He wasn’t sure if she was pulling him, or if their bodies intrinsically moved toward each other from the draw that neither could deny. But just as his lips were a breath away from hers, shouting, followed by a crash, came from the bottom of the stairs and sent them shooting apart.
Their gazes clashed for a second, and then Auraelia sprinted down the remaining steps.
“Shit.” Daemon pulled the shadows to conceal himself once more and hurried after her. When he hit the bottom of the stairs, Auraelia stood in front of Kyra’s cell, ribbons of lightning and wind wrapping around her arms in defense of their master as a lone, bone-chilling laugh echoed throughout the chamber.
A solitary guard stood against the far wall, a tray of food splattered against the floor at his feet.
“Leave us.” Auraelia’s tone matched the chill in the air, sending a shiver down his spine.
“Your Majesty—” the guard sputtered, stepping toward his queen.
“Leave. Us,” she demanded, her eyes never straying from the woman before her.
The man’s face blanched, but he quickly bowed and hurried from the room.
“Finally got the nerve to come see me,Your Majesty?” Though Kyra’s voice was sickly sweet, there was an undercurrent of hatred that laced every word.
Auraelia took a deep breath and tightened the hold on her magic, the fiery light dimming until it was nothing more than a memory.
Sticking to the shadows, Daemon skirted along the wall until he was behind Auraelia, keeping a watchful eye on the figure behind the bars.
Kyra was lounging on the threadbare cot of her cell like she hadn’t a care in the world. Her formerly blonde hair was matted and a dungy shade of brown. Her clothes were tattered and worn. But there was a ferocity in her gaze as she locked onto the new queen.
Auraelia casually strolled over to where a simple wooden chair sat at a small table and dragged it across the stone floor, placing it directly in front of the cell door.
Daemon’s eyes grew wide, and he had to clench his fists to keep from dragging her back out of harm’s way. It was fucking risky sitting that close to the clearly deranged woman. But there was nothing he could do but watch.
Auraelia sat, stretched her legs out in front of her, and clasped her hands across her stomach, matching the carefree demeanor of her prisoner. “I thought you might like some better company, seeing as you didn’t seem to care for your guard’s.” Auraelia gestured over her shoulder to where Kyra had thrown her tray.
A crazed smile stretched across the woman’s face as she canted her head to the side, studying Auraelia in a way that made even Daemon uncomfortable. “And you thought it wise to bealonewith me? Are you planning on finishing what you started all those months ago?”
Something about the way she said “alone” made him wary, and he cautiously took a step forward.
Auraelia, however, didn’t seem to notice—or didn’t care.
“No, Kyra. Unlike you, I don’t relish the idea ofmurder. And unlikeyou, I don’t have someone pulling my strings. But I am curious why you decided to commit such an egregious act of treason. Were we unkind to you? Did we treat you horribly? If you chose to strike against the people who cared for you, we must have.”
“Cared for me? You think youcaredfor me?” Kyra stood from her cot and took the few steps to the bars of her cell, bringing her directly in front of Auraelia.
Daemon straightened, his shadows pooling at his fingers, ready to strike down any threat that should arise. But Auraelia merely stared at her, complete indifference radiating from every fiber of her being.
“I think—” she paused, standing to meet Kyra’s gaze head-on. “I think that you killed the woman who gave you a home. Who trusted you and gave you a safe place to land after a hard day. Who filled your belly and your pockets daily. But I alsoknowthat you murdered my mother. Whether it was at my cousin's behest or not, you still did it. And that’s the only thing that Ineedto know. What Iwantto know is why.Whydid you kill my mother?”
“Because your mother never should have been queen!” Kyra shrieked as she lunged toward Auraelia. Only, instead of reaching what she sought, her hands hit a wall of crackling lightning laced with shadows.
Kyra quickly withdrew her hand, drawing it close to her chest as she laughed, the sound grating against Daemon’s ears. “I was wondering when your watchdog would slink out of the shadows. Hello,Prince.”
Daemon dropped the shadows cloaking his form and stepped forward. “How did you know that I was here?”
A mad grin spread across Kyra’s face. “I may not be royalty, and I may only be a lowly maid, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have gifts of my own. I can sense magic in others. It glows like a halo around them. And yours, dear Prince, shone through your shadows like a full moon on a cloudless night. I do wonder what your betrothed would say if she knew you were standing here right now.” Her laughter pealed through the chamber, bouncing off the walls around them.
Daemon noticed the change in Auraelia’s demeanor a split second before it happened. Saw the way her spine straightened and her head cocked to the side. The same thing happened before she pulled the air from Kyra’s lungs in the middle of the ballroom. Only this time, she didn’t even need to move, her hands hanging limply at her sides.
Kyra’s laugh turned into gasping breaths as Auraelia slowly siphoned the air from her lungs.
“I asked you a question.” Auraelia’s voice was eerily calm, and Daemon took a hesitant step toward her.
“Auraelia—”
