Page 1 of Ash and Roses

PROLOGUE

QUINN

Waking up covered in blood is a shit way to start the morning. For a few glorious seconds before reality sinks in, I forget where I am—what I am—but as soon as the familiar metallic tang overwhelms my senses, my eyes snap open to greet a waking nightmare.

The earth is sticky beneath me, so the kill must be fresh. Of course the monster had to get one more feeding in before it relinquished control, or perhaps it wasn’t planning to let go at all this time. Coming to my senses is always a surprise now. The time I spend as human grows shorter and shorter with each month. Waking should come as a relief, so why is it always disappointment I feel?

The monster promises an escape from my past and the things I’ve done. There’s no guilt, no pain… only bloodlust. I’m a selfish man, but am I selfish enough to become the nightmare in order to escape from my own?

I pull in a steadying breath and turn towards what remains of the carcass. Deer—not human.

Thank fuck.

The relief I’d been waiting for finally washes over me, carried on a stiff wind. It’s too early for snow, but winter is drawing ever nearer. That’ll be another year lost to this darkness, and then what? The line between man and monster has become so blurred that I’m not even certain a line remains. I’ll have two days in this form. Three, if I’m lucky, and then it’s back to the forest.

Back to the monster.

Fuck the moon.

CHAPTERONE

ABBY

What remains of the corpse is scattered in pieces along the edge of the forest. There’d be no hope of retrieving it all before the hunt, so the poor soul will have to wait. I can tell by the shreds of black and silver fabric that this man was a Guardian, butwhichGuardian is a question that will likely go unanswered until someone else is reported missing.

Blood always appears so much brighter against a backdrop of moonlight. When the full moon reaches its highest point in the sky, it casts an iridescent glow over ruined earth and bathes the land in silver. Nothing grows here now, save for sparse patches of jagged grass that prick like needles. They appear ashen in the gleam, and for once I’m thankful for the lavish argent gown I’m required to wear to this Gods-awful ceremony. This land wasn’t always barren. Of my twenty-two years, colour blessed the first four of them. It was a world of lush greenery and small pops of yellow and orange that speckled the fields surrounding the palace. What little remains of that now lingers only in my memory.

Oh, what I would give to see just one flower again.

With a sickening squelch and a splattering of crimson, my father yanks his sword from the sacrificial pig’s side. This marks the start of the Lunar Hunt, a brutal but necessary ordeal. If we don’t kill enough game tonight, all will suffer and some will surely perish before the next full moon.

“My people,” my father says. His benevolent tone and outstretched arms feign the desire to embrace the onlookers. This is a farce, a show for the people. Our king would no sooner touch a person of common blood as he would take part in the hunt himself. The pig at his feet is his proof of participation. He’s wet his sword, and now he’ll expect others to do the same. “Tonight we honour the Goddess Lunalissa and ask that she bless us under the light of the full moon. With this sacrifice, we call upon her to bring forth her bounty.”

He plunges his blade into the animal again, separating head from body as the crowd murmurs a near-unintelligible, “Bless us.” He holds up the dripping head by a taut ear, and my stomach lurches.

As a Daughter of Lunae, I have no choice but to watch with stoicism. The only thing worse than this display is knowing the Commander’s eyes are on me. Perfection is a must during the Lunar Hunt, and I am the less-than-perfect princess. My sister, Arabella, has no trouble watching the slaughter. It disgusts her as much as it does me, but she’d long ago mastered the art of masking her emotions. No one will scrutinize her tonight, and if they did, all they would see is calculated grace and poise.

The sharp snap of a twig steals my attention, and I shift my eyes to the forest where inky shadows twist with opaline light in an endless war for dominance. Pine and fir trees tower over the divide between lush foliage and poisoned earth. Terranous may have forsaken Lunae long ago, but the forest remains vibrant.

Hunters ready themselves in the eerie stillness that comes in the moments before the massacre. Both men and women looking to earn a higher food ration this month angle hand-carved spears and dull pitchforks toward the tree line. Actual weapons, like swords and bows, are only for the Guardians. Not even during the Lunar Hunt will my father risk arming the people. His power depends on the success of this hunt, and we know all too well what happens when the people grow hungry.

“Princess,” the Commander says in a voice colder than the midnight air. “Unless you wish to join the hunt yourself, I suggest you step back.”

Shit. I’d been so mesmerized by the forest that I hadn’t realized I’d stepped forward alongside the hunters. It’s just like me to find a way to mess this up. I can just hear Arabella’s condescending tone now, telling me how much of an embarrassment I am to this family. First it was‘Abilene the Merciful,’now it’ll be‘Abilene the Huntress.’

I turn towards my family to find them standing well back from the hunters. My father’s eyes are hard with anger, but Arabella? Her usual narrowed eyes and tight lips are replaced by something akin to horror. Her mouth is agape and her eyes bulge as she raises a pointed finger at me.

No, not at me.

The woods.

I whip my head around, expecting to see some frightful creature ready to tear me apart, just as it did the nameless Guardian, but there’s nothing. When a second branch snaps, I take a step back. In the span of a single breath, the stillness turns to chaos and a flurry of animals explode from the trees. Dozens of them thunder towards us, hooves and claws scraping at dry soil and rock. Deer, rabbits, squirrels, boars. They trip over each other in their race to meet our spears, and only a few realize the trap quick enough. Even those that veer to the side likely won’t make it back to the safety of the forest. The Lunar Hunt is a bloodbath and this symphony of death cries will haunt me until the next.

I stumble backwards, tripping over the skirt of my gown, just as the Commander drives his sword into the breast of a doe. Her blood sprays, hot and steaming in the cool night air, and speckles me in a mist of scarlet. A guttural scream comes from somewhere nearby—but not from her. That was a human scream.

A large animal stands atop a downed Guardian, dark fur glistening on its back.Is that a fucking bear?!His cries turn wet as the creature sinks its teeth into his throat and tears at the flesh with a brutal shake of its head. Blood seeps out around the man, leaving a prominent stain against the shimmering bed of moonlight.

“Wolf!” someone shouts, triggering a melody of shrieks from the people behind me. If that’s a wolf, then it’s the biggest wolf I’ve ever seen.

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