“Were you able to sort out your family emergency back home?” one asks.
“Yes, thank you.” Aura doesn’t give them any additional information.
“The picnic is underway at the beach,” the second guard adds.
We’re docked this time on the bottom floor and walk out of the doors into the main complex. The guards motion us to a path that winds out along the river and toward the distant area of the envirodome where Aura first caught me.
The walk is pleasant, filled with a warm, earthy breeze and the sounds of other happy couples chatting along as they walkto the picnic, too. But I can’t seem to get comfortable with being back at the race.
“What’s on your mind?” Aura asks.
“I always dreamed of this—a life that was calm and safe—predictable—because I was so tired, hungry, and vulnerable.”
“But?”
“I don’t feel like I belong here anymore. I like it, but I see the people working. The caterers take the hidden path in the trees. The guards watch from the other side of the river. I feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be. Helping, not basking in the sun and snacks and safety. Because I can take care of myself, I want to. And I don’t want to end up an entitled little shit like Cora.”
Aura snorts a laugh. “Pretty sure no one has picked her. And I think that feeling you have is similar to what I feel when I think of my people. I want to help them be safe and happy. I do not want them to cater to me like some god when I am no different from them. My father wants to be special like the other Royals.”
“But it sounds like youarespecial,” I admit. “The way the others talk about you. Your Storm is different. Even you’ve said as much.”
“I do not want to be viewed that way. I want them to see me fighting for them, yes. But I want them to be inspired by my actions so they fight for themselves and what they desire in life. When we work together and support one another, we can build amazing things. But to ask one person or a few to fight for everyone against an empire is a bad plan. It leads to martyrs and lots of unnecessary death.”
Aura gazes off at the water where the Gragoraphor and a few others splash each other. “And yet I feel instead that I have torn them apart. I cannot and will not lead my people to their deaths.”
“How about leading me to a buffet?” I squeeze his hand.
Aura kisses my cheek. “I can do that.”
29: Jovie
We get in line for the picnic buffet, and Aura guides me ahead of him. We fill plates with fruit and sandwiches, crackers, veggies and dips, and an array of truffles and cookies. At the end is a bar. I order a drink called Sex on the Beach.
“Are you hoping for something?” Aura grins as he tries some dark alcoholic concoction from Helsvia. He picks an available blanket on the beach at the end, where staff members are still laying a few more down. “They have sex tents. Complete with an inflatable mattress.”
“Honestly, right now, I like being able to watch my surroundings.”
Aura nods. “Fair enough. I get that.”
I sit beside him and savor the relatively calm moment and a sip of my drink. Infiltrating a prison was never something I thought I’d do in my wildest dreams. But I trusted the team.We’re lucky it worked.
Needing an uplifting distraction, I ask, “Do you listen to music?”
His eyebrows dance. “Yeah, but not the kind you think. It’spercussive.”
I know by the twinkle in his green eyes that he’s not talking about actual music. “Favorite song?”
Aura seems to reconsider his response. “Tough one. I’m torn between the crackle of a Storm at full power and the rain of shells from a rotary gun at full speed.”
I gape at him. “Didn’t think you were that violent.”
He nods, hangs his head, and looks away. “I return to Fleet Amphir between deployments. But these last few years, it’sbeen because I’ve had trouble controlling my Storm. Most other soldiers can contain theirs. A few of us have more trouble. It’s why I need you. You balance me.”
“Royal bloodlines have more trouble?” I ask.
“Something like that.”
I motion to a curious-looking male carrying his female through the edge of the water while she laughs hysterically. “What species is that? The colorful one that looks like Vinynm.”
