CHAPTER 47

CHAPTER 47

AUREN

I have no idea howlong Slade stays up on that rooftop with me, but by the time we climb down, I’m buzzing with bolts of energy. It doesn’t matter that I woke up before the dawn, I feel invigorated. Restored. Alive.

“I want to be outside today,” I tell Slade as we walk toward the archway where the guards are standing.

“Eyes up, gentleman,” Slade says, and I don’t understand for a minute until I look down and realize I’m still only in his shirt...and nothing else.

Their heads tip up comically fast, eyes going so far up that it’s a wonder they don’t see clear to the back of their skulls.

“I probably need some clothes, huh?” I say.

“It would be preferable so I don’t feel like stabbing daggers into my loyal guards’ eyes.”

One of the said guards lets out a choked cough.

“I’m going to frown upon eye stabbing, for the record.”

“I’ll make a note of it.”

I pause just before we go through the archway, looking over my shoulder at the open, clear sky. At the unobstructed sun. I haven’t seen it in so long.

I’d forgotten the way it felt.

The way I could just let my eyes drift close. Let my head tip up. How the light shone red through my lids and the way warmth seemed to lay against my skin, from forehead to feet. The way it sunk into my pores and soothed every memory of cold away.

It called to me.

Even before it rose in the sky, I heard it. I slipped out of bed and wandered back upstairs, letting its soundless voice draw me here where I could stand on a roof beside a mountain and just...feel.

Ten years. It’s been ten years since I felt sunshine like that on my face. Without any clouds to block it, without any storm to sully it.

Not once, while I was up there on that roof, did my magic try to come out unbidden. Instead, I let it pool in my palm, growing warm in the morning sunlight, letting it bask for a moment just as I was. Then, when I called for it to sink back into my skin, it did. Easily. So easily that it was almost effortless.

I think my gold missed the sunlight, too.

“Auren?”

I turn away from the sun’s caress to look at Slade, who’s watching me with something on his expression that I can’t quite read.

I give him a small smile. “I was lying back and enjoying the sunlight so much that I didn’t even think to get a proper look at your kingdom.”

He continues to study me, and I wonder for a second if I’ve said something wrong. But then he tells me, “How would you like it if I showed you around today?”

My heart skips a beat. “You mean...leave the castle?”

“Would you like that? To see the city?”

“Would I like that?” I repeat breathlessly. “I...” My words trail off, like I’m too overwhelmed to speak them. Aside from the trip from Highbell to Ranhold, I’ve never been allowed to leave the safety of the castles I’ve been kept in. “Walk out into the city, just like that?” I ask.

He nods.

“But...” I look around at the guards. “But I’m gold,” I point out.

Slade’s lip quirks. “So you are.”

I take a quick step toward him and lower my voice. “People will recognize me as Midas’s gold-touched pet,” I say, spitting out that word with disdain.

“They might, yes,” he replies with a nod. “This is your life, Auren. If you wish to stay away from prying eyes, then that’s what we’ll do. But you don’t have to hide here. You are nobody’s pet to be kept. Your life is your own, and the choice is yours.”

The choice is mine.

So unprecedented. Choices have never been mine, so I don’t want to waste a single one.

“I don’t want to stay inside anymore.” The confession rushes out of me, like the words are afraid that if they don’t speak quickly enough, the opportunity will be taken away.

He grins, instantly making my own lips tug up. “It’s your first day out of the snow and the cold. I think that’s cause to celebrate.”

I smile so wide that my cheeks hurt, but then it falters. “But what about Manu? Don’t you have things you need to handle now that we’re back?”

“Manu and the kingdom can wait for one more day. You’re more important.”

My heart feels like it swells and does a flip all at once. “Are you sure?”

He places his hand at my back—very low on my back—the tips of his fingers grazing the curve of my ass as his voice tilts down close to my ear. “Come on, Goldfinch. Let’s go exploring.”

Exploring.

I can’t deny the thrill that goes through me at that word. With a grin, I race ahead for the stairs, and I feel a rush of air when my shirt rides up just a little too far. I clamp my hands down on the hem at my butt, looking over my shoulder. “Whoops.”

Slade’s eyes are zeroed in on my ass. “Eyes are still up?” he calls over his shoulder.

“Yes, Sire!” three voices shout back. Quickly.

