Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Auraelia
Daemon was barely gone for thirty seconds before reappearing, swathed in shadows with a grumbling Aiden.
“Fuck, D. I had a winning hand! You know how hard it is to beat Neese at poker?”
“Quit your griping. You can finish the game later,” Daemon said with a chuckle.
Aiden scoffed and pushed away, mumbling, “You know she’s going to look at my cards.”
“You sound like a child who got their toy taken away, Aiden.” Piper quipped from where she was perched on the couch, sipping her drink with an amused smile.
Aiden groaned as he looked around the room. “Oh, look. The gang’s all here…why is the gang all here?”
“You’ll see,” Auraelia sing-songed.
“Is that your favorite phrase today, Princess?”
Auraelia glowered at Daemon. “Xander, please escort the prince and emissary into the council chambers. I need to talk to Piper for a minute.”
Xander’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced between the two women, nervousness etched in every line on his face. Piper’s was a mirror of Xander’s as they held each other’s gaze.
When her friend gave a slight shrug, he peeled himself from the chair and headed toward the door that opened into the hall leading to the council room. “Gentlemen.”
Daemon cast her a confused look but followed Xander with Aiden close at his heels.
“Would someone please explain what’s going on?” Aiden pleaded.
“Come on, Aiden,” Daemon clapped him on the back. “I’ll fill you in on the way.”
With the sound of the latch clicking into place, Auraelia turned toward her friend. “Who was in your room this morning?” she asked as nonchalantly as possible.
“What are you talking about?” Piper asked, her gaze averted as a flush slowly crept across her cheeks.
“Piper.”
After a few moments of silence, her friend sighed. “Xander,” she mumbled, almost too low for Auraelia to hear.
“You slept with my brother?” Auraelia exclaimed, gaping at her best friend.
“What? No!” Piper’s gaze shot to her friend, eyes wide as she frantically waved her hand from side to side.
“When I came to your room this morning, you definitely had sex hair. And you just admitted that it was Xander in your rooms.” Excitement bled out of every word.
Her brother had finally done it. Had finally gotten the nerve to go after the one girl who had managed to hold his attention for longer than one night.
“I did not sleep with Xander.”
“Uh-huh. Explain then.” Auraelia sat sideways on the couch facing her friend, her arm draped casually over the back, head resting on her fist, as she waited for the answer.
Piper blew out an exasperated breath. “We were just talking. I asked him to come to my suite to hang out, and I may have convinced him to drop the wards for a minute…a precise minute, to be exact.” Her lips tilted up into a cheeky grin.
“You’re the reason Daemon was in my room? But how did you even know he was here? Did Xander know that’s why you were asking him to drop the wards?”
“I saw it.” Piper casually shrugged one shoulder, then continued. “And Rae, before you get mad at me, you needed to see him. And if the way you looked coming to my room this morning says anything, it’s that you didn’t mind the surprise. And, no. He didn’t.”
“That’s beside the point, Piper. And it still doesn’t explain why my brother was in your room this morning.”
“Well, we started drinking. Then drinking turned to talking and more drinking, and eventually, we both fell asleep. He may have kissed me at some point, but he ran out so fast after you left this morning that I’m starting to think it was a fever dream.”
“Okay…but do you want him to kiss you?”
“Rae—”
“Don’t Rae me. Answer the question.”
Piper sighed and dropped her head onto the back of the couch. “Yes, okay. Are you happy now? But he’s your brother.”
“Okay, and?”
“We can’t. It’s too weird.”
“You most certainly can! I give my blessing. Hell, I’ll throw a party if you both finally get your heads out of your asses.
” Piper’s gaze narrowed in on her friend, but before she could retort, Auraelia continued.
“Look, Piper. Don’t be an idiot. If you like Xander, go for it. I promise the feeling is mutual.”
“Why can’t I be an idiot? You’re being an idiot.”
Auraelia dropped her gaze to her lap and let out a heavy breath. “Yeah, well. I have my reasons.”
“Your reasons for being an idiot are idiotic, Rae. You love him.”
“I know. But we can’t. Not right now.”
Piper sat up and grasped Auraelia’s hand in hers. “You can. You’re choosing not to. You’re choosing to hurt when the person who makes you whole is right on the other side of that door.”
Auraelia turned toward the large oak door that led to the council chambers, her heartbeat quickening as the pull to be near Daemon grew. The ache in her chest had ebbed since he’d been there, his presence slowly filling the cracks that she’d caused in her own heart.
