Page 106 of Deadwood
CHAPTER 33
AURIA
Rather than attempting to explore the rest of the market, I headed home. Bowen had soured my mood, and meandering through a crowd of people would only make it worse. One moment, he was standing up for me, and the next, he was acting as if I were his enemy—just like nearly everyone else had so far, as if the actions from my father were brought onto them by me.
But I wasn’t the reason for their hardships. Being kept in the dark for so long, I could only guess what my father had done to tarnish the Tenere name, but with the little details I knew, I had to assume it was his greed that had gotten to him.
If only people knew?—
No, they’d never know. To them, they probably assumed I was some spoiled, rotten princess, but the opposite was true. I would never be anything like my father if I could help it. I’d give and give until I had nothing left in me if I could. I drained my energy for my father every day, filling vials like some servant. I was his daughter, and heusedme.
I hadn’t noticed I’d shed a tear until the drop trickled down my cheek. I swiped at it angrily. Neither Bowen nor my father deserved my tears. My rage was mine. I was the reason I was stuck in this situation. Being married off to a stranger—though Lander had become somewhat of a friend through this—and being used as some pawn. It all laid on my shoulders like an anchor on the seafloor. The only one with the power to get me out of this was me, and yet I was too weak to try.
Or was I?
Stepping up onto the porch, I opened the door to the home I was staying in. With the curtains drawn, the living room was dim, but rather than opening them, I walked over to the lantern after shutting the front door. I pressed a finger to the vial, refilling the fire magic inside before lighting the flame.
“Have fun at the market today?” someone asked, causing me to jump.
I spun to find Paxon lounging in a chair in the corner, like he’d been waiting for me. He traced a finger over the cover of the book I’d left out, one leg crossed over the other.
“I did,” I said, doing my best to mask my irritation at the sight of him.
“Good.” He stood, taking his time as he uncrossed his leg and pushed up from the chair. He left the book on the armrest as he slowly moved toward me. “I saw you there.”
When he didn’t continue, I said, “Oh?”
“With Bowen.” He prowled closer to where I stood in the entry of the room.
“I wasn’t exactlywithhim,” I clarified. “More like he helped me and stayed near in case something happened again.” I hoped that was a good enough cover-up and Paxon hadn’t seen us in the alley. Technically, I had been there with Siara, and Bowen had inserted himself into our little shopping trip.
“I’m only going to say this once, Auria. Whatever you are doing with him, it needs to stop.”
“Why?” The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I should have left it at that. I had no reason to want to be around Bowen any more than I had to, so it should be no problem to listen to Paxon’s demand, but something about him trying to tell me what to do, who I could be around, didn’t sit right with me. I was tired of people trying to control me.
He stopped within a foot of me. “You’re with my brother, aren’t you? Or did you forget I gave you a choice not too long ago? A choice of who you could belong to.”
His words lit a match in me. “I don’t belong to anyone but myself,” I gritted out.
Paxon’s eyes turned curious, a hint of amusement in them. “You belong to my brother until you make your decision.”
“And if I don’t?”
In a flash, he grabbed my wrist, squeezing until I swore the bone might break. A little whimper escaped me, despite my effort to hold it in. “Then I will shatter every precious little finger on this hand until you can no longer use your magic. And without those, you are useless. A fragile thing with no purpose.”
I tried to keep my breathing controlled as I attempted to yank my wrist away, but it wasn’t until he loosened his grip that I was successful. My heart pounded inside my chest, the beat nearly painful as the reality that he’d seen me use my magic on the fire vial set in.
“No more Bowen,” he repeated, each word enunciated clearly.
He walked past me, his usual calm demeanor firmly back in place as his threat hung in the air.
“And Auria,” he said, turning his head to the side but not looking at me, “the bridge changes nothing. You have until it’s repaired and we are able to return to decide.”
After the front door closed behind him, my hand tightened into a fist. Frustration ate at me like termites to wood, and I wanted to hit something. To yell, to cry. But all I could do was grind my teeth as I gave Paxon enough time to walk away from the house. Then, once I was sure the coast was clear, I left.
I had a lifetime of staying cooped up to look forward to upon my return to Amosite. I was going to handle my emotions in the one way I knew might erase them for just a few hours—with a couple drinks.
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