Aurora's Promise (25 page)

Aurora hadn’t quite known how to respond to that and
stumbled through small talk on the way back to the Fairy Garden as Aurora had
dubbed it until Brooke had stopped halfway down the stairs. She stopped so
abruptly that Aurora had to grab the railing to keep from running into her.
Brooke’s expression had been one of absorbed delight that held for several
moments before it passed and she blinked, her eyes refocusing on Aurora.

“Sorry. I’m still getting used to this mate-mindlink thing.
It’s not as strong between Rordyc and me as it is with mates who have full
telepathic powers, or at least one of them does, but it’s still pretty
wonderful.” She sighed and her lips twisted in a wry, half-smile. “Not to
mention a little freaky.”

She continued down the stairs toward where Beyran and his
men stood. “Anyway, apparently the meeting is still in full swing and he wanted
me to know not to expect him until after dinner.”

Aurora grinned as two bright spots of blush pinked Brooke’s
cheeks. “I’m guessing there was more to the end of that message than just
expecting him late.”

Brooke returned the grin. “A little more, yes.”

They passed Beyran and his companions, all of whom showed
considerable restraint at not even mentioning following them back out into the
garden. But Aurora paused before they had gone very far. “I should let you get
back to your day—”

“No, please stay,” Brooke said. “For a while longer anyway.
Unless I’m keeping you from something.”

“Only from worrying about the meeting before the Council
tomorrow morning.”

“Then stay as long as you like. I’ll tell you all about my
first marriage and you’ll feel much better about Connyn.”

“You were married before you met Rordyc?” Aurora jerked to a
stop on the garden path.

“Honey,” Brooke drawled in a deeply pseudo-Southern accent, “I
was married
when
I met Rordyc.”

“Shit,” Aurora couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up. “I
bet that just made not only his day, but his entire fucking month.”

Brooke laughed and continued on down the path. “That’s
putting it mildly.”

Choosing a different position from last time, Aurora relaxed
sideways on a double swing, her back against one armrest while propping a foot
up on the other. Her dangling foot she used to set the swing in motion as
Brooke stretched out on the suspended bed.

After explaining the ups and downs of Rordyc’s and her
rather rocky courtship and how she came to learn the difference between a
marriage on Earth and a mating on Ilyria, Brooke’s voice began to fade through
a series of random comments they exchanged until an easy silence of camaraderie
enveloped them. The afternoon lengthened as they both relaxed under the leafy
shelter, the sun-dappled shadows dancing in the arms of each passing breeze.
Little by little, the buzz of insects melted into the warming sunlight. The
balmy afternoon brought determination glazed with a thin sheen of fear to one
and a soothing, deep sleep to the other.

Connyn looked up from the map spread over the length of the
table to his cousin who had stopped talking in the middle of a sentence. Every muscle
in Rordyc’s face tightened and he frowned, still looking down but not at the
map. All in the room turned their attention from the map to him as his
unnatural stillness continued. Rordyc had just raised his head and looked
straight at Connyn with an expression of such deep concern it froze Connyn’s
blood on the spot. Before Rordyc could say anything, the wide doors at the end
of the hall opened and Beyran stood there, flanked on either side by his men.

Connyn straightened and turned toward his captain.

“She’s gone.” Beyran’s low voice carried easily through the
eerie quiet that had engulfed the long hall.

Connyn turned toward Rordyc. “Brooke was telling you the
same thing, wasn’t she?”

Rordyc nodded. Connyn turned back to Beyran, crossed to him
with long, heavy strides. “When?”

“We don’t know. They were in the garden. Brooke fell asleep.
When she awoke, Aurora was gone. Maybe as long as two hours ago.”

A roar of fury, of fear surged through his mind like the
pounding of a storm-tossed sea crashing against shoreline cliffs. He forced it
back. Drove it down. “How?” The single word carried the weight of a thousand
death sentences in it from an ancient time.

Beyran understood and accepted it. He continued under the
force of it. “We don’t know that either. There is only one way into the garden
and we stood guard there the entire time.”

“That’s not true.”

At Rordyc’s words, Connyn’s head snapped around to glare at
his cousin. “What do you know of this?” His words harsh and accusing.

Rordyc came around from the other side of the table with Wyc
and Cynn to join Connyn. The other men who surrounded the table deferentially
ceded space to the royal family.

“There’s another way out of that garden,” Rordyc said, and
then inclining his head toward Beyran, “but few know of it. It’s hidden.”

“And Brooke showed this to Aurora?” Connyn’s voice held a
knife-edged accusation. Anger flashed in Rordyc’s dark eyes, but he held his
temper.

“She only knows it’s there somewhere. I haven’t shown it to
her or instructed her on how to open it. It may not even work anymore. It’s
been years since anyone’s used it as far as I know.”

“Come,” Connyn demanded, already moving toward the door. “We’ll
talk to Brooke. You,” he said, pointing to one of the soldiers aligned behind
his captain, “go find Cait and bring her to the Fourth House. I want to speak
with her immediately.”

