Chapter One
Auraelia
Two months later…
“Fuck!”
Thunder rumbled through the sky outside the council chambers as Auraelia slammed her hands down on the table, frustration rolling off her in waves.
“Majesty,” the sound of Ser Aeron’s deep baritone cut through the field of red that was creeping into her vision. She could feel her magic swirling just beneath the surface of her skin. The static of her lightning made the hair on her arms stand on end.
As she lifted her head, she was met with the sharp intensity of Ser Aeron’s amber gaze. His brow was furrowed, and his lips had set into a hard line. Though with all the severity of his expression, concern swirled in his eyes.
Auraelia blew a breath through pursed lips and bobbed her head to let him know she was okay.
The sound of thunder lessened, and the clouds began to part as she sat back down in her mother’s—in her—chair.
It’d only been two months since her mother had been poisoned.
Two months since she’d regrettably walked away from the one person that could ground her with a single touch.
In those months, she and her council had come up with little to nothing when it came to Davina. And that day had been no different.
What they did know was that she was attempting to extend her reach into other courts.
Mister Aramis had been going from court to court, enlisting the help of his many contacts throughout Ixora to ensure that Auraelia could keep tabs on her cousin. But even with the extra sets of eyes, Davina was practically a ghost.
No one could pin her down in one spot for long enough to get intel, and Auraelia had a feeling it was because of the person who helped her escape all those nights ago.
She needed someone, anyone, to give her some kind of lead to help her through this mess.
She’d already lost her mother, and the ache in her chest was a constant reminder of the love lost when she pushed Daemon away.
It didn’t matter that she did it to try and save him and his people.
To save her people. She missed him. But every time she let her thoughts travel back to him, the chasm in her heart opened wider and the hold on her magic slipped.
She needed to focus before she lost her kingdom, too.
“My apologies. Where were we?” Auraelia leaned against the carved back of her chair, the cool wood seeping through the thin linen of her tunic as she listened to the advice from the council.
As the meeting came to a close and people filtered out of the space, Auraelia closed her eyes and sighed. Between the death of her mother and everything that had happened since, she hadn’t slept much and it was starting to catch up to her.
Her head throbbed as a migraine began to set in, and she pressed her fingers into her temples in an attempt to alleviate the building pressure.
She’d started getting them around the time her world came crumbling down around her, and they’d become more frequent as her powers continued to grow and expand.
When was the last time I ate or drank anything?
Ser Aeron had stayed behind, the concern in his eyes from earlier never ebbing, and she could feel that intense gaze on her face.
Keeping her eyes closed, Auraelia braced herself for the question that she knew she needed to ask. She’d been avoiding it for months and couldn’t put it off any longer.
After her mother’s death, everyone in the council had been questioned extensively about their knowledge when it came to the Court of Garnet.
They’d known about the former queen’s half-sister—Lady Verena—the entire time, but they had only found out about Davina after Auraelia had traveled to Kalmeera.
Every single person on the council had known that Davina had been conspiring to take the crown, and every one of them kept that information from her.
She knew she couldn’t lay all of the blame at their feet, but it didn’t make them any less guilty.
The one person who hadn’t been questioned was Ser Aeron. In the days of her catatonic state, Xander had sent him to fortify the army and make sure that they were ready for anything.
But now? She’d put it off long enough, and she needed to know. So, with a deep breath, she took the leap and asked, “Did you know?”
There was a small squeak as the foot of the chair shifted against the floor, and she cracked her eyes to peer at the man who had been in her life longer than he had been out of it. His eyes held so much sorrow, but it was the hint of guilt that slowly brought her anger back to the surface.
Auraelia sat up and rested her elbows on the table, her fingers steepled in front of her face. The burn from her lightning warmed the tips, and it took immense focus to keep it from forming into ribbons and spiraling around the digits.
Concentrating on the far wall, Auraelia spoke through clenched teeth. “How long?”
She saw him wringing his hands from the corner of her eye, something she’d never seen him do, before he clasped them together and released a long breath. “Auraelia–”
His placating tone made her blood boil, and she jumped from her chair.
The abrupt movement sent it skittering backward and worsened her head's throbbing. “Don’t. I don’t want excuses; I just want to know.
You’ve never sugar-coated anything with me.
Never treated me like one of my mother’s fragile flowers. Don’t you dare start now.”
She turned away from the table, her hands flexing at her sides, and began to pace.
One, two, three—she counted to ten in her head, then back down again, until her mind began to still and her magic settled. It was the only thing that worked anymore.
She could no longer use the memory of Daemon’s voice to steady herself.
Whenever she’d tried, all she saw was his face etched in pain as she walked away from him.
All she felt was the icy cold hands of her heart being ripped out of her chest. And that was a pain she refused to let herself feel again. Four, five, six—
Ser Aeron stood slowly and walked over to where she paced in front of the windows that looked out over her mother’s garden. What was once full of pink and white peony blossoms was now a wasteland of dying shrubs and wilted blooms.
“I’ve always known about Verena. Your mother—” he paused and walked closer, peering out of the window at the lifeless flora before continuing.
“Your mother only told me about Davina a few years ago. I’m not sure how long she’d been holding onto that secret, but I’m almost certain she’d always known. ”
Auraelia stopped pacing and walked to stand next to him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
For a while, they stood there in silence. Watching the sun sink into the horizon as it painted the sky in pinks and purples, the stars began to poke through the last remaining streams of daylight.
“I tried, Auraelia.”
The deep rumble of his voice cut through the silence, and she turned to look at him. He was still gazing out the window, but she could see the glassiness of his eyes and hear his breath's shakiness. When he finally looked her way, her heart broke, and her anger ebbed away.
