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It would be simple to get down there with no one guarding the area, but she still needed a key. The only other person she believed would have one would be Rush. Which meant she had to get closer to him… And there was one way that she knew how to do that with certainty.
Give him pleasure.
Chapter Sixteen
Rush
Leaving Aura while the spell had her in its grip didn’t sit right with Rush. She was vulnerable when she slept, and anything could happen while he was away. Heneededher to complete his plan, but deep down, somewhere in his hardened heart, another reason rested. A reason he ignored. Astor was watching over her in his room, the one person left alive who he trusted with his life, who would protect her at all costs as a favor to Rush.
There was no avoiding his departure though. Another urgent message had come, this time from the border town of Uleis. The letter begged for assistance as a small company of Starnight soldiers were gathering near the boundary and their lord was missing. Rush smirked, reminded of how he’d murdered the bastard along with his nephew—not that anyone was aware of that just yet.
Rush sighed as he pulled on a pair of tight trousers that he borrowed off a clothesline. His muscles rippled, on the verge of tearing the fabric as he shifted. The farm house, a few yards away, was made of unweathered wood and fresh thatching. Yellow flowers bloomed in window boxes, and the fields were full with neatly-planted rows of wheat poking through the soil.
Pride filled him.Thiswas what his family had done for Moonstone and its people. What they’d accomplished since taking the throne.A thriving court.Not a fucking waste that had been killing its people. Now the fucking Starnight Prince was threatening the peace without being certain that Aura was there. Even though she was, but Aura was no longer the prince’s—she washis. If she was awake when he returned, he would take her back to that piano, spread her legs once more, and let them finish what they’d started.
“Can I help you?” A young man with thinning hair stepped out of the house and lifted an axe that rested beside the door.
“No.” Rush ripped a red tunic from the clothesline. He slipped it on as he walked toward the man. “On second thought, do you have an extra pair of boots?”
Recognition lit up the man’s face, his brows lifting. “Your Majesty?”
“Yes, yes…” Rush paused.
“Grigor,” he supplied.
“Grigor,” Rush repeated. “Let’s skip the formalities and move straight to the footwear, shall we?”
“Of course.” The axe dropped to the ground with a thud and he disappeared into the house.
Rich, savory scents wafted from their kitchen—stew or something with meat gravy. Rush’s stomach grumbled, but there wasn’t time for that now.
“Thekingis here?” a woman shouted.
The next moment, a girl, no older than thirteen, stepped into the doorway, a gleeful gasp escaping her. “Your Majesty.” She dropped into a low curtsy, and her dress dwarfed her small frame. “I’m Margie.”
“Hello, Margie,” he said, a hint of humor in his voice as he studied her.
“My papa is getting you boots.” She perked up when she noticed his bare feet. “You’ll need socks too!”
Then she turned on her heel and hurried inside, her footfalls racing through the house. Rush found himself chuckling, something he hadn’t done in a while. But she reminded him of Sorcha. Excited about everything, happy. Until…
Grigor returned with a pair of shiny black boots. “Forgive my daughter’s manners, Your Majesty. It’s not every day we speak with royalty.”
Rush took the boots silently and would send the man gold for the borrowed things.
“Here,” Margie chirped as she reappeared, waving a pair of poorly knitted socks. “I made them myself.”
“A fine job,” he told her, fighting a grin. It was what he would’ve told his sister. His chest panged with grief as it always did when thinking about her. “Thank you both.”
“Would you like to stay for supper?” Grigor offered.
“My dragon has another meal in mind,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.Starnight soldiers.If they stepped foot into Moonstone first, he’d save their heads to send them back to King Quinton. He wouldn’t be accused of abductinganddrawing first blood in a war.
Rush trekked down the dirt road, past sprawling fields, and into the heart of Uleis. The lord’s manor rested along the bank of a river, but it seemed the nobility had congregated in the square. The cobbled streets led Rush to a stone fountain with a large carved fish spilling water from its mouth. Around it stood three men wearing feathered hats, their shoulders rigid.
Rush arched his brow at the sight of them. The ostentatious ensembles—more popular in Starnight than Moonstone—told him what he needed to know about Lord Vikram’s relatives: pompous assholes. But the others milling about smiled and waved to each other, chatted. Generally going about their daily tasks with good humor … as if nothing were amiss.
“Starting without me?” Rush called to them. “Rather rude considering youaskedmeto come save you.”
