Title: Moon’s Shadow

Series: Duskblade, Book Two

Author: Shannon Blair

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 12/23/2025

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 354

Genre: Fantasy, fantasy, elves, family, spies, sexual discovery, royalty, established relationship, revenge, betrayal, intrigue, coming out

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Description

Moranthus and Gerrick return to Dawn’s Gate in hopes of a happy homecoming, but Moranthus’s past as a duskblade stands in the way of his future. When a delegation from his native Moonridge pays a surprise visit to Dawn’s Gate’s court, Moranthus is enlisted as a guard for Prince Orthenn: a man he once tried to kidnap. With Gerrick still employed as Orthenn’s double, Moranthus welcomes the opportunity to shield his lover from harm alongside the prince he protects. Then, a familiar face reappears and calls his loyalties into question once again.

Gerrick, struggling to balance his duty with his love for Moranthus and the young daughter he’s only just returned to, hesitates to work alongside his lover. With his heart divided, he must find a way to reconcile his authentic self with his work as a false prince—all while trying to expose a suspected traitor in Dawn’s Gate’s court.

Meanwhile, in Moonridge, Matriarch Ilendra faces the consequences of her failed plot against Prince Orthenn. As she scrambles to save her reputation, both a new suitor and an old flame compete for her already divided attentions while her estranged half-brother makes an unexpected reappearance in her social sphere. With her personal affairs now as treacherous as her court, Ilendra must choose her allies carefully—or risk losing both her reign and her life.

Moon’s Shadow
Shannon Blair © 2025
All Rights Reserved

The chainmail shirt and Dawn’s Gate tabard hung awkwardly on Moranthus’s shoulders as he pondered the elaborate system of pulleys and weights surrounding the Kingstone’s great elevator. He had no complaints about the fit. The armorer had let out a constant stream of grumbling while taking his measurements—all variations on Moranthus being “too damn tall” and wondering when someone had last fed him—but he’d risen to the occasion as though he’d been outfitting elves all his life and finished his work in time to accommodate Moranthus’s first day on duty.

But the prospect of donning full armor and reporting for work under the royal family of Dawn’s Gate felt like part of a strange dream. In a matter of months, he’d gone from kidnapping the man he’d mistaken for Orthenn to acting as the prince’s personal guard. If anyone had told him before he left Moonridge that his life would take such a drastic turn, he would’ve laughed in their face.

The elevator lurched into motion with an unexpected creaking sound that had Moranthus clutching the handrail with a white-knuckled grip—as though that would do him any good if the ropes failed on the way up and sent the platform plummeting to the cobblestones below. Beside him, Gerrick stood unmoved, no doubt well accustomed to this after years of working in service to the royal family.

Gerrick cast a sympathetic glance at Moranthus. “It’s safe. I promise. The royal family’s lift uses the same pulley system—it’s inspected every day.”

“You trust this with your royal family?” Moranthus raised an eyebrow. “That’s practically an invitation for assassination attempts, isn’t it? Cut one rope and there goes the entire line of succession.”

“It isn’t just one rope. There are fail-safes. And protocol is to never let more than one of them on at once. I suppose they could also have me test it first if they had reason to expect it’d been tampered with.”

Moranthus shuddered at the thought of Gerrick being effectively dropped off the side of the Kingstone on Orthenn’s behalf. “Acting as Orthenn’s body double isn’t enough? They honestly expect you to test his elevator for him too?”

Gerrick sighed. “It’s my job. I protect Prince Orthenn from threats to his safety. Whatever they may be.”

“I know that. I just don’t much care for the thought of you dying to protect him from an elevator.”

Gerrick’s posture stiffened. “This is not an appropriate conversation for Orthenn’s guards to have.” His tone was perfectly neutral, his gaze fixed impassively ahead of him. Polished mail gleaming in the morning sunlight and tabard tucked neatly beneath his sword belt, he was every inch a prince’s loyal guardsman.

Moranthus supposed he should follow Gerrick’s example. Gerrick was right: as a fellow member of Orthenn’s guard, it wasn’t appropriate to voice his disapproval of the role Gerrick played in securing their charge’s safety. Still, the admonishment stung.

“For the record, I do know better than to speak ill of royalty when anyone likely to take offense is in earshot. I’m not so badly trained as all that.” Moranthus allowed himself one dissatisfied huff before straightening his own posture and schooling his face into an equally neutral expression. Even dressed in a royal guard’s livery, he still looked out of place. The last thing he needed was to give whoever stood guard at the top of the elevator more of a reason to look askance at him.

Gerrick reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I know.” It was the closest to an apology Moranthus could expect from him, given the circumstances. And likely more of one than he deserved. It would do for now, but if Gerrick thought Moranthus would agree to drop the subject when they were off duty, he was sorely mistaken.

 

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Shannon Blair is a fantasy author with a fondness for elves, goblins, and general otherworldly goodness. Their love of fiction and storytelling drove them to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing from Regis University, where a short writing exercise spiraled out of control and eventually became their first novel. When they aren’t on a quest to make the fantasy genre a more LGBTQA-friendly place, Shannon can be found inventing whimsical backstories for the colorful crafts and vendors at the craft market where they work. They live on the outskirts of the Denver metroplex with their partner and two spoiled rotten cats.

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