“I tried to get her to tell you and Xander. I tried so many times. But your mother was a stubborn woman. And there were times when it was her greatest asset, but in this case, it was also her greatest downfall. I am so sorry that I wasn’t there to save her.”
Grasping his large hand in hers, she gave him a reassuring squeeze as tears lined her eyes as well. “It happened so fast that I’m not sure even you could have saved her. But none of this is your fault. Nor is it mine, though we both carry the weight of her decisions.”
Pain that mirrored her own shone back through his eyes, and as he nodded, a lone tear ran down his cheek.
A soft knock on the door broke the silence that had begun to settle between them, and Auraelia called for whoever was on the opposite side to enter.
Piper poked her head in, her brow furrowed in frustration. “Rae, you skipped lunch…again. I’m here to force you to eat dinner.”
Ser Aeron’s gaze turned from sadness to annoyance. “You haven’t been eating?”
At the mention of food, her head began to throb once more, and she cringed.
“You have another migraine, don’t you?” Piper asked as she entered the room.
Auraelia nodded slowly, trying not to make any jarring movements, while Piper huffed out an annoyed breath and crossed her arms as she leaned against the table.
Ser Aeron squeezed her hand, pulling her attention back in his direction, and narrowed his eyes.
“Go eat. I mean it. You have a lot on your plate, and I saw the hold on your magic slipping throughout the meeting as your emotions got the better of you. You need to be in control, not letting it control you.”
Auraelia nodded and tightened her hold on his hand before letting go and allowing him to excuse himself.
When the door closed firmly behind him, Piper dropped her arms and released a heavy sigh. “Okay, food is in your room. We have enough time to eat before we have to meet Xan at the stables.”
Xan. She still wasn’t used to the nickname that Piper had given her brother. But she was the only one who used it, and it made him smile every time.
The two women hastily walked down the short hallway that led to the door of the queen’s apartments—one that only the reigning queen could open.
Once inside, they practically inhaled their meal of roast and potatoes before they donned thick wool cloaks and snuck out through the queen’s garden.
They had somewhere to be and not a lot of time to get there.
Walking into Vee’s alone was one thing.
Walking in with an entourage was something else entirely.
Heads always turned when three people dressed in black cloaks with hoods drawn up entered a space.
Ignoring the curious gazes from those around her, Auraelia led Piper and Xander to the bar at the back where Vee stood, serving one of her patrons.
Waiting until the man left, Auraelia stepped up to the bar. “Is he here yet?” she asked in a hushed tone while Vee poured her a glass of honey whiskey.
“No, Your Maj–” she stopped, cleared her throat, and then shook her head, “No, I haven’t seen him yet.”
Auraelia nodded and grabbed her glass. Taking a swig before gesturing to her companions behind her. “Can you show us to the room?”
Vee dried her hands on the towel that hung from where it was tucked into the top of her apron at her waist, then called for one of her girls to watch the bar while she was gone.
She led them down a dark hall, then up a small flight of stairs to her private office on the main floor of the house. It was far enough away from the events happening below but close enough for an inconspicuous exit.
Inside was a small desk, a bookshelf, and an intimate seating area in front of a fireplace with a few armchairs and a couch. The sconces on the wall were dim but bright enough to see by, giving the space a gentle glow.
Vee closed the door behind her when she left, promising to bring a decanter of whiskey and wine back with her when the final member of their company arrived.
Auraelia took a seat in the chair closest to the fireplace while Xander and Piper took the settee—sitting on opposite ends of each other.
Idiots.
As time ticked on and there was still no word, Auraelia grew antsy. Twirling the queen’s emerald around her finger as they waited.
“This is ridiculous. Of course, he’s fucking late.” Piper fumed from her seat.
She was slouched down on the cushions, her arms crossed over her chest as her foot tapped incessantly on the floor.
Reaching over, Auraelia grabbed her knee. “Would you please stop that? You’re going to let everyone downstairs know we’re up here, and I’m sure there’s a good reason that he’s late.”
At least there better be.
As soon as the words left her lips, there were five quick knocks, and they all turned toward the sound as Aiden walked through the door.
“Sorry I’m late. Something came up.”
There was a worried edge to his voice, and it put Auraelia on high alert. “What kind of something?” Her eyes narrowed, and the air in the room began to stir.
“Woah, easy. Everything is fine. It just took longer to get here than I had anticipated. That bitch has eyes everywhere.”
The air around them settled as Aiden crossed the room and leaned against the mantle over the fireplace.
Odd.
This was the second clandestine meeting that they’d had with Aiden since everything fell apart. He was the one contact in the Sapphire Isles that Auraelia knew she could trust, and that was only because he wanted Daemon away from Davina as much as she did.
“Did you find out any more about what exactly her abilities are?” Auraelia asked.
It was the one thing that none of their informants could catch wind of.
Evidently, there weren’t many people who had experienced Davina’s magic and survived.
And those who had either didn’t want to—or were unable to—talk about it.
“Not exactly, but—”
“I may be able to shed some light on that.” A voice as smooth as velvet and as dark as the magic that accompanied it swept through the room, slowing time to a crawl.
She’d know that voice anywhere, and her magic danced beneath her skin at the sound.
Auraelia looked to Aiden, who had an apologetic look on his face, before she slowly turned toward the door.
Standing in the doorway's shadows was a man she would recognize until the day she died.
Even with a hood covering his features, the broad set of his shoulders and the cocky lean against the doorframe gave him away.
No, it can’t be. He can’t be here.
The figure stood upright and pushed the hood back from his face, a Cheshire smile gracing his luscious lips.
“Hello, my star.”