16. Aurelia

Chapter 16

Aurelia

A s usual, I woke at dawn. Only a thin sliver of light filtered through the thick curtains, but my body knew it was time to get up. Weston curled around me, holding me tightly, even in sleep.

I stayed like that for a moment, brushing my fingertips along his forearms, content to be held and warm. He'd ordered dinner brought to the room last night and fed me bits from his plate. After, he'd had a bath drawn and gotten in with me, content to lounge. Well... content to dominate me by fucking me senseless, and then to lounge. Gods, the guy was amazing in bed. He seemed to know exactly what got me off, and consistently delivered in a truly spectacular fashion.

I watched the dust motes float lazily through the stream of light, feeling his heartbeat against my back and the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. I felt... peaceful. Cared for. Cocooned in his strength, held close to him like I was something precious. A lump formed in my throat, this blissful feeling creating a deep warmth within me, suffusing my body.

In the next moment, though, my thoughts drifted to yesterday, to the dragons, the interrogation, the fairy, all that had happened with Granny...

My heart sped up, and I slipped from his embrace, scared to lose myself in that feeling, unable to really process my life right now. I had precious little time for anything beyond work; the dragons had started the clock.

"Where are you going?" Weston asked sleepily, reaching for me.

I avoided his grasp. "Time to get to work. I need to grab a few books before heading out to the garden. I need to make sure my flower is planted properly today. I just want to dash into the library before that terrifying king gets there. Can I assume I'm allowed to enter now?"

He propped up his head with his elbow, watching me dress. "You were always allowed to enter. He's intense, but he's fair, Aurelia. He's a good king. He won't hurt you just to watch you squirm."

"I'd rather not accidentally prove you wrong, thanks. That guy is a dangerous sort of unhinged. Even my wolf is fine keeping our distance."

"Yup," my wolf intoned.

"Vemar is the one commonly thought to be unhinged, you know." Weston grinned as I slipped into the washroom, needing to clean myself up a little. He'd made good on his threat to thoroughly mark me with his scent, and I knew today would be... interesting. "He thought he was going mad down in the dungeons."

Weston had rolled to his back when I returned, his hands folded behind his head.

"Then again, I think we all did," he said. "Vemar just admitted it."

"Vemar has zero fear of things that should make him wary. He's not mad, he's courageous. And fun. I don't really know him, but so far I like his company."

Emotions flitted through the bond, turbulent but reflective. I waited for his comment. When it didn't come, I said, "What?"

He looked at me for a moment. "Nothing. I've requested to have all your things rehomed. Your glass... contraptions will go out to the work sheds, as you call them. You'll be working in a shed alongside the queen so she can keep an eye on you, as promised. The former queen is in that shed, as well. I know you are new to all this, but it is considered a huge privilege and great honor to work alongside those women. They are the best at what they do, not to mention they are royalty. Please be respectful."

"Of course I will be. I'm used to minding my own business and ignoring hostile stares from my coworkers. I doubt this will be any different."

"Maybe not, but I suggest you remain mindful about challenging the queen. You saw how eager she was to meet the last one."

"I'll say," I mumbled. She'd been downright excited that I should show a little fight. She would not be as easy to manhandle as Raz. I'd need to learn to fight before I messed with that woman.

"Your journals will be in your new room. The room will be prepared this morning and will be available for you this afternoon. I'll take you to it once I receive word it's ready. We can make any adjustments as needed."

"What sort of lock does it have?" I grinned at him.

His smile was a thing of beauty. The man was a stunner. "Probably one you'll have no trouble picking. It won't be locked from the outside, though. You are free to move around the castle. That does not include the grounds, however, and it certainly does not include the Royal Wood. You are being given time by the royals, but that is more time for Granny to locate you and make plans. You are safer here than anywhere else, but you are not safe, Aurelia. Not until we've dealt with Granny."

I sobered, a chill running through me. "I know," I murmured.

He surprised me when he said, "Later today we'll shift together." My wolf leapt for joy.

Good. Maybe she could take over things for a while. I could use the break.

He leveled me with a look . "Be careful until I see you again, okay? Stay out of trouble. Don't stick any more scissors into dragons."

I couldn't fully stifle my answering grin, so I leaned over quickly and pressed my lips to his in goodbye. There I paused, startled, not actually having meant to do that. Once there, though, it felt like the natural thing to do. I softened my lips, drawing out the contact.

"I'll miss you," he murmured against the kiss, his hand cupped gently against my cheek. "Stay safe, Little Wolf. Call for me if you need anything."

"Okay," I whispered, falling into those slate-gray eyes as I straightened. The warmth from the moment felt thick and heavy within me.

