Kingdom Of Moonlight Quotes

“I’ve had the best time! The spirit here is incredible. It’s competitive, to be sure, but everyone supports each other. I was getting advice from men I was about to go against right up to the very moment the competitions began.”
“That’s wonderful,” Joanna said and handed him a mug of lemonade. “You look absolutely awful.”
“I showered,” he replied, a bit defensively.
“She means the bruises,” Kassandra said. She thought “awful” was going too far, for the truth was, he looked magnificent. He was a bit battered, however, as was to be expected. All the competitors were the same.
“These are nothing,” he insisted, gesturing to the livid black-and-blue splotches with which he was adorned, and with the enthusiasm of a boy, added, “I won two silver bracelets. Here.” He handed one to each of them and beamed as they put them on.
“Thank you,” Joanna said sweetly and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
Kassandra stared at the bracelet, turning it round and round her wrist. In her quarters, there were chests fitted with silk-lined drawers that held precious jewels given to her because she was a princess. She wore them on occasion and enjoyed them. But never had she received anything so lovely as that simple silver bracelet won by sweat and skill in the Games.
“It’s very nice,” she said, and felt his gaze even as she refused to meet it.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“And he’s gone to Hawkforte.”
“Had his breakfast,” Mulridge said, appearing over Bolkum’s shoulder. “Said he couldn’t bear London a moment longer. Knew he’d have to be back but needed a few days away.” She looked at Kassandra rather pointedly. “Has too much on his mind, that lad does.”
“Hawkforte,” Kassandra murmured, and all her longing sang in the single word.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“Get out,” Alex said and raised a hand, summoning a guard.
“But my lord,” Byron protested even as he stared with alarm at the man advancing on him. “I meant no harm! I hold Lord Hawkforte in the highest possible esteem, as I do you all, most especially Her Highness, the Princess Kassandra. It was only with thought for her tender concern and wishing to prevent her from hearing this from a source less simpatico that I-“
It would never occur to Alex to repeat an order nor would there be any reason for him to do so. The door was opened and Byron was through it, his legs tangling in the air as he was unceremoniously ejected.
Scarcely had he gone than Kassandra was in the hall, beseeching her brother. “I must go with you! For pity’s sake, do not say otherwise. I cannot sit here waiting to know-“
He looked at her just a touch oddly. “Of course you can’t. I’ll get a carriage brought round while you dress. Only hurry.”
A few months before, he would have insisted she remain where she was while he handled the matter. But between then and now lay a world of change. She had ceased to be the protected princess of the royal house and emerged instead as a woman of maturity and grace.
She would need both as she rushed upstairs and began pulling on the first gown that came to hand. Fortunately, it was a simple day dress and she was able to manage the buttons down the back without great difficulty. She had just finished the last when Joanna hurried in. She, too, had dressed hastily. Brianna, who had accompanied them back in England, came right behind, holding Amelia.
“You’re ready?” Joanna asked. She was pale but composed.
Kassandra nodded. “You know?”
“I woke when Alex went to see what was happening. Should we thank Byron or throttle him? He is hardly the most reliable source yet if there is anything to what he says-“
“We will find out for ourselves,” Kassandra concluded.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“They were clustered by an open tent from which breakfast was being served. Kassandra exchanged greetings, accepted a cup of milk laced with honey, and tried hard not to look around for Royce. Just as she was wondering where he could have gone off to, he appeared in the company of the twin javelin throwers. Seeing her, he stopped, and for a moment simply looked. Whatever he saw must have pleased him, for his smile was slow, devastating and utterly male.
But his address, when he spoke to her, was entirely proper. “Good morning, Your Highness. I trust you slept well.”
Two could play this game, she decided. He looked just smug enough for her to want to take him down a notch or two. “Alas, I did not. There was something rather annoying and persistent in my tent…an insect of some sort, I think.”
Royce had just taken a swallow of lemonade. He coughed and cleared his throat. “An insect? Really? Are you sure it wasn’t something larger?” He leaned a little closer so that only she could hear him. “Considerably larger, Princess, and very…attentive, shall we say?”
