Dread dripped down her spine.
As quickly as her plan had come together, it slowly began to fall apart around her.
When she’d done that to Davina, it had burned her. Caused veins of lightning to sear into her skin. And the thought of doing that to anyone else, let alone to someone she cared about, made her stomach churn.
“I’ll do it.”
Auraelia’s head whipped toward Daemon, her eyes wide as shock and fear collided. “Daemon, no. I can’t do that to you. You didn’t see—”
“Didn’t see what?” His brows drew together as concern swirled in the mossy green depths of his eyes.
Swallowing audibly, Auraelia’s voice quavered as she spoke. “I—After you got Xander to safety, Davina charged at me. And when she got close enough, I grabbed her arms and funneled my magic into her body. Itburnedher.”
“Rae.” Xander’s voice was soft—pitying.
It made her skin crawl.
She didn’t want his pity. She did what she needed to do to get Davina to leave and would do it over again if she had to. But that didn’t mean that shewantedto.
Averting her gaze from Daemon, she focused on her brother instead. She didn’t want to see Daemon’s face when she explained what happened down in the harbor. Couldn’t bear the idea of seeing disappointment in his eyes. “Before she vanished—with the help of Caius, I might add—I saw them…the burns. They looked like streaks of lightning burning down the length of her arms. And where my hands had been were blistered palm prints. I can’t—Iwon’tdo that to Daemon.”
She felt his presence at her back and turned as Daemon knelt at her side and folded her hands into his. But instead of the disappointment she had anticipated, there was only understanding. “That was different, Auraelia. You were angry and trying to save your brother and your people and did what you had to.” When she opened her mouth to retort, he squeezed her hands. “You won’t hurt me. Itrustyou.”
Auraelia let his words settle into her heart and mind.
Trust.
Trust was something that was earned. It was something that people had to work to keep. She didn’t understand how he could still trust her after everything that she’d put him through. But looking into his eyes, she saw it, and the words from the letters he’d sent all those months ago filtered back into her mind.
I will always come back for you.
I will always love you.
Giving Daemon a slight nod, she turned back toward her brother. “Teach me the runes.”
Ser Aeron’s brows were drawn together, lips set into a thin line, and arms crossed over his broad chest as he watched Auraelia work her way around the room, drawing runes on the floor every two paces as Xander had instructed. She felt his eyes on her the entire time, and when she finally finished, she stood and met his disapproving glare. “What?” she clipped as Daemon wrapped a bandage around her hand, pressed a soft kiss to her palm, and reminded her to breathe for the hundredth time that day.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this in a brothel of all places.”
“It’s not like we could have done it at the castle,” she retorted.
Madame Sylvie’s was the best solution she could come up with in the limited time she had. It had been untouched by Davina’s tirade, was away from the prying eyes of the council, and because she wasn’t sure who was betraying her, she needed to keep this meeting between the people she trusted most—which, at that point, also included the Madame of a brothel.
Ser Aeron rolled his eyes, pushed away from the wall, and headed to the bar cart that Vee had set up in the corner.
When they’d arrived, Vee’s face had blanched at the sight of the Queen’s Commander in her establishment. It had taken a while—and a few tumblers of whatever concoction she kept on the top shelf—to convince her that he wasn’t there to arrest or close her down. But once she calmed, she relinquished her office and even took Auraelia’s suggestion of closing down for the night. Though she wasn’t happy about that, she’d gladly accepted the bag of coins Auraelia had dropped onto the bar.
“Rae, are yousureabout this?” Piper asked from where she stood nervously in the middle of the room.
“No, not really,” she answered honestly. “But it’s the only thing that makes sense right now. I need to know what he knows.”
Worry lined every inch of her friend’s face, and she began to second guess asking her to come along. Sheneededher there for moral support, but she also wanted her there in case shesaw something amiss. But if Piper was unsure, she also wouldn’t make her stay.
Crossing the room, she took her friend's hands in her own. “Piper, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“Nice try, Rae. I’m not leaving you. I haven’t seen anything that would suggest this goes awry, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t.”
“Thank you.” Tears sprang to her eyes at Piper’s unending loyalty. It wasn’t because she was the queen and she was her lady, but because they were sisters in every way that mattered. Souls bound together through whatever life decided to throw their way.
