Page 45

CHAPTER 45

AURIA

N o breeze caressed my bare skin through the open back of the chair as I awaited the all too familiar burn. Heidi commanded the fire magic, but it flickered in her mental hold on it, resisting. The magic knew, though, that it could not fight against its holder.

Magic was to be used, not allowed an opinion.

“This is for your own good,” my stepmother said, circling behind me. “You never learn, child.”

But I was no longer a child.

Years and years of unnecessary punishment, only doled out to cure her boredom in this grand castle. I, on the other hand, was sent to work, exhaust myself, and sleep to pass the time, while Heidi chastised to her heart’s content.

“There is nothing to learn from this,” I muttered, not caring for my brash tone. What worse could she do that she had not already done?

A fist wrapped around my hair, and my head was yanked back, but the fire that erupted on my scalp was nothing compared to the one her flame would elicit.

“You speak out of turn one more time,” she seethed, her perfect composure shattered by rage. I wasn’t scared of her, though. I never would be.

My stepmother was a monster, but I knew there were bigger battles to fear.

“That is not an admirable quality,” she continued. “It must be purged from you.”

She let go of my hair, and the fire roared to life in her palm. Heat licked at me, indicating it was bigger than she usually let it get. Typically, she was careful, precise in the size to be particular with the wounds, but today, she was reckless.

I’d invited myself to one of their meetings with an advisor from another kingdom. After a few glasses of wine, my tongue had grown slippery, making bold comments in front of the man. She’d had to hold her composure throughout the entire hour, but once it was done, she had managed to haul me up here, where a guard ripped the back of my dress open.

Many beautiful dresses were ruined by her.

The ball of fire hit my skin, right below my shoulder blade. As she held it there, the scent of burned flesh filling my nose, it felt as if my entire body was alight, not only the patch.

Usually, I’d count to ten, and it’d be done. But today, my silent numbers passed fifteen, then twenty, and I was screaming in agony.

“Please,” I begged, which I never did. Not with her. “Please, stop.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks as thirty seconds, then thirty-five, passed. It was never-ending. A miracle my skin hadn’t melted clean off the bone.

Then, it was gone, and I was panting, sweat, drool, and tears cascading down the front of my body. But I didn’t feel the droplets. Not past the excruciating pain.

And that was how I sat.

For minutes.

Hours.

Tied to the chair, my arms and legs bound, as my skin sizzled.

* * *

“She’s still resting,” a deep, lush voice said, breaking into the foggy night of my mind.

“Did she say how long?” a woman asked, and I strained to put a face to their voices.

My eyelids would not obey, staying clamped shut and heavy. My shoulder felt as if a phantom flame crawled along the skin, and I quickly wondered if I was in Amosite. Had my father come to bring me back home?

“She guessed it could be days,” the same man said, and it hit me.

Bowen.

I wanted to scream for him, to reach for him, touch him, hold him.

Bowen.

A hand gripped mine.

“Has he seen her?” the woman, who I now realized was Siara, asked.

“No.” His voice was so stiff, so full of gravel. Was he upset?

A light footstep on the wood floor. “He’s her fiancé, Bowen.”

“He’s the reason she’s injured.” His tone dripped with malice, and I wanted to reach out to him, but nothing more than the twitch of a finger would respond. “She can make the decision on her own when she wakes.”

“And if her father shows before she does?” Siara asked, her voice so soft, like feathers drifting through the air.

The hand on mine tightened.

“I will not let her out of my sight until I know she’s okay.”

But then the fog became a storm, and I drifted on the wind.

* * *

My throat was sandpaper as my eyes peeled open, feeling like the thickest glue had been stuck to the lids. As my lashes fluttered, adjusting to the dim light, I tested moving my fingers, thankful when they did as I asked.

My head rolled to the side, the soft pillow cushioning my cheek as my eyes landed on Bowen. He was slumped in a chair in the corner, his neck kinked at a weird angle and his hair in disarray. The position looked uncomfortable, but there he sat, watching over me. Had he moved at all?

I managed to move my arms in an attempt to push myself up to a sitting position, but as soon as I did, an ache rolled through my shoulder, down my arm to the tips of my fingers. I let out a small whimper as my elbows gave out, a burst of air flowing through my nose.