“It’s okay to find light in the dark, Auraelia. Let him in. Let him be your light.”
Turning back toward her friend, Auraelia chuckled. “That’s pretty ironic since he, quite literally, manipulates shadows.”
The women fell into a fit of laughter, which resulted in tears rolling down their cheeks.
It had been so long since Auraelia had been able to laugh.
Grief and despair followed her around like the storm clouds she commanded, blocking out every ray of sunlight that tried to pry its way through the darkness and bring even a smidgeon of light back into her life.
But ever since Daemon popped back into view, small beams of warmth had managed to cut through the bleakness that shrouded her, slowly mending the tattered pieces of her soul.
When they finally calmed, Auraelia pulled her friend in for a hug and whispered, “It’s okay for you to do the same, Piper.” Pulling away, she locked gazes with her friend. “Don’t be me, okay? Don’t miss out on something that’s right in front of you.”
Piper’s shoulders dropped, her head tilting slightly to the side as her gaze softened. “I won’t if you promise to find some happiness yourself.”
A quiet smile lifted the corners of Auraelia’s lips as she gave her friend another squeeze. “I’ll try. Now come on, we need to be in there before the council shows up.”
Pushing up from the couch, they made their way through the door and down the hall. Auraelia’s nerves stood on end as anxiety began to settle in her chest.
Here goes nothing.
“What are they doing here?” Lord Harland demanded, face frozen with disdain, his body immobile in the large double doorway that led into the council chambers.
The rest of the council members filled the space behind him, their expressions ranging from shock to anger as they took in the two newcomers.
Auraelia leaned back casually in her chair, elbows resting on the arms with her hands steepled in front of her face. “Have a seat.” She kept her tone calm despite the trickling of static up her spine.
This has to work.
The council filed into the room, their wary gazes trained on the prince and emissary from the Sapphire Isles. When they were all finally seated, Auraelia leaned forward and began. “Prince Daemon and Lord Aiden are here to provide information regarding my cousin.”
“Your Majesty,” Mister Aramis interjected. “Surely you don’t believe they are here in good faith? He’s engaged to that…that woman.”
Auraelia cut a sharp glance at her emissary, “I am aware of the situation, Mister Aramis.” Slowly rotating her gaze through the rest of her council, she continued.
“I do not need the reminder, as the entire encounter where that information came to light is emblazoned in my memory. What I do need is for all of you to listen. I would not bring them into this chamber without just cause, and I would appreciate it if you would give me just a modicum of trust.”
Every member of her council’s eyes went wide. From her Mistress of Coin—Lady Ophelia, to her Master at Arms—Master Demir. With his usually stoic expression, even Lord Harland couldn’t mask the shock radiating across his face.
“Now, shall we begin?” Settling back into her chair, Auraelia turned toward Daemon, who sat to her right. “Prince Daemon, would you please explain what you know about Davina?”
A small smile graced his lips as he met her gaze and nodded. “What would you like to know?”
“Everything.”
The council squirmed in their seats as Daemon relayed the information he had.
He spoke of the turmoil throughout his kingdom and the upheaval that Davina had already caused to his court.
Going into grave detail over the destruction she’d caused on the Sapphire Isles’ marketplace, Daemon broke down the impact it had on their economy and how that would inevitably affect the rest of Ixora.
As he went on, she watched the expressions on her council’s faces shift from wary glances to ones of shock and anger. But it wasn’t until Daemon spoke of his personal experience with Davina’s abilities that the others seated around the table found their voices.
“Blood magic? She has blood magic?” Master Demir questioned, his bushy charcoal brows pushing up his forehead, forming deep-set wrinkles in his tanned brow.
He was one of the more senior council members but wasn’t old by any stretch of the imagination.
Though only in his fourth decade of life, time spent in the sun and working alongside his family in the blacksmith’s shop darkened and aged his skin, making him appear older than he actually was.
“It appears so,” Daemon responded. “Though I’m not entirely sure of the extent of her abilities, what I have experienced isn’t something to take lightly.”
It was Lady Ophelia who spoke next, her eyes trained on where her hands rested in her lap. “Nothing about blood magic should be taken lightly. It’s dark and unruly and can corrupt the wielder if they’re not careful.”
Every pair of eyes shifted to the Mistress of Coin as they waited with bated breath for her to continue.