Chapter 14
Aurora
Camryn takes a nap after lunch while I explore the grounds. I find the library easily enough and could have spent the afternoon searching the shelves and getting lost in whatever fae stories lay between their pages. But I feel called outside.
I drift through the double doors of the grand hall and wander into an expansive garden.
It’s winter in Silverveil, and the weather in the Northern Shadows has been quite gloomy.
But despite the lack of sun, flowers are blooming as if spring has already arrived, and I relish the sound of birds and fluttering insects.
I stride to a vine-covered pergola toward the back of the grounds and sit on a nearby bench. I close my eyes and take a breath, willing myself to relax despite the circumstances.
When I open my eyes, movement to my left makes me whip my head. I startle at the sight of Vespera, standing a few feet from me. Her hands are raised in front of her as if to apologize for her stealthy presence.
My hand covers my racing heart. “Oh Vespera, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
She smiles softly at me and then gestures to the bench. I look beside me, understanding. “Yes, please sit.”
Her gown dusts the ground as she settles in next to me, leaving a polite amount of space between us. Her gaze fixes on the lush vines that grow up and over the pergola. I notice flower buds but don’t see any flowers.
A smile crosses her face, and I wonder what she is thinking. “Do those bloom?” I ask.
She looks at me with bright yellow eyes and nods. She slips her hand into a pocket of her gown, and I am immediately envious. I’m not a big fan of dresses, but the ones with pockets are gems.
She pulls out a small leather-bound notebook, and a thin piece of charcoal sharpened to a point. She opens to a fresh piece of vellum and writes something in a delicate script. When she finishes writing, she passes me the notebook.
Those are moonflowers. They bloom big, white flowers only at night.
“Oh wow, that sounds beautiful!” I look at her and smile, marveling at her gesture to open up to me. “I will have to come out at night to see them.”
She smiles and nods before turning her attention to the notebook, scribbling.
I had a friend once who loved moonflowers. Isolde. I believe you met her.
Vespera watches me read the note and my wide eyes lift to see her sad smile. The idea of Isolde liking anything remotely lovely is almost as impossible to believe as her having a friend. “Yes, I met Isolde. She didn’t seem like someone who would have friends.”
A strangled chuckle escapes Vespera’s throat, and she smirks to herself before she scribbles more words.
She was different back then.
I look at her. “What happened to her? It didn’t seem like she had any happiness or hope left?”
Vespera nods toward the palace and eyes me.
“Ah.” There is more to the story that I’m not sure if I want to know about or that Vespera wants to tell me. I smile softly at her. “Well, I am sorry for what happened to your friend. I just had to save my world.”
Vespera nods slowly in understanding. She reaches out and places her hand on mine, and my heart aches for her. For whatever she has gone through here, and yet she remains kind and empathetic.
I place my other hand atop hers before turning back to admire the garden and the flowers that only allow the world to experience their full beauty under the light of the moon while everything else hides from the darkness.