Aurora couldn’t sleep. Ironic, considering. She lay on her side, watching Phillip’s chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. His ruffled hair hung forward into his eyes, and she brushed it away to memorize every inch of him.
She ran a hand down his firm chest, curling her fingers in the soft hairs. She wasn’t trying to wake him. One thing she’d learned about Phillip Basile was he was a heavy sleeper. It would take her hand traveling a lot lower for him to rouse.
Exhaustion weighed down on her, making it hard to breathe. It wasn’t the usual nighttime sleepiness. No, this was La Dame’s magic, the magic Phillip thought he’d freed Aurora from. She hadn’t had the heart to tell him she still felt the ties binding her life.
Slipping from the bed, Aurora walked to the window, lifting her face to the full moon. How close to midnight was it? She rested a hand on her stomach, wishing she could feel the life growing inside her. All she felt was tonight’s dinner rising up in her throat. She swallowed back bile and forced out a breath.
“I don’t know what will happen to you.” This time, she didn’t speak to herself, but the child she’d never know. “I’m so sorry I can’t protect you.”
In that moment, she understood her parents in a way she’d never imagined. La Dame placed the curse on Aurora in exchange for her mother’s life, but they hadn’t known it at the time. For years, until his death, her father only looked at her with guilt in his eyes. He hadn’t been able to protect his daughter. He’d gone to his grave blaming himself.
Aurora didn’t blame her parents. La Dame did this to her. Would the sorceress come for her? Most likely. She wouldn’t let Aurora slumber in peace.
Aurora walked to the balcony doors and opened them. A gust of cold air bit into her skin, but she wanted to feel it, needed to feel it.
She hugged her arms across her chest and stepped out, hoping no one on the palace grounds would look up and see her in only her underclothes. Only the night patrol would be out at this hour.
She walked to the hanging plants in the corner and let her magic flow out. White lilies sprouted forth. It was the wrong time of year for them, but Phillip had hung the plants, anyway. For her.
The growth calmed her as she sank into her power, forgetting the rest of the world existed. She longed for the greenery of her woods. Would they be covered in snow by now? Things had seemed so simple when it was just her and Lea and the trees.
Chandler had told her Lea was enjoying the luxury of the palace stables, and she didn’t doubt that. It would be a good life for the mule.
Strong arms wound around her waist, and she leaned back into Phillip. She wouldn’t tell him she could barely stand on her own at the moment, that leaning on him allowed her to remain upright. She’d spend too much time in the near future lying down.
Phillip kissed her neck. “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”
She ignored his question to ask one of her own. “What time is it?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Probably close to midnight.”
Midnight. She closed her eyes, a single tear escaping. She couldn’t let Phillip see the sadness in her, so she blinked any remaining tears away.
He turned her in his arms and pulled her against his naked chest. “I woke up and found you gone. I didn’t like the feeling.”
Unable to form words without letting a sob escape, she reached up on her toes to press her lips to his.
When she pulled back, he seemed to sense something was wrong. He gripped her chin, tilting her face, so she’d look at him. He waited with a patience she didn’t deserve.
“Phillip.” She froze, sensing the moment her magic disappeared. The lilies she’d created only moments before withered and died. Aurora shook her head. “No. I’m not ready.”
Concern flashed across Phillip’s face. “Not ready for what?”
Tears blurred her vision until she could barely see him standing before her. Her heart slowed in her chest.
She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “Phillip, there’s not much time, and I need you to listen to me.” She gripped his waist for support. “You need to let me go.”
His brow furrowed. “Let you… what?”
“I don’t want you spending your entire life trying to figure out a way to get me back. You deserve more than that. You deserve the best kind of life. Full of love and… and family. Promise me.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Phillip gripped her tighter. “Aurora, tell me right now what’s going on?”
“The curse.”
He shook his head. “We beat it. You and me. We broke the curse.” He looked to her with such fear it nearly ripped her heart right from her chest.
How was she supposed to wake up in one hundred years to a world where this man didn’t exist? To him, a lifetime will have passed. To her, a single night.
She stumbled sideways, but he caught her.
“Aurora.” If she’d thought the fear was enough to crack her heart, the tears on his face broke it in two.
She collapsed against him, her legs no longer able to hold her up. He lowered her to the ground, and the cold tiles soothed her burning skin. Ice wound through her, snaking up her veins and into her heart, slowing it further.
She never once took her eyes from Phillip’s face. He breathed heavily, his breaths turning to steam in front of his face. He’s too cold, she thought. He should have stayed in bed.
She hadn’t wanted him to see it. She didn’t think she could stand his pleading eyes and choked voice. This slumber was supposed to be her torment, not his. It was why she’d isolated herself for so long. Carrying someone else’s pain was its own kind of torture.
He bent over her. “I love you. I will always love you.”
“You have to let go.” Her voice was so weak she wasn’t sure he heard it.
He bent forward, claiming her lips one last time before pulling her onto his lap and rocking back and forth.
Aurora’s eyes slid closed as she gave into the blessed peace. All fear and pain disappeared as the curse welcomed her into its blessed darkness.