Page 43 of Of Storm and Emerald
They both cringed. Auraelia loved her mother dearly, but the one thing that the queen of Lyndaria didn’t take well to was tardiness. And although Auraelia had been permitted to be latethistime, she didn’t want to push her luck.
As they headed toward their destination once again, Auraelia looked back out to the trees where Daemon and Aiden should have been.
But they were gone.
She scanned the area once more, coming up empty, then continued up the stairs after Piper.
The meeting was held in the northern wing of the castle, in the queen’s council chambers.
The entire wing was dedicated to the reigning monarch. From personal chambers for the queen–and king, if there was one–to sitting areas, private entrances to the queen’s garden, and of course the council chambers.
Auraelia had been in there numerous times, but it was one room that she would never tire of, and this time was no different.
It was shaped like an octagon, with half of its walls housing gothic windows that looked out to the garden of peonies, while the other half were covered in bookshelves that held the history of not only Lyndaria and the Court of Emerald, but of Ixora as a whole.
The windows were framed in ivory drapes that brought a lightness to the room, but overhead, the ceiling had been painted to look like the sky at dawn. Swirls of pinks, lavender, and deep sky blues, and clouds in hues of orange to mimic the way that the sun bounced off their surfaces.
In the center of the ceiling hung a chandelier made of aqua and clear shards of glass that when illuminated, cast tiny pinpricks of light onto the mural above, giving way to the illusion of stars not yet ready to surrender to the light of day.
There was a large round oak table in the center of the room with a detailed map of Ixora carved into its surface, surrounded by carved low back chairs with plush cushions. But at the far end of the table, sat three high back chairs, with one rising taller than the other two. The one in the center was reserved for the queen, and the two flanking either side were reserved for Auraelia and her brother.
As she stepped fully into the council chambers, the meeting paused, and the members of the council stood to bow. She nodded to the group and headed to her seat, taking notice that there seemed to be more people present than usual.
To Xander’s left sat Ser Aeron, who was not only the Commander of the Queen’s Army, but also one of her advisors. Next to him was Lady Ophelia, the queen’s lifelong friend and lady in waiting, who also happened to be the court's Mistress of Coin. Her family had been head of the court’s finances for generations, and since she had no siblings to take up the mantle, she took on the role in addition to her duties to the queen.
Moving around the table, there was the Master of Hunt and Harvest, Lord Harland; the High Priestess of Rhayne, Priestess Ríona; and Mister Amaris, who was the emissary for the Court of Emerald. The only person who seemed to be missing was Master Demir, who was the Master at Arms and weapons specialist for the whole of Lyndaria.
As she rounded the table, Auraelia noticed her mother in deep conversation with someone sitting in the chair next to her empty one.
Someone with perfectly messy hair, the color of a raven’s wing.
Auraelia froze.What in the name of the goddess ishedoing here?
As if he could hear her thoughts, Daemon turned his head in her direction. He didn’t even need to say anything, his eyes did it for him. Eyes that bore into her hers, glowing as brightly as the embers of a new fire. She could almost hear ‘Hello, my star’ being whispered to her as if he were standing behind her, his mouth pressed into the shell of her ear. Said mouth was now curved into a grin.Shit.
The memory of their first meeting came barreling to the forefront of her mind. Her heart sped up, her breath hitched, and goose flesh rose on her arms. It wasn’t until Piper discreetly nudged her from behind that she realized she had stopped walking.
Finally making it to her chair, she sat down, exhaling a breath that had been stuck in her throat since she and Daemon locked eyes. Piper, who took a seat on a settee by the window, was newly flushed, and when Auraelia met her gaze, she flicked hers away to the far side of the room by the doors. Discreetly, Auraelia looked to where Piper had gestured.
Aiden. Well shit, looks like we’re both going to be uncomfortable today.
“Now that we’re all here,” Queen Adelina said, giving Auraelia and Piper a quick, narrowed glance before continuing, “let us begin.”
So much for not being in trouble for being late.
“Lord Harland, the floor is yours.”
Auraelia sat through presentation after presentation from the lords and ladies of the council. She tried to pay attention when Lord Harland talked about how well the crops were doing and how they were expecting a bountiful harvest in a few weeks. She even successfully fought the yawn that threatened when he talked about how the Court of Topaz was also having an excellent growing year and that Lyndaria should be getting a shipment of fall crops from them in a few months’ time.
The Court of Topaz and the Court of Emerald had a long-standing agreement to exchange seasonal crops throughout the year, and it was a mutually beneficial relationship that had lasted decades. Topaz maintained an environment and temperature that was conducive to growing autumnal crops such as corn, potatoes, gourds, and apples. Whereas Emerald, with its mild and rainy spring climate, was more suited to growing crops like beans, peppers, leafy vegetables, and berries.
Auraelia tried to ignore the way Daemon’s hair fell in gentle waves over his forehead while Lord Harland discussed how the population of deer, wild boar, and other local game were thriving, which meant a successful hunting season later in the year, and how the current pheasant season was a huge success.
The memory of Daemon’s fingers trailing up her thigh barely even crossed her mind while Lady Ophelia made sure that the crop exchange balanced out evenly between cost and profit. She surely didn’t fantasize about his whispered words from the night before as talk turned to the upcoming solstice celebrations.
When Ser Aeron updated the queen on how training the new recruits was going, she very deliberately ignored the burning looks that Daemon would cast her way when no one was looking.
She really did try to keep her focus on the important things around her, but her mind continuously wandered to the man on her right.
