it strange if you run back to the safety of Earth after getting ‘attacked’ here. We can use that as an excuse if you don’t want to stay with me for another month. You don’t have to…”

You don’t have to stay with a monster like me.

Her forehead furrowed. “You… want me to leave? Are you angry that I ran off on you? Because—”

“No.” I put my hands on her shoulders, wanting to reassure her of that, at least. “I understand that. I don’t even blame you. I was—” I shook my head, trying to clear my jumbled thoughts. “You’ll want to leave after what happened, after seeing me kill Drudon. I won’t force you to stay.”

She blinked slowly. “Drudon was going to murder us. He said he’d cut out my tongue. You had to kill him.” Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make light of it. He was your brother, but he didn’t leave you any choice.”

“But…” My legs felt weak, and I stumbled back from her. “You were horrified. I saw it in your eyes.”

“Of course I was.” She huffed in annoyance. “Violent death is horrifying, but you saved our lives, Valen. Anyone who blames you for that is a milk-livered ninnyhammer, yourself included.”

A startled laugh left my throat, and I gazed at her in amazement. It all sounded so simple when she said it. I didn’t think I could shed years of guilt and shadows in this one moment, but I felt lighter. Emmeline wasn’t Aurea. History didn’t have to repeat itself.

I kissed her. She made a muffled sound of surprise before throwing her arms around me and pulling me closer. I drank of her lips as deeply as I could.

The Selenian Jewel was on its way out of the city, but I had the most valuable treasure in all the realms right here.