Chapter 4
Aurora
Pale moonlight streams through the window when my eyes blink open.
Disoriented, I narrow my gaze. Low murmurs float down the hallway, stirring my memory.
Ah yes, Thorn had burst through the door to inform me that the cursed lord of the Northern Shadows had kidnapped my best friend, Camryn, who fell through the veil when I did several months ago.
My stomach churns at the thought of Camryn being held captive and afraid for months without knowing I was here. I try not to think about what they could be doing to her. What he could be doing to her.
I shove off the covers and stumble out of bed, my body still lagging from Clara’s magic. I lurch across the room and open the door, following the trail of voices.
Thorn, Olin, Clara, and Soren sit around the kitchen table. Cups of tea and pints of ale rest before them. Standing in the doorway, I catch Soren’s eye, and he stands, closing the gap between us. “How are you?” he asks, his arms stretching out toward me.
His hands cup my face. “I’m fine,” I say curtly, tugging his hands away. “Just a little groggy.” I glare around Soren’s shoulder at Clara.
She gives me a weary smile. “I am sorry, my dear.”
I purse my lips. “Mm-hm.”
“We didn’t want you to get hurt,” Soren says softly.
I glance up at him and then look around the room. “Hurt from what?”
He tilts his head and narrows his eyes.
I clear my throat. “Okay, I was about to faint, but I didn’t need to be knocked out.”
Clara chimes in from the table. “We didn’t want to see you ...” Her face scrunches as she searches for the right words.
“Burst into flame!” Olin adds eagerly.
Clara smacks Olin’s arm with the back of her hand.
“What?” he asks, raising his shoulders. “I don’t know why you two tip-toe around it.” He turns to me. “They were afraid you’d burn the house down in your fiery rage.”
I step around Soren, glaring at him. “Thank you, Olin. I appreciate your honesty.” I fold my arms across my chest, holding back my fiery rage from unleashing on them now. “And it’s nice to know that two of the people I love most seem to walk on eggshells around me.” My eyes shift to Clara.
Soren steps in front of me. “We didn’t want to see you hurt, that’s all.” He raises his hand, brushing the rough pad of his thumb across my chin.
I swallow, trying to ignore the magnetic pull my body has to his. “I’m not a weak human who needs protecting all the time, remember? You can’t render me unconscious every time we get bad news, got it?”
Clara nods.
Soren’s amber eyes radiate. “Of course, My Flame. I’m sorry.” I find his command of intense eye contact impossible to resist.
“Yes, I’m sorry, Aurora. I just worry. I can’t help it,” Clara says quietly.
I move to her, resting my palm on her hand. “I appreciate your concern, I really do. But I’d much prefer your help in getting me stronger.” Her mouth tugs into a grin, and I slide into a seat next to her.
Soren sits beside me while Thorn’s unwavering gaze prods me from across the table.
I blow out a breath. “So, Camryn came through the veil when I did and is being held captive by the lord of the Northern Shadows.” I look at Thorn with a renewed sense of purpose. “What does he want?”
Thorn takes a long sip of his tea before gently placing the cup on the table. “He wants to meet you.”
My head jerks back. “Me? Why?”
Thorn studies me. “He heard about what you did to Isolde and now he’s curious about how it’s possible a human traveler can wield such gifts.”
“So he doesn’t know about the half-fae descendants?” I ask.
“Apparently not,” Thorn replies.
I inhale and chew on the inside of my cheek. “Okay, if I travel to the Northern Shadows to meet with him, he’ll let me bring Camryn back, right?”
Thorn’s lips press into a hard line. “The messenger didn’t say.”
Soren stiffens beside me.
I scoff. “So what, if I don’t go, he’s just going to keep her forever?
” The table falls silent. I shake my head.
“It doesn’t matter. Of course I’m going.
He has my best friend. We can think of something when we get there, but we have to go.
” I look around the table and then turn to Soren, whose grave expression makes me wince.
Thorn’s voice drops so low, I can barely hear him. “There is no ‘we.’ The messenger was very clear that you are to come alone.”
Soren sits incredibly still, but his anger pulses around me. He doesn’t like this. Not one bit. I don’t particularly like it either, but what choice do I have? I can’t abandon my friend because I’m afraid.
