The Sorrow of Shadows (Crimson & Shadows #1)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

brEYLA

I ’m making my way out of the formal dining room, but before I make the turn toward the royal wing, I feel a hand on the small of my back.

“Shall we?” Aurelius asks.

“Oh, you were serious? You actually did have an errand in town?” I quirk a brow at him.

“If the errand is getting away from Charlie, then yes. Now let’s go, Princess.”

I shake my head in disbelief but let him lead the way.

As we approach the castle gate a sadness settles over me, realizing it’s not Nolan’s face I’m seeing anymore.

“Good evening, General. Are you headed to town?”

“I am, Samson. Lord Aurelius and I will be going to pick up some items for the ball.”

“Shall I fetch Ryder and Zion to accompany you? You do not appear to be armed.” He looks uncomfortable.

“That’s not necessary, Samson,” Aurelius interjects. “She’ s perfectly safe with me, but we both know she doesn’t need anyone else to protect her.”

“Very well, My Lord. The gate is open for you.”

“How very un-male of you to admit I’m capable of defending myself,” I remark as we pass through the gates.

“You are not some damsel in distress, Breyla. I trust my brother’s judgment in appointing you General. So while the male in me will always want to protect you, I have seen that you are capable of protecting yourself. You may irritate the hell out of me, but I also respect you. Plus,” he eyes me up and down, settling on my cleavage, “I count at least three daggers on you. You are anything but unarmed.”

“Four, actually,” I snicker.

We walk the short distance to the town outside the castle in peaceful silence.

“I need to know, Aurelius,” I start, and he gives me a questioning look. “Is what Ayden said about Lady Charlotte the truth?”

He sighs. “That prick should have kept his mouth shut. Charlie and I have a history, but?—”

Realizing he misunderstood my question, I blurt out, “Oh, no. Your personal history with Charlotte is the last thing I want to hear about.” I can’t help the slight venom in my voice.

“Then what are you asking, Breyla?”

“In your travels to Prudia, did you get the impression that she had a mind for strategy, as Ayden suggested?” I clarify, then mumble, “Or was she too busy making other impressions on you?”

Aurelius stops abruptly and tugs me down a darkened alley between a shop and the local tavern. Once we’re alone, I’m being shoved against a wall. My back hits the cold bricks, and I feel the warm hard muscles of his body press firmly against me. He has one hand against the wall next to my head, the other wrapping around my throat .

“First of all, yes, Charlotte is incredibly clever and strategic. You would be wrong to underestimate her. Secondly, you don’t get to play the jealous card tonight.”

“Why? Because I’m not really yours?” I spit.

“Make no mistake, Breyla. You. Are. Mine. You may be your own capable person, but the way your body sings for me can’t be denied. I’ll destroy anyone that tries to take you from me.”

I swallow hard as his words cause warmth to flood my core.

“And you don’t get to play the jealous card because just last night I had you panting and begging for me, but this morning I find you in another male’s clothing, freshly arriving from his chambers. Then I was forced to watch not one, but two males openly flirting with you all day.”

“Clothes that you burned—” I’m cut off by the sharp sting of his teeth biting the spot where my neck meets my shoulder.

A sound somewhere between a moan and a gasp leaves my throat and all protests are forgotten. He licks the spot, soothing the sting, and kisses up my throat to my ear.

“I don’t care that Elijah’s your best friend, and I don’t blame you for Ayden flirting, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Their touches and suggestive looks and comments drive me to insanity. I hate people touching what’s mine.” A shiver runs up my spine at his words. “I especially hate that I can smell both of them all over you right now. Charlie and I may have history, but that’s all it is—history. When she approached me at dinner, I turned to you. You spent all day flirting with Elijah and humoring Ayden in front of me because you knew there was nothing I could do. That, Princess, is why you don’t get to play the jealous card tonight.”

His words ring true, and I don’t have a response that doesn’t make me sound like a total hypocrite, so I say nothing. After a long several moments, he eases away from me and takes a step back .

“Come on, Princess. I need a drink.” He takes my hand and walks me back down the alleyway to the front of the tavern.

When we enter, I’m greeted by the joyous sounds of my soldiers enjoying a night off and the smell of ale and mead. We take a seat in a corner booth, away from most of the other patrons.

