Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) - K.M. Shea Page 0,119
feather I’d found on the middle of the bed was still sitting on the chest of weapons that I’d set it on.
I sighed and slumped my way across his room, aiming for the door between our rooms.
I furrowed my eyebrows as I rested my hand on the door knob and felt a familiar, wispy sensation.
Is that fae magic?
I pushed the door open, and the sensation of magic flashed stronger.
That was when the dagger bit into my shoulder.
I shouted with pain as I fell into my bedroom, almost tumbling on top of a second dagger that had fallen to the ground.
My palms sweated, and I tried to look back in my pain to see who had hurt me, but I was alone. No one was there.
The back of my throat burned, and blood dripped down my arm.
“Leila?” Indigo opened my bedroom door. Still holding my breakfast on a tray, she took a few steps in, but dropped it with the crack of shattering dishes when she saw me. “Chase!” she screamed. “Chase!”
My body trembled, and I tried to nod at Indigo. But in my mind, the truth had already dawned on me.
That was a trap, set with fae magic. A trap that sprang when I opened the door.
“It was rigged with magic so it would trigger when the door was opened,” Chase explained to me about an hour later. “It is fortunate you were going from Consort Rigel’s room to your own, or you would have been struck in a way that could have killed you.”
I was seated at my desk in my study. My shoulder barely ached. My staff had it bandaged with cloth that had been soaked in such a strong healing potion, I could taste its floral scent.
Lord Linus stood with Chase—I had no idea why he decided it was necessary to come. I wanted to see the fae lord about as much as I wanted to see Rigel at that moment.
I looked from Chase to the weapon that was used in the trap.
In the moment I’d thought it was a pair of daggers, but since Chase had set the weapons on my desk, I recognized the thicker blades and their eye-catching metal hand guard.
Rigel had told me himself, they were Chinese butterfly swords—the very same ones from his collection.
“Do you recognize the swords, my Sovereign?” Chase asked.
I ignored the question. “Rigel didn’t set the trap.”
Chase hesitated. “It’s to be hoped that he didn’t. Have you used the door since he was last seen?”
“Yes. Once,” I said. I’d used the door when I’d gotten up that morning to go get ready.
Rigel was already gone—or at least he wasn’t around. But his magic would have let him disappear if he wanted to.
“At this point, it’s more likely whomever is trying to eliminate you set it. You said you felt fae magic?”
“Yeah.” I stared at the swords—which had been cleaned of my blood.
Chase nodded. “Consort Rigel is loyal to you, my Sovereign. When he returns, I’m sure we’ll be able to clear the matter up.”
“It’s fine,” I said robotically. “Thank you, Chase.”
Chase bowed. “My men have almost finished sweeping the mansion for additional traps. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”
I smiled, but it was difficult—like I couldn’t remember how. “I appreciate it.”
Chase sauntered off with his smooth, werewolf gait, but Lord Linus stayed behind.
He shifted from one foot to the other. “Queen Leila…”
“Leave,” I said.
Lord Linus hesitated, bowed slightly, then followed after Chase.
I rubbed my eyes, but didn’t let my shoulders fall until the door clicked shut behind him.
This doesn’t mean Rigel did it. Just because Lord Linus is a jerk doesn’t mean Rigel is. I have to believe in him.
But when a day passed, and then a week, and then another week, and then a month, and Rigel still hadn’t returned…what little hope I had withered and died.
Rigel had left me.
Some stupid, optimistic part of me insisted he hadn’t been the one to set the trap. Given my life, it probably would have been easier to forgive him for something like that.
Instead he’d disappeared without a word.
I loved him, and he left.
I either had the worst luck, or the worst taste in men.
To be continued in The Queen’s Crown: Court of Midnight and Deception Book 3
For free short stories and more information about the Court of Midnight and Deception Series, visit kmshea.com!
Afterword
Thank you for reading Crown of Moonlight, I hope you enjoyed Leila’s story! If you want to read more of my work, sign up for my newsletter to receive my free K. M. Shea Starter Pack ebook.
It contains:
A Hall of Blood and Mercy short story
A King Arthur and Her Knights prequel short story
A Red Rope of Fate prequel short story
An original fairy tale, Princess Snow and Queen Ruby
A fairy tale retelling, The Princess Who Chased Sheep
My newsletter is released every month, and contains information about the books I'm working on, new freebies, and exclusive content just for newsletter subscribers!
Thank you for your support and encouragement. I am proud to say I have the best readers. Therefore, it is my dearest wish that Leila and her friends made you laugh and warmed your heart. Thank you.
Leila’s adventure continues in…
The Queen’s Crown
Available on Amazon!
Since the day I was crowned Queen of the Night Court, someone’s been trying to kill me. Yay, me!
Finding my would-be-killer has been last on my to do list for a long time—which should tell you what a dumpster fire my life has been. But I can’t ignore it anymore. Whoever is after me is getting serious, and if I don’t do something soon I might not survive their next attempt.
Normally, I’d count on Rigel—my Consort, who also happens to be a deadly fae assassin—to have my back. But he’s been gone for two months and when he finally returns he won’t say where he’s been. Great, that’s totally not sketchy.
To make matters worse, I love Rigel—and he doesn’t believe me when I tell him! How’s that for romance?
New to do list: catch my would-be killer and convince my own husband I love him. All in a day’s work for the Night Queen.
I knew I should have demanded a job description before I took on this gig…
Other books by K. M. Shea
The Snow Queen Series:
A completed Epic Fantasy series of two books and an anthology of short stories
Timeless Fairy Tales:
Beauty and the Beast
The Wild Swans
Cinderella and the Colonel
Rumpelstiltskin
The Little Selkie
Puss in Boots
Swan Lake
Sleeping Beauty
Frog Prince
12 Dancing Princesses
Snow White
Three pack (Beauty and the Beast, The Wild Swans, Cinderella and the Colonel)
The Fairy Tale Enchantress:
Apprentice of Magic
Curse of Magic
Reign of Magic
The Elves of Lessa:
Red Rope of Fate
Royal Magic
The Prince’s Bargain
Hall of Blood and Mercy:
A complete urban fantasy series of 3 books
Court of Midnight and Deception:
An urban fantasy series of 3 books
King Arthur and Her Knights:
A complete historical fantasy series of seven books
Robyn Hood:
A compete historical fiction series of two novellas
The Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center:
A complete urban fantasy series of two books and an anthology of short stories
Other Novels
Life Reader
Princess Ahira
A Goose Girl
Second Age of Retha: Written under pen name A. M. Sohma
The Luckless
The Desperate Quest
The Revived
About the Author
K. M. Shea is a fantasy-romance author who never quite grew out of adventure books or fairy tales, and still searches closets in hopes of stumbling into Narnia. She is addicted to sweet romances, witty characters, and happy endings. She also writes LitRPG and GameLit under the pen name, A. M. Sohma.