He looked down at her for a long moment, then looked away again, hiding the pad of paper on his lap so that she wouldn’t see the numbers of dead and survivors that he’d discovered through communication with his own. Why did you tell me? I could’ve been riding in peace right now, even with everything that’s happened. His thoughts were loud to someone like Zara, but he didn’t realize how loud as he mused.
Her expression softened and she watched his face for a little longer before she responded to what she shouldn’t have heard. “You deserved to know.” She said in a whisper. “Every ruler should have someone by their side who would die for them, who would give up everything for them.”
He turned back to look at her with a glare that spoke multitudes about his deadly capacity. The growl that rumbled out between his clenched teeth actually made the Guardsmen around him flinch back a few inches. Stay out of my thoughts, Heartborn. Live on others as you want, but not on me.
I just want to help.
One of the chains that was wrapped around her waist that also bound her hands peeled away to flow around her head, blindfolding her with iron that contoured to her face. Nick turned away from her as he looked out the window as he thought about what she’d said, whether he wanted to or not.
Zara didn’t fight against it or even mutter the tiniest complaint. She had no reason to. They had taken her, and honestly, it was up to them what they would do with her.
Once they had finally arrived, everyone emptied out of the vans. The gates opened for their Alpha and the fighters, and the people who had been left behind at the compound came out to bring in the injured and the dead. Aura didn’t do much other than stand outside of the van and lean against it, since no one wanted her to help. Since she was kept out of the way, it was only natural that she would notice the only two others that had been kept out as well. Orlando and Candra.
Orlando helped Candra out of the van and into the shadow of the trees outside the gate before the van continued on into the compound. He explained what was going on without being asked. “We’ll stay out here until Nick decides what to do with us, but we’re not Ironborn, and this is their home.”
Candra noticed Aura as well, and so she held tighter to Orlando’s hand as Aura approached. “I think someone wants to talk to you.”
He looked over at Aura in the direction she was pointed, and sighed, then looked around one more time at the filtered sunlight around them. “Will you be alright?”
“I’ll shift and wait out here.” She whispered, even though she hadn’t let go of his hand yet.
“Alright. Don’t go too far. They know what you look like, but they won’t all know what you look like as a wolf. They’ll be edgy after the fight they’ve just had.”
Reluctantly Candra let go of his hand and walked far enough away to undress in private and then shift. She just laid down in the brush, far enough away that she was out of earshot and Orlando could have his privacy.
Aura stopped far enough away from Orlando that she was out of reach, then crossed her arms and looked at him. “I haven’t seen you since we got out.”
“There wasn’t any time.” He got closer to her, close enough to touch, though he didn’t touch her. “Are you alright?”
“Not really.”
“I didn’t know, Aura.” He said as he got a little closer to her, but he still didn’t touch her. “I didn’t…believe in them. Even after you told me. Or tried to tell me.”
She couldn’t help the tears that built up in her eyes no matter how much she fought them, though she wiped quickly at them as they started to fall. “So I just don’t matter anymore. My feelings for you are irrelevant.”
“That’s not what I meant at all.” He almost reached out to touch her, but pulled his hand back at the last moment. “This doesn’t change how I feel about you. Nothing can. I just…”
“I love you and it doesn’t matter.” She started to sob and then she turned away from him sharply. They’d never said the words, and now it was pointless but she said them anyway. “I’m so stupid.”
“Aura…” He reached out and touched her arm, and the moment he did, she could feel the power in him, the world-shattering, life-altering power that he was carrying inside him just in the simple touch.
The power jumped into her and gave her chills, but she didn’t stop crying. “What? What could you possibly say to me? It feels like everything we shared was a lie. Did you even think of me once? Do you want me at all?”
“You think I wanted this?” He said a little more loudly than he had meant to. “You think I wanted to just be thrown into this?”
“You don’t think I can see the way you look at her? The way you hold her? Yes. You want it. You know you do.”
“I don’t have a choice! Don’t you get that? You told me that yourself!”
“You know, I used to think that about my own life. And then I chose you.”
“This is nothing like that and you know it.” He sighed, and there was a growl
