Page 42

CHAPTER 42

AURIA

A s soon as I stepped past the threshold, I knew I wasn’t alone.

I silently closed the door behind me, walking farther into the house. I paused in the opening to the living room, my heart nearly stopping.

Paxon sat calmly in one of the chairs much like before, but as soon as he stood, the tight line of his mouth told me he was anything but serene.

Gods , not right now. I wasn’t in the mood. Though, was I ever when it came to him? “What are you doing here?”

“Where were you?” he asked.

I scoffed, heading for the kitchen.

There had to be some sort of alcohol in here. Rifling through every cabinet, I finally found a decanter shoved in the far corner on a bottom shelf. Rich, amber liquid sloshed in the glass as I grabbed it.

“I won’t ask twice,” Paxon warned, but I didn’t give a shit.

I uncapped the bottle and took a swig, but as soon as the liquor hit my tongue, the glass was flying out of my hand and onto the wood floor. I barely had time to swallow before Paxon had me shoved against the counter, a firm grip on my upper arm. “You reek of alcohol and smoke.”

“Bowen’s outside,” I said hurriedly, the liquor burning my throat as I nearly choked on it.

A menacing smile spread across his face. “That man can’t protect you.”

“He would against someone like you.”

He leaned closer, and I arched back, the edge of the counter digging into my lower back. “Someone like me, huh?”

My words were strained, my eyes slits. “Someone who touches me without permission.”

For emphasis, he yanked on my arm, bringing my chest to his. I suddenly regretted wearing the revealing dress. “Remember my little warning? I don’t think you’ve listened.” His other hand raised, and he jerked as if to slap me. I flinched, squeezing my eyes shut to brace against the oncoming sting. The pathetic act alone made him chuckle as he released his grip on my arm, not laying a hand to my cheek. “Be careful, Auria. I wouldn’t put so much faith in a man that may not be all that he seems.”

As he stepped away, my body stayed guarded, stiff with the fear that he was letting me believe it was over, but it was anything but. Like a lion toying with its prey.

“Bowen isn’t a liar like half this continent is,” I defended.

He straightened the sleeves of his jacket, adjusting one of the buttons, as if I’d rustled them purposefully. “Oh? I overheard them talking about a little plan they have for Amosite.”

My brows pinched together. If he was baiting me, I couldn’t tell. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged like it was just a simple conversation between two friends. “They want to destroy the entire kingdom.”

Blood froze in my veins. “No, they don’t.” They couldn’t. Bowen wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t destroy an entire kingdom. Not with innocent civilians in the crossfire. I knew him well enough to be sure of that.

Satisfied with the state of his sleeve, Paxon looked at me. The glint in his eyes was anything but settling. “If you want proof, I’m sure you can find some in his house.”

With that, he headed for the door, leaving me standing there with alcohol flooding the floor and the fragile state of my mind threatening to shatter like the glass among the mess.

He couldn’t be telling the truth. But if he was…

Could I really trust anyone?

“I came to see if you made a decision,” Paxon said, stopping before he twisted the handle.

I didn’t move my eyes from the mess. “You told me I have until the bridge is repaired.”

He was quiet a few moments too long, unease creeping through my limbs with each passing second. “A wise person never waits until the last minute.”

My jaw clenched. “I’ll take every moment I get.” Because I had no fucking idea what to choose. Not with everything seeming to crumble down around me.

* * *

I was determined to figure out if what Paxon had claimed about Bowen was true, so as soon as I woke the next morning, I dressed in a white blouse with a leather corset that stopped right below my breasts and pulled on a pair of brown pants, the waistband just reaching the bottom of the corset. I passed on breakfast, not bothering to grab a snack on my way.

There would be no more secrets. No more staying in the dark. If there were things to be found out, I’d find them. A life of imaginary walls with doors only others could open when they chose was not a life I wanted to live anymore. I’d open them all, and I’d learn all I wanted to learn, have knowledge on any topic I wanted. As soon as I returned to Amosite, I’d demand my father allow it. I’d already discovered so many things on this trip, so what more could the rest hurt?

I swung open the front door but skidded to a halt as I took in Lander standing before me, his hair neatly combed back to show off his freshly shaven face.

A smile crested his lips. “Good morning.”

“Uh, hi,” I greeted, glancing behind him. “Did you need something?”

“Just wanted to spend some time with my fiancée.” Still, the word sounded odd rolling off his tongue, and he knew it just as well by the look on his face.

“I’m quite busy at the moment, actually.” I glanced over his shoulder again as a mother and her daughter walked past, the child skipping along in the dirt.

His brows furrowed. “You don’t look very busy to me.”

“I was actually just on my way out?—”

“We haven’t seen each other much since we’ve arrived in Deadwood, and that’s my fault.” His eyes truly did look sympathetic, and I suddenly felt bad trying to skip out on him. “I’ve been caught up, wallowing in my emotions over our engagement—which is actually something I’d like to talk to you about. But I figured we could explore while we chat? A friend at the saloon told me all about the mines, and I thought we could check them out.”

Exploring sounded a lot more enticing than sneaking around Bowen’s house trying to find information that might not even exist. For all I knew, Paxon was trying to pit me against Bowen. I shouldn’t fall for the bait so easily.

“That sounds great, actually.” I stepped over the threshold to close the door behind me.

“I’ve brought you a horse.” He gestured to the gray mare standing tall and alert by the post, all tacked up and ready to ride. “She’s quite sweet.”

I walked over to her, lifting a hand to rub her muzzle. “She’s beautiful.”

He stood by the stirrup, gesturing to the saddle. “May I?”

I nodded, coming around the side of the horse and setting a hand on the horn. He helped me into the saddle with a hand on my waist, then handed me the reins. Once situated, he mounted his own horse, a beautiful red color, and we headed toward the edge of town, my horse following his easily.

