“Then you’ll stay with me. Rule beside me?”
“Rule?” I hold on to her bedpost to steady myself. I’d barely begun to imagine myself as her actual true love, let alone ruler of Briar.
“Princesses always marry those who break their curse, don’t they?”
“They marry dukes and earls and princes,” I correct. “Who then become kings. And you said you didn’t want to marry.”
Aurora raises an eyebrow. “Well, I wish to marry you. Two queens of Briar. What could be better?”
A hundred thousand things. Even if I did accept her offer, the rest of Briar would revolt against me. I’d be dragged out and burned alive. Aurora has no idea what she’s asking. There’s never been a queen like me—never could be one.
But her lips land on mine before I can argue. “You said you trusted me.”
And I do. Enough to drown myself in that depthless, forget-me-not gaze, in the taste of summer berries on her lips, and never look back. Like a fool, I nod.
“Good.” She threads her fingers through mine. “Come with me.”
Does she mean to tell her parents tonight? This moment? My blood turns to ice water and I balk as she tries to drag me away. “We’re not—we can’t.”
She waves away my worry, guessing my thoughts. “Not now, no. But they’ll be coming to check on me soon. I’m surprised they haven’t already, with all that racket. And I don’t want them to find us yet.”
Find us. My heart thumps.
“Tonight”—she pulls me close, whispers in my ear—“is only ours.”
* * *
—
We take the servants’ halls, keeping our heads down and our feet swift. But they all must be tending to other matters, for we pass no one on our way to the abandoned library. Anticipation skitters down my spine and burrows into my bones as we enter. I have never been alone with anyone like this. Never thought that I would be.
Aurora lights some of the fat, dripping candles, their paltry glow cutting through the gloom. It seems the blast that broke the curse reached even this ancient part of the palace, though it isn’t as bad as in Aurora’s rooms. Many of the books were shaken free from their shelves and lie in haphazard piles on the shabby rugs. A rusted chandelier groans as it swings back and forth, one of its moorings pried loose.
I need something for my hands to do, so I set a table right and pick up the books that spilled. “Did you know it would be like this? The curse breaking.”
“No.” Aurora rubs her upper arms against the chill. “My mother spoke of a slight wind. And there are records of light. Music sometimes. It’s different for everyone.”
“But it was so violent this time.”
“Yes.” Aurora appears at my side, gently stilling me. I let the book fall, forcing my gaze to hers despite the flock of birds in my stomach. “Maybe it’s ended for good.”
Her long, graceful fingers comb through my hair, freeing it from its braid. I lean into her touch, craving more. Scared of the way my pulse races, chest aching like it might explode.
“You’re beautiful, Alyce.”
I stiffen. “No. Nothing like you.”
She smiles softly. Sadly, almost. “Me? I have no idea what I look like.”
“What do you mean?” The palace has no shortage of mirrors.
“The moment I was born, the Graces were summoned. Every inch of my body is planned. The length of my legs. The width of my hips. My hair color. I think I was born with black hair, actually. I know my mother was.” She examines the tip of a curl. “So what you see isn’t much better than a trick. Turning a regular child into a beautiful princess with a few drops of magic.”
I turn this over carefully in my mind. In her own way, Aurora is a Shifter, too.
“Sometimes I think about letting the Grace elixirs wear off,” she muses. “But I’ve never gotten very far. Whenever anyone notices even a hint of a blemish, I find a fresh bottle of beauty elixir on my breakfast tray. And if I ignore that”—she grimaces—“they slip it into my tea.”
A prisoner in a lovely cage.
“But you”—Aurora unbuttons my sleeve and traces the underside of my forearm in a way that makes my blood sing—“are entirely natural. I want you just like this. Always.”
Before I can stop her, she lifts my hand to her lips and kisses each fingertip, slow and deliberate and sure. Heat bursts at that satin-softness, rolling up my arms and down my back. Her mouth moves to my palm. To the tender skin of my wrist, where every nerve is alive and thrumming. Her teeth bite down and I cannot wait any longer.