Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“It sounds like she should have kept better track of you.”
Aurora cuts me a look. “She did the best she could. She never expected to be saddled with a grandchild, let alone for it to be a permanent thing. She tried her best, but our resources were limited.”
Their resources were limited. I study her. There are all sorts of reasons people make deals with Hades. Protection. Ambition. Escape. Money. What could a thirteen-year-old Aurora want so desperately that she was willing to walk into the Underworld and bargain with Hades himself? It can’t be the former three. He wouldn’t have sent her back into her grandmother’s home for eight years if that was the case. “How much money could one child possibly need that would inspire you to go to that lengths?”
Aurora finally meets and holds my gaze. “It’s none of your business, Malone. The terms of my deal are between me and Hades and we’ve both fulfilled our ends of the bargain. It’s finished. There are no dragons to fight and even if there were, do you really think that I would ask you for help?”
That stings far more than it has right to. She has no reason to trust me, and every reason not to. Despite my feelings about her bargain, it’s obvious she hasn’t come out the worse for it. “Was it worth the price?”
“Of course. Or at least I think so.” Finally she drops her gaze, her expression closing down. “But ask me again in a year. I lost someone recently, and I’m not handling it well. I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
The sorrow in her tone speaks of the truth, just like it warns me off pursuing this conversation further. It doesn’t make me want to stop pressing her, but I understand all too well how far a person will go to escape the claws of grief. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She flinches as if I’ve struck her.
I know she won’t accept comfort from me. I’m not even sure how I’d go about offering it. Instead, I blurt out the first thing that crosses my mind. “Will you continue on at the club after your bargain’s time runs out?”
“Yes.” She says it with such surety, some of the pain fades from her voice. “I like my job, I like the perks and that each night is a little different. I like working as Meg’s second-in-command.”
For a moment, I let myself follow the temptation of thinking of a future that’s not for me. A future where Aurora becomes mine in truth. It’s all fantasy, though. Aurora is not for keeping, not for me, and I have no intention of settling down into anything resembling domesticity. I like my life, like the balance I’ve achieved. Throwing a wrench into my perfectly operating machine is a mistake I’d like to avoid.
Aurora’s watching me closely. “Why ask that?”
“Curiosity.” I shrug. “It’s as simple as that.”
“I’m beginning to think there’s nothing simple about you at all, Malone.”
Something buzzes beneath my skin, an increasing desire to put my mark on this woman while I still can. I push to my feet. “Let’s go.”
“No dessert?” Her lips curve as if she knows exactly where my head’s at, knows exactly how she affects me.
“You can order in.” I hold out my hand before I can think better of it, and the feeling of her palm sliding against mine is so damn right, it rocks me to my core.
Aurora isn’t for keeping. I have to remember that, have to hold that truth close. I’m not a woman who wastes time wishing on stars. I know the lay of the land with Aurora the same way I did as the second daughter of the Amazon queen. Some things can be changed and shifted and rearranged. Some things are simply truth.
I would never be queen, so I left to create my own queendom.
Aurora will never be mine, so I shall enjoy the time we have left and then move on with my life when she walks away at the end of these two weeks.
Simple. Easy. Tidy.
Unfortunately, I feel anything but simple, easy, and tidy as I all but drag Aurora out of the room. She digs in her heels before we get three steps. “The bill.”
“Is already taken care of.” No doubt I already have an invoice waiting for me. “Now, keep up, or I’m going to carry you.”
“If you carry me, I’m going to flash every single person we walk past.”
“Yes.” I resume walking, and this time she keeps up without effort. She’s a few inches shorter than I am, but Aurora has a lot of practice matching the longer strides of her taller clients. It’s fascinating how she manages to do so without seeming like she’s working hard.
Luna waits for us next to the car. From the satisfied smile on her face, someone ran her down food while we ate. I make a mental note to double the tip. The service at Spindle, as always, is beyond reproach. Luna opens the door, and we slip into the backseat.