AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Damn it!” she shouted and slapped the mattress.
“I’m not sure what that bed ever did to you.” Astor chuckled softly, continuing to twist the puzzle box.
“Why are you here? Where’s Rush?” she snapped.
Astor lifted a pristine chestnut brow. “The king had business to attend to. He does have a territory to run and all.”
Aura narrowed her eyes. “When will he be back?”
“When he decides to come back.”
“Rush’slovelypersonality seems to be rubbing off on you today.”
Astor let out a breath. “Do you want to get something to eat and drink downstairs? You’ve been asleep for two days.”
It hadn’t felt that long again, but dreams never do. Aura opened her mouth to ask Astor about Rush’s sister, demand answers to find out what he knew. But he was the one person here who she could trust the least. She needed to discuss Princess Constance with Rush, dig about his family in a way that didn’t seem suspicious. When she arrived at the Moonstone Palace, there were two places she was told not to venture: Rush’s bedroom when he was gone and the cellar. Which she assumed was why Rush had left someone in here to make sure she didn’t riffle through his things.
She was certain that the journal was possibly in this room, maybe in Rush’s desk drawer... But she couldn’t search now. Not with Astor hovering. However, her gut instinct told her that everything she wanted to know about Sorcha would be in the cellar.
“I think Iwillhave something to eat and drink,” Aura said. “I also wanted to thank you for delivering the book to my sister.”
Astor studied her for a long moment before finally speaking, “Any chance for me to get to see Hana is worthy. Even if she doesn’t remember me.” His voice cracked on the last word, and she could’ve sworn a glassy sheen shone in his eyes. It was the first break she’d ever seen in his demeanor.
She blinked, biting her lip. “You’re truly in love with Hana, aren’t you? Not just using her to get to me.”
He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.
Aura pushed up from the bed, then glanced over her shoulder as she padded toward the door. “Chrysanthemums are Hana’s favorite flower. Purple ones.”
Astor pursed his lips while studying her. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You helped me by killing Dzmitry at the party. You also spoke up for Hana to bring her home when you could’ve selfishly kept her here with you. But if you’re going to continue pursuing her, be honest with her. No lies this time.” He would pursue her regardless of what Aura wished, yet maybe this time he would be fair with her.
After bathing away the past few days and putting on a silky blue dress, Aura made her way downstairs toward the kitchens. Pots clinking reverberated through the air and she found Marion speckled with flour, a few spots of grape jam smearing her apron.
Marion heaved a sigh of relief when she spotted Aura. “I heard you’ve been feeling under the weather, but you look well now.” She placed two buttered biscuits on a plate and passed them to her, then poured a tall glass of orange juice.
“Under the weather indeed,” Aura muttered under her breath. “Thank you for this.” She took a sip of the juice. As she ate the biscuits, Marion taught her how to make cinnamon muffins with a special glaze. Another recipe her twin sister would die for. She hoped one day she would get to show her, but perhaps she could write them all down and have Astor deliver them to her as he had the book.
Once Marion placed the pan in the oven, Aura decided to try and ask a few simple questions as she had before. “I haven’t seen any portraits of Rush’s sister around the palace and would love to know what she looked like.” Now that she knew Sorcha was Princess Constance, none of the paintings of the past royals held her image.
A crestfallen expression seeped into Marion’s face as she brushed flour from her apron. “After Princess Constance drowned herself, His Majesty took down any portrait that had his sister in it. The princess was kind and sweet with the most beautiful blue eyes that she inherited from her father. She was a beacon of light and would sometimes help me in the kitchens with the queen, even though neither had to. But we don’t speak of them—especially not where the king might hear.”
“Did the princess find love the way her parents had? Or maybe she hadn’t yet. In Starnight we didn’t hear much. I don’t even know how old she was.”
Marion eyed her for a moment, seeming to debate with herself if she should say more. “She was still very young, sixteen. Just between you and me, I believe she was in love, but she remained mum about it. I always knew when she saw her secret stranger because she lit up like a candle. Sometimes the happiest people are the saddest inside though.”
If Rush knew, if he’d found a journal, he wouldn’t have told anyone in the palace except for Astor. “I’m so sorry you lost them,” Aura whispered. “I think I’ll go to the gardens for a little while.”
“Come by later and I’ll show you how to make a cream puff.”
Aura nodded and left the kitchens, but instead of following the hallway leading to the front of the palace, she ventured toward the back to see if she could find the cellar.
As she turned the corner, she slipped into the shadows when she caught a glimpse of Astor farther down. In his hands, he carried a wooden box. Keeping silent, she followed him down the hallway toward a door. He seemed focused on something, not paying attention as he usually did to his surroundings. Shifting the box under one arm, Astor dug a key from his pocket. The lock clicked when he inserted it, twisting, and he flung the door open wide. Aura waited as he descended a dark staircase, then sprinted forward and caught the door just as it was about to close.
Pulse racing, Aura tiptoed down the curving staircase in the dim light, her bare feet silent against the cold stone. A mixture of spicy herbs accompanied the musky air. Her heart pounded even harder with each step she took, her tightened fists trembling. When she reached the final one, she wondered if Astor would be waiting there to tell her he knew she’d been following him all along.
The sound of another loud lock clicked and she peered around the corner, spotting Astor drawing open a wooden door. He checked over his shoulder and she yanked her head back just in time. Still trembling, she held her breath, then inched forward when his feet echoed on the stone, walking into the room. Before the door closed, she caught a glimpse of a curtain and a table cluttered with tinctures and glass vials. The bolt locked into place from inside, preventing her from entering.
