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

jumped a ride with some other sky pirates who were coming in, and before we'd gotten here, we were attacked by Garret and Stephen. Garret got him good with his sword, and when we realized it was poisoned, Christian was already sleeping like this."

Zach stood there silently as Cara gazed at Christian, her blue eyes narrowed and full of pain. Teriha nudged Zach with her arm and motioned for them to leave the room. He shut the door behind them and stood there, quietly thinking about how Garret and Stephen had known they were on a ship. He also realized that Meri and Seyren had never once come into the room they were in, but he dismissed the thought, knowing they were tired and needed sleep.

"You know, there's always a way to heal him." Teriha whispered her silver eyes on Chris and John. "But only High Elves can take him there."

Zach turned his gaze onto her. "Where is it?"

"In the forest of Valor," Her voice was low, but he could hear how scared she sounded.

Raising his eyebrows, Zach asked, "What's in the forest of Valor?"

"No one knows. For hundreds of years, we've heard myths and legends about it, but only the High Elves can go in and come out alive." She cleared her throat and continued. "It is said, that when in dire need, there is a sanctuary hidden in the heart of the forest. There, the forest will heal anything, if the one placed there is worthy."

"So it will heal him, right?"

She turned to face Chris and John once more, her silver eyes moving over their pale faces, their dark red hair. With a shrug, she said, "If it were up to me, then anyone here would be worthy enough to get healed by the forest, but it is not."

Zach knew she was right, but he needed Christian; losing Chris had been hard enough on all of us. Christian was worthy enough, no matter what the forest thought.

"You know, a warrior can enter the forest as well, but he cannot deny the fate that has been laid out for the one coming to be healed." With that, Teriha turned on her heel and walked down the hallway, her pale hair shining in the floating lights.

Returning

Across the small realm of Aulinaber, in an inn that rested in the village of Gaze, stood Garret, one of Eiko's older brothers. In the moonlight, his midnight hair shined and his ice blue eyes sparkled with pain and horror as he looked over the rail of the room he was in.

The day he and his brother, Stephen, went to find their older brother to convince him to stop this madness, Renin offered them the titles of kings; Stephen agreed. Garret, on the other hand, said no and tried to leave, but was captured by the dark elves who worked for his brothers. Tortured for months, Garret finally said yes and agreed to join them, but only in hope of slipping away to get back to his family and warn them of the upcoming horror.

He had heard of how his sister, Eiko, had betrayed the last Warrior and his Protectors, and he was sure that the same darkness that had swallowed Stephen and Renin's hearts got to his little sister. The only problem Garret had was getting away from Gaze and finding the last surviving Warrior and joining their side.

"I return, master." The harsh voice came from beside him and Garret looked over, a bit bored. "The son of Willow and Zenia has been poisoned by your blade; he rests in Ceruhia." The phoenix sat next to him on the rail, its red, gold, purple and blue feathers shining in the moonlight. Garret wasn't sure where the bird had learned to speak, but it had, and he didn't question it.

"Ceruhia, you say? Do you know if they plan to enter the Forest of Valor?" He asked, looking back out at the sky, his eyes following the streak of light the gryphon had left behind not moments ago.

The phoenix shook its body. "Yes, master. The non-Protector elf said they could take him there to see if he was worthy."

"Elf?" Garret raised his eyebrows. He knew of Cara, but not of any other elves that would protect the warrior.

"They called her Teriha, master."

Teriha ...

he'd met her, in the lower town of Ahuson. A small smile came to his lips as he thought of the elf who he'd swore to protect when they met 10 years ago, before they were banned. "Go find me Xo, now."

"The gryphon, master?" Garret nodded and at once the phoenix was gone, leaving the boy there sighing.

Garret knew that if he returned while the Warrior was there, he could be killed on the spot, but then again, there was no other way. He tapped the rail as there was a knock on the door. He didn't answer; it didn't matter, whoever was there would come in anyway.

"Garret, what are you doing?" Renin's voice sounded from behind him and the boy simply shrugged, not wanting to reply. "Why aren't you on patrol with Stephen?"

"What is the point of patrolling if we're the ones attacking everyone?" Garret asked, turning around to face his older brother.

Renin laughed. "Little brother,” Renin paused and brought his fist up, connecting it with Garret’s cheek, “you have much to learn." Renin's light green eyes got serious. "I expect you on patrol within the next hour, or you'll answer to me."