Lander glanced at me, doing a double take as he noticed my stiff posture. “Have you ridden before?”

The movement of the animal below me felt odd, but nothing compared to the ride on Vulcan. That was something I’d never forget the feeling of—his powerful body splitting through the wind, his wings beating with strength that utterly amazed me.

“No,” I answered. “Though I’ve always wanted to.”

A smile lit up his face as we emerged from between two houses, entering the forest. “Another new thing to tack under your belt.”

“Do you know where the mines are?” I asked. I’d never seen the ones in Amosite, so of course, seeing them here piqued my interest, but without a proper guide, I was curious how Lander knew where to go.

“The guy said to keep going north, and eventually we’d find the hole in the mountain.”

“So the mines are different from the caves?”

He shifted in the saddle. The sun was causing our legs to heat against the leather. “Typically, yes. Some kingdoms will branch off existing cave systems to mine for magic, but others create new tunnels entirely.”

“Do they ever close them?” My father had told me ours were closed, given I produced magic for him, but it seemed other kingdoms were under the impression we still had workers in them.

He reached down to shove away a long branch that tried to get caught on his stirrup. “Not typically, no. Though Amosite claims to have closed their dark magic mines, no one has confirmed if that’s true.”

“Why wouldn’t it be true?” As far as the continent was aware, fae were extinct, so humans didn’t need any more dark magic to null the fae’s abilities.

He shrugged. “Not a lot of people trust your father, as you know, but even more so since he won’t let anyone near that area to even check it out.”

I added it to the growing list of things I wanted to know. I was sure my father would be simply ecstatic to know I was curious about so many off-limits topics.

Speaking of off-limits topics…

“About the dragons…” I started.

“What dragons?” Lander asked, sending a wink my way.

Relief rolled off my shoulders like a wave. With everything else going on, I wanted to make sure Lander wasn’t going to rat all of us out for being near them. He’d been angry at first, but his demeanor toward me being near them was a complete turnaround now. Had he just drank too much that day?

“Why did you truly bring me out here?” I asked, moving on as I did my best to maneuver my horse around a large rock in the path. The trees became fuller the deeper we headed into the woods, and I was thankful for the break from the beating sun.

“I wasn’t lying when I said we haven’t seen each other much since we ended up here. Truthfully, I haven’t seen the guards often either. They’ve barely left the house they’re staying in, but as far as I’ve been told, they’re healed enough to be walking around for a few days now.”

“Maybe they’re mad at us for being the reason behind them losing so many of their friends?” I wondered aloud, shooing a bug out of my face.

“Maybe,” he agreed. “Or they’re scared.”

“Scared of what?” Deadwood was indeed different from Amosite and Torbernite, but not enough to keep them locked away in an old house out of fear.

Lander was quiet a moment, chewing on his lip. “Bowen.”

I pressed my lips together, choosing to ignore his answer.

“You seem to like them a lot more than you do me and my brother,” Lander continued.

I glanced at him. “Why is it always a package deal with you two?”

“We’re family,” he stated, like that much wasn’t obvious.

“But you’re so much…better than him.”

His horse stepped over a thick branch, mine following suit. “Not everyone would agree with that.”

“I highly doubt that.”

We headed up a slight incline, the trees growing denser, the air a bit cooler.

“It’s true,” he said. “I reckon that’s why they offered me to marry you rather than Paxon. He’s too smart, while I sit there and do their bidding as I’m asked, so long as they let me do what I want in my free time. It’s a flaw, really.”

I studied him, wondering if he truly felt it was a flaw that he followed his parents’ demands with the promise he’d get the freedom to do as he pleased. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m elated they chose you to marry me instead of him.” I didn’t think I’d survive if I was to marry Paxon. From what little I knew of him, I loathed him. He was too controlling, like many of the people in my life were.

“Is that so?” He tried to hide his smile.

I had a hard time hiding my own. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

He leaned forward in the saddle, helping his horse up the small hill, so I did the same. “Speaking of the marriage. Do you think we should call it off entirely?”

“Do you truly think they’d let us call off the marriage they forced us into?” I hardly believed they would.

“You never know. I mean, in the end, it’s our choice, right?”

I nearly wanted to laugh. “I don’t get much of a choice in anything, Lander. I’m just told what to do and expected to do it with no complaint.”

“I’ll talk to them, then.” He sounded so sure, like he could persuade them to jump off a cliff if he wanted.

“Have at it.” Humor laced my tone. If he was successful in convincing them to call off the wedding, that’d mean I wouldn’t have to make a choice between the marriage or allowing Paxon to get me out of it. I’d be free from all of it. Maybe not my life, but the arrangement I had been forced into. And that was a start.

“Do you think that guard truly abandoned his post that night?” I asked, referring back to the beginning of the trip.

With a glance his way, I noticed his creased forehead, a pondering expression taking over his face. “It’s possible.”

I heard what he didn’t say. “But?”

“But…not likely. If he did, your father would have him hunted down and executed. All the guards are aware of the consequences.”

I gnawed on my bottom lip, getting my next question out before I could talk myself out of it. “What that guard said about our arrangement... Do you think this is all for something else?”

He looked at me as the small breeze rustled the leaves around his horse’s hooves. “What else would it be for?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Some petty, royal drama, maybe?”

He snorted. “If it’s because of drama between our parents, let them settle it however they see fit. Getting involved in that can be messy.”

“That must be why you’re so reluctant to act a prince, then,” I teased.

Lander shot a smile at me from his horse, but as he opened his mouth to reply, he was cut off by a low growl. Then, a beast nearly equal in size to my horse pounced from behind him, and I screamed.