“Evening, General. Been a minute since you last visited my tavern,” Luella, the tavern owner, says, greeting me. She’s older than both my parents, but you’d hardly be able to tell. Her brown curls hang loosely down her back and frame her warm, tawny skin. She’s on the shorter side but has full rounded hips that have most males panting after her. Dark, lined hazel eyes look me over as she notices Aurelius next to me. “And you brought Lord Aurelius!” she exclaims in surprise.

“It was a bit crowded in the castle, Luella. We needed fresh air and a good drink. You were the only logical option, of course.”

“Well, I don’t know about the fresh air part, but I can set you up with a good drink. What’ll it be tonight?”

“The usual for me, and whatever Lord Aurelius wants.”

She nods and looks to him.

“Just bring me whatever she’s having, Luella. Thank you,” he says and smiles widely at her.

“That’s brave of you. I could have ordered something overly sweet and frilly,” I tease.

“Something tells me you’re more of a rum or whiskey drinker.”

I shrug. “I guess you’ll find out.”

Luella sets two short glasses on the table in front of us, each with two measures of a deep amber liquid. She leaves the bottle on the table because she knows better and leaves us to our conversation.

I take the drink and down the first glass in its entirety, savoring the spices and warmth as it races down my throat .

“Rum it is,” Aurelius concludes as he downs his own glass and fills them both again.

After the second glass I am feeling bold. “Let’s play a game.”

He raises an eyebrow at me in question. “What kind of game?”

“Ten questions.” Elijah and I usually played two truths and a lie, but that game wouldn’t be fair with Aurelius's ability to detect lies.

“That sounds more like an interrogation,” he snorts.

“No, this version is much more fun.”

“How so?”

“In this version, if you answer the question, you must answer it truthfully. You can choose not to answer it, but in that case, you take a shot instead. The first person to ten answered questions chooses a challenge for the other to complete.”

“Sounds simple enough. Let’s play.”

I’m surprised by how easy it is for him to agree. I expected more of a fight.

“Ladies first,” he offers.

“Why do you distrust Ayden so greatly?” I start. I’ve been wondering about this since he first warned me away from Ayden.

“He wears a mask, different masks for every situation and every person. Though I’ve spent plenty of time in his court, I never know what to trust when it comes to him because he thrives in creating chaos. He was also in talks with your father about something important shortly before his death. The timing is suspicious. Satisfied?”

I had noticed some of this myself, so it wasn’t entirely a surprise to get the full explanation. Though I wasn’t convinced that was all there was to it, I let it go. I nod my acceptance of his answer.

“Has there ever been anything physical between you and Elijah?” He starts with an easy one. Not easy for him, I’m sure, but easy for me.

“Not in the way you’re referring to. We’ve always been tactile with one another, but never sexual and never romantic. If you believe in soulmates, know that he is mine. He has and will always understand me on a level that most never will. When I say he is my eyes and ears, I mean it quite literally. That requires a level of trust I would not extend to just anyone.”

“I think I understand. You love him, but it’s brotherly. Soulmates don’t have to be romantic; I understand that. He isn’t your fated, your twin flame, so to speak.”

“Now you’re getting it,” I say with a smile.

“I still don’t like it when he touches you,” he grumbles.

“Get over it.” I wink at him. “What is your favorite memory of your childhood?”

“Have you been in the forest behind your grandparent’s manor?” he asks, and I shake my head.

“You should sometime. There is a massive, ancient oak tree about a quarter mile from the estate. The woods are dense enough that you probably can’t see it from the outside, but it’s wide enough to carve out and create a living space inside.”

I listen intently as he describes the magnificent tree, wondering how I had never seen it before.

“My powers started manifesting very young, making it hard to make friends. Most of the children feared me because I would accidentally use my abilities on them, and it made them uncomfortable. I would go to that tree and spend hours trying to climb its branches. It’s where I went to forget. After a particularly rough day, your father found me there scaling the ancient trunk.”

Something inside me softens towards Aurelius as the recounting of his lonely adolescence.

“I don’t know if he just didn’t want me to hurt myself trying to climb the monster or if he just took pity on me, but he used his earth Gift to carve out steps in the trunk. They wound up the back like a spiraling staircase and ended at the lowest level of branches. I never had to struggle to climb anymore, and I would sit among the branches for hours.”

