Page 2 of A Fate In Moonstone

This one wasn’t using his powers to run away, but for a sneak attack.

I listened for the rustling of dirt from footsteps, or heavy breaths, and heard none. This one was good.

Breathing in and out, I pulled at the powers I’d absorbed from my mother. The queen with the diamond core turned her skin impenetrable in battle.

The heart rate from the man beside me picked up as little rainbows danced around us from the light bouncing off the shimmering skin on my face.

When the goblin attacked, the claws and teeth would break against my flesh rather than shred it.

Thanks, Mother.

Not that she gave bits of her power over willingly, even though she would to protect me. That’s just how my sapphire core worked. One touch and I absorbed a bit of that Fae’s power.

A twig snapped to my right, and I heard rather than felt the pressure of a powerful swipe against my neck.

Like the clinking of glass followed by the howls of pain.

“Your sheep are dead, your children will be dead, and you will watch your kingdom burn.” The creature hissed and I had enough. I came looking for a fight, and I got one. Now it was time to end their reign of terror against my home.

“We shall burn your—”

My blade sliced through its thick neck.

The stranger stood beside me quietly, and without the goblins as a threat, I turned my focus to him.

“Why are you still here?”

His eyebrows lifted.

“I don’t need a protector.”

“Clearly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then you get off by watching people fight or something?”

“Maybe I’m curious.”

“Well, good luck being curious. I’m leaving.” With a quick glance at the bodies, I debated if I should leave them like that or burn them.

My gut said leave them. In the kingdom of Crysia, we believed in symbiosis. Everything worked together to keep harmony. I’d slayed these creatures and they would feed others in the forest, thus continuing the cycle of life.

Footsteps followed me and a mass of gray and black came into my peripheral. “Are you from Crysia?”

“Okay, stranger, I’m not—”

“Rune.”

I stopped walking and faced him. “What?”

He smiled and tilted his head to the side. Something about him made that action feel odd. “Don’t fuck with me. I’m dangerous and I don’t like people” energy radiated off him in waves. My instincts told me to give him space.

Those icy blue eyes whirled, and I saw something flash inside them. It was only a second, but I wasn’t crazy. This man had something lurking inside him.

So why did I lean toward him, my free hand lifting as if to touch his face?

I shook my head and stopped myself from doing something I’d regret.

He stepped closer, and a wave of heat wafted off of him through my corset and undershirt.