Before they had arrived at the Fourth House, the city had
been locked down and warriors from all the Houses had been dispatched through
the streets on a building-to-building search. Brooke could tell them little
else, other than that Aurora was worried about some task she’d left in Ellyna’s
hands to complete and was anxious to hear from her. That Connyn already had
guessed, though she’d failed to mention anything about a “task”.

Rordyc left to check the secret passage and found where some
of the plants had been pushed aside and had not fallen back precisely in place,
leaving the ground around the door slightly disturbed on the other side. Brooke
looked more surprised than anyone when her mate came through a sudden opening
in the garden wall and swore that she’d not shown Aurora the door nor even
known exactly where it was.

The palace was searched from top to bottom and it was
discovered that a suspicious series of events had happened one right after the
other heading from Lyra’s room toward the outer side gate that led down into
the market. The sector had been humming with a larger than normal staff due to
Rordyc’s return with his mate, but each area connecting the next to the exit
had been emptied out one after the other. The servants in the hall had rushed
to clean up a tray of food that had fallen over. The kitchen staff was
distracted when flames had inexplicably started shooting out of the oven, and
so it continued until no one could stretch their imaginations far enough to
accept the long line of incidences as a straightforward string of coincidences.

When Cait was brought in, her brown eyes so round and wide
in fear and worry, Connyn stalked toward her, intent on wringing every last
iota of information from her. Before he reached her, his father cut him off by
stepping between him and the young girl. Placing his big hand on the girl’s
shoulder, Cynn patted her gently, reassuringly.

“Cait,” he said quietly, “we need your help. Aurora is
missing—”

Cait’s hand flew to cover her mouth as she gasped. “Has she
been…taken?” she whispered, tears brimming along her bottom lashes.

“We don’t believe so. We do think she might have gotten
herself lost and we just need to find her before anything happens to her. You
understand this, don’t you?”

Cait nodded and nervously glanced around. “But I haven’t
seen her since this morning when I helped her dress.”

“What exactly was she wearing?” Connyn’s harsh question
speared over his father’s shoulder and Cynn shot his son a hard glare.

Seeming to shrink in on herself, Cait replied, “A pair of
tan pants and a matching tunic. It was such a drab outfit I tried to get her to
change her mind, but she said she’d already have people looking at her as she walked
through the streets with an armed guard that she didn’t want to give them
additional reason to stare at her.”

Connyn turned to Brooke. “Did she make plans to visit you
yesterday?”

“No. Cait came by early this morning to ask if I’d be home
and if I would mind if Aurora came to visit. Which is ridiculous because we
told her yesterday she was welcome any time. The invitation was left open by
both me and Bethany.”

He turned back to Cait. “Did Aurora ask you to also stop by
Bethany’s to see if she would be home today as well?”

Cait’s head shaking looked more like a spasmodic shiver. “No,
she just gave instructions to take her request to the Fourth House.”

Connyn turned back to Brooke with a condemning sneer. Rordyc
stepped in front of his mate and returned Connyn’s dark look.

“Brooke had nothing to do with Aurora’s disappearance.”

Brooke stepped around to his side. “Well of course I didn’t.
Why on Earth—Ilyria—would I?”

Connyn glared down at the woman whose green eyes were
pinning him with a reproachful gaze of her own. “Because you don’t like me.”

“Of course I don’t like you. You’re arrogant and
condescending and you tried to get me to leave Rordyc for you.”

“Brooke.” Rordyc’s warning tone was ignored by his mate. She
waved a hand, dismissing her last comment.

“Ancient history. The salient point here is that I do care
very much for Aurora and wouldn’t do anything to harm her. Including putting
her in danger by removing her from your protection.” She put her hands on her
hips and narrowed her eyes as she leaned in toward Connyn. “And because I care
about her, I’d never even suggest she should try to leave you for the simple
reason that she’s in love with your dumbass self.”

Connyn’s entire body absorbed her last sentence like a ship
receives a missile dead on its mark. The shock went through him in waves that
deadened his every sense one moment and then sharpened them to almost painful
clarity the next. All he could do was mutely stare down at the furious
red-haired minx who had just moved the world out from under his feet.

His father moved forward and eased the situation by asking, “Did
Aurora mention anywhere she was particularly interested in going?”

Brooke shrugged. “Just to the market, but it didn’t seem
like a huge deal to her. I’m sure she’s fine and just wanted to explore some on
her own.” She pinned Connyn with a meaningful stare. “She seems to think you’ve
been a little too controlling at times.”

Rordyc laid his hand on her shoulder. “Is that all?”

“Yes—Oh wait! She did ask if we had heard anything from Shy
about Ellen and if there were portals back to Earth. Whatever Ellen’s doing for
Aurora is important to her.”

The word
portals
snapped Connyn back into focus. “What
did you tell her about the portals to Earth?”

“Nothing. Just that if needed, you could open up an
emergency one to get to Amdyn and Ellen.”

A small squeak came from behind him and it took a minute to
realize that Cait was trying to get his attention. “Yes?” he asked.

“She was asking me about portals the other day when I was
helping with her bath.”

