Chapter Twenty-Four #2
His head shifted from side to side like he was contemplating the answer he wanted to give before finally settling on one. “My name is of no consequence.”
“And your message? Is that also of no consequence?” Daemon asked, mirth filling his words. His tone might have been placid, but Auraelia could tell how on edge he was. She could feel his worry and agitation as they mingled with her own.
The man tsked. “My message is this. The Court of Pearl stands firmly behind the rightful queen of this realm, Lady Davina of the Court of Garnet.”
“If that’s what you came all this way to say, then I’m sorry you wasted your time. We were already aware of where Lady Levena and Lord Kaemon stood. So if that’s all—”
His laugh cut Auraelia off, echoing through the silence and ricocheting off of the trees. “Oh, Your Majesty,” he spat her title like it tasted bitter on his tongue. “That’s not the only message we have for you.”
“We?”
The world seemed to have slowed to a crawl as cloaked figure after cloaked figure stepped beyond the tree line, dressed like the man in front of her.
“You see, the message was this. Infiltrate the castle and take your life to head off the unnecessary bloodshed. We really must thank you for making this easier on us.”
Auraelia’s eyes rotated between each assailant, taking a quick assessment of any potential weaknesses as Ser Aeron had taught her.
Mentally marking who would be easiest to subdue and who would live to see the sunset.
She and Daemon were outnumbered six to two, but like hell would she let someone else do Davina’s dirty work.
A small smile ticked up one side of her lips as she watched a blade slip from the original man’s sleeve and into his awaiting hand before he hurled it toward her.
Her heart pounded in her ears as adrenaline pumped through her veins, sending jolts of energy down her spine as her brain settled into the calm that came from years of honing her combat skills.
Thunder boomed through the sky as her magic responded to the threats, making her anger palpable as heavy winds knocked the knife to the ground.
Drawing her dagger from her thigh, Auraelia glanced toward Daemon as he unsheathed his sword, a vicious smile on his face.
In the next heartbeat, they moved, meeting the advancing assailants head-on.
Metal clanged against metal as Daemon parried one of the assassins. Bone crunched beneath Auraelia’s fist as she uppercut into one of their noses, followed by a bellow of pain as her blade slashed across their belly.
As she spun to engage in another attack, a blade sliced across her shoulder, blood trickling down her arm and staining her tunic crimson.
Before she could get her bearings, a broad man grabbed her from behind, pulling her arms behind her back until she was sure her shoulders would dislocate, and pressed a blade to her throat.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” he whispered against her ear as the blade sliced into the delicate skin of her throat.
Pain coursed through her, but the cry that left her lips was one of pure rage. Diving into her well of power, Auraelia let her lightning wrap around her. Let it sear through fabric, skin, and sinew. Let it burn until the man’s arms fell away, and he collapsed into a charred heap on the ground.
Breathing heavily, Auraelia whirled around and picked up her dagger, channeling her lightning through the emeralds as she launched it at a man across the clearing who was charging at Daemon’s back.
Relief flooded her system as her dagger struck true, the man collapsing to the ground as Daemon turned toward him.
His eyes met hers for a brief second before he shifted his attention back toward the remaining assailant.
Daemon had cut down two men while she’d handled her own, but as he raised his blade to the final one, she hurled a gust of wind toward him and knocked it from his hand. “Not that one.”
Bruised and coated in blood, Auraelia began to cross the clearing.
“I am sick of people coming after me, and what’s mine.
” Auraelia seethed as she stalked toward the man, her lightning a living thing as it twined around her, crackling along her skin.
“I am the rightful Queen of this realm, and I have a message of my own.”
The last man standing was the original messenger, the one who’d promised to deliver her death to Davina. His eyes blew wide as a bolt of lightning landed right in front of his foot, and Auraelia smiled as he attempted to back away, only to slam into a wall of Daemon’s shadows.
Her steps were slow—calculated—as she closed the distance between herself and the supposed assassin.
When she reached him, she leaned into his space.
Sweat beaded on his brow, and she wasn’t sure if it was fear, or that she was close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her magic.
