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

lifted the shirt just enough so he could see the wound. It wasn't that deep looking, and blood was no longer coming out. He ran into the bathroom and wet a washcloth and hurried back to Eiko, who was beginning to pass out.

"Eiko, stay with me, okay? Just until I've cleaned it, alright?" Her beautiful eyes fluttered open and she nodded at him as he gently pressed the washcloth to the wound, wiping the blood away. After a few minutes, the blood was gone and the wound didn't look as bad, and Eiko had managed to stay awake.

After he'd put a bandage on her wound, Zach laid down next to her, and she turned on her good side facing him. She smiled sadly and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers. "Thank you, Zach." She closed her eyes and before he knew it, they were both asleep, their fingers still laced and his thoughts all on Eiko.

You Don’t Want This Now

The sun was shining through the curtains, blinding Zach as he opened his eyes. At first he was confused to why there was a girl in his bed and why they were holding hands. She was still facing him, but closer than before and had her head on his chest, her free hand lying on his stomach. He blinked a few times and lay there, running his other hand through her hair. A smile pulled his lips as she let out a long sigh, moving so she was a bit closer to him.

The silence was soothing, until the woman from before was standing in front of his bed, hands on her hips. "Well, I'm glad to see you listened, boy."

Zach glared at her. "If you knew what was going to happen, why didn't you stop it? She could've died!"

The woman simply shrugged. "I cannot do anything in this world, for I am not allowed to interfere with silly human things." She smiled wickedly. “And, you had to prove yourself worthy enough to be a warrior.”

He rolled my eyes, no longer wanting to argue with her or ask why she sounded so stupid. "Why did they hurt her last night?"

"She hasn't told you yet? That's not very surprising; in fact, I'm surprised she's that close to you right now." She sneered at him, twisting her hair in her fingers. "Eiko isn't what you think she is; she's important. She has a very special role in our realm, and the Gods have sent you to protect her." In a flash she was close to him. "If you don't protect her, she will die and this world and mine will be lost, understand?"

His eyes traveled to Eiko, who was still asleep next to him. Nodding absently, he looked back up at the woman. "What's your name?"

"My name is Cara, a simple human name given to me by the Gods." She licked her lips, leaning closer to him. "Remember, Zachary Hunter, you must protect her with your life, which is what those marks on you are for." She touched his arm and he bit his lip trying not to scream as his arms lit up, a burning sensation covering it. When she removed her hand, and disappeared, the burning sensation going with her. When Zach looked down at his arms, he had weird tribal markings from his hands going up to his shoulder and onto his chest.

Eiko murmured something and Zach looked down at her as she tightened her grip on his hand, a small cry coming from her. "No, please, leave him alone." The words escaped from her mouth and then she shot up, her eyes wide and full of fear. She pulled her hand away from him and backed up as far as she could without falling off the bed. "What am I doing here?" Her green eyes fell to his arms and stared at the markings that were there now.

"Eiko, listen to me. You were hurt last night, bad. I brought you here, where you'd be safe." Zach replied, ignoring her looks. "I need to see if it's healing the right way."

She stared at him, her eyes still as dim as they were last night. Her hands were playing nervously with the bottom of the shirt she was in and she took a deep breath. "Y-you won't try anything, will you?"

He raised my eyebrows, a bit confused on why she's asked. "Eiko, I never would." She nodded and moved closer to Zach, lifting up the shirt so he could see the wound. He gently pulled the bandage off and stared at her stomach, trying to figure out why there were the same tribal markings that were on his arms were on her stomach, the wound completely disappeared.

When he looked back up at her, she smiled and dropped her shirt. "You truly are the one."

“What is the one? Why was I chosen? What is so special about me?" Zach asked. He stared at her as she moved towards me, her black curls hanging down to the bed.

When she was close enough, she moved his arms and climbed on top of him, her legs on either side of his body, and she leaned down to his ear and whispered, "You were chosen personally by the Gods for me. You were chosen to protect, to lay your life down, and the markings on you prove that you will do anything to make sure I'm safe. You're so much more special than you think, Zachary Hunter."

