Page 59 of Of Storm and Emerald
Auraelia called after her, “Oh, and Piper? Please don’t destroy my chambers. The letter is under the pillow. Put it back after you’re finished snooping, okay?”
Piper’s laugh echoed back into the bathing chamber. “Understood!”
Once she was dressed and had finished her coffee, she sat down in one of the chairs framing the fireplace in her sitting area. Piper had returned to her own chambers to finish readying for the day, leaving Auraelia alone with her thoughts.
Taking out the necessary items from the table next to her, she wrote a response to Daemon’s letter. When she finished, she folded the parchment and grabbed a sprig of lavender from the dried bundle she kept with her stationary. Placing it on the opening of the letter, she dripped sage green wax over the stem, and stamped it closed with her sigil.
Pulling the sapphire from between her breasts, she concentrated on the instructions that Daemon gave in his letter. Stone in one hand and letter in the other, Auraelia closed her eyes and thought of him.
Of his perfectly tousled raven hair.
Of eyes the color of spring grass with pools of liquid gold.
And a smirk so sinful that even the memory made her flush.
The stone pulsed in her hand, and then she felt it. The silky caress of his magic as it slid over her skin, then it–and the letter–were gone.
It fucking worked.
Auraelia opened her eyes and stared down at her now empty hand in disbelief.
Tucking the stone back into her blouse, she stood and headed for the door.
After an intense night with Daemon, followed by yet another equally intense training session with Ser Aeron, Auraelia was spent. Her muscles were liquid, and she was looking forward to soaking in the cool waters of the lake. She and Piper had stumbled across it on one of their excursions outside of the castle walls and it quickly became one of their best kept secrets.
Despite their exhaustion from training, they were giddy with excitement and headed straight for the stables when training was finished.
Piper had already spoken with the stable master that morning, so their mounts were already saddled and ready to go. Auraelia sidled up to her horse, a huge grin on her face and an apple in each hand.
“Hello, Jasira.” The mare whinnied, shaking out her mane and stomping her hooves in excitement.
Jasira wasn’t her first horse, but she was her favorite. She was beautiful, with a chestnut coat, and stockings the color of fresh snow on all four legs that matched the color of her mane and tail. The mare had been a gift from her mother on her twentieth birthday, and Auraelia had spent every day with her. Learning her quirks, understanding her movements, and growing their bond. They were a perfect match. Both reserved, but wild when they were allowed to roam free. They also both had a temper, which had almost gotten Auraelia thrown more times than she could count. But one look into the large brown eyes of that horse, and she knew that they would be companions for life.
Auraelia idly stroked Jasira’s velvety nose, while she fed her the apples in her hand. Piper had already climbed into the saddle of her own mare, a painted beauty of chestnut and white named Miara.
“Rae.” Piper kept her voice low, but it was enough to spur her into motion. It wasn’t often that they didn’t have a full schedule, and if they wanted to keep it that way they needed to leave.Now.
Auraelia quickly mounted her horse, and once she was fully seated, she nudged Jasira into a walk and led the mare out of the stables with Piper following close behind.
When they were far enough away from the castle, they urged the horses into a gallop and shot through the trees that lined the training field. The same trees that she had spent the previous afternoon under with Daemon.
As they skirted the last of the large oak trees that lined the wall surrounding the castle, Auraelia looked for the vines that concealed a secret door. It was an escape door built into the wall in case the castle was under attack. Far enough away that it wasn’t obvious, but close enough to be useful. It was also long forgotten, which made it perfect for sneaking out of the grounds without guards.
Finally locating the door, they swung down from their saddles. Auraelia swept the vines aside to open the latch and push the door open, while Piper gathered the reigns of both mares.
Auraelia held the ivy out of the way while Piper led both of their horses through the opening, before slipping through herself. Once they were all on the opposite side of the wall, the women remounted their horses and set off towards their lake.
Just beyond the field of lavender, was a grove of crape myrtle trees. The blooms varied in color, from a variety of pinks to soft whites and delicate purples that would break away from their stems at the slightest breeze. The blossoms would float in the air like paper confetti, before they drifted to the ground and coated the paths between the trees in a carpet of color.
It was like riding into another world.
At the end of the sea of crape myrtles, was a large willow tree whose branches and leaves draped down and pooled on the ground below. The contrast between the dark vines of the willow and the colors of the crape myrtles was like toeing the line between a dream and a nightmare. But through those thick vines and leaves was a piece of heaven.
Auraelia and Piper had named it Nefeli Lake, which loosely translated intoCloud Lake, and it was the perfect embodiment of its name. The water was so clear that there was a perfect mirror of the sky above, giving the illusion of swimming amongst the clouds.
Surrounding the lake was a dense forest of trees that grew so close together that a person would have a tough time weaving between the trunks and their large roots. Leaving the only entrance into the mystical place through the draping willow vines.
Once the women reached the willow, Auraelia called upon her magic. Letting it fill her body with warmth and radiate down into her fingertips. Casting it out until she felt the breeze flow from her hand and in the direction of the tendrils of leaves flowing from the branches above. Gently moving them to the side like a curtain, she nudged Jasira through the opening, making sure that Piper made it through as well before releasing the hold she had on the vines.
