“Yes, well, I have to ensure everyone in my court is cared for. And it seems like you’re getting the best of the best.” Auraelia jested in return.
Piper flushed at her comment, and when she slowly withdrew her hands from Xander’s, Auraelia watched his smile falter.
“I’ll uh…leave you two to talk,” Piper said to Auraelia before turning back to Xander and whispering something too low for her to hear.
When her friend crossed the room, Auraelia gently grabbed her hand. “You don’t need to leave. Please stay.”
“No, it’s fine. You and Xander need to talk, and I need to eat anyway. You think Liza has anything leftover from dinner?”
“Trust me, there’s plenty. She outdid herself,” Daemon said as he stepped in behind Auraelia.
Piper’s stomach rumbled as if on cue, and she excused herself. But Auraelia didn’t miss the sorrow in Xander’s eyes as he watched her best friend walk away.
Once the door to the suite was closed, Auraelia stalked across the room to her brother. The closer she got, the less she could hold back the tears threatening to spill over since she stepped foot in his room. “Don’t youeverdo that to me again!”
“Rae—”
“No. You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to lay there and tell me you’re fine.”
“Iamfine, though.”
“You had blood pouring out of your face, Xander! She nearlykilledyou!” The wall holding back her tears shattered and freely streamed down her face. “I could have lost you,” her voice cracked under the weight of every emotion that she’d been trying to keep at bay so that she could appear strong to those aroundher. The grief she felt for her people. The overwhelming fear that she was going to lose her brother. The bone-crippling anxiety over what was to come next. It all bled into every word as she stared down at him. “Ican’tlose you, Xander. I just—I can’t.”
“Auraelia, I’m right here. I’m okay.”
“But you weren’t. I thought I lost you, just like—” She let her words trail off. No one in that room needed her to finish that sentence, and neither she nor Xander needed to relive that trauma.
Crumpling into the chair at his bedside, Auraelia grabbed his hand and, through her tears, fixed him with a hard stare. “Promiseyou won’t ever do that again.”
Xander gave her a small scoff. “You know I can’t do that.” When her eyes narrowed on him, he shook his head and continued. “Icanpromise that I won’t go alone and will be better prepared in the future. But, Auraelia, these are my people, too. I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. Not while she laid waste to the city and murdered innocent people.”
Auraelia nodded. Of course, she understood. Knew she couldn’t blame him when she knew full well that she would have done the same—hell, shediddo the same after Daemon got him to safety. And moreover, she was about to do it again.
She needed to talk to Caius.
Wantedto beat him senseless and demand answers. And she knew Xander wouldn’t be happy with what she had in mind.
After a few seconds of silence, Xander cleared his throat. “So you’d bring me back from the dead and kill me all over again?”
Auraelia’s brow quirked in confusion. “What?”
“What you said earlier…about Piper? I heard you.”
“You did?”
Xander nodded, and a rosy hue colored his cheeks. “I wouldn’t do that, you know…hurt Piper. Even without the looming death threat.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. The fact that he was okay and felt well enough to crack jokes was a balm to her nerves. “I know. Just don’t make this a habit, okay? That’s a direct order from your Queen.”
“Yes,Your Majesty.” Sarcasm dripped from every word, and he punctuated it with as much of a mock bow as he could from a prone position and a flourish of his hand.
As their laughter died off and silence filled the room once more, Auraelia tried to solidify her plan to meet with Caius. She just needed somewhere that was safe and discreet. It couldn’t be the throne room, and she didn’t feel comfortable having him in the council chambers either.
Just as the solution manifested, Xander’s voice cracked through the quiet. “What are you thinking so hard about over there?”
“What?”
“You’ve got that little wrinkle between your brows that you get when you’re thinking too hard. What is it?”
