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Fern pushed her sister aside. “You must beborna shifter. But he can fly us somewhere!”
“He will do no such thing.” Hana frowned, lifting Saffron into her arms as though Rush would steal her away too. Aura honestly couldn’t blame Hana for her fear.
Liana stepped around her sisters and nudged her arm with Aura’s, never one to issue hugs.
“I sent you a recipe book,” Aura said, bumping her shoulder in return.
“So that was from you! I suspected it, but I would’ve rather had your presence as a gift.”
“Are you certain about that?” She laughed softly.
The sound of hoofbeats drifted within the forest as Aura’s father tore through the trees on horseback. He leapt down from his stallion and ran toward Aura, pulling her against his chest. “You’re safe. Where is it? Where’s that beast you rode in on?”
“He’s right here,” Rush said, inching forward. “I would like to speak with you and your wife, along with Hana and Liana.”
Her father stared at Rush, his gaze icy. “Haven’t you done enough?”
Both Saffron and Fern interrupted, hugging their father’s legs and pulling the edge of his tunic. “Can we come too?” they both asked.
“Not now,” Hana batted them away. “Go to your room and play for a little while.”
They both stuck their tongues out at Hana while releasing a fit of giggles as they ran into the house.
“Give the King of Moonstone an opportunity, Father,” Aura said. “Sometimes we do things with a reason, even though others may think it’s wrong. But believe me when I say marrying Prince Pax would’ve been worse than death for me.”
Aura’s father pressed his strong hands on her shoulders. “Then I will listen. For you only.”
Her mother pursed her lips and motioned Liana into the house with her father behind them.
As Rush stepped inside, Hana drew Aura back by the shoulder, and said in a whisper, “Something doesn’t feel right. I know him, don’t I? Somehow I know I’ve met the king before. It’s like I’m missing something. You know what it is, don’t you?”
Aura took a deep breath, unable to keep this part from her sister. “You did meet Rush before, once. Also a man named Astor who works for the king. You were given a potion to forget your earlier encounters with them. However, Astor should be the one to tell you the rest. Not me. Once you talk to him, I’ll be here in any way you need. I promise. You’re my sister and I love you.”
“Astor…” Hana inhaled a sharp breath, her hand grasping a teardrop ruby hanging from a gold chain that Aura had never seen before. “I-I’ve talked to him a few times, and he brought me flowers. No one’s ever done that before him. I’m going to hate him, aren’t I?” The last few words came out hushed.
Aura bit her lip. “Maybe for a little while. That all depends on you though. I once hated them both, but now I see them differently.” She lowered her head, a pit forming in her stomach. “You may even hate me since I believed it was best for you to forget at the time.”
Hana’s body trembled as a rack of sobs escaped her. “You deserve to hate me more. I knew what the prince was doing with other women. I just wanted you to be happy. I’ve always wanted that, and instead I stayed silent.”
Aura circled her arms around the middle sister and tears pricked her eyes. “I know you did.Do. And maybe now I can be. Come on.” She led Hana inside to the sweet scent of strawberries and cake, and she knew she needed to introduce her twin sister to Marion at some point. They walked down the short hallway to the sitting room where Rush sat across from her parents and Liana. When his gaze found Hana, he started his story at the beginning, admitting to his faults, how his sister had held a journal that revealed Pax to be her love, how he’d believed the princess had drowned herself, that Hana had come to save Aura and he’d given her a forgetting potion. He went into great depth about everything except how he’d gotten Astor to woo Hana and spelling Aura, saying only that he’d taken her as a way of revenge against Pax. It was more than she’d expected him to confess, but it was enough for now.
“I care for your daughter greatly, and I vow to prove it,” Rush said, casting his attention to her father. “And I know she won’t come to Moonstone without her family. Therefore, if you agree to come, I’ll make you a duke. Your family will have as many guards and servants as you wish, and a grand home near the city. Hana will have a shop of her choosing while Liana will have a bakery, the finest Moonstone has to offer.”
Liana beamed, a bright smile on her face as she clasped her hands together. “Not just any bakery, but the finest? Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”
Aura’s eyes widened in surprise. Rush knew her sister would never refuse such a gift, a way to easily get her to come to Moonstone … and forgive him. Hana remained quiet which was unusual for her, but she was most likely wanting to learn the story’s entirety.
“And my girls will be taken care of? All of them?” her mother asked, perking up in her seat over the news.
“All of them,” Rush promised.
“Can we have this in writing?” her mother added.
He lifted one brow. “You have my word, but if it makes you feel more secure.”
“I will never agree that you taking my daughter was the right decision. However, you’ve proposed a fair deal.” Her father rubbed his chin, then looked at Aura. “But what do you want? If the Starnight King ever finds out you were at the palace and acted against his son, things here might not go so well. Is everything the Moonstone King said true?”
Aura’s father could tell when she was lying, and this was a way for him to know if Rush was being deceitful. “It’s true. Prince Pax took lovers, he murdered Rush’s sister, and then he was either going to force me into silence or murder me.” She remembered Pax’s anger toward her, his fingers digging into her flesh while carrying her writhing body from the palace. But somehow her voice remained steady as she spoke, “I don’t want to stay in Starnight and be reminded of how my life revolved around the prince. I’d rather begin a new tale.”
