Aurora grabbed hold of her friend’s hand, and when that steadiness felt good, she wrapped her other hand around Nova’s too. “I know. I will fix this. Do you understand? Whatever I have to do. I am so sorry I did this to you, Nova. There are no words for how much I regret the hurt I have caused you.”

Her friend climbed up on the bed beside her and pulled Aurora into a tight hug. She had not realized how desperate she was for the contact until she had it, and then she was clutching at Nova, so glad to not be alone anymore. Then, the whole story came pouring out of her—every good and awful thing that had happened to her since she had left Nova behind months ago with her fool’s idea to fake her own kidnapping. She told her friend about all the incredible things she had seen that she had wanted to share with her oldest friend. She talked about how it felt to fall in love with someone who did not know anything about who she was or her family or the expectations she was supposed to fulfill.

Nova asked her endless questions about her feelings for Kiran, and Aurora told her about their fight when he discovered her true identity, and she blushed hotly when she glossed over how they had made up while out in the wilds.

“So the two of you are back together then?” Nova asked.

“Yes,” Aurora answered. “Well, technically, I am here, and he is out there somewhere, probably worried sick because I have not seen him since the Stormlord kidnapped me.”

“We will find a way to get word to him,” Nova promised. “I am watched frequently, but perhaps I can get a friend of a friend to smuggle a message out.”

At some point, there was another knock on the door, and Aurora tensed again, fearing Cassius, but it was only a maid bringing up food. The cavern of Aurora’s empty stomach echoed painfully as soon as the smell hit her nose. They moved into her sitting room to eat, and Aurora noted that there were still lingering signs of Cassius’s presence around the room. She had not noticed anything of his in the bedroom, and she hoped that meant he had slept elsewhere, using only her sitting room in her absence.