The Frozen Moon: Book Two of The Living Curse series + BONUS Full Version of Book Three! Read Free Page A

faeries of war, and offer them protection; theirs is the craft of beauty, and they offer us that which we do not possess.”  She puzzled over the Queen’s statement for a moment; the Moon faeries appeared as beautiful as any creatures she had ever seen.  Then she realized that she was referring to their ways of life: the Nature faeries spent their lives creating art out of the world’s splendors, while the Moon faeries fought a constant war of spite.  She wondered if it was an empty existence.
                  “It is very beautiful,” responded Nameh.  Her eyes flitted about the clearing, studying her surroundings.  Beyond the trees, she could see nothing; it was as if they were in a separate world.  There were two guards on either side of the queen, having much of her beauty, but none of her fragility.
                  “Yes, but we are not here to speak of beauty.  We are here to speak of battle,” the Queen said.  In these words, Nameh could hear the carefully hidden tones of malice, laced with honey to mislead the listener.  The faeries were not evil, but were not as pure as perceived, she thought.  “You both fought nobly,” she said in a proud voice, “and your spell has brought us great victory and many days of peace,” she added to Nameh.  “Maxim tah Solie, you have already earned my people’s title of warrior.  Step forward.”  Max complied, circling around the ice to stand before her throne.  “I award you a mark of the tah to bring you the strength of all faerie kind.  Although it is customary to receive this mark on one’s face, I will present it to you as a token.”  She extended her hand, unfurling her slender fingers to drop something small and silvery in his hands.  He hadn’t touched her fingers, and Nameh thought they may have shattered if he had.  At this, Max stepped back, giving a small bow. 
    “Nameh, step forward.”   Although she had never told the Queen her name, she was not surprised that she already knew.  She approached the throne as Max had.  “You have never before fought with us, but have proved yourself well,” she said in an amused tone.  “I grant you the power of the tah warriors, and you will now be known in our domain as Nameh tah Seran.”  The queen rolled the words off of her tongue with an inflection that she didn’t think she could replicate if she tried.  The Queen offered her hand forward again, and Nameh cupped her hands beneath it.  A cool and smooth object fell into her palms, and she bowed before her.  “You, we will also offer a mark of the tah.”  Nameh backed up to stand next to Max, and the Queen was still for a moment.  “Leave this place now, and return only when you have understood the mark we have given each of you, and you are ready to fight beside us again.”  She shut her eyes in closure of her encounter with them, looking deceitfully calm and innocent. She couldn’t help but imagine that beneath her papery eyelids, the placid and calm ocean waters could soon give way to a violent storm.
    On her throne, she looked like a delicate silver flower, frail yet beautiful; a sort of art that one locks behind glass and protects from the slightest of wind.  She wondered if the Moon faeries were so apt at war for the defense of their fragile queen.  As they turned to exit the clearing, she could feel the stares of the guards boring into her back.  They crossed the entranceway of the throne room, and night once again fell on them; severing the bond they had shared for a moment with the faerie kind.  The night air felt surprisingly cool around them, as she hadn’t realized that it had grown so cold.  The clearing had been a sort of bubble outside of reality where time and conditions of the mortal world had no bearing. 
    “See, I told you they were kind of intense,” laughed Max.
    “Yeah, but you didn’t tell me anything about their traditions.  I’m not entirely sure what just