Chapter 32 #2
“Scuffle? She hit me with a metal tray because I took the last chocolate croissant,” Xander deadpanned.
“Can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same,” Daemon replied with a laugh.
“Oh, fuck off.”
Iridessa snickered, then looped her arm through Daemon’s. “Come on, I was sent to retrieve you. Mother and Father are waiting.”
“When did this begin again?” Daemon asked, his eyes trained on the map Lord Arlo had rolled out over the tabletop. They’d been staring at the damned thing for at least an hour, trying to figure out the best course of action, and all that resulted was them talking in circles.
“Pearl’s forces have been steadily lining up at the border over the last day or so.
We’d heard whispers of them gathering their troops to move out, which is when I sent you that missive.
” Lady Aesira was sitting in the chair at the head of the table, her chin perched on threaded fingers as she, too, tried to make sense of their situation.
“We know that Davina won’t move until she does whatever fucking blood ritual bullshit she’s planning, and that’s still three days away,” Xander said with an exaggerated wave of his hand, pacing the length of the room once more before returning to the table.
“So why would Pearl be assembling their forces now?”
“That’s what we still don’t know.” Lord Arlo’s deep timbre rumbled through the room as he stood sentinel by his wife’s side, his hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder.
“What do you need from me?” Daemon asked.
“At this moment? I need you to get this information to Auraelia. But we may need assistance when the time comes. We’ve caught wind of their numbers, and though we are unmatched when it comes to combat, I’d still like to tip the odds in our favor.”
Daemon scanned the map and the tiny figurines that dotted its surface, each one representing fifty soldiers.
From their information, the Court of Pearl’s forces seemed to be evenly matched in numbers to Opal’s.
But even with that, there was no way for them to match the efficiency that Lady Aesira’s warriors fought with.
Their accuracy was unmatched, and every movement was graceful, precise, and deadly.
Finally peeling his eyes from the lines of the map, Daemon met the hard gazes of the lord and lady of Opal. “I will send word to my Father and tell him to send half of the fleet here. They should be here in two days’ time.”
“Your father?” Lady Aesira seethed, her eyes wide as she clenched her jaw.
Daemon recoiled at the venom that laced her words.
He’d briefly forgotten the relationship between the two courts and the women who led them.
It was well known that Lady Aesira and the former Queen of Emerald had been close, so close that the Court of Opal sent its best warrior to train her children—a fact that Daemon was more grateful for than ever as the war drew closer.
“Lady Aesira, I know that my father is likely the last person you’d seek help from, but he wants to see Davina fall just as much as we do.”
“Oh? And what gave you that impression? Him signing away your life?”
Daemon blew out a breath. There was only one way that he could potentially change her mind to the point where she would accept his father’s help…
he just hoped it would be enough. “He’s dying, Lady Aesira.
Months ago, Davina orchestrated someone to poison my father in low doses over time.
” Aesira’s eyes narrowed, but he continued.
“Sometime before the Fall Solstice Ball, she presented him with the antidote and the conditions that came with it. He didn’t think.
All he knew was that he didn’t want to die—didn’t want to leave my mother.
Since then, he’s fallen ill again. Only it’s worse this time.
He knows he may not live to see the end of this war, but he wants to help. ”
The room fell silent, Daemon’s words hanging in the air like a swinging pendulum.
Lady Aesira looked to her husband, who cupped her cheek, then bent to rest his brow on hers. When he pulled away, she blew out a resigned breath and met Daemon’s gaze.
“Send the message to your father, then get your ass back to Lyndaria. So help me, Prince Daemon, if Auraelia falls, I will find you at fault. And there won’t be a Goddess in all of Arcelia who would be able to save you.”
Even with the seriousness in her tone—and the accusatory finger pointed in his direction—Daemon let his smirk shine. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Auraelia
“Just set the tables up on the far wall,” Auraelia called out as a group of men carried them into the ballroom.
She hadn’t stepped foot in this area of the castle since that fateful night.
She’d kept the room sealed off, not wanting the physical reminder of when her entire life was turned upside-down—her nightmares haunted her enough.
Months passed, and it still hadn’t seemed to right itself, and it didn’t seem like it would until the conflict with her cousin was over.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, Auraelia let her gaze slowly trail across the space.
The windows were still blown out from when her magic had taken on a life of its own, but their glass had finally been removed from the marble floors, the late afternoon sun shining through the empty panes.
The once beautiful crystal chandeliers were nearly bare but had been outfitted with new lights so that they functioned once more.
The flowers wrapped around the columns had long since died and were replaced by twisting vines.
Tables lined the walls and were slowly being filled with the food they could spare and tankards for the ale that Madame Sylvie promised as a thank-you for getting her ladies to safety in the Court of Topaz.
It was all starting to come together.
Ever so slowly, life was being brought back to the room that held so many harsh memories, and a hesitant smile began to tilt up the corners of her mouth.
“Planning your victory party already?” Daemon’s husky tone washed over her body, bathing her in a warmth that seemed to have seeped away the moment he left Lyndaria’s shores.