Somewhat dazed, I exited the room and then the apartment. Was that the primal bond creating those feelings, or just Weston? It hadn't felt like a dramatic tug like the sex often did; it felt sweet and serene, an extension of the night before.

Pushing it from my mind, I wrangled my focus. I needed to concentrate on my work, on stopping Granny. That had to be my top priority. People were dying; others were succumbing to the hook. I had to help. The true mate situation could wait.

The castle had less activity on this floor; very few people roamed the hallways. The stairways and foyer had more movement, but the doors lining the hall leading to the library were all closed. The library itself was a ghost town. Good news.

I looked for the book I'd thrown yesterday, finding a hole instead. Dang. The king hadn't returned it. That, or I'd busted it by throwing it at him. Either way, it wasn't the best start to my library privileges.

Hurrying, I started systematically taking down the other books in the area, one at a time, checking the glossaries. Any that listed Moonfire Lily, which were few and far between, I put in a pile on the shelf below. Once done, I picked up five books and straightened, intending to descend the stairs and hurry out of the library to look at them somewhere else.

Hurrying along, I saw the banister just ahead. I reached it and turned, lifting my eyes to trace my path.

My whole body jolted to a stop when I saw who waited at the bottom.

I gasped, backing up.

The king stood just off the last step. His expression didn't change; he was devoid of emotion. He held up the book I'd chucked at him yesterday.

"You forgot something," he said in a deep, raspy voice.

I swallowed and contemplated whether to take the first step. Weston had assured me there was no reason to be terrified of the man. Dante had said it yesterday, too. The royals planned to give me time. That meant he didn't plan to hurt me.

My wolf adamantly shook her head. "Plans change. Don't take the chance."

She had a point.

I stood there and stared awkwardly, frozen to the spot.

He noticed the other books in my arms. "Do you need help?"

"Uhh..." I cleared my throat. "No, thank you." It was a miracle my voice didn't waver. "I was just about to go. I've got them all, I think." I paused. "Except that one, obviously. Um, thanks. For bringing it."

He held it up for a moment before slowly placing it on one of the lower steps. "I'm leaving. You can look at these in here and put back the ones that aren't helpful."

I eyed him warily, nodding. I was definitely making this into a bigger deal than it should've been.

"No, you're not," my wolf insisted. "With him, distance is key."

Who was I to argue?

He took a step back, that golden gaze once again unwavering, before turning and retreating through the nearest door.

I got to work but didn't find as much as I was hoping. Only one of the other books had anything of note, and it was information I'd already suspected: the flower liked shadier areas, growing best when protected by nestling in among other, sturdy plants. I could relate.

After the books were put away and I gave a quick perusal to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I left the library, headed to the work shed. Vemar waited for me near the back door, leaning against the wall in another colorful jacket, though this one lacked dicks.

"Hello, Captive Lady." He pushed away from the wall. "How are you today? Nice and relaxed, it seems."

"Hi, Vemar. Not so relaxed, actually. I saw the king, who totally freaks me out. I'm just heading to the garden now."

"Fantastic. I'll be heading out with you. I'm your babysitter."

"Have you been waiting long for me?"

"An hour or so. There aren't a lot of jobs where you can get paid for standing around, but I managed to land one. Lucky break."

Vemar held the door open for me to exit first and caught up to me quickly with his long stride. "I'm not big on standing around. I always feel like I should be doing something. Hazard of my last job, maybe."

"You need to learn to relax."

I smirked at him. "Probably."

There were only a few people in the garden and buzzing around the work sheds. It seemed the residents of this castle didn't often get an early start. Maybe they tended to work later? I didn't know.

"Which shed am I— Oh." My stuff was all waiting outside the oldest of the sheds. Vemar and I walked to the door, and I peeked inside. Despite being the smallest by far, it still held several pots used to brew things and had plenty of empty counter space. In the corner on a cleared-off worktable I assumed was my workspace sat a few of Granny's products still in the wrappers with the fucked-up butterfly on the front. Alongside them was an assortment of my product, separated by type but not necessarily by dose. "Okay. Let's get to work."

Some time later, I had burns covering my arms, scrapes dripping blood, and smoke billowing up into my face, making me cough.

"Ugh." I gagged. "Fuck this stuff." At that moment, I registered a grumpy sort of presence.

I glanced over my shoulder to see the woman from yesterday, Arleth, standing in the doorway. She didn't comment, so neither did I. Instead, I stood up to try to help clear the smoke for a minute before going back to the mess on the table, mashing up part of Granny's coating and putting it into the contraption that acted like a pressure cooker. I fixed my goggles in place and lit the flame, watching the reaction to the heat. As I expected, the coating blackened, bent, twisted, and started expanding.