With a face that’s half exasperation and half amusement, he makes his way to me until I can feel the warmth of his body at my back. “Come, Lady Auren,” he practically purrs. “Let’s go get you some clothes before I forget all about exploring and decide to clear the castle so I can explore you instead.”

My breath stutters.

“Honestly, that’s a good second option...”

He chuckles darkly behind me, making me tingle all over, just as he gives my ass a little tap. “Get moving.”

I practically float all the way down the stairs.

I end up wearing simple brown leggings and a black tunic, both of which are soft and comfortable and so much thinner than I’m used to compared to the thickly woven fabrics in Sixth and Fifth. Slade gives me a cloak as well, and because of habit and precaution, my gloves are securely over my hands.

The others opt to go to the city with us, but when I try to talk Digby into staying, he just glowers at me and then walks off to get ready.

When Slade takes me down to the large open entry hall, everyone’s already there waiting. Lu is wearing her usual army leathers, while Judd is wearing a bright orange tunic that rivals the mustard of his hair, making him look a bit like a poppy flower.

Digby is wearing borrowed clothes just like me, still scowling, as if he’s ready to ward off more lectures about how he should stay here and rest.

“I’m surprised you both wanted to come,” I say as we reach Lu and Judd by the main doors.

“Of course we do. We haven’t done anything fun in ages,” Judd says. “King Rot is always dragging us around the world and making us destroy his enemies.”

Slade rolls his eyes. “Last I checked, you haven’t destroyed anyone this trip.”

“That’s true,” Judd replies, as if he’s disappointed about this. “No wonder I’m so bored.”

“Which is exactly why we need a trip to the city,” Lu puts in.

“Yep. Pub drinks,” Judd says with a wag of his brows. “You haven’t lived until you’ve been to the Burnt Cat Tavern.”

I scrunch up my nose. “They don’t serve that, right?”

“Only on Tuesdays,” Lu quips. “Ready?”

Am I ready?

I’m not sure, because I haven’t been out in an unprotected public like this in a very long time.

“It’s your choice, Auren,” Slade murmurs beside me, and I know that if I changed my mind right now, he’d turn us back around and let me stay in his rooms, no questions asked.

“I’m ready.”

Digby is at my side in a second to escort me out of the castle, just like he did all those months ago when I left Highbell for the first time. That was the catalyst, the tipping point for all the chopped trees to start falling down. The moment that changed the course of my life.

When Brackhill’s carved black doors open wide, I see a flash of Highbell’s gilded ones in my head. But instead of stepping out into a frozen night, I walk over the threshold and am greeted by the warmth of day.

The front is paved with dark cobblestones smoothed from tread. The stones ring around an impressive obelisk statue that’s straight ahead, the onyx stone pillar reaching up toward the sky and creating the perfect walls for the climbing vines to wrap around.

I turn to look at the castle, and my eyes go up and up and up. With grooved black walls, arched windows, and pointed rooftops, Brackhill looks intimidating, stately, and beautiful all wrapped up into one. The way it’s set against the mountain makes it look bigger than it is, and the moat of sparkling water on either side wraps around it like a crystalline cloak, with a small dark bridge curved right in the middle.

Slade points at the gathered horses ahead, where there’s a dark carriage at the back with a driver seated and ready. “We can take the carriage down, if you like. It’s a bit of a slope from here, but once we get past the falls, it’ll only be a few minutes into town.”

I glance at the carriage and then at the loose horses that the others are walking toward. Lu swings her leg up and over a reddish-brown one, while Judd shows Digby to a smaller dappled mare.

“Actually,” I begin, tearing my eyes away. “I’d rather like to ride.”

“Would you?” Slade asks, looking pleasantly surprised.

“Yes. I still remember riding horses when I was little,” I say. “But after, I rode quite a lot with Midas. Until we reached Highbell, and then...”

And then I never rode again for a decade.

“I don’t think I want to be stuck inside the walls of a carriage on such a nice day. At least for right now?”

He nods like he completely understands that. “Then we’ll ride.”

“I’m not sure if Digby should be on a horse…”

My guard hears me, tossing back a brusque, “I’m fine.”

When I look to Slade, he just shrugs. “You know he’s too stubborn to stay behind.”

I let out a sigh. “Yeah.”

In no time at all, Slade’s staff has brought out two more saddled horses. Slade’s monster of a stallion looks both statuesque and a bit mean, with a shiny black coat and probably a good eighteen hands high.