When Garret nodded, Renin walked out of the room. As Garret walked back over to the rail, he touched the side of his face and winced, knowing there would be a bruise. The phoenix landed once more, fluffing its wings out. "Master, I've brought you Xo." As if his name summoned him, the huge gryphon appeared, landing lightly in the room.

"You summoned me, Prince Garret?" Xo spoke, the bird's voice quiet, but powerful.

Garret nodded. "I need you to take me to Ceruhia, where the last Warrior stays." He said quietly, his eyes locked on the gryphon as it stared at him.

Bending its front legs, Xo bowed, waiting patiently for him to get on. Garret got on, grabbing the fur on its neck for support and looked at the phoenix. "No matter what, do not tell anyone here where I've gone." When the bird nodded, Garret dug his heel in the gryphon's side and held on as it took off into the night sky.

--

The ride through the sky on the back of Xo was quick, but chilly. Xo came to a halt on the hidden port of Ceruhia and got off its back. "Return back to the mountains of Keri, Xo, tell no one where I am." Garret stepped back and watched as the giant gryphon took off into the sky before throwing the hood over his head and heading towards the only inn in the city.

People were still walking on the streets; some elves, faeries, and others normal humans. Keeping his head low, Garret walked into the inn and straight up the stairs, running into someone. He spit the hair out of his mouth and pushed himself off, looking at the person he'd hit. "Cara!" At once, the girl scooted back, her eyes wide. "No, no, I'm not here to hurt you, I swear. I'm here to hurt no one."

"Then why are you here?" She asked, the venom in her voice clearer than ever. Even though Garret had always been good at hiding his emotions, Cara could tell now that there was something wrong. She took in his appearance; he was wearing all black, with belts that crossed over his chest, keeping his shirt closed. Over all that, he had on a cloak, and the hood had fallen off.

He was obviously uncomfortable. "I've come to join your side, Cara. You, out of everyone, should know that I would never betray my father."

She knew he was telling the truth, be it her gut, or just the fact that she'd known him for 10 years. "How do I explain this to Zach?"

"The last Warrior... take me to him, Cara, I will explain it." That was his response. With a nod, Cara turned around and opened the door nearest to her and stepped it, Garret following slowly. As the door shut behind him, he gazed around the room, looking at all the people who were staring back at him.

"Cara, what's he doing here?" Chris stepped forward, his hand going to the sword on the table, but Cara stopped him.

Garret looked at the boy who was named the last Warrior. He was tall, maybe 6'2, and his dark brown hair was messy, but his matching eyes sparkled, despite the bags under them. "Warrior," Garret kneeled and placed a fisted hand over his heart, "I come to join you." He looked up as the boy walked towards him, ignoring Chris' protests. "I never wanted to join Renin and Stephen, I was, and always will be, loyal to my father and the Valetor name."

"Why should we trust you?"

Garret looked up at the Warrior. "Let me prove that you can trust me," he trailed off as the door to the other room opened and a blonde girl walked in. He stood up slowly, wondering how she'd changed in such little time and how he never told her that he'd loved her for the last 10 years. "Teriha ..."

The blonde elf looked over at the boy who called her name and stared at him, not fully recognizing him. But when he said, "I promise to always protect you," her eyes widened and she threw her arms around his neck, tears falling down her cheeks.

Almost everyone there knew of the special bond Teriha and Garret had before the war started, but Cara knew how happy her best friend would be. But as Cara watched the two hug, she couldn't help but wonder why he'd chosen now to return, especially after hurting Christian. Zach stared at the two, itching to step forward, but at Cara's look, he stepped back.

Garret and Teriha stepped apart, and he looked straight to Zach. "I've come with news, Warrior." His eyes fell to the ground and grabbed the chain that hung around his neck. "Renin has learned of the crystal."

The Crystal

"What do you mean he knows about the crystal?" Cara asked, taking a step forward.

Garret pulled the chain out of his shirt so everyone could see the diamond shaped figure hanging from it. "We were training one day, and Stephen saw it when he knocked me down."

"But how did you come to have it?" Chris asked, his eyes locked onto the crystal.

Garret ran his hand through his hair, sighing. "It was given to me by my father when I was a boy. I used to keep it locked in my room, but as I got older, I started to keep it with me because of what could be done with it."

Zach stepped forward, his dark brown eyes on Teriha who was standing beside Garret. "What's so important about this crystal?"

"The crystal of Aulinaber, one of the most important things in this