Page 15 of Of Storm and Emerald
She glanced in his direction, and when their eyes met, he felt a strange pull toward her. Hers widened with surprise as he held her gaze. It was only slight, and only for a fraction of a second, before she broke the connection and turned her attention back to her companion.
When she grabbed the hand of the other woman and pulled her further into the garden, his lips pulled into a wide grin.
There was no way he was letting her get away from him so easily a second time. Thankfully, there was still a formal dinner followed by a celebratory ball.
You want to play cat and mouse, princess? Well, let the games begin.
Chapter Five
Auraelia
“Shit,shit,shit…”shekept muttering the word over and over again as she unceremoniously dragged Piper further into the garden and back toward the castle.
“Rae, for the love of all things good in life, would you please slow down!”
Coming to a stop, Auraelia looked at her friend, then behind her to make sure they hadn’t been followed and took a few steadying breaths before she spoke. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t tell if it was from adrenaline or anxiety–possibly both.
“Did you see him?”
“Did I see who, where?” Piper asked with a quizzical look on her face.
“Prince Daemon.”
“Prince Daemon…Oh, you mean the man who ate your pussy like it was his favorite flavor of cake, not twenty-four hours ago?ThatPrince Daemon?” Piper’s eyes narrowed into slits as a devilish grin spread across her face.
Auraelia scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Be serious, Piper!” Her voice took a whiney edge as panic set in.
“Yes, Rae. I saw him. He was kind of hard to miss with you both throwing sex daggers at each other with your eyes.”
“Wha–We were not.”
“Oh, my dear, sweet friend, you most definitely were. Not that I blame you, he’s gorgeous.” Piper feigned a swoon and fanned herself for dramatic effect.
“You’re ridiculous,” Auraelia chuckled and gently shoved her friend, which sent them both into a fit of laughter. Regaining their composure, they walked through the garden back to the castle, arm in arm.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now that he knows that it was me from last night. We still have the banquet and ball to get through.”
Piper pulled them to a stop and turned to her friend, grabbing Auraelia’s hands in hers. “You are Crown Princess Auraelia. You are strong. You are resilient. You are beautiful. And you do not cower to anyone, not even a prince; regardless of how gorgeous he is,” she added with a wink. “You will face this obstacle like you do everything else, with grace…and a stubborn head and sassy attitude, but that’s why I love you.”
A weight lifted from her shoulders with Piper’s words, and she smiled as they began walking again. “Thank you, Piper. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You would be insufferably boring and utterly miserable, of course.” And with that classic Piper response, laughter ensued once more.
As the castle came into view, Auraelia saw her mother waiting just outside the doors to the ballroom. Inside, half of the space had been turned into a banquet hall, while the other half remained open for the celebratory ball that was to commence once the meal was over. When they reached the doors, they curtsied to their queen before Piper went inside to find her seat at the table, leaving Auraelia with her mother.
“I’m so proud of you, little bug, and you look beautiful,” Queen Adelina said as she looked at Auraelia with adoration and adjusted the delicate circlet that now sat on her brow. It was comprised of silver vines with delicate gold leaves that twisted and intertwined together. Resting right below her hair line on her forehead, it came to a point in the center where a large raw cut emerald was nestled into the tangle of silver vines.
“Are you ready?” Her mother’s voice was light and full of hope.
Before she could answer, a stiff wind blew through the garden that sent a chill down her spine. Gently grabbing her chin, Queen Adelina forced her to meet her gaze, then smiled so large wrinkles formed at the corners of her eyes. “I see you’ve found your magic.”
“What do you mean?” Auraelia asked as pure confusion and worry danced across her face.
“You truly don’t know, do you?”
Auraelia shook her head and waited for an explanation, but one never came.
“You’ll see it when you’re ready to, my dear. But it’s there and it is wonderful.” With that, her mother lovingly stroked her cheek and walked inside the ballroom to take her place at the head of the table.
