The Blue Moon by Madeline Gottlieb (top ten books to read txt) 📕

rid of us.” Chris whispered, squeezing Seyren’s hand.

The five just stared at each other. There was a loud noise and everyone grabbed for each other as they were thrown to the ground. Christian struggled to his feet and his eyes widened as the sight of two boys fighting with the sky pirates. “It’s Stephen and Garret!” He hissed, helping Meri up as the others got to their feet.

Chris pulled his sword out and John and Christian followed. “Stay here, Meri.” John whispered, gently pushing her behind some boxes where she’d be safe. When she was out of site, the three boys rushed forward into the mist of battle.

Christian kicked Garret back before the prince could take the life of a sky pirate and held the sword at his throat. “Give me one good reason not to kill you now?”

Garret smiled and used his sword to hit Christian’s back and got to his feet. The two stared at each other, remembering how they’d once been friends. Ignoring the memories, Christian lunged and Garret took a step away and then elbowed his back, taking him the ground. In the split second of hesitation, Garret took out his dagger and held up in front of him, pointing it at Christian’s throat. “I don’t want to do this,” he whispered.

Angry, Christian got to his feet and lunged once again at Garret. Instead of moving, Garret took a step towards the protector and shoved the dagger into his stomach. When Garret pulled the dagger out of his stomach, he watched as Christian hit the wooden deck and in that moment, it seemed that everyone had stopped fighting.

“Christian, no!” Chris’ voice was the loudest as everyone cried for their friend. As the three ran towards their friend, Stephen grabbed Garret by the sleeve and yanked him towards the side of the ship and they jumped over the edge.

“Someone help him!” Meri cried, pressing down on the wound as blood gushed out.

Christian looked up at his three friends, a small smile on his face. “It’s… too late for… me…” He gasped out, touching Meri’s hand. “Tell Cara… I love her…”

John shook his head, moving Meri’s hand out of the way and replacing it with his own, adding more pressure. “Please, Christian, please don’t go.” John looked at Chris and pushed him, trying to get his attention. “Help him!”

“Move, now.” Rayl’s voice came from behind them and they all turned around. “I can try to help him, but you must move.” Obeying, the three moved out of the way and watched closely as Rayl lifted up Christian’s shirt before pulling out a needle and thread. “This will hurt, protector, are you ready?”

Chris watched as his friend started to pale and nodded. “Do it,” Chris mumbled. Rayl nodded and pushed the needle through. As Christian cried out, John ran his hands through his hair and wiped his face, getting blood all over him. Christian continued to cry out anytime Rayl shoved the needle through and John knew that if they stopped Rayl, their friend might die.

When Rayl was done shoving the needle through him, he poured something down his throat and sat back. “Now, we wait…”

Waiting to see if one of their friends would die was possibly the worst torture they’d ever gone through. Rayl knew their friend wouldn’t survive, but he’d given the boy a healing potion anyway, hoping.

As minutes passed, Christian’s breathe slowed and he grasped John’s hand and squeezed before he became limp. Meri turned to John and cried silently as Chris banged his hand on the wooden deck, tears falling down his face.

Rayl watched silently as they grieved, never leaving the boy’s side. He watched as the one named John held tightly to the one named Meri, and how Chris sat there and wept, crying out the dead one’s name. As he started to stand up, something changed, and he stared at Christian carefully. After a few moments, he realized what was happening. “He’s breathing!”

Chris stared at Christian as Rayl rushed over and kneeled next to them. Rayl was right; his chest was moving. “But how is that possible?”

“When you are young and strong, the body sometimes fights back,” with a laugh, Rayl added, “and you come back to life!”

The three watched as Christian’s eyes fluttered open and he stared at everyone. “Where was I?”

Chris laughed. “I have no idea, but I’m glad you’re back.” Christian nodded absently and closed his eyes once more, resting his head against the deck.

“Garu, come get him to a bed!” Rayl ordered. At once, a muscular man came and lifted Christian up, taking him to another room on the deck. When the door was shut behind them, Rayl turned to the others. “The dagger held poison, and he is still infected. You must take him to the forest of Valor, quickly, or he will die.”

Chris shared a look with John and nodded before turning his attention back to Rayl. “Who are you, really?”

The marked man stared at the three. “I am the only warrior who was not killed by Renin.”

The City in the Sky

For once, Zach was able to sleep with no dreams of Eiko or dying. When he'd woken up, Teriha and Cara weren't in the room. Sitting there, he realized how hard it must be for the two to return to their hometown after so many years. The sun was shining through the window and onto the beds that they had slept on. Sighing, he stood up and walked out the door onto the deck.

