“I thought the sunrise in Lyndaria was beautiful, but here? Goddess. The greatest artist in all of Ixora couldn’t capture the colors painting the sky. The way the stars linger until the last possible moment. It’s just—” she cut herself off, awe and wonder sweeping across the delicate lines of her face. “What areyoudoing out here?” she asked, her gaze still locked on the rising sun.
One corner of his mouth tilted upward. “I’m taking in the beautiful view.”
When she turned his way, her eyes met his once more, and her face flushed. His gaze hadn’t strayed from her face for even a fraction of a second.
A cool breeze drifted through the garden, counteracting the warmth from the rising sun while it stirred the remaining fog around their feet. She held his gaze for moments that seemed to last a lifetime, and Goddess, did he want that. Wanted to stareinto those pools of crystal blue until the Goddess Narissa called him to Arcelia.
That realization. Thatfeelinghad a sense of knowing settling over him. This wasn’t a dream.
This was a memory.
One from a life lived long ago.
Daemon shot up straight in his bed, his skin slick with sweat. The remnants of reliving a memory long forgotten spiraled through his mind, along with the words of his Goddess.
Yours is a love that has been destined for over five hundred years.
He scrubbed his hands over his face before running one through his damp hair. It felt so real. Like it had happened the day before, not centuries ago. But the question that plagued his mind waswhy? Why was he dreaming of a life long ago? Of a love that never got to be?
Throwing the sheets off his legs, Daemon stalked into his bathing chamber, praying that a cold shower would help clear his head. He needed to get back to Lyndaria. Every fiber of his being demanded it. His magic hadn’t stilled in the weeks since he’d left. Lashing against the hold he kept on it, like it could free itself from his veins and find its way back toher. Even if Auraelia was determined to have nothing to do with him, withthem, he needed to find a way to convince her otherwise.
But there were things he needed to attend to in Kalmeera first. And with winter solstice a few days away, Davina had finally returned to the Court of Garnet to celebrate with her people. Giving him the perfect opportunity to slip away—hopefully without her notice.
Daemon stepped into the shower, letting the cool water cascade over his body for a few minutes before switching the temperature to something warmer. After washing quickly, hedressed and headed out to meet his sister—Yvaine—and Aiden in the city.
Since Davina began making her presence known in Kalmeera, it seemed a large gray cloud loomed overhead. The sun didn’t shine quite as brightly, and there was a preternatural chill in the air like she’d brought the climate of Garnet with her. Even the colors of the flora didn’t seem as bright, and the sounds of the island had been muted to a dull whisper. Like the birds were afraid to sing their songs.
Daemon walked slowly through his city, taking in the unnatural quiet around him. The way his people seemed to walk with their heads down and a hunch to their backs. As if they were trying to make themselves smaller.
What the fuck happened while I was gone?
He hadn’t been in Lunaria any longer than usual, but when he’d returned, he’d been in meeting after meeting and tiptoeing around in an attempt to avoid hisbetrothed.Goddess, he hated that word. Hated that it related to someone he despised more than he thought possible. Unfortunately, this was the first time he was free to wander the city unencumbered by the weight of the match his father made behind his back.
Yvaine and Aiden flanked either side as they strolled through the streets. “How long has it been this way?” Daemon asked as they turned down the street that led to Auntie Jodie’s bakery. He hadn’t been since he’d returned from Lyndaria after Auraelia sent him away. The memories of being there with her were too painful to relive, but months had passed, and it wasn’t fair to the elderly woman.
“Been like what, exactly?” Yvaine asked, the anger she held evident in her voice.
Daemon stopped walking and turned toward his sister. He wasn’t in the mood for her attitude. “Yvaine.” Her name was clipped, and she narrowed her eyes at him in response.
“It’s been like this sincesheshowed up. It started as this eerie feeling in the city, then the air began to cool…which was just strange. But then father let her roam…unaccompanied.”
Daemon’s head canted to the side and he crossed his arms, his impatience growing as he waited for his sister to continue. But it was Aiden who filled the silence. “This isn’t even the worst of it, D. The market?” His friend blew out a breath. “I’ve never seen it so…empty.”
“Empty? What do you mean ‘empty’?” Worry and anger surged within him. Kalmeera’s marketplace was one of the main sources of commerce for his court. It was the largest in all of Ixora. And hearing that was no longer the case had his pulse racing.
Yvaine shook her head in dismay. “It’s easier to just show you. We’ll head there after you see Auntie. She’s been asking about you and—” She cut herself off, a look of apology filling her gaze.
Auraelia.Jodie had been asking about him and Auraelia.
Daemon took a deep breath, then turned and headed toward the small white fence surrounding the yard. It wasn’t long before the smell of freshly baked goods filled his nose, and memories squeezed his heart. He could still see the nervous look on Auraelia’s face when Jodie hinted about her being queen of the Sapphire Isles. Could feel the racing beat of her heart as she slid down his body when he’d helped her off Yvaine’s horse. Still saw the way her eyes sparkled like stardust when she realized he’d asked the older woman to make her favorite pastry and heard the sultry lilt of her voice as she teased him about it shortly after.“Daemon Alexander, do youlikeme?”Goddess, that had been a gross understatement.
Taking a deep breath, Daemon pushed his way through the gate. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps before the door to the bakery flew open, and he was greeted by Auntie Jodie’s smiling face. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, and there was a streak of flour across her forehead, the powder a sharp contrast against her umber skin. Her smile was bright and warm but worry swirled in the depths of her eyes. When she pulled him into her embrace, Daemon nearly collapsed under the weight of his emotions.
It was the hug a mother would give her child. One he hadn’t sought out from his own mother since everything had come crumbling down. He’d barely even spoken to the queen since he’d returned from Lyndaria. That hug and the love that radiated from it mended a tiny part of his fractured soul. Daemon let Auntie Jodie’s warmth seep into him. Let it bandage the fissures that threatened to open into a gaping chasm.
When they finally pulled apart, her eyes were lined in silver, but she quickly blinked away the tears. “Come on now. I have bread in the oven, and if you make me burn it, I’ll have your hide. Prince or not.” The normalcy that came from hearing the curt tone of her voice brought a small smile to his face. Daemon shook his head with a chuckle and followed the plump woman inside, Yvaine and Aiden close on his heels.
The warmth of the bakery cut through the unnatural chill that permeated the air outside, and he watched as Jodie flitted about her kitchen. He and Yvaine spent a lot of time with Auntie Jodie when they were younger. They had been her ‘unofficial taste testers’ while their parents performed royal duties in the city. But he and his sister hadn’t been theretogetherin… Goddess, it had been years.
