Page 114 of The Blood Crown

Every door save for one.

She stopped just beyond the threshold, glancing into the open room. Valea’s carnelian eyes met hers, platinum brows furrowed as she looked from Aurelia to the open door, hergaze flitting down the hall, assessing every detail. Everythreat, Aurelia realized.

She was looking for a trap.

“You will not come to harm here—not by my order,” Aurelia offered gently, taking a step into the chambers.

The blade of a female cautiously approached the open doorway—not daring to step into the patch of sunlight that flooded through the uncovered windows. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked, her voice edged with wariness, hand dropping to her side within reach of her dagger.

Aurelia leaned against the doorframe, giving the female space. “New chambers—if you’d prefer.” She gestured to the arched windows spanning the length of wall, realizing her mistake almost immediately when Valea grasped the hilt of her blade at the sudden movement. Lifting her palms, she waited until the female's shoulders dropped just a fraction—the skepticism never leaving her expression. “Lanthius spelled the windows to filter the light—so that you might be more comfortable here.”

The female was so still that, for a moment, Aurelia wasn’t sure if she was breathing. Even the bright red rings of her irises remained unmoving, focused so sharply on her face—searching for any sign of deception—that she wondered if she would leave this room unscathed.

She waited, not daring to move.

Patience had never been one of her virtues, but self-preservation won out, whispering in her ear that to take even a single step right now beneath the immortal female’s withering stare would be a death sentence. One that would up-end everything that they had fought so hard to achieve.

After what might have been moments or hours—Valea’s eyes slid to the room, bathed in filtered, morning light. And for amoment—just a moment—there was something like longing in her narrowed gaze as it widened slightly.

“A temporary solution,” Aurelia amended, “until we can find a more permanent one.”

It had only taken Lanthius a few moments to work the spell. But it had been Karro who brought the book to him, detailing the magick needed to remove the harm of the sunlight. He’d made the argument that they would need every last warrior when the demon army finally descended on the fortress, that it would be in their best interest to find a cure. But all it had taken was one shared look between her and Ven, and she’d known as well as him that Karro wouldn’t rest until he found an answer.

He was right—whatever his true motives were. They would need Valea, and she would be more use to them if she wasn’t incapacitated by the sunlight. And Aurelia couldn’t have guessed how many hours he'd spent searching the library, how many volumes he’d scoured before he finally found the right one.

Valea took a single hesitant step beyond the threshold, her white sheet of hair shifting with the movement.

Aurelia held her breath as the female finally took another halting step further into the room, her eyes darting, seeming to mark all of the potential exits as if this might still be some trap. Safely in shadow, she edged closer to the arched patch of light illuminating the bronze and gold veins in the floor.

A sheen of sweat broke out along her pale brow. Her moon white skin flushed the faintest shade of pink, her chest rising and falling as rapidly as the pulse fluttering at her white throat. And reaching out a hand, her slender fingertips pierced the rays of golden light.

She yanked them back with a soft hiss, examining her porcelain skin.

But there was nothing—not a single mark.

A rush of breath left Valea's chest. Something like a smile lifting the corner of her mouth as she flipped her palm over once more. “It’s warm . . .” she whispered, softly enough that Aurelia wasn’t quite sure if the words had been meant for her.

“More have been spelled throughout the fortress—the common rooms and the dining hall,” Aurelia added, ticking off the list on her fingertips. “Ven’s study and the council chambers—so that you may feel free to come and go as you please. The Ledge—” she gave an apologetic shrug, “there’s not much we can do about that for the time being.”

But the female didn’t seem to hear as she took a single step. Arching the white column of her neck, she tipped her head back, her hair a cascade of platinum down her back as she let the sunlight flood across her pale face.

Ecstasy.

That was the expression softening the female's sharp features.

Silence stretched in the sun-drenched room as Aurelia turned to leave, not wanting to disrupt the moment.

“Why?” The question was spoken low. Not a demand. Not with the usual cutting directness that Valea preferred.

But Aurelia heard the undercurrent of her simple question. Why bother with this when none of them might live long enough to see next week.

She gave a shrug. “This is your home now too, should you choose.” Not much of a choice, really. There was no going back after her egregious betrayal to help them escape. “Without your help, we wouldn’t have made it back here—it seemed the least we could do.” And all of them had decided that they were making decisions for the future—whether or not Fate granted it to them.

Valea lifted her eyes to meet Aurelia’s, the harsh angles of her face beautiful and terrifying all at once. “I’m sorry—that I doubted your intentions.”

Aurelia gave her a small nod in return, turning to leave again. It was more gratitude than she’d expected.

“If you sharpen yourself long enough," the female whispered, the words making Aurelia pause, "you forget what it’s like to be anything but a weapon.”

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