The next morning, Aurora hid beneath her covers. She felt the sun rise, but she refused to leave her bed. She was terrified to see Azriel after what they had done the night before. After he had kissed her again, she didn't know what to do. She just moved back from him, and Azriel silently stood and bid her a goodnight before leaving. Being in the moment, it was so easy to follow his steps, but afterward, she was lost. Did she kiss him again? Ask him to stay? She had just moved away and let him leave.
Aurora felt the sun warming her blanket and she knew she was late for breakfast and training. She had slept so well from the exhaustion of him touching her, it was like he put some kind of sleeping spell over her. With a groan, she pulled the blankets back. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she tried to focus in the bright light, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. It was true sunlight, no colorful shades of sunrise. She was indeed very late. Aurora pushed back her covers and began to pull her sleeping gown over her head, but a knock sounded at the door. She expected it to be Azriel, but when she pulled the door open, her stomach dropped.
Rhysand stood with crossed arms and a furious glare. Azriel was there, but his eyes were on the floor as he stood behind his High Lord. Aurora stumbled backward, her breath caught in her throat.
"Aurora, would you like to explain why this House reeks of sex when you and Azriel are the only two here?" Rhysand asked, his voice low and stomach-twistingly calm. Her eyes flew to Azriel, but he continued to look at the ground. She mentally begged him to look at her, but he never did.
"I- I'm sorry," Aurora whispered, looking back to the High Lord. He only clenched his jaw and lifted his chin, darkness emanating from his being.
"Pack your wardrobe. You will be staying at the estate for now. Training will partake in the field with Nesta, Cassian, or Feyre. Azriel will remain at the House and Cassian will be moving in for the time being." With that, Rhysand leaned forward and shut the door, leaving her to pack her things. She turned just as a trunk appeared at the foot of her bed. Her hands shook as she began to pull out all of her gowns and dresses.
It felt as if Aurora had angered a father figure, being talked down to and scolded like that. And because she acted on her sexual desire, she was now being moved to an entirely different estate. She couldn't imagine not seeing Azriel. Even after the awkwardness of facing their deeds, she still looked forward to training with him and speaking to him.
Her mind reeled with thoughts as she shoved her clothing into the trunk along with her books. Aurora wondered if Nesta would have books she could borrow or if she'd have to ask Rhysand to retrieve them for her. Aurora cringed at the thought of having him collect smutty books at her request.
When she closed the lid, Aurora grabbed the handle to try and lug it to the entryway, but it disappeared. With a sigh, she reached into the wardrobe for the final outfit, a slim gown of teal. She pulled off her nightgown and replaced it with the dress before leaving the room. She had mistakenly packed all of her shoes rather than leaving a pair for her to wear to the estate. When Aurora entered the sitting room, Rhysand was standing and staring at Azriel, who's eyes were squinted into a glare back at him. She wondered why they were staring and not speaking. Aurora cleared her throat in an effort to announce her presence. Azriel glanced at her for a split second before turning his gaze to the floor, and Rhysand grabbed the handle of the trunk that was now beside his feet.
"Let's go," he snapped. Aurora nodded and hesitantly walked up to him, feeling his hand gently take her wrist before they were whisked into wind and darkness. It had only lasted a moment before her feet stood in the corridor just to the left of the entrance to the Estate. Rhysand dropped her arm and the trunk disappeared. She guessed it had gone to her new room.
"I-," she began, but Rhysand beat her to it.
"I understand that I am not your High Lord, but you reside in my Court. I would expect my orders to be followed, if not by you, then certainly by my Spymaster. I had my words with him, which were much harsher than what I have to say to you. I do not blame you for acting upon desire, however, I wish that you had followed my orders to hold them off until my Court was deemed safe," Rhysand snapped. Aurora flinched at his tone, her eyes lowering to the floor.
"I did not mean to go against your wishes. I promise you that it went through my mind before I acted, but I still decided to proceed with it. I apologize for engaging with Azriel, I don't know what came over me," she spoke softly. She heard Rhysand suck in a deep breath and felt the cold of night that seemed to wrap around her.
"I understand that you had desires, but I gave you orders. I am protecting you within my Court, putting my people's lives at risk to help solve the problems that came from learning of your existence. If you- I mean, if knowledge of this situation comes to Beron's ears, it will be used against me in an instant. Yes, Aldric was captured, but he was the least of our worries." His tone did not soften, it seemed to grow colder. Her eyes lifted to his.