It turned out to be the former, his swallow audible as the smell of ammonia filled her nostrils, and the once swaggering male turned into a whimpering mess.
The laugh that bubbled up Auraelia’s throat was anything but kind as she met his gaze. As she leashed some of her own magic, Daemon’s snaked up the man’s legs and down his arms, binding him to the mass of shadows at his back.
“I want you to give your mistress a message. Can you do that?” Her tone was sickly sweet even to her own ears, but she was done.
Tired of always looking over her shoulder.
Tired of playing nice when everyone around her fought dirty.
The time for fighting fair was over, and it was time to send a message of her own, even if it stained her soul.
When the man nodded, she continued. “Tell your Lord and Lady you were unsuccessful in delivering your whole message. That the next time they decide to send me a message, I will gladly accept it from them in person.” She laid her hand flat against his sternum.
“Tell them to let Davina know that her cousin is done playing these games.” Heat began to swell in her palm, a gentle glow emanating around the whole of her hand.
“And tell them, all of them, that anyone who tries to take or harm what is mine will meet an immediate end.”
Auraelia released the hold on her magic and let it flow out of her hand, burning through the fabric covering the man’s chest and down to his skin, his screams filling the silence of the forest.
Daemon released the shadow binds as Auraelia pulled away, and the man collapsed to the ground.
She slowly knelt next to him. “Tell Davina I’m ready.
That her fear tactics do not work here. She can send as many assassins as she wants; I will not run.
I will not bow. If she wants my crown and my kingdom, she will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Tell her I will see her on the battlefield, and my rage will be the last thing her eyes see of this world.
After all, only one of us will be walking off that field, and I fully intend on it being me. Do you think you can do that?”
Tears ran down his face as he met her gaze and nodded.
“Good.” Auraelia stood as the man fell unconscious and turned on her heel, meeting Daemon’s knowing stare. A wave of emotions washed through her as she held it, both hers and his.
He closed the distance between them in one stride and cupped her cheeks.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes scanning from top to toe.
When they landed on the harsh red line across her neck and blood stain on her shoulder, his nostrils flared, his gaze snapping to the last remaining assailant before flicking back to her.
“I will be.” It was the only honest answer she could give.
As the adrenaline wore off, her mind began to race.
The one thing she never wanted was to be like her cousin…
and now? The sound of her dagger sinking into the man’s spine would echo through her mind for days, but the sound of their screams as she cut down each man would haunt her nightmares.
“Hey,” Daemon’s soothing voice cut through the impending storm in her mind, his thumb stroking gently across her cheek.
“None of that, alright? You did what you had to, and she needs to know that you’re not going to take her actions lying down.
” Auraelia nodded as Daemon pressed a kiss to her brow, his body still riddled with tension.
“What do you want to do about that?” he asked, flicking his head toward the unconscious man behind her.
“How far can you shadow-walk?”
A cocky smile pulled across Daemon’s face, and she couldn’t help but smile in return. “I can get him to the other side of the Amber Woods. He can walk the rest of the way to Pearl.”
It wasn’t surprising that Xander and Piper beat them back to the harbor, and a breath of relief escaped when Auraelia saw that they were no worse for wear. The same could not be said when Xander’s gaze landed on her.
“Goddess, Rae! What the fuck happened to you?!” Xander’s eyes moved rapidly over her, assessing every blood stain with questioning eyes before whirling to glare at Piper. “You didn’t see this?”
Piper narrowed her gaze at Xander, sucking on a canine before snapping back, “Of course, I fucking saw it. But Daemon was with her, and I also saw her handle it. If I thought for one second that my best friend, our queen, was in danger, don’t you think that I would have told you?
Goddess, Xander, have a little fucking faith. ”
“Don’t blame Piper,” Auraelia snapped at her brother. “You wouldn’t have been able to reach us in time to help anyway, and it’s not even all mine, Xander,” she said as she dismounted Jasira.
“None of it should be yours. What the hell happened?”
“We were ambushed in the Amber Woods. The Court of Pearl says hello.” Daemon replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.