Fighting a fierce blush, she pretended great interest in the sweet breads and fruits set out on wooden platters. “I really can’t recall,” she murmured, and endured Royce’s chuckle with as good grace as she could muster.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“Her tent was far enough away that she could call for help without necessarily being heard.
Of course, she might also cry out for pleasanter reasons.
Decided, he moved through the thickening dusk, drew aside the tent flap, and stepped inside.

Kassandra was just finishing her bath. It was an indulgence to cart about the canvas-and-wood tub that had to be filled laboriously with buckets when she could have managed with just a basin. She admitted as much, but savored the bath all the same. After the long day, and the days before it, she needed the calming peace of hot water and blessed quiet.
She would have lingered longer but the water cooled rapidly. Rising, she reached for the towel she had left on a stool beside the tub.
Only to have it handed to her.
She gasped and whirled around to find Royce surveying her with obvious appreciation. “You were very far away,” he said.
“I was not!” Grasping the towel, she wrapped it around herself even as she felt ridiculous for doing so. It was hardly as though the man had not seen her naked before. Seen, touched, tasted, savored…Never mind about that now.
“You walk too quietly,” she accused.
“A hideous failing,” he replied, looking pleased with himself. He glanced around the tent. “Cozy.”
“Comfortable, as I am sure yours is.”
He raised a brow and with it, beckoned a blush. She was not a hypocrite. He had shared her bed for four nights and were they in the palace, he would be sharing it again. It was just that they were out in public, as it were, with none of the privacy to be found in her own quarters.
But she had not moved away from him on the ship and, truth be told, she did not want to do so now.
“You are caught,” he said. At her puzzled look, he added, “On the horns of propriety. It’s an awkward place to be.”
“I’m not trying to conceal anything.”
“I realize that, but you are trying not to make a display of what has happened between us, not force people to deal with it at a time when they are deeply concerned and anxious.”
“Yes,” she said on a breath of relief. He truly did understand. “That’s it exactly.”
“Kassandra…” He reached out a hand but let it fall without touching her. “Whatever lies ahead of us, my concern right now is for your safety. You are alone here in this tent and it is set a little apart from the others. If you like, I’ll sleep outside but I’m not leaving you by yourself tonight.”
She had not thought of that, had not considered that he would be worried about her in such a situation. Belatedly, she realized that her own vision had blinded her. She knew this was not the time or place, but he knew nothing of the sort.
And he wanted to protect her. He really did.
Tears stung her eyes but she would not let them fall. The towel was a different matter. She went to him without it.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“She cupped her hand, caught the gleaming flow of water and drank again. Royce did the same. She was right, he had never tasted water more satisfying.
When he had drunk, he took a deep breath and felt his lungs fill with the mingled scent of lemons and jasmine, the perfume he already knew, for it clung to her skin.
That satiny smooth skin. Would it feel cool to his touch as it had earlier or would she be warm now here in the cradle of the earth?
He had to know.
His fingers brushed over the curve of her cheek, lingered…Her lashes drifted down, so long and soft, up again, and he found himself gazing into fathomless eyes.
“Royce-“
“Hush,” he said and gathered her to him.
She was slim and strong in his arms, her body molding to his. Her lips parted, accepting the hard thrust of his tongue as he tasted her deeply. He wanted to go slowly, knew he should, and found the effort entirely beyond him.
He had waited so long…not mere weeks but lifetimes it seemed…time without beginning or end, stretching out endlessly yet coming finally to this moment.
Surely, he was not alone in believing they had been coming to this moment since that fog-draped morning in London when he first set eyes on her?
Her hands were on his shirt, pulling it loose.
Shock roared through him. He had not expected this. She was gently reared, a virgin, he had thought to go very slowly-heaven help him-always mindful of her innocence. But her passion seemed to match his own and she was fire in his arms, in his hands, in his dreams.
“Sweet heaven,” she said, gasping softly. “I want you so much!”
Somewhere on the planet there was a man who could withstand such words from a beautiful woman in his arms.