"If Beron brings any harm to your Court, I will hand myself over. There will be no reason to harm your people or your family if I am in his hands. I will explain my side, say that I had escaped my captivity and demanded to be brought across the mountains in search of refuge and that I stumbled into the Court of Nightmares. I don't wish to cause you stress over something as small as my life. I am hiding in your Court at my own fear and cowardice, and you are protecting me out of the kindness of your heart. You have no reason to, and if it comes to that, I will walk to Beron's side and accept my fate."
Rhysand didn't speak for a moment, only looked over the female that stood in front of him. His lips parted to speak again, but his gaze lifted past Aurora. She looked over her shoulder to see Feyre standing in the corridor, her arms wrapped around a bundle of blankets.
"What is important to my family is worth protection. You may not have understood before, but I relate to the horror you've lived through. Not to the extent you faced, but I understand. I've vowed to help those victim to unjust actions, and I vow to help you. Nonetheless, I gave you orders, and you completely went against them. And now, you are to stay in this Estate until things with Beron are confirmed to be safe. Feyre will show you to your room."
He walked past Aurora to Feyre, taking the bundle of blankets gently and turning off to the sitting room. Feyre motioned for Aurora to join her, so Aurora did just that. She padded up to Feyre and began to follow her to a stairwell further down from the sitting room.
"Please understand that Rhys is not trying to be a dick, he's been under a lot of stress trying to keep this Court as safe as possible. As a new father, he is kind of being overbearing, but to keep my family safe, I agree with him. I heard what happened between you and Azriel, and I hope you know that he is not trying to banish sex from your life. He only wants to ensure there will be no reason for Beron to attack us," Feyre spoke softly, motioning a hand to a large door near the end of the hall. Aurora nodded, her voice unable to come out as she thought over what she had just learned. Rhysand is a new father? Is that the bundle of blankets Feyre had passed to him? Why had they not told her?
The bedroom was nice, a large four poster bed with drawn sheer white curtains. A large window went along the entire far wall, bringing light in. A large dark wood dresser was placed next to a tall wardrobe. Her trunk was along the edge of the bed, opened and empty. Aurora guessed that Rhysand had somehow unpacked it for her.
"This will be your bedroom, we will have candles placed throughout before night falls. You have a personal bathing chamber attached just through those doors," Feyre pointed out. Aurora's gaze shifted to large oak doors that were across from her bed.
"Don't bother with the candles. I'm fond of the dark now," Aurora murmured, making Feyre's eyes widen. It was true. The nights here were clear enough to give light to every corner of the room, but the shadows reminded her of Azriel, and she'd hope that somehow, he would send them to her while she was at the estate. She'd prefer darkness so that Azriel could send his shadows to visit her in the night.
"Okay. Well, I need to go feed Nyx, come out whenever you're ready," Feyre gave her a soft smile before leaving the room and shutting the door. Aurora sat against the bed, taking in her surroundings. It felt like a prison again, though she knew she'd have free reign to wander the estate, she couldn't do what she wanted. Her eyes moved to the table beside her bed, all of her books laid on top of it. Was there a library in this house as well? As if she knew of Aurora's thoughts, Nesta pushed open the door.
"Are you fucking serious?" Nesta snapped, making Aurora's brows twist into confusion. She began to stand, but Nesta stepped forward and pointed a finger at her. "We had this discussion! Azriel is with Gwyn, my friend! You had no fucking right to open your legs for him. If she finds out about this, she is going to be fucking destroyed!" Aurora's lips parted, shock running through her. She didn't realize what she had done had affected Nesta as well. She had thought so much of what she would be doing to Gwyn, but it didn't stop her.
"Nesta, I'm sorry. It all just happened so fast, I had never done that before. I just-."
"No! Don't try and justify this! Gwyn has come so fucking far with males and if she knew that you let Azriel between your thighs like a fucking whore, she is going to be so hurt! Fuck you!" Nesta shouted, and Aurora felt her hands begin to shake, her body pressing harder against the bed. Please go away, please stop saying this.
"Damn it, Nesta! That's enough!" Cassian stomped into the room, his arm wrapping around Nesta's shoulders and tugging her back. Nesta sent a spiteful glare to Aurora before allowing Cassian to pull her from the room and shut the door. Aurora's knees collapsed as soon as the door clicked into place. Her throat felt tight and ached, her eyes burning with tears. She hadn't been the only one to choose to pursue sex. Azriel came into her room. Begged her to allow him to touch her. If he was involved with Gwyn, it would be his fault just as much as it was Aurora's.
Nesta's words whirled in her mind as Aurora laid her head on her knees. One sexual act for pleasure, her first one, her first time trusting a male. It all resorted back to her being called a whore and being attacked for falling to desire. Her chest ached, and she turned her head to wipe the tear that fell from the corner of her eyes with her sleeve. This was another prison, and she needed to escape.