AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rush opened his mouth—uncertain what was about to come out of it—when a pair of boots pounded into the room.
“Rush?” Astor called.
“In here,” he answered in a low voice. Then, he whispered to Aura, “You owe me a distraction.”
“I’ll be in my room if you need me.” A blush rose in her cheeks and she leapt to her feet. She straightened her skirts while she backed away, giving Astor space.
Rush’s pulse sped up as he watched her disappear from the kitchens. He wanted her to stay—and for no true purpose at all. Just to have her there. To see her and know she was real.Safe.
Chapter Seventeen
Aura
Aura stood at the bars of her bedroom window, gazing out toward the night sky. The stars shone brightly around a crescent moon and she wondered what her family was doing at that precise moment. Worrying, she knew.
She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about what would become of them. What would the King of Starnight do if his guards discovered her in this palace and she still refused to marry his son? They would likely haul her back, threaten to take her family’s titles away at the least, kill them at the worst, if she didn’t follow through with the wedding. But even if they took her away from here, she would only fall into a deep sleep.
Rush had taken her, but he hadn’t forced her to become his bride. And now, royals were sending guards to Moonstone to seek her out. People could get hurt because of her.Rushwas hurt because of her.
Gripping the iron bars, Aura pressed her forehead against their coolness. When she’d gone to the kitchens, she hadn’t truly been hungry at all—she’d heard the crack of Rush’s wings as soon as he’d entered the gardens. She’d waited to hear him come down the hall, but when he didn’t, she went searching for him. That need had coursed through her to talk to Rush, to start slyly questioning him. Instead of discovering him with his usual cocky manner, she’d found him wounded, weak—a side of him she’d never envisioned. For a brief moment, part of her believed he’d deserved it, the piece of her that remembered how she felt when she was first brought to the palace. But now, after hearing more from Sorcha in her last dream, she didn’t wish him dead. Especially not after he’d confessed a tiny hint about the spell. It was to help someone who he loved.
Sorcha.
Rush hadn’t admitted the name, but Aura knew it was his sister without a doubt. Releasing the bars, she sank down to the freezing floor, pulling her knees to her chest. There was more to this spell, the dreams, with Sorcha coming to her...
A thought crossed her mind and she gasped. There was a possibility that Sorcha’s spirit was trapped not only in Grimm, or the Moonstone Court, but in this very palace. The spell Rush cast upon Aura could be to help Sorcha pass on to the gods.
“But why does he need me? Why would that require me to live in this palace forever?” Aura whispered. Couldn’t a sorcerer help if that was the case? She didn’t even know if Rush was aware of his sister’s lingering spirit, so the spell could be something else entirely. The necessary pieces were missing, but the answer was there, pecking away at the inside of her skull. She needed to find out more.
Exhaustion pulled its blanket over her and she released a tired yawn. Rush wasn’t coming to her room, even though she’d said she would be there. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she hadn’t realized she’d slipped into sleep until two strong arms lifted her from the floor. She caught a glimpse of Rush, still shirtless and bandaged, before her eyes fell shut again.
“Why are you carrying me?” she murmured into his chest. “You’re injured.”
“I’ve been through worse, kitten. From now on, you sleep with me,” Rush said, cradling her close.
“So demanding.” Her lips curled up at the edges. “And what are we doing once we get into bed?”
“We sleep,” he purred. “But tomorrow we can discuss fucking.”
She was too tired to even roll her eyes, his chest too comforting against her body, the rhythm of his heart too soothing. As they entered his room, and he gently rested her on his soft mattress, she barely registered the blankets being drawn over her before she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Sunlight spilled through the window, tugging Aura from sleep. The silk sheets draped her body and she found herself alone in Rush’s room. It was the perfect opportunity to search for Sorcha’s journal and Rush’s cellar key. She stood from the bed and took a stealthy step forward when the library door opened, making her still. Wearing only trousers, Rush sauntered out with a book while eating a raspberry tart.
“Well, hello, kitten,” Rush cooed. “You slept through the servant bringing tarts.”
“My family always told me that I sleep like the dead,” she said, perking up as she studied the dessert in his hand. “Are you going to offer me one?”
“That depends.” Rush smirked, slowly walking to her as though she were his prey. “What are you going to offer me? These just so happen to be my favorite dessert.”
Her gaze trailed up his muscular chest to the bandage on his shoulder. “I did patch you up last night, so I think you owe me.”
“Mmm, the healer patched me up.Youput a bandage on me.”
“You’re such an ass.”
“Yes, but honest.” His grin grew wide while handing her the tart. “If you want more, the tray is on my desk along with a pitcher of water.”
“Thank you.” She bit into the tart and moaned at its sweetness.
