Page 40 of Love & Letter Charms
Chapter Eleven
It washer.It was her, it was her, it was her.
The words pounded through Ryden’s skull with each rapid stride through Solstice Hall’s corridors, matching the frantic rhythm of his heart. She was right here, in the summer palace. She’d been barely a few feet away from him, close enough that he could have reached out and touched her, could have traced the curve of her cheek where that enchanting blush had bloomed. His legs moved with desperate purpose while his mind reeled in absolute chaos.
Lady Aurelise Rowanwood—shy, blushing, declaring herself entirely unsuitable for royal life while quoting his own letters back at him—was L.
His L. His correspondent. The woman who’d held his heart captive for nearly a year through nothing more than ink and paper.
The shock of recognition had struck him as though the world itself had tilted, sending his magic surging through his veins with such violent force that the very air around them had begun to shimmer and warp. He’d had to flee, had to practically run from her, before his magic could spill over and accidentally command her to do something. The possibilities of what hemight have said in that moment of overwhelming discovery terrified him.
Tell me you feel what I feel.
Kiss me.
Never leave.
Or something far worse.
Any of those commands, spoken with his magic running wild, would have stripped away her free will entirely. The thought made his stomach turn even as his feet carried him faster through the palace halls.
“Your Highness?” A footman appeared in his path, concern etched across his features. “Is something amiss? You appear?—”
“Leave me.” The words emerged before he could think. A pure command, his magic threading through them like iron through silk. Power surged outward, sharp and uncontrollable, and the footman was flung backward as though struck by an invisible force. He hit the far wall with a heavy thud and slid to the floor, dazed. Another servant cried out and rushed to his side.
Ryden pressed a hand over his mouth, horror mixing with the wild joy still coursing through his veins. He lurched a step forward, instinct driving him to help, to apologize—but terror stopped him cold. One more word, one wrong breath, and he might unleash something far worse. He had to get away.
This was exactly what he’d feared, exactly why he’d fled from Lady Aurelise in the garden.
Aurelise.
At last, a name. A face. The living reality of the person who had existed only in ink and imagination.
He half stumbled through the door to his private quarters, his magic slamming it shut behind him. The sound echoed through his chambers, but he barely heard it over the roaring in his ears. In a few swift strides he crossed to his study, reachingthe large desk. Without pausing to sit, he bent and brushed trembling fingers over the enchanted lock of the bottom drawer. The mechanism yielded at once, the drawer sliding open, and he drew out the familiar stack of letters.
His hands shook as he spread them across the desk’s surface, though he hardly needed to read them. He’d memorized every word, every curve of her handwriting. But he needed to see them. Needed to trace the connections, to prove to himself that this impossible thing was real.
Still standing, he pulled one of her earliest letters toward him.
I am perhaps the least brave person in all the United Fae Isles. I am shy to the point of invisibility.
She had stood before him just minutes ago, telling him almost the exact same thing. He reached for another letter, one from several months into their correspondence.
I cannot decide who I am closer to: my twin brother or my older sister.
Twin brother—Kazrian. Older sister—Rosavyn.
And then, from her most recent letter:
Certain events are unfolding in my life, events that require me to be brave, day after day.
The Crown Court. Of course. What else could demand daily bravery from someone who found social gatherings torturous?
Everything aligned perfectly, each piece slipping neatly into place—except for one thing. She’d told him explicitly that her family would not be traveling to Bloomhaven this Season. That single lie stood out like a discordant note in an otherwise perfect symphony.
But of course she’d lied.
Ryden pressed his palms against his eyes, understanding flooding through him. She’d lied for the same reason she’d stopped responding after he’d sent his desperate confession.Because he’d crossed the boundary she’d drawn between them, pushed too hard, asked for more than she was willing to give. Their carefully maintained anonymity was her shield, and he, in his desperation to know her, to make their connection real, had threatened that shield. He’d all but forced her to lie.
