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Dzmitry didn’t attempt to press a blade to Aura’s throat. Instead, he relinquished his grip on her and shoved her toward the king, to which Rush caught her. “It was my uncle’s plan. He made me do it.”
“Is that so?” Rush drawled, then looked at Aura after letting go of her arm. “Do I take his word for it, kitten?”
Aura’s hands balled into fists and she shifted closer to Rush. She shook her head as she trembled. “No, they were both a part of it.”
Rush’s lips drew into a wicked grin while studying Dzmitry. “One chance. Try and make it out of my gardens. Now run, rabbit.”
Dzmitry blinked, but then whirled around and took off sprinting through the garden’s labyrinth. Still grinning, Rush watched, not doing a single thing.
“He’s going to tell Starnight lies,” Aura hissed.
Rush held out the dagger toward her, beads of crimson dripping to the ground from its blade. “Aim for him then.”
Aura pursed her lips. “No one ever trained me on how to use weapons. I was trained to bemarried.”
“Oh yes, I remember your skill with the fork.” He chuckled.
“I wish you had no tongue, or better yet, no voice at all.” But just as Aura contemplated ripping the dagger from his hand and going after Dzmitry herself, Rush started counting backward.
“Three. Two. One.” And then, in the distance, Astor slipped out from a tree and thrust a sword straight into Dzmitry’s chest.
“Betraying me normally results in death by dragon fire,” Rush told her when Astor approached. “It’s a shame to ruin the party though, so let’s keep this to ourselves, hmm? I don’t want anyone thinking I’ve gone soft.”
Before she could reply, Astor whispered something to Rush and they began talking quietly. Aura silently left them alone, wanting to get away from what had almost happened. If Rush and Astor hadn’t been there…
As she ascended the stairs and padded past rooms filled with moans, she refused to think about it. Aura pressed her palm to the doorknob leading to her room when a hand closed around hers. She jumped back, colliding with a familiar strong chest, his arm circling her waist to hold her to him. But this touch didn’t make her recoil the way it should have…
“You slipped away again without saying a word?” Rush ground out.
She sighed, wiggling out from his warm arm. “I was only going to my room. I did as you asked, came to your party, and almostdied. I’m tired.”
Rush grasped the handle and pushed open the door. “We can speak inside then.”
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked while crossing the room to lower herself on the floor beneath the window.
With an arched brow, Rush sauntered toward her until his tall frame hovered above her. “Why are you sitting on the floor?”
“There’s no other furniture in here besides the bed that reeks of stale sex, so I’ve been using the floor,Your Majesty.”
“You’ve been sleeping down there like a pauper?” he asked, incredulous.
Aura rolled her eyes. “No… Like a prisoner. Isn’t that what I am? I might as well act like one.”
“Don’t be dramatic, kitten. Your door has been unlocked for a while now,” Rush mocked.
“Me?” Aura snorted. “You’re the one making people kneel before you at the party as if you’re a god.”
“I madeyoukneel. No one else.” Rush smirked, making her want nothing but to slap it away.
“You’re unbearable!” she snapped.
He motioned at the air as if what she’d said was nonsense. “I do enjoy your insolence, but we have something else to discuss. What precisely happened with Dzmitry and Vikram?”
Aura blew out an exasperated breath at how he could be so flippant, but she told him all that had happened between her and the two of them, how they’d recognized her. In truth, it wasn’t much, but with each sentence she spoke, his jaw grew tighter.
“You should know that I would’ve killed Dzmitry for following you outside, regardless.”
Aura gritted her teeth. “So you’ll kill any man I talk to?”
