Page 49 of Cherished By the Gargoyle
Mother gasps and Father’s eyes widen in alarm as the entire room falls silent.
My chest tightens as the weight of expectation, of duty, of prophecy presses down upon me. “I can’t do this.” My voice is thick with emotion. “I won’t do this.”
Before anyone can stop me, I rise and storm from the hall.
“Aurora!” Fiora’s voice follows me, sharp with urgency. I hear the scrape of chairs, the flutter of wings as my guardians rush after me.
The corridors of the castle stretch long and endless, and I’m not even sure where I’m going. I only know that I don’t want to go back; I just want to be alone.
“Aurora, please,” Fiora calls behind me. “Come back.”
“I can’t.” My voice breaks. “I can’t breathe in there.”
“Alright.” Her gaze softens as she rests a gentle hand on my shoulder. “We’ll take you to your chambers.”
Biting my lower lip to stop it from quivering, I manage a nod.
Fiora, Lyria, and Maribel lead me up the grand staircase, the echo of our steps too loud in the suffocating quiet. My vision blurs with unshed tears, and I barely see the ornate doors until they swing open at Lyria’s touch.
The room beyond is beautiful, with a canopy bed draped in white silk, a large hearth across the way with a sofa, chairs, and a writing desk in the corner. The air smells faintly of lavender and polished wood.
Heavy lavender curtains frame tall glass doors that open onto a balcony overlooking the mountains behind the city. The peaks rise dark and jagged against the night sky, moonlight crowning them in silver.
It should feel magical… like a dream come true.
But instead, I feel only hollow.
“Your parents only want what’s best for you,” Lyria says, but I refuse to look at her.
“Please, Aurora,” Maribel pleads. “Don’t shut us out.”
I swallow hard, my throat raw as I turn to face them. “I just… I just want to be alone.”
Fiora hesitates a beat before she nods. The three of them withdraw quietly, leaving me to the silence of the grand chamber.
As soon as the door clicks shut, the emptiness rushes in. My knees buckle, and I collapse onto the bed, burying my face in the silken pillows. I clutch at the covers as tears stream down my face.
As I think of all that’s happened today—the cheers of the city, meeting my parents… none of it matters. All I feel is the absence of him. Of Thalric.
A broken sob escapes me. I don’t want to be a princess. I don’t want to marry Ryllen. I don’t care about the curse. All I want is Thalric.
He is mine and I am his, and I don’t care if everyone says we cannot be together. My heart has chosen him, and I refuse to marry anyone else, no matter the cost to myself.
CHAPTER 30
THALRIC
Closing my eyes, I can still see Aurora as if she were standing before me now, her chin lifted, eyes blazing with unshed tears, skirts flashing like a storm as she fled from the banquet hall. Clenching my jaw, I recall the smell of the salt of her tears sharp in the air.
Every instinct in me screamed to go after her. But I cannot. Not yet.
“You must remember who you are, Thalric,” my father says, voice stern. “Our line is stone forged in duty. We guard. We endure. We do not confuse protection with affection.”
The words scrape across my chest. I curl my hands into fists, fighting the urge to roar that he is wrong, that what I feel for Aurora is not confusion. It is truth.
“She is upset and she needs me,” I state firmly. “I cannot bear to see her crying.”
My father’s jaw tightens. “I know you are used to giving her comfort, but things are different now between you. When she is distressed, you must guard her tears the way you guardher body. You do not let them sway your purpose. You are her protector; nothing more.”