Of course, that poor fellow was a eunuch, which absolutely did not bear thinking about.
Royce groaned in relief, offered thanks to any and all deities who might feel they were due, and lowered her gently to the ground. Far in the back of his mind, he knew what he was doing was momentous. Kassandra was as far from a casual encounter as it was possible for a woman to be. He knew that and accepted it. Indeed, the depth of his feeling for her transformed pleasure into something vastly more.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“This water is greatly valued,” Kassandra said. “Event today, we bring ewers of it to the temples for blessings.”
She looked at him again, a bit anxiously, he thought, but as before the impression was swiftly gone. Bending, she cupped her palm, caught sparkling drops of water and drank.
The liquid slipped down her throat, cool, clear and incredibly pure. She drank a little more and felt the tension easing from her body, little by little, almost imperceptibly at first, but gathering in strength with each passing moment.
“Why don’t you try it?” she suggested and stood aside so that he could do so.
As Royce bent to catch the water in his hand, Kassandra almost reached out to stop him but drew back at the last moment. He was a strong man, it would still be his voice. The water was merely…encouragement.
From time immemorial, Akoran husbands and wives had enjoyed a goblet of the water taken from the buried temple on their wedding night. Years later, old couples basking in the sun would remember it fondly and share secret looks of tender passion.
Of course, it was also possible that the water did nothing and all was mere legend. She wanted to believe that, for it eased her conscience, but the heat seeping through her made her uncertain.
She stared at Royce as he drank, watching the ripple of the water ease down his throat. He was such a beautiful man, so perfectly formed in body and mind. The memory of him on the field at the Games, on horseback wearing only a kilt, his powerful muscles flexing as he threw the javelin, haunted her dreams.
Ever since then, she had been living in a nightmare. Atreus…the danger to Akora…her own death the price to save both family and home…all seemed to close around her until she could scarcely breathe.
Until the moment when she emerged from her desperate, futile quest for vision to see in Royce’s beloved face the future for which she yearned with all her heart.
A future that in all likelihood was impossible.
That being the case, was it so terribly wrong to steal a little happiness in the fleeting present?”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“Shortly thereafter, the wrestling commenced. And very shortly after that, Kassandra began looking away only to be drawn back again and again to the painful spectacle. Royce did well, all things considered, but he was thrown into the ground again and again. He managed a few very good throws of his own, but wrestling was an art learned almost from infancy. He took his defeat in good humor, which Kassandra could not share, as she was too busy wincing with every fall he took.
“It’s over,” Joanna said finally. “He’s fine, really. A little bruised but otherwise all right.”
“He should have had more sense.”
“They should all have more sense but they don’t. They’re men and we love them for it.”
Amelia chortled just then, drawing the startled gazes of her mother and aunt. She laughed just exactly as though she had understood them and agreed entirely.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“Do they this often?” Kassandra asked, unable to draw her eyes from the men.
“Often enough,” Joanna replied softly. “They are superb, are they not?”
Kassandra watched a little longer before she nodded. “It is as well they are not enemies.”
The men locked swords just as Royce happened to be facing the balcony. The moment he saw the women, he stepped away, disengaging with a quick word to Alex, who turned and looked up.
“You are back,” Alex said as he joined Royce in lowering his sword. “How was Gunter’s?”
“Sticky,” Joanna replied. “We were very bad. Are you done?”
“Yes, of course,” Royce said. “I hope we didn’t disturb you.” He looked to Kassandra as he spoke. She returned his scrutiny calmly despite the sudden, rapid beating of her heart. With difficulty, she dragged her gaze away and followed Joanna down the steps from the balcony.
As the women emerged into the gallery, Joanna said, “Why ever would I be disturbed by the sight of my husband and my brother seemingly intent on skewering each other?”
“You know it is only play,” Alex said, a touch defensively. “It relaxes us.”
“I would hate to see how you fight when you are not relaxed,” Joanna rejoined, but tenderly. Between these two flowed a love and understanding so absolute that Kassandra felt compelled to look away lest she trespass even inadvertently in a realm where only they belonged.