Meanwhile, I get a pretty buckskin horse with golden skin and a black mane, who looks far more agreeable. I walk over to get a better look at her. “A bit of a mix of our colors, don’t you think?” I ask Slade.

He smirks as he comes over to help me mount. “Her name’s Honey. She’s a sweetheart, though she’s been known to have a temper.”

I stroke a hand down her neck. “Then we’ll get along just fine.” I continue to pet her for a second, running my hands over her dark mane, but when my smile slips, Slade notices.

“What’s wrong?”

“There was a horse that I rode out of Highbell. Crisp. I don’t know what happened to him after the Red Raids, but he was a good horse.”

Of course, when I think of Crisp, I think of Sail, and when I think of him…

“I don’t know if I’ve ever really processed what happened that night. I thought you were the bigger monster,” I admit with a humorless laugh. “I was a fool. If only I’d learned to use my magic after dark back then. I’d never have let the captain…”

“Let the captain what?”

My eyes spring to Slade’s face. “Nothing.”

His gaze goes dark, and he takes a step forward, giving us more privacy from the staff and the others mounting their horses. “Did he hurt you that night?”

There’s a threat of dark promise in his tone. “Not me. Rissa. I helped her too late. By the time the sun came up…” I trail off, shaking my head. “He’s a golden statue somewhere in the middle of the Barrens, hopefully piled over with mountains of snow by now.”

The muscle in Slade’s jaw jumps, his posture gone stiff.

“I’m sorry for bringing that up,” I say with a shake of my head. “I don’t know why I did. Let’s just…move on? I want to enjoy the day and not think about that.”

He seems to gather himself, burying the anger in his eyes. “Alright. But I want a list, Auren.”

“A list?”

“Of everyone who’s ever hurt you.”

My eyebrows jump up. “Why?”

“I think you know,” he tells me, his sharp gaze cutting right through me. “And we are going to talk about all of this very soon.” I swallow hard, but I can’t deny the thrill that shoots down my back, because I’ve never had this before him—this fierce protector.

I’ve had a false one. If only I’d known what a true one looked like, I probably never would’ve been fooled in the first place.

Clearing my throat, I try to wave him off, try to lighten the mood again. “Well. We have a lot of things to still talk about. Like why everyone here wears such tight pants,” I say as I look around at all the guards. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Slade cocks a brow, but the last of the anger seems to edge out from his eyes. “The only ass I want you checking out is mine.”

I give off a lazy shrug. “I can’t make any promises,” I say breezily before I nock my foot into the stirrup and start to mount the horse. As I swing my other leg over, there’s a sharp pinch on my butt. I sit down in surprise, jolting the horse a little as I shoot Slade an incredulous look over my shoulder. “Ow!”

He gives me a shrug as he walks to his stallion. “We’ll discuss that more later as well.”

I smirk as I gather the reins.

As soon as we’re all situated, the five of us plus a few guards at our back begin to make our way across the bridge ahead.

Digby stays faithfully at my right and slightly behind me, while Slade rides just beside me at my left. Judd and Lu lead the way, while guards trail behind us. Even with this many of us, our party is small compared to what a normal royal enclave would be. I don’t think Midas ever traveled without a host of guards, though perhaps that’s because everything he owned was gilded, and he had no real power of his own to protect his stolen wealth.

Slade is a force all on his own.

We travel over the bridge, passing the long stretch of moat, and then we breach the top of the grassy hill, where the city opens up beneath us like a perfect picture. Rivers are everywhere, winding through the city, spilling into lakes both big and small.

There are boats everywhere too, and I can see several areas of river docks and bridges. The houses seem to be built so close to the water that people have docks for gardens and boats instead of horses. Some of the buildings are even built up on posts, right on the water. And all along, the ground is green and the air is warm and wet, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

As we begin to make our way down, grass hugs the winding line of the road, and trees are speckled along the hills, spread out enough to breathe. To our right, far enough that I can’t quite hear the rushing water, are waterfalls that pour from the side of the mountaintop at least a hundred feet up. Water pitches down in a plunge of white froth, creating fractured rainbows within the clinging gray mist.