"Finally, he awakens!" Fero's voice was loud and clear, despite his old stature. He grinned and placed a hand on Zach's shoulder, and he realized how Fero looked like Cara. His beard and shoulder length hair was just as light red as Cara's, and his eyes were the same ice blue. "Teriha and Cara have changed clothes and they're on the high deck."

With a smile, Zach nodded and turned to walk away, but Fero stopped him. "Yes, Fero?"

"Take good care of my girl, boy." His eyes got serious and his lips fell into a flat line. "Please..."

Zach smiled sadly and nodded. "I will." With that, Fero nodded and waved him away, his fingers pointing to the high deck. Zach walked up the worn steps and his eyes glanced to Teriha, who was leaning over the edge, a frown on her face. Cara saw his questioning look and shrugged, turning her attention back to the man next to her. Nodding to himself, Zach walked over to Teriha, looking over the ledge.

Her silver eyes were narrowed as they flew through the sky. "I never thought I'd be going back..."

Instead of the dress she had been wearing when he'd met her, she was now in pirate like clothes. Her pants were tucked into her boots and her shirt was tight and the ends of the sleeves were ruffled. Her pale blonde hair hung in curls above her breasts. Clearing his throat, Zach nodded and looked out into the sky. "How long has it been since you were there?"

"About ten years..." She stole a glance at him. "When I left, everything was in ruins. I'm not sure if the High Elves rebuilt it before they died, or not." Her voice cracked at the mention of High Elves. "And now, I'm told that I'm one of the two High Elves left."

She looked at him and he knew what that meant. As High Elves, Teriha and Cara would have to stay in Ceruhia, in their rightful places and rule there. "Everything will be okay." Zach knew he sounded stupid, but he didn't grow up in the middle of a war like they had, and he had no idea what to say.

Teriha didn’t say anything, and Zach didn't blame her. There were footsteps behind them and Cara appeared next to him, a slight smile on her face. She was wearing similar clothes to Teriha and her sword was on her side. In her hand, she held their swords and a bow. She handed them their swords and placed the bow on her back, along with the quiver that was full of arrows. "Fero says we're almost there."

Zach looked down at the lower deck and saw Fero yelling orders to his men, who were running around the ship once more. A large gust of wind hit the ship and Fero laughed as the ship turned and began to descend. Everyone's hair was whipping around their faces and Zach could see a city below them, but he didn't expect the wind tornados that circled the city, protecting it almost. "What is that?" he asked, pointing to the tornados.

Cara laughed, moving her hair from her face, a huge smile on her face. "Ceruhia has been rebuilt and now has protection."

He turned his attention back down to Ceruhia and noticed how beautiful it looked, and how far off the ground it was. It looked like its own island, floating in the sky. From up above it, the waterfalls looked amazing, the clear water falling into the river. The city was surrounded by trees and the towers stood higher than anything he'd seen.
"It's beautiful..." Teriha’s voice sounded from beside him.

Zach nodded in agreement as Fero stepped up beside them. "We're ready to make port." Cara nodded and smiled, her eyes showing how eager she was. With a wave of his hand, the whole ship slowly came to a halt and they floated up to the port of the city. As Zach looked into the city, he saw people tying the ship down as the men started to get off.

"Let's go," Cara said, making her way off the ship as well. Fero followed his daughter, leaving Zach and Teriha.

Zach turned and looked at her expressionless face and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her forward. They walked off the ship and stepped into the city of Ceruhia. "The city in the sky..." Teriha’s voice was quiet as she looked around.

"Zach!" Familiar voices caught their attention and they all turned around to see Chris and John running towards them. Their red hair was messy and stuck everywhere, but their eyes were bright. "It's about time you got here!" Chris stared at them. "How did you get here anyway?"

Zach glanced at Cara, who was looking for Christian. "We came across some sky pirates and they brought us here."

"Where's Christian?" Cara asked, stepping towards John.

With a frown, John grabbed Cara's arm and started to walk away, motioning all of them to follow. "He's back at the inn with Meri and Seyren."

Everyone followed them back to the inn, Teriha and Zach gasping at how beautiful everything was. Vines hung from the trees we passed and some even hung off some of the houses. The inn was small from the outside, but the inside was huge, filled with floating lights. Zach followed them up the stairs and into this large room, where Christian was sleeping, a pained look on his face.

Cara was by his side instantly, one of her hands on his forehead, and then her ice blue eyes, much lighter in the light, moved over his pale face. "What's happened to him?"

Chris and John shared a look and Chris sighed. "We