Bowen’s eyes snapped open, immediately landing on me. “Auria.” Relief was evident in the way he said my name. He shoved out of the chair and instantly moved to stand by my side, setting a gentle hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to ache for a few days.”

“What happened?” My voice almost didn’t sound like my own. My memory was foggy after the bite, but I remembered the wolves vividly. Their snarls still echoed through my mind.

“Your arm was dislocated, but we set it back in place. And we were able to extract the venom from the wolf bite?—”

My eyes darted to his, causing my head to spin. “Venom?”

His brows pulled together, and he lowered himself so we were eye level, setting his knees on the rug. “Wolves have a substance in their saliva that can kill someone in minutes, but thankfully, Quinn was able to get it out just in time.”

The realization that I truly could have died hit me. In moments, my life could have ended. Would anyone have mourned me? Or would my father have simply heard the news and been irate that his daughter was no longer there to provide for him?

“Hey,” Bowen said, interrupting my spiral. His hand found mine, his thumb stroking over the back of it. I watched the movement. “You’re okay.”

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

“Two days.”

I stared at his thumb moving over my skin, trying to process how I’d been down that long.

“How much do you remember?”

I swallowed, my mouth dry. He grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand, allowing me to sip before I answered. “The wolves, the bite, then a burst of light, and it was all over…” My forehead creased, my mind straining to remember anything more. “After that, nothing.”

His brows pulled together. “A light?”

My mind replayed the flash over and over again. “I was being attacked, and then I was blinded by it, and it all just…stopped. After that, the wolves stopped attacking, but it could just be the holes in my memory. Maybe they kept going, and I imagined it.”

“Did you see where it came from?”

I shook my head. “I was kind of…”

His lips flattened into a thin line. He knew what had occurred after that. “Vulcan saw what happened and came to get me. He took me to where you were, where Lander was just sitting there like a fucking fool rather than trying to get you help.”

Lander.

My eyes widened slightly. “Is he alive?”

Bowen nodded, though his eyes were lethal. “Vulcan brought us here, but Flynt went back for him. He’s okay. A bit scratched up, but nothing Quinn couldn’t handle.” He shifted closer. “How are you feeling?”

It was a loaded question. I felt foreign in my body, like a chunk of my life had been stolen away by the gap of lost memory. It wasn’t anything major, but still, lying in this bed for two days while the unknown happened around me…

“No one was allowed in the room aside from Siara, Flynt, and Raiden to bring supplies,” he explained, reading my thoughts, as I was sure my face showed my quiet panic. “I never left your side, Auria.” His tone fell, his throat tightening. “I’d never let anything happen to you under my watch.”

I couldn’t blame Lander for bringing us into the woods. He hadn’t known what could happen, yet I knew Bowen was furious with him.

“I feel okay,” I finally answered. Summing up how I felt both mentally and physically seemed too much of a chore at the moment, so the response would have to suffice. “Sore, but alive.”

He gave a closed-lip smile, holding so much back in that look alone. Had he feared I would slip away in my sleep? Watched the rise and fall of my chest for two days to make sure I was breathing? It was hard to believe Bowen cared that much, but if what he said was true, I had no choice but to take his word.

“Are you hungry? I can have Flynt bring some food if you are.”

I shook my head, a slight headache blooming behind my eyes. “No, I’m okay. Thank you. I think I’m just tired.” Two days of rest had left me feeling exhausted, surprisingly.

“Get some sleep,” he said, pushing to a stand.

Before his hand could leave mine, I gripped it. “Stay.”

He peered down at me, a war brewing in his eyes as his brows furrowed. “I’m not leaving you alone in this room.”

“No.” I pulled the sheet back, indicating what I meant. “Stay with me.”

The crease between his brows deepened. “Auria…”

“Please. Just for today.”

Despite how I would have thought things between us would transpire, Bowen made me feel safe, and right now, I wanted to be wrapped in that feeling. Him being in this bed with me didn’t have to mean anything. It was just for the day.

Or at least, that’s what I told myself.

Succumbing to his inner battle, he let go of my hand, shoving the sheets back farther. He helped me scoot over the slightest bit, making room for himself. I rolled onto my side, expecting him to keep his hands to himself, but instead, he wrapped an arm around me, his chest pressed to my back.

“For as long as you’d like,” he whispered against my hair, pulling me closer and wrapping me in his warmth.

We fell asleep like that. Two lost souls in a universe full of pain, finding solace in each other.