Savage Beauty(3)

“Not anymore.” Now that I was stealing her energy, I could really take control of the scene…

I looked at William, whose face was blank as he waited for his puppet master to pull his strings. I looked at the stitches that ran down the length of him from his scalp to where they disappeared into his breeches. She added the stitches to his flesh to remind me that she was the one who’d torn him in half.

Snow fell onto my sister’s hair, shoulders, and the ridiculous pink gown she wore. It distracted her just like I planned, as Aura was too cold to worry about him anymore. Her teeth chattered as she tried to growl at me. She hated winter as much as I hated summer and sunshine, and I hoped this left her hating me more as well.

“You can’t do this!” she wailed.

“I can, dear sister, and you should remember that soon, you will be the one sleeping, and I can pull you into your worst nightmare,” I told her. “Maybe you’d like a taste now. Our powers are growing. I know mine are…”

The snow stopped falling.

“You like it warmer?” I taunted. “Allow me to make it warm for you, sister. But I prefer the dark of night. It’s soothing, comforting. Don’t you think?”

The ground thawed because I willed it. Darkness stretched over the sky and crickets began to sing so loudly, she covered her ears. The ground came to life under my will. Centipedes and spiders crawled up her fine skirts.

“Stop this!” she yelled.

I smiled. “I don’t think so.”

The tips of her pretty fae ears turned bright red and the same angry flush spread over her face. In an instant, Aura was gone. I looked around for him, just to be sure she didn’t forget for a moment, but she’d taken William with her.

I walked back through the wood, my bare feet sinking into the soil, back to the bed in my dreams. I lay in it and drew the covers over me once again. A few more weeks of summer, and a few more weeks of slumber before I woke. I would rest so that I could be strong.

Aura would go back to her palace, lick her wounds, and begin planning another battle for when I was lucid. Because when she killed William, she started a war she would not win. In a split second, she took everything from me.

For that reason, I would take my time destroying all she held dear.





CHAPTER TWO




AURA

Three weeks before autumn begins...

The rose’s petals were soft, like silk, and yet they were alive. I released the crimson bloom as a rotund servant whose name I couldn’t remember interrupted my stroll through the gardens. Clutching her skirts, she ran toward me, careful to avoid the thorns on the bushes. “Princess, a rider has arrived. He says that he needs to speak with you post haste,” she panted.

“Who is this man?” I asked the woman.

She brushed a piece of fuzzy red hair back from her face. “He refuses to give his name or even speak to anyone but you.”

A trick from Luna? But how could she possibly orchestrate it while sleeping? I still had a few more weeks before she woke, but she had been more powerful during our sleep walk today than she’d ever been. She said it was because our powers were growing. We were almost at the age of fae maturity, but mine weren’t as strong as hers, and we should be equal in every way. After all, we’re twins. She was up to something, but was she behind this? I wasn’t sure yet.

“Is he human?” I asked.

She swallowed and nodded. “Yes, Majesty. He appears to be.”

“Take me to him.”

Gathering my skirts, I kept the fabric from dragging along the ground. We walked through the garden into the palace yard and up the marble steps. Inside, we were surrounded by white marble and the cold stones made the air cooler. The servant was short, and she took two steps to each of mine. “He’s waiting in the green parlor, Princess.”

The marble floor shone, our reflections gliding across their slick, glassy surface. The servant paused outside the green parlor with her hand on the brass door handle. “Shall I announce you?”

I smiled. “That’s not necessary. He obviously knows who I am.” Now, I’ll find out who he is. Who would dare ride into Virosa and demand to speak with me?

She nodded and pulled the heavy door open. It was called the green parlor because the walls were painted an emerald green, and the tapestries and upholstery of the furniture had been made to match. Even the knick knacks were green. Blown glass, trinkets, vases. Only the mantle and the trim around the windows were white.

Inside, sitting in a wingback chair in front of the cold fireplace, was a man whose hands raked over his face anxiously. He looked up at the sound of my heels clicking across the floor and quickly stood, bowing at the waist. “Princess Aura, I presume.”

“You presume correctly.”

I narrowed my eyes and he narrowed his in response. There was something familiar about him. He was tall and lithe, in his early twenties. “May I speak candidly?” he asked. At least he wasn’t going to waste my time.

“You may,” I granted.

Placing a hand over his chest, he introduced himself. “I am Prince Phillip of Grithim.” I sucked in a breath before he voiced the question I knew he’d come to obtain the answer to. “Where the hell is my brother?”

I liked him better than William already. He was brave; waltzing into my home and demanding answers in such a bold way. Nothing like his snake of a brother with pretty words and false promises.