His name was nothing more than a breath on her lips, her heart racing into a gallop in her chest as she whirled around and met the mossy green of his eyes.
The cheeky grin on his face did nothing to dim the adoration there or the love that she felt deep in the very fabric of her being.
Her magic ignited beneath her skin, moving languidly through her veins like liquid fire and pushing against her hold as if it were trying to reach for him.
“Hello, my star.”
In one stride, Auraelia leaped into his arms, hers wrapping around his neck as her fingers found their way into his hair. She could feel his smile as she pressed her lips to his, his arms tightening around her waist, and he held her against him.
Home.
No other word could accurately explain the feeling of being wrapped in his embrace. The way his heart always seemed to beat in synchrony with her own. How their magic seemed to seep from one and into the other, swirling and weaving together in a tapestry to form a beautiful mural.
“I’ve missed you,” Auraelia whispered, pressing her brow to Daemon’s, their breaths mingling together in their shared space.
“You have no idea,” he sighed, his tone reverent as he lowered her back to the ground and pressed a chaste kiss to her brow.
His hold on her loosened, but his arms remained wrapped around her as if he couldn’t bear the thought of letting her go.
They shared a smile as he gently ran his thumb across her cheek, and then he looked over her shoulder and around the ballroom. “So, are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Planning your victory party,” he said with a laugh, his eyes sparkling as they met hers once more.
Auraelia scrunched her nose. “It’s more of a ‘the realm is about to erupt into chaos, so we might as well celebrate life as we know it before it implodes’ party.”
Daemon tried to suppress his smile as he let out a muffled chuckle, tonguing a canine as he nodded his head. “Do you need any help?”
“No, we’ve got it. She’s been having me do all of her dirty work.” Aiden’s honeyed voice echoed through the room, briefly pulling Daemon’s gaze from her own.
“Do I even want to know what he’s implying?” Daemon raised a brow with his question, and Auraelia’s lips turned inward. “Auraelia, what does he mean?”
“I’d like the answer to that question as well.” Auraelia leaned around Daemon to see her brother propped against the threshold. “Hey, Rae,” Xander said with a smile.
She could feel the flush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. “Now is not the time or place for that particular conversation.”
“Oh?” Xander’s brow quirked as he pushed off the doorframe and closed the distance to where she was standing with Daemon.
Reluctantly pulling out of Daemon’s embrace, she turned to cut Aiden a glare. “Damn it, blondie.”
“Blondie?” Daemon’s surprise was evident in his tone, his eyes flicking between Auraelia and Aiden.
“Don’t look at me, ask lightning girl.”
“Lightning girl?!” The confusion on Daemon and Xander’s faces had Auraelia choking on a laugh that grew into an explosion of hysterics as Daemon asked, “What the fuck did we miss in the last twelve days?”
“A whole hell of a lot, D. A whole hell of a lot,” Aiden said with a smile, mischief shining in his honey-colored gaze as he waggled his brows in her direction.
Auraelia rolled her eyes but returned his smile before returning to Daemon, slipping her hand into his. “Come on, I’ll fill you in while we get ready.”
“You killed Kyra?” Daemon asked as he pulled his trousers over his hips.
After they’d gotten back to her chambers, clothes had been ripped and flung to opposite corners of the room, their bodies colliding like a wave crashing against the shore in a storm.
They’d spent more time remapping each other’s bodies and drawing out their pleasure than they had talking.
But they'd reluctantly pulled apart when the sun began to kiss the horizon, the last remnants of light bathing her room in a warm tangerine glow, and Auraelia finally told him everything.
“That’s putting it mildly, don’t you think?” she asked with a sheepish smile. She’d gone into more detail than was necessary, but as soon as she began, the words seemed to tumble from her lips like water spilling over a cliff.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his warm, callused hands sliding up and down her arms in a comforting rhythm.
“More so now than I had been. Aiden’s been helping me, even after I made him bring her body to the border.”
“Auraelia.” Daemon pinched the bridge of his nose and expelled a ragged breath. “Are you trying to piss her off?”
She opened her mouth to respond, but the way Daemon’s eyes snapped to hers—a little v appearing between his brows—made her stop.
“What do you mean, Aiden’s been helping you? Helping you how?”
“Jealous?” she asked with a chuckle.
“Auraelia.”
She palmed his cheek and gave him a small smile.
“He told me.” Daemon’s brows pinched further together.
“I know he’s an empath, Daemon. After I…
eviscerated…Kyra, he numbed what I was feeling.
” Daemon’s eyes shot wide, and she shook her head, a silent request to let her finish.
“Slowly, over the next day or so, he let the weight of what I did settle back into me. Let me work through my feelings in small, manageable doses. He’s a great friend; I can see why he’s your right-hand man.
” A small smile played on Auraelia’s lips as she watched her words sink in.
His eyes softened, and he brought a hand up to cover the one on his cheek. He leaned into it for a brief moment before he twisted his head to press a kiss on her palm. “Thank you for giving him a chance.”
“And for not killing him?” she asked jokingly.
Daemon snickered and pressed his lips to her palm once more. “That, too, my star. That, too.”