When Cait started to shake instead of continue, Connyn felt
his minimal patience begin to ebb. “And?” he growled.

“She changed the subject. She didn’t seem very interested at
the time.”

“That’s it?” Connyn snapped.

Cait jumped and it took her two tries to get intelligible
words to come out of her mouth. “During the fitting session, one of the
seamstresses mentioned The Gateways to her.” Cait’s voice was so soft, he had
to strain to pluck the words from the air. “She asked a couple of questions
then, but that’s all.”

Understanding hit all the males in the room at the same
time. The Fourth House was quite close to The Gateways compared to either the
Third House or the First House. Aurora had known exactly what she was doing.
When the men all tensed, their faces all reflecting their new insight, Brooke
looked from one to the other. “What?” she asked. When no one immediately
responded, she asked Cait, “What gateways?”

“
The
Gateways,” Cait corrected her. “It’s an
entertainment venue where citizens can explore other worlds.”

Brooke spun on Rordyc. “What? You mean you’ve had the
ability to pop into Earth and get me a morning coffee from Starbuck’s all this
time and you just
haven’t
?”

A pained looked crossed Rordyc’s face. “They’re not portals
to inhabited worlds, or even worlds that can support extended stays. They’re
for entertainment and are strictly limited and controlled.” When Brooke just
frowned, Rordyc said, “On Earth, you go to the movies. On Ilyria, we go to
other worlds.”

“And you’re just now telling me this?”

“We’ll talk later.” Rordyc’s voice lowered and he leaned
close to his mate and touched her chin with his fingertip. “Besides, your
favorite coffee is off your menu for the next several months anyway.”

Connyn turned his back on the argument and focused on Cait. “What
exactly did you tell her?”

“Not much. Just that you could jump into other worlds from
there and then we started talking about something else.”

Connyn dismissed the girl from his mind as he turned to
Beyran.

“As soon as it was mentioned,” his captain said, “I
dispatched soldiers to The Gateways. They’ll start the search and update us
when we arrive.”

Tilting his head to acknowledge Beyran’s actions, he turned
to his father.

“Go,” Cynn said. “I’ll stay here with Brooke and Cait and
get the news to your mother.”

Connyn didn’t add any comment but turned and led the way out
of the Fourth House.

* * * * *

The caretaker of The Gateways looked like he might become
violently ill at any moment. He’d started to explain the situation to Connyn
but had begun stuttering so steadily, one of the soldiers stepped forward to
take over the story.

“She arrived just after he came on shift and began asking
him questions about the different worlds available.”

Connyn glared at the ashen-faced man. “You didn’t notify any
palace guards when you saw a Royal’s mate wandering unescorted through the
city?”

“S-s-she s-s-stood in l-line w-w-with everyb-b-body else.
D-d-dressed n-normally.”

“And you didn’t notice her ring?” Connyn’s anger leached
through every word.

The soldier continued for the man who’d gone mute. “She kept
her hands in her pockets and he didn’t know who she was. She told him this was
her first time in the city and that her friends had recommended this place to
her. When he’d asked for the entrance fee, she didn’t have the money to get in.”

The older man found his voice for a moment and interrupted
the soldier’s story. “Sh-sh-sh-she l-looked so d-d-disap-p-pointed, I-I
t-t-told her the f-f-first world w-w-was on m-me.”

Connyn knew it probably had more to do with Aurora’s beauty
than her look of disappointment, but he’d not let that distract him at the
moment.

“She’s not come out,” the soldier added.

“Where is she?” Connyn hissed. There truly was only one way
out of
this
place. It had numerous guards and safety measures in place
and could instantly be shut down should a threat make it necessary. His fear
abated a measure, though his fury surged to replace it.

Now the soldier looked a little ill. “We haven’t been able
to locate her. The worlds were emptied and the portals shut when the alarm
first went through the city. No one by her description was found.”

Connyn’s mind blanked as a wall of panic slammed into him.

“Are you sure she didn’t exit with the crowd?” Rordyc’s
quiet question had the caretaker glancing anxiously back and forth between the
two cousins.

“Y-yes. V-v-very sure. I-I-I was w-watching f-f-for her.
S-s-since it w-was h-her f-f-f-first t-time.”

“That means she must be in the Royal corridor.” The only
reason Rordyc’s calm assessment didn’t infuriate Connyn in the face of his own
uncertain control was that he had witnessed firsthand Rordyc’s panic-fueled
flight across half a country to reclaim his own wayward mate. When it was your
own mate at risk, there was no logic cool enough to snuff the emotions that
raged and drove you. If asked now, he’d be forced to grudgingly admit that his
cousins could be helpful in a crisis.

“We haven’t searched there,” the soldier replied. “No one
can enter without a Royal.”

Connyn’s abrupt nod accompanied his equally abrupt “Understood,”
as he headed toward the massive double doors centered at the back of the venue’s
entry. Soldiers were pulling them open so that when he was near enough to go
through, the gap between the doors was wide enough for him, Rordyc and Beyran
to enter abreast of each other.