"Vemar!" I shouted, standing and grabbing the contraption. "Vemar, hurry!"

My skin blistered as I ran at Arleth.

"Move!" I shouted, and thankfully, unlike Raz, she actually got out of the way.

"I've got it." Vemar met me outside with potholders taped up his arms, across his chest, and over his hands.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" I didn't let go but let him support most of the pressurizer as we moved outside.

He set it down on an exterior table away from the door, jarring what was inside. I launched at him, covering him with my body as the device exploded. Glass pelted my side, back, and down my legs. Hadriel was never going to lend me his clothes again. Heat seared my calf and parts of my back. Something sizzled, and I turned to find the little bit of coating left in a puddle of slimy goo.

"You shouldn't keep trying to save me, Captive Lady," Vemar told me, flat on his back. "It's a weird look for a gardener-prisoner to save a mighty dragon, even if that gardener-prisoner has a tendency to blow things up rather than create."

"It's not your fault you're in this mess." I patted his shoulder, getting off him. "Look at that."

I hunched down next to the goo, my contraption in pieces and now totally unusable. I'd have to beg Weston to buy me more parts so I could make another.

Glass crunched under my partially burned boot. Vemar got up carefully and then leaned next to me, looking down on it as well.

"Slime and goo." I studied what was left. "We haven't seen slime and goo before."

"No, I don't reckon we have. What does it mean?"

"It means we changed the properties. It's giving us a look under its skirt and showing us its secrets. We're on to something."

Vemar waggled his eyebrows. "I do love looking under skirts."

I laughed. "Fucking right you do." I stood up. "Let's do the same experiment but with a different contraption. I have an idea."

Vemar stood and gestured toward the pile of broken glass. "Good thing, because this one was blown all to hell."

"Yeah. Hazard of the trade."

"Is it really?"

"In the beginning stages, yes." I turned toward the door of the shed. "Come on, let's rig up another one."

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Arleth stood in the doorway with an indignant scowl just as the queen walked toward us. In a brown pantsuit with embroidered flowers giving pops of color, she fit right in with the garden.

I held up a blackened finger, and Vemar helped by picking out a chunk of glass. Blood oozed out. "I'm getting to the bottom of that coating. I have several ideas on how they create the chemical portion of it, and a few ideas on what the ingredients might be." A drop of blood went splat! on the floor.

"Great gods, what happened?" the queen said, hurrying over with Hadriel and Hannon in tow. "Are you okay?"

I glanced down at myself, cataloguing the scene: the jacket tattered in places and blackened all across the back and down one arm, part of a pant leg missing, glass everywhere, and blood.

"Sorry about the clothes, Hadriel," I said. "I didn't realize that stuff would be quite this volatile."

"Who cares about the clothes! Fuck a limp turnip, look at you!" He stepped around the queen and held out his hands. "What are you doing to yourself?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I heal really quickly, so don't worry. I've learned that my body will actually work the glass back out. I don't have to bother picking it out."

Hadriel was now doing that for me. "You're like a pincushion. I know you have a high tolerance for pain, but this is beyond."

"It's not deep. I barely feel it, honestly. And it helps knowing that it's short-term. I'll be better in no time."

"She really is very nonchalant about danger," Vemar said. "Even as a dragon, I'm not used to it. It's a little unnerving."

I gave Hadriel a suffering look. "Vemar is helping me learn just how arrogant dragons tend to be." Vemar chuckled. "Right, okay, let's set up that other one?—"

"No, you will not," Arleth said, her tone steely. "You will absolutely not set up something like that again. It's much too dangerous. You could get us all killed."

I paused. "I will admit, that's a fair point. It's no problem—I'll just go set up around the back, then." I paused for a moment, my lips pursed in thought. "That's better, actually. Then we won't have to carry it anywhere."

"I'm on it." Vemar slipped through the doorway to get more supplies.

"No." Arleth put out her hand to try to stop Vemar, but he was already gone. It was clear he was having a great time despite the danger. Actually... maybe because of the danger. "This is ridiculous. You'll kill yourself."

"All due respect, Queen Mother, but you guys are going to kill me anyway. What does it matter if it is sooner or later? Besides, I didn't get where I am—making the best drugs on the market, as the queen said—by going slow and being safe. Granny rewarded speed over safety, and trust me, rewards were much better than punishments. It's ingrained. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to try one more thing before I hit the library again. Then I'd like to sort out that Moonfire Lily, even though it seems quite happy in its bucket."