AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Aurora’s eyelids fluttered open, and for a fleeting moment, disorientation clouded her senses. Then, as her vision cleared, a familiar face came into view.
Millie.
Aurora found herself in a bath, the soft embrace of a sunflower-scented bathwater surrounding her. Her mind churned, trying to piece together the fragments of her memories, a puzzle that refused to align.
Millie sat across from her, a copper dagger twirling in her hand, mirroring the same gesture she had made during their dinner.
“How did you do it?” Millie’s voice pierced through the haze of Aurora’s mind.
What was she talking about? Aurora’s head spun, trying to remember her arrival home, disrobed and immersed in a sunflower bath. “Wait.” She shot her eyes open again. “Did you bring me home?”
Millie’s gaze held an intensity that matched her words. “How did you get rid of your gold?”
Confusion clouded Aurora’s senses. “I didn't,” she muttered. “My father’s illusion rambled something about looking within, and then he… he stabbed me with a knife.”
Millie leaned in, the copper dagger gleaming in her hand. “This is the dagger you turned to gold at my house.”
Aurora drew out a tired breath. “If you plan to stab me with it, at least let me stand up first. Fair fight, you know.”
“Aurora.” Millie’s fingers closed around Aurora’s wrist, the dagger’s tip breaking the skin of her palm. Aurora winced as blood welled up.
“Ouch.” She withdrew her hand, rinsing away the blood in the water. “What was that for?”
“Look.” Millie held the dagger before Aurora’s eyes, droplets of her blood staining the blade. “No gold.”
Forcefully, Aurora blinked away the remnants of exhaustion, her focus sharpening on the blade. She had missed it before, but now she saw it—the dagger’s tip still bore droplets of her blood, its metallic hue unmarred by a trace of gold.
Aurora’s heart raced as she held her hand to the light, watching as her blood stained the water. She blinked, disbelief mingling with hope. “Are you saying it actually worked?”
“Not only did it work, but whatever you did, it reversed the transformation,” Millie added. “It seems that everything you’ve turned to gold has returned to its original state.”
Aurora’s gaze shifted from the dagger to her surroundings. The golden hue that had once painted every corner of her home had vanished. The bathtub, the bed frame, even the mirror—all were free from the imprisoning touch of gold.
“I was in my kitchen, using this very dagger, and I saw it change,” Millie explained in amazement. “That’s when I knew something must’ve changed with you.”
A weak smile curved Aurora’s lips. “You were concerned about me.”
Millie’s eyes rolled dramatically. “Don’t flatter yourself. I came mostly out of curiosity. Now, spill it. How did you manage it?”
Aurora’s laughter was a cathartic release, the irony of it all not lost on her. “I was stung by a scorpion,” she explained between chuckles. “The venom acted as the antidote.”
Millie joined her laughter, the absurdity of the situation too vivid to ignore. “The creatures that have been trying to sting you all along were the key to your freedom?”
“Yes, the very creatures I’ve been avoiding like the plague.”
Millie’s tone grew hopeful. “So, does that mean if your father gets stung, he’ll lose his gold too?”
“Seems so.” Aurora met Millie’s gaze with fondness. “Life has a strange way of weaving its threads, doesn’t it? The answers we seek are often right under our noses, hidden within the unexpected.”
Millie tapped a finger to her lips, her eyes dancing with newfound hope. “Aurora, if your father takes the venom, and everything he’s ever touched is restored, that means…”
Aurora frowned. “I’m sorry for all you’ve endured because of me.”
Millie brushed off the apology. “Focus, Aurora. This could be my way out. I didn’t drink the sundrop flower, remember? My sleep stasis isn’t internal like yours. It’s solely based on his gold. If he loses that, I can wake up again.”
Emotion welled within Aurora, and she longed to offer Millie a comforting embrace. But her body protested every movement, aching to her bones. “I’m genuinely happy for you, Millie. But without Tristan, there will be no freedom.”
Millie’s expression shifted to worry. “Are you certain he’ll return?”