Royce must have felt the same, for after a quick glance, he turned his attention to Kassandra. “And what did you think of your excursion?”
“It was wonderful. Everything was as I imagined, only more so.”
“You will make enthusiasm the fashion.”
“Will I?” she asked, scarcely aware of what she said, for awareness of him overwhelmed all else. He stood, sword in hand, the damp fabric of his shirt revealing the powerful, sculpted muscles of his chest and arms. He looked, she thought, uncannily like the warriors she and every other young Akoran girl had peeked at during illicit visits to the training fields, giggling behind their hands even as they goggled appreciatively. Yet he was British from the top of his golden head to the bottom of his brilliantly polished boots.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“He was presented to her as Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister of England. Kassandra stiffened as he bent over her hand. Mercifully, he released her swiftly but then proceeded to speak with exaggerated enunciation as though he presumed “foreign” and “slow” were synonymous.
“I do hope your stay will be pleasant, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Prime Minister, I am quite assured that it will be. England is a delightful conjunction of seeming conflicts and contradictions, don’t you think?”
Perceval frowned, taken by surprise and unsure how to respond. “Well, as to that-“
“After all, the culture that has produced that astonishing novel Sense and Sensibility and Lord Byron’s…ummm…affecting work within the space of just a few short months can hardly be considered merely a self-aggrandizing island with delusions of empire, can it?”
“I suppose not; that is to say?”
“Do excuse us, Prime Minister,” Alex interjected smoothly. “I am sure you will understand there are so many waiting to meet Her Highness.”
As he guided her toward the next eager greeter, Alex murmured, “Pray do try to remember we are not actually attempting to incite war with England.”
Kassandra shrugged, feeling better since she had set down that vile Perceval. “Didn’t you suspect the Prime Minister of plotting an invasion of Akora just last year?”
Her brother cast her a sharp look. “You weren’t supposed to know about that.”
“For pity’s sake…”
“All right, yes I did, but he was soundly discouraged by the Prince Regent himself. There is no reason to have any further concern in that regard.”
Kassandra did not answer. She had her own thoughts on the subject and was not ye ready to share them.
The introductions continued. Too soon, her head throbbed and the small of her back ached, but she kept her smile firmly in place. When the gong sounded for dinner, she resisted the urge to sag with relief.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight

“He was presented to her as Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister of England. Kassandra stiffened as he bent over her hand. Mercifully, he released her swiftly but then proceeded to speak with exaggerated enunciation as though he presumed “foreign” and “slow” were synonymous.
“I do hope your stay will be pleasant, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Prime Minister, I am quite assured that it will be. England is a delightful conjunction of seeming conflicts and contradictions, don’t you think?”
Perceval frowned, taken by surprise and unsure how to respond. “Well, as to that-“
“After all, the culture that has produced that astonishing novel Sense and Sensibility and Lord Byron’s…ummm…affecting work within the space of just a few short months can hardly be considered merely> a self-aggrandizing island with delusions of empire, can it?”
“I suppose not; that is to say?”
“Do excuse us, Prime Minister,” Alex interjected smoothly. “I am sure you will understand there are so many waiting to meet Her Highness.”
As he guided her toward the next eager greeter, Alex murmured, “Pray do try to remember we are not actually attempting to incite war with England.”
Kassandra shrugged, feeling better since she had set down that vile Perceval. “Didn’t you suspect the Prime Minister of plotting an invasion of Akora just last year?”
Her brother cast her a sharp look. “You weren’t supposed to know about that.”
“For pity’s sake…”
“All right, yes I did, but he was soundly discouraged by the Prince Regent himself. There is no reason to have any further concern in that regard.”
Kassandra did not answer. She had her own thoughts on the subject and was not ye ready to share them.
The introductions continued. Too soon, her head throbbed and the small of her back ached, but she kept her smile firmly in place. When the gong sounded for dinner, she resisted the urge to sag with relief.”
― Josie Litton, Kingdom Of Moonlight