I can’t see the bottom of the falls since it’s blocked with trees, but the water carries itself to me, the river stretching out to greet the road. Just a stone’s throw away, it winds alongside the path before splitting itself in several different directions. At the base of the hill, I can see where it branches off throughout the city, feeding all of the massive waterways cut into the land.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much green or so much water in my life.” I turn around to look at Digby over my shoulder. “Are you looking, Dig?”

“I’m looking, my lady.”

Beaming, I turn to Slade, finding that he’s already watching me. “Such a pretty view.”

“I’m glad you like it,” he says.

Being out here is sublime, with the sun on my scalp and the fresh air in my lungs.

When we make it to the bottom of the slope where the land levels out, the road and the river both swerve toward the largest lake. “It’s called Compass Lake,” Slade tells me. “See how it’s circular save for that point there?”

My eyes track the line from the lake that seems to stretch out like a prong, pointing back toward the castle.

“Compass always points us the way home,” Lu calls back.

I glance at Slade curiously. “Is it home to you? Brackhill?”

His face grows contemplative for a moment. “I don’t think anywhere in Orea will ever truly feel like home.”

I nod in complete understanding, because I’ve always felt the same. But this place, I think it could feel like almost home. I think it could feel like enough.

Though nothing will ever really compare to Annwyn. I may have been taken away as a child, I may have forgotten most everything about it, but I still remember the feel of it. But maybe that’s just what home is. A feeling.

The closer we get to the river, the more people we see. At first, there are just a few carts and horses that pass us by, but soon, we’re right in the hub of activity, where the city is bustling.

Fishermen pull in their nets from stretched out piers. Shop buildings are lined up one after another along the street, their backs facing the lake, and their fronts made of smoothed stone the color of dolloped cream, with roofs pitching back straight to the water. Almost all of them have their doors flung wide open, probably to feed the fresh breeze in. Without the soft wind drifting off from the water, the humid, warm air would feel much more stifling. As it is now, there’s a perfect balance of warm and cool.

The moment people realize that their king is in their midst, there’s a concentric effect that surrounds the city. Like a ripple, people start to call out or bow or cheer or line up. It’s not just King Ravinger they call for either. Both Judd and Lu are apparently well known too, because the people seem to respect and recognize them just as much.

But I see it. The moment their excitement at seeing the army captains and their king shifts to something else. The moment when they spot me. There’s a definitive stiffening that treads over the crowd, a rigidness to their stares and tight mouths moving, and I hear snatches of those tense words the further we go down the city’s road.

That’s her—the golden saddle.

She killed King Midas.

She stole his magic.

What if she steals our king’s magic too?

I jolt on my horse so hard that I pull against Honey’s reins too tightly, making her jerk to a stop. Two of the guards instantly come up on either side of Slade and me, as if to form a barrier between us and the crowd as their proclamations continue to be voiced. I loosen the reins, and Slade comes closer, while I yank up the hood of my cloak.

“What do they mean?” I ask, eyes spinning all around me. Even with Judd and Lu in front and the guards at our sides and back, I still feel exposed to this shock of impliable judgment. “Why are they saying I stole magic?”

I can see Slade’s hold tighten on the reins, see his hesitation in the tic of his jaw muscle. “That’s the story that’s spread from Fifth Kingdom,” he admits. “The story that Queen Kaila has helped spread.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I practically hiss between my teeth.

“I didn’t think this rumor was so widely accepted.”

I look around at the leery faces as they strain to see me as our horses pass. “I’d say it’s pretty damn accepted, Slade.”

He can’t argue otherwise.

“Do you want to go back?” he asks.

I start to nod, but then, I stop myself.

I’ve always had to shy away from crowds, always had to fit into Midas’s narrative. And now, even though he’s dead, he’s still steering my public reputation.

For ten years, he took my power and pretended it was his own and now…

He’s still taking. And yet, they’re calling me the thief.

My power has never been my own, and for the first time, when I’m finally proud of it, when I’m finally mastering it, he’s tainted this too. Made it seem like I took it from him?

The thought makes my blood boil so hot that the backs of my eyes sear with moisture.

“No,” I say definitively, expression hardening. “I’m not a thief, and I’m not going to hide.”

I’m not going to let Midas use my gold-touch to his death’s advantage.

Pride flickers over Slade’s face as I shove back my hood, letting it drop behind me. “I’m not going to run away like I’m guilty,” I declare, sitting up straighter. “Let them look.”