A cold sweat slicks my hands as I consider his words. The cursed lord demands I come alone. I turn to Soren’s hardened gaze. “Soren, I have to go. Camryn is my best friend. I can’t leave her there, alone.”
Soren’s jaw clenches. “I will not have you go into that wretched place by yourself.” His stern voice startles me.
Magic sparks on my fingertips as a wave of frustration rushes through me.
Olin suddenly springs toward the table from the doorway.
“Oh, would you look at that? We need a refill on tea and perhaps something a little stronger. Clara, Thorn, can you help me freshen the drinks?” His gangly limbs reach for the empty cups and glasses while Clara rises quietly from the table, giving me a sympathetic look.
Thorn reluctantly stands and follows the two across the room.
I inhale deeply through my nose, my magic calming beneath my skin. I turn to Soren. “Honey, I love you, and I know it is in your blood to protect me at all costs, but it is not your decision to make. It is mine, and I have to go. I need to go for Camryn.”
Soren bursts from his seat and paces back and forth, his boots clicking against the stone floor. His shallow, ragged breaths fill the silence that’s wedged itself between us, and I hate it. I hate that we are at odds. Even if it is out of love.
After a few moments, he kneels in front of me, his broken expression tearing me apart.
His voice is soft as his eyes probe mine.
“You don’t understand. Travelers who go to the Northern Shadows never return.
I can’t bear to watch the person I love most be taken to a place I’m forbidden to go and meet a man who could imprison you forever. Or worse.”
My heart races. I don’t want to go without him either, but I can’t abandon Camryn.
I pull his hand to my cheek, caressing the back of it along my flushed skin.
“You know I wouldn’t go without you if I had a choice.
But I have to go. And as much as I love you and appreciate your protectiveness, you can’t stop me from going.
” My eyes soften, hoping it will ease the pain of my words.
Soren closes his eyes and sighs. “I know.”
I haven’t had to make a choice like this since the battle with Isolde and I had to choose between leaving Soren and fleeing back to my world or staying and watching him close off my only connection to home.
Somehow, this feels bigger. I’m in a position where I have to choose between Soren and Camryn.
And I can only cling to the hope that I will return to him as soon as I can.
My chest aches and I choke down the growing tightness in my throat. “Train me harder. Make me ready. Unstoppable. And I will return to you as quickly as I can.” I grin at him, raising my eyebrows, hoping he will accept my olive branch. It’s all I can offer him at the moment.
His amber eyes flicker to mine and soften. We hold each other in silence. My heart is torn. One part wants to let Soren cocoon me in his protection. But the other part knows I need to be strong and brave.
For Camryn, and for myself.
I sneak a glance at the trio huddling in the corner of the kitchen, pretending not to hear us. When they return to the table with fresh tea and biscuits, I excuse myself to bed, the weight of the day crumbling down on me.
But sleep evades me, my head filling with tormented images of Camryn, alone and afraid.
My thoughts turn to the cursed lord. No one here knows much about him.
How bad can he be? Misguided, sure. But perhaps I can reason with him.
Maybe if he knows what we do about the half-bloods and the portals, we can become allies.
I’m guessing he isn’t a huge fan of his father for cursing him and all. If I can convince him to stand with us and the rest of Silverveil, we’ll have a better chance of leading the revolution to a victory.
I grumble and pull the covers over my head, desperately needing sleep to clear my mind.
I’m half tempted to ask Clara to use her magic to knock me out, but I’m distracted when a warm body slides under the covers behind me.
Soren pulls me to his firm chest and I slip my arms over his, embracing his warmth and safety.
He nuzzles into my wild curls. “I love you.” He shifts me so that I face him. His expression is heavy. “And I’m sorry for how I reacted. I know you are strong.” He sighs. “But the thought of you being so far from me feels as though my heart is being ripped from my chest.”
I smile softly. “I know. It feels the same for me.” I take his hand, placing it over my heart. “I love you. So profoundly that I know deep in my chest that my heart will always guide me back to you, safe.”
His mouth curves into a slight smile, and he presses his lips to mine. “Rest, My Flame. There is much to teach you. If I can’t be there with you, I will be damn sure you are trained well enough to end the pathetic lord’s life in a single breath.”
I grin as I snuggle into his chest, my eyes drifting shut as I’m tucked safely into Soren’s arms for another night.