She grabbed Zach's arms and traced the markings with her fingers before tracing the cuts that were still visible. "You hurt yourself over and over, and yet you still have the will to live. That is what makes you special. Even through all the pain you've gone through, you're still here. That is why you were chosen."

Zach nodded absently, only one thing going on in his head by the time she was gone speaking. He couldn't stand her this close to him. His heart was beating faster than ever before and he wanted her. She smiled at him and placed her hands on the back of his neck, twisting his hair in her fingers as she leaned down to him and pressed her lips against Zach's. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to himself, so they were pressing against each other. She deepened the kiss, only breaking apart to tug his shirt off, tracing the markings with her fingers as she kissed him again.

She tugged her shorts off and threw them to the side as he kissed her neck and collar bones, his hands slipping under her shirt and finding her breasts, doing everything in his power not to rip her clothes off. As she started to unzip Zach's pants, he stopped her, pulling away altogether and removing his hands from under her shirt. She gave him a weird look. "What is it?"

Zach shook his head. "You don't want this, not right now, and neither do I." Eiko let out a sigh and got off him, leaning against the headboard. Eiko might be beautiful, but she wasn't what he wanted.

They sat in silence as she continued to trace the markings on his hand. "Will you tell me why you hurt yourself like that?" She asked, looking up at him with her beautiful eyes.

He squirmed a bit; no one had ever asked why there were cuts all over Zach's arms and hips. "I don't think you'd understand." He mumbled, breaking their eye contact.

"Zach," she placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her again, "I may not understand, but I care. And that should be enough, please, tell me."

Zach took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to start. "When I was younger, about 15, my first stepdad became an alcoholic and began to abuse us every day. He'd start with my mother, then to me, and then to my younger brother, Matt. It went on for almost a year, and each day when he was done abusing us, I'd take a razor to my arm, because I wasn't able to find another way to release the pain. By the time my mother had finally told someone, it was too late. We'd moved away from my father the day he hit Matt with a bat in the stomach. I felt hopeless, unable to protect my family. The day we'd gotten a restriction order for him, and before he was in court, he shot my brother and I, killing Matt on spot. He ran as I held my dying brother in my arms, telling him it'd be okay and that he'd get help. I told him that he'd never have to see that man again, that we'd be a normal family." He took another breath, trying to stop shaking. Eiko had stopped tracing his hand and was looking at him with wide eyes.

"But when the ambulance showed up, I'd lost him. I had to watch as they took him away. I did everything to save him, but I couldn't." Zach finished, taking long breaths as he calmed down again.

Eiko didn't say anything. Instead, she crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, resting her head on his chest. He hesitated before wrapping his arms around her. It was nice; the silence was. She pulled away again and motioned for him to lie down. He did so and she did as well, pulling the covers up over them and resting her head on his chest again. Her green eyes looked up at him and she smiled, "The Gods were right when they chose you, Zachary Hunter."

Zach didn't say anything, but the emotions in his eyes must've been an answer that she accepted because she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together and kissed his hand before closing her eyes. Zach stayed awake, wondering if the next time she got hurt he'd be able to make it before she died. Hoping that he would make it, Zach allowed his eyes to close and hoped his dreams were good ones.

Guerrier de la Lumiére

The moon shined brighter than any time he'd ever seen it. Eiko was sitting beside the small pond, running one of her fingers over the water, staring at the ripples. Zach leaned against a tree, his eyes locked onto the moon, wondering when he'd find out the whole story about Eiko and the Gods that she spoke of so often. Anytime he tried to ask Eiko about it, she'd change the subject and avoid eye contact, so Zach had given up.

"Zachary, it seems you've forgotten the reason she's here." Zach jumped at Cara's voice and turned around to look at her. Her ice blue eyes were staring into his soul and her lips were tight. "You cannot ignore what's coming."

He turned his attention back to Eiko. "She's so important..." He mumbled.

Cara placed her hand on his shoulder, the only emotion he'd ever seen her have and she smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, what's coming now isn't the only danger she's in. She faces many things that Fate has laid out for her. This danger that's coming is the easiest. What's coming after it will cause problems you couldn't imagine, Zachary Hunter. Ask her about her past, ask her why she's here now; it's the only way you'll ever be able to help her."

Before he could say anything to