He pauses, seemingly lost in memory, but continues, “Eventually, he even added a little alcove among the branches for me to sit or lay down comfortably. Your father’s Gift was truly magnificent, Breyla.”

I tear up at the memory of my father. I had never heard this story, and it reminds me how much I miss him.

Aurelius gently wipes the tear from my cheek and continues, “It became my own little world away from reality that I would go to whenever I needed space. He would join me sometimes and let me practice my power on him so I could have a safe space to learn control. Or he’d read with me, teach me how to fight, or just sit with me.”

“Is it still there?”

“The last time I checked it was exactly as I left it,” he says. “My turn. Do you think I had something to do with your father’s death?”

“I did at first, but now I don’t know.” The look of pain that crosses his face almost hurts me, too. “What’s the reason you agreed to marry my mother? The real reason, please.”

He reaches for the glass in front of him and tosses the drink back. Interesting.

He leans in close to ask the next question. “Tell me your dirtiest fantasy, Princess.” His hand trails up my thigh under the table.

I smirk because he obviously thinks he’ll get me to pass on this question. I turn to whisper in his ear. “Right now? I can’t stop thinking about having you lay me out across this table and bury yourself deep, deep inside me while everyone in this tavern watches.”

His nostrils flare, and he shifts in his seat to alleviate some of the discomfort from his hardening length. Under the table I run my hand up his thigh, copying the path his hand had just taken on my own.

“What is your favorite color?” I ask, moving back away from him.

It’s not the question he expects.“Red, but not the shade you’re in now. Red like the wine you favor, deep with purple hues. What’s your favorite place?”

“The castle library probably. I love the smell of old parchment and how stories can make you forget your troubles. Is Charlie a regular of yours?”

“Not anymore. You’re really hung up on Charlie, why? I have in fact slept with other females, so why this obsession over her?”

I sigh, not wanting to answer this, but also not wanting to lose our little game. I reach for my drink for a shot of liquid courage. I down the spiced rum and turn to him. “You’re engaged to my mother, and I can’t help but notice that they bear a certain resemblance. They have all the same features that are so...different from mine. I just wonder why you’ve been openly involved with a certain type of female, but you pursue me in the dark. Hell, I don’t even understand why you’re pursuing me at all, but I can’t seem to stay away from you. I just don’t seem to fit your type.”

“Is my little demon jealous?” He grins devilishly at me.

“Not jealous...” I mumble. “Just confused.”

He grabs my chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting me to look directly into his eyes. “I’ve tried to tell you before, Princess, that there is nothing between your mother and me. Our relationship is more like your relationship with Elijah than anything remotely romantic. I have my reasons for agreeing to her proposal, but if you would talk to her, you would find that we are on the same page. Her resemblance to Charlie is coincidental. I don’t even really care for blondes much, to be honest. Your crimson locks look so much better wrapped around my fist.”

My eyes widen at his confession, my heart beating faster.

“Breyla, you are like fire and sunlight, and I would gladly burn in your heat. Your shadows mirror the darkest parts of me, and I want to bathe in them. You are fierce and brilliant, and I would happily kneel at your feet and worship every part of you.”

I had never had any male speak to me like this before, and it makes the breath catch in my throat. His words both frighten and thrill me.

“I can sense the erratic beats of your heart, Princess. You may not be able to understand me now, but you will someday. You are mine, little demon.”

I nod—because that’s all I can do—and continue our game.

The questions continue until we come to the end, and I have answered ten to his eight.

“What will it be, Princess?” Aurelius sighs.

“You know, I think I need retribution. Take your pants off.”

“Princess, as much as I’d love to bury myself in you right now, I will not fuck you in front of all the males in this tavern.”

“It’s cute that you think that I want you to fulfill my fantasy right now, but that’s not what I mean.”

“Then why exactly am I taking my pants off?”

“You’re going to give them to me and I’m going to return to the castle. You’re going to walk back without them.”

Realization dawns on him and he groans, throwing his head back.

“Fair is fair, Lord Aurelius. Hand them over,” I order, cackling and thoroughly enjoying my sweet retribution.