Page 36 of The Witch's Rite
“Let’s play a game,” she says, sounding like a starry-eyed child. That’s one of the things I so enjoy about her—her ability to make every situation a bit more fun, more magical.
“What kind of game?” I extend one leg and wrap my arms around my bent knee.
“How about . . . a game of secrets?”
“Secrets?” Alden asks in that gruff voice of his as he reaches up to scratch his beard.
I wish I could grow a beard like that. Mine just comes in patchy and thin.
“Yes,secrets.” Aurora’s smile turns impish. “You both have secrets, don’t you?”
Alden and I look at each other, then back to Aurora.
Of course I have secrets—plenty of them. But they’re just that for a reason. Because I don’t want to talk about them, don’t want to be reminded of what they mean or the pain they may have caused.
There’s one secret I’m already thinking of, and it makes my chest feel tight. I avert my eyes, looking instead at the aspen leaf still held in my hand.
“So, do you want to play?” Aurora asks.
I glance up at Alden, and he looks back at me. Why is it that we both seem hesitant to open up, but Aurora feels like an open book, completely at ease with revealing the secrets she holds close?
“All right,” Alden says.
Now Aurora is looking at me. Her eyes are bright, her expression soft.
Not wanting to ruin her fun, I let out a sigh. “Okay, let’s play.”
“Let’s start with something light,” she says, shifting closer to us so her thigh is pressed against my outstretched leg. “How about... one of your happiest memories?”
Happiest memories? That one’s easy.
“The day I got knighted,” I say, a smile stretching easily across my face. I’ll never forget the celebration, the banquet, the way it felt when King Jorvick placed the blade upon my shoulder and granted me the title I’d been working toward since I was but a boy. “It was one of the best days of my life.”
“Mine was my first day at Coven Crest,” Aurora says.
“The academy?” I ask, and Aurora nods while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, from which dangles that same silver feather earring with the blue stone in the center. I’m not sure she ever takes those things out.
“I felt so small standing beneath the gates, so... unimportant and forgettable. And yet I felt like the world was in my hands, like I could do anything.” Her eyes get a faraway look, and she sighs. “I’m not sure if that makes sense, but it’s how I felt.”
“There’s freedom in being no one,” I mumble, and Aurora nods.
“Exactly. It was something like that.”
Now we look to Alden, and he’s wearing a rare small smile, looking completely at ease as the evening breeze tousles his brown curls. “The day I finished building my cabin. When I first started, I wasn’t so sure I could accomplish such a thing. I was an apprentice back then, still learning the trade. But when I drove that last nail and stepped back to look at what I’d achieved...” He lets out a low chuckle. “It’s still one of my proudest moments.”
“Why didn’t you stay in your family home?” Aurora asks. She trails her fingers through the soil slowly, making little tracks in the dark earth.
At her question, Alden’s smile falters. “My parents passed away when Lydia and I were young. As we grew up, I knew it would be best for her to keep our family home. There’s comfort in that—in staying where you were born.” He lets out a sigh and clears his throat. “So I built my own cabin, moved out so she could have her own space to grow.”
“That was thoughtful of you,” Aurora says gently. She reaches over to squeeze his knee, and the touch seems to shake him out of whatever memory he’s recalling.
“All right, how about a new secret?” he asks, seeming to want to shift the conversation.
“You sound like you already have one,” I say.
His response is a laugh, and it immediately cuts through the tension in the air. “You cannevertell Lydia this.” He gives Aurora a direct look, and she giggles.
“I won’t. I promise.”
