AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes,” Astor agreed in a solemn voice.
Rush paused his pacing and turned toward the window. The gardens spread out below the second-story room and a particularly nice patch of fragrant flowers circled an iron bench. Aura was there now, dressed in a simple bronze gown covered in a long white apron as she knelt beside the bench. The head gardener leaned over the bushes beside her and pointed at the leaves with her weathered hand. Cracking the window, he strained to hear their conversation.
“These grow best in this part of the garden because they get at least six hours of sunlight,” the gardener explained. “And you see three inches of mulch here as well.”
Aura nodded and, though her back was to him, she seemed to be paying rapt attention as she used a spade to dig a small hole in the soil. The stable hand passed by them on the other side of the hedge with a quick nod, but he didn’t stop to chat or offer a smile.Smart man. If he’d tried to flirt with Aura again, Rush would’ve had to make good on the threat to cut off his hand.
“Rush,” Astor spat.
He shut the window before his loud tone drew Aura’s attention away from her lesson. “What is it?”
“She might not be awake long enough to find a pastime,” Astor said, his gaze narrowed in disapproval. “You spelled her, remember? Her life force is being drained away, and soon, she’ll never open her eyes again. I know you like a good fuck, but this is low, even for you.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Rush hissed.
“Why?” Astor leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “Is the truth too much for you, Your Majesty?”
Rush balled his hands into fists. “We may be close Astor, but I warn you—”
Astor released a mirthless laugh. “As long as you understand that your feelings for Auracan’tstop you now that the spell is underway.”
Something tightened in his chest. Squeezed like a vise. He …couldn’thave feelings for Aura. It wasn’t possible. He’d closed himself off to anything more than fucking when he became the last living member of his family. It was easier to go through life alone. Keeping people at arm’s length helped avoid the pain of losing them.
“I don’t have feelings for her,” he lied. It had nothing to do with how she sucked his cock or how sweet her cunt tasted either. Somehow, he would be troubled if anything happened to her, and not just because of the spell.
Astor shrugged, his expression knowing. “Then why is she sleeping in your room? Why are you watching her every move? Don’t tell me it’s because you want to protect her. She’s perfectly safe here and you know it.”
“I’m not willing to risk her security,” he snarled.
Rush turned his back on Astor to watch Aura through the window. She set a small shrub into the hole she’d dug, then gently brushed the small pile of soil over the roots and tucked it around the stem. A bright smile crossed her face when she turned her head toward the gardener.
Soon, there would be no more smiles. Soon, there would be no more Aura. She would be asleep, trapped in a dream. He would be forced to carry her down to the cellar and place her on a stone slab. Slide a large stone over the entrance to her tomb. Then leave her there so no one discovered what he’d done and use it to start a war.
He watched Aura in the garden. Watched as she stood, brushed the dirt from her long apron, and lifted a basket of cut flowers. She followed the gardener toward the orchard until he could no longer see them between fruit trees.
What would Sorcha think of him for this? His sister had always been kind and caring, willing to go without if it benefited someone else. She would loathe him for what he was doing to Aura, would’ve told him to give up on revenge.
Fuck.
He took a handful of heavy breaths. Indecision warred within him, tearing his thoughts in different directions. Astor’s chair creaked behind him.
“What the fuck are you doing, Rush?” Astor said, his voice weary. “Do you even know anymore?”
Rush bared his teeth and stormed around the hawk shifter. No, he didn’t know. Because if his plan succeeded, he still might lose everything. There had to be a way out of this. The sorceress hadn’t told him how to break the spell, nor had he asked, but there had to be a way.Just in case.He wouldn’t use it—not unless he absolutely had to. Things were already not going as planned when Aura didn’t fall into a permanent slumber upon arrival, so if anything else went wrong… There was no point in Aura suffering without a tradeoff.
Just in case,he told himself.
“Where are you going?” Astor asked from behind him.
Rush hadn’t even realized he was being followed. “Nowhere you’re allowed,” he snapped. “Why don’t you go pine over Hana?”
The sound of Astor’s footsteps halted as Rush descended a staircase. Within moments, he made his way into the dungeons. It was dark and cold, water clinging to the stone walls. This wasn’t where Hana had been kept, but theolddungeons. The ones fortified by his great-great grandfather with illegal blood magic.
At the bottom of the staircase, Rush took a dagger from his belt and pricked his thumb. One of the illegal spells his great-great grandfather acquired from a sorceress was for sealing—unless a dragon shifter placed his blood on the wall, the door would remain part of the stone. He wiped the crimson droplet over the harsh sigils carved into the stone door and it groaned open.
As he stepped inside, he lit the torches. The light glinted off his hoard of gold, silver, and precious stones. Piles of coins. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings. A glass case of rings. Broaches. Crowns and tiaras. Raw stones. Amulets. Gilded frames and crystal vases. Rush’s dragon purred, begging to come out and play, at the sight of all the treasure.
He took a deep, calming breath, and sauntered down the center of the room. Over the years, he’d collected precious artifacts with magical properties. He approached a wall decorated in vases and candlesticks, figurines and gem-encrusted boxes. Inside one such box, on a bed of green velvet, rested a pocket watch, dozens of small rubies adorning the gold cover.
