Page 119 of Taken By Shadows

Audrie looked like she was about to launch into another history lesson.

“So, what does this have to do with Kaed and Sapphine?” I pushed.

Only mildly thrown off course from her prelecting, she answered. “Well, Kaedian is the eldest of the Northern Crown heirs. And the Southern Crown had no heirs, so Sapphine’s family sided with the North in hopes of a rise in status. I suppose they chose wisely there,” she mused, mostly to herself. “And ... Aurora vanished … eighteen, no, maybe twenty-five years ago?” She looked to the sky as if it held the answer she needed.

“Are there more books on Aurora?” I interrupted.

“More?” She tilted her head.

“Ah,” I paused. “Someone gave me a book.”

Audrie’s eyes bugged. “Who? Where did they get it?”

Were they that rare?

“Eryk …” I said in a shakier voice than intended.

Audrie stiffened beside me, and I instantly regretted bringing his name into the day. She knew he was responsible for Kaed’s freedom. And she wasn’t stupid. She had to know it would cost something.

“Sapphine’s family was the power in the south and the east once, em,” she hesitated looking to the sky again. “Once Aurora was gone”—she drove the conversation away from Eryk as we pushed on—“but before that they had been eager to marry a wealthy family, royal if possible. But rumour has it …” Audrie looked around the stalls. No one was listening, but I leaned in anyway. “That she had already fallen for Hart. She only wanted to marry Kaedian for his crown, and when he found out about her and Hart, he called it off.”

I didn’t bother hiding my shock.

He’d been prepared to marry Sapphine despite my not seeing a single bone in either of their bodies that would fit together. I thought of Tymon and the way he looked like he was constantly fighting an acidic flame that licked at his skin when he was around Sapphine.

“And she wouldn’t even marry Hart then, once she was out of the engagement. I don’t think she wanted one brother. But both. One for the crown and one for under the gown, if you get my drift.”

“Audrie!”

“What? It’s what I read. I didn’t say that.” She flushed and tucked her arms around her.

I laughed and pulled her along.

As we meandered, my mind whirled with the new information. Turnip ran on ahead as if he knew where we were going.

“You have to try these.” Audrie stopped at a stall with candied fruit piled high in crates, completely forgetting her lewd comment.

Oranges, lemons, cherries, plums, all of them dusty with crystallised sugar. They looked mouthwateringly good.

“I’ve no money,” I said, my stomach gurgling embarrassingly loud as I eyed the candies.

“Sure you do.” Audrie leaned in and spoke to the merchant.

He handed her a bag of plums and smiled.

“How did you do that?” The girl had more magic than I ever would, which wasn’t hard. But I didn’t think she had those powers of persuasion in her!

“Easy. Kaedian told me you had a line of credit here in the markets?”

I stood, gaping, the bag of treats forgotten. “What?” And I had bothered stealing things to barter. When had he put that in place?

“It’s been very helpful for buying ledgers and candles I’ve been using.” Her eyes went wide at her own admission. “I mean. For the research. For studying. I haven’t been just using Kaedian’s—Lord Kaedian’s money.”

I laughed. This was becoming a regular occurrence for me around Audrie now. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell him anything.”

Popping a candied plum into my mouth, I let out an undignified and involuntary groan. It had been pitted, and it was soft and ripe from the sugar syrup it had been soaked in. “We don’t have things like this back home. They’re divine!” I crowed.

“I know. Most places don’t. That’s part of the reason I’m never going back to Hayden. I would die without my sugar plums.”