Page 74 of Of Storm and Emerald
Chapter Twenty-Three
Auraelia
“Rae.Rae!” Piper screeched as she shook her awake.
“What?” she responded, her voice scratchy from sleep.
Piper shoved her once more. “Get up. Lover boy wrote you back and it fell on my face.”
Rolling over, she snatched the parchment from her friend’s hand and sat up.
“Can he not write at normal hours of the day? These late-night correspondences are a bit much…unless they’rethatkind of late-night letter.” Piper’s eyes grew wide, and her lips pulled into a feline smile as she prowled over to where Auraelia was sitting.
Jumping out of bed, Auraelia hurried to her bathing chamber and closed the door. Pressing her back up against the wood to keep Piper from trying to open it. “Come on, Rae. Sharing is caring. Let me read it,” Piper begged from the other side of the door.
Laughing at the ridiculousness that was her best friend, she shook her head and started to pry the wax from the parchment. “Maybeafter I read it, Imightlet you read it.”
Piper sighed audibly. “Fine. But at least tell me if it’s dirty. It’s not fair to live a scene from a dirty romance book, andnotshare it with your friend. It’s just rude.”
“Would you go find food or something, and leave me in peace please?” Her voice was light and full of mirth.
When Auraelia heard Piper’s steps recede from the door, she finally unfolded the letter, taking in the scratchy texture of each letter as it formed words.
Fucking hell.
Auraelia’s entire body felt flushed from his words, and she felt as if she had melted into the floor.
Daemon had always had a way with words in the bedroom but seeing them written out on parchment for her to read over and over again was something else entirely.
His deep gravelly voice filled her mind as she read it again. Like he was behind her, whispering filth into her ear, sending heat throughout her body only to pool between her legs.
Leaning her head back onto the door, she took a deep breath, and blew it out between pursed lips.
Fuck.
Pushing off the door, she walked over to the wash basin to splash water on her heated face. While patting her face dry, she heard someone hurrying across her room, followed by incessant knocking on the door of her bathroom.
What the hell?
“Rae? Are you okay in there?” Piper’s voice sounded panicked.
Confused as to why Piper would think she wasn’t ok, and concerned about the panic in her voice, she stepped away from the wash basin and stepped into water that had pooled on the floor and slipped.
“Fucking hell,” she groaned.
“Rae?! That’s it, I’m coming in.”
Piper pushed the door open to find Auraelia lying flat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just slipped and fell on my ass. Give me a minute.”
After a moment, she rolled onto her side and pushed up into a sitting position. Leaning against the tub, she looked to her friend who still stood in the doorway, wringing her hands–a nervous habit of hers.
“What’s up, Piper? What’s wrong, why were you so panicked?”
Silver lined her eyes when she finally looked up at Auraelia. “I–I think my magic manifested.”
Excitement coursed through her body at her friend’s confession. “That’s amazing, Piper! What is it?”
