Zephyr hesitated, her calculating gaze settling on Aurora in a manner that made reason begin to seep back in for the princess. She had spent her whole life keeping secrets, never letting anyone too close, and it appeared she was not through with that yet. There was much she still did not know about what she was and what she could do, but she knew that having some of the same identifying markers as the Stormlord could prove problematic if the wrong person found out.

Zephyr began gathering her crew to set off, and Aurora was counting the seconds until she was out of sight.

“Thorne?” Zephyr asked. “You’re with us. Don’t you remember?”

It was only then that Aurora realized Kiran stood directly behind her, less than an arm’s length away. She looked at his feet, at his knees—she made it as far as the utility belt around his waist armed with storm magic before she ducked her head and forced her eyes down.

“I have her,” Jinx whispered.

Then Kiran strode off after Zephyr without a word. Aurora pushed her forehead hard into her knees and fought off another round of sobs. Grabbing onto each breath as though it might be her last, she focused on the in-and-out, in-and-out. When she was calm enough to look up, everyone else was off to their positions for the mission. It was only she, Jinx, and the drugged soldier lying in the shadow of the still-open gate that remained. Jinx’s expression was racked with concern. “What happened?”

Aurora shook her head. They did not have time to puzzle over the specifics of her abilities right now; they had other tasks to attend to. “I’m fine. Pushed too far, too fast.”

Jinx nodded, but the witch still worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Maybe we should—”

“No.” Aurora cut her off. “I cannot wait anymore.”

If Jinx was still worried, she did not object, not when Aurora rose to her feet or when she led them both through the palace gate, or when they darted through the royal courtyard toward the north wing that housed the royal suites.

Aurora knew all the secret passageways and tunnels in the palace, but she wanted to get to her mother as quickly as possible, so they’d decided to use Jinx’s magic to scale the wall next to the queen’s balcony. Then they would use the passageways to move about the palace and hopefully find Nova.

The courtyard was eerily silent under the reign of the night’s storm. Puddles had begun to form in the grass, and their feet splashed as they ran, but there was no one around to hear. Aurora found her own room first out of habit, and was shocked to see light coming from her window. Did her mother visit her room sometimes?