Page 65 of Love & Letter Charms
This is the most exciting thing that’s happened in AGES!Thimble squeaked, zipping out into the rain and performing an elaborate loop.Oh, it feels WONDERFUL! Like tiny kisses from the sky!
Aurelise took a breath, then another. Then, before she could lose her nerve entirely, she stepped out into the rain.
The first droplets on her skin made her gasp—not from cold but from the strange intimacy of it. Rain had always been something to shelter from, to observe from behind windows. But this—this purposeful stepping into it, choosing to be drenched—felt like breaking a rule she hadn’t known existed.
She moved a few paces from the palace wall, her bare feet sinking slightly into wet grass. The sensation made her cringe at first, the squelch between her toes entirely foreign. But as the rain continued to fall, soaking through her wrapper, plastering her braid to her neck, something in her began to unfold.
A laugh bubbled up from somewhere deep in her chest. She tilted her face to the sky, closing her eyes, feeling the droplets trace paths down her cheeks. Without quite meaning to, she spread her arms wide, palms up, catching the rain like gifts.
“You see?” Prince Ryden’s voice came from somewhere nearby, warm with satisfaction. “Not so terrible after all.”
Spin!Thimble called out, performing her own aerial pirouette.You must spin! And twirl! This is far too wonderful to stand still!
“She’s right,” the prince agreed, and when Aurelise opened her eyes, she found him watching her with an expression that made her stomach perform a peculiar flutter. “Though I’d suggest something even better. Run.”
“Run?” She was still laughing, giddy with the strangeness of it all. “I’m not going to run through the rain like some wild creature.”
“Why not? There’s nothing quite like it. The feel of your blood racing, your lungs burning, the rain streaming past as you move. Pure freedom.”
She shook her head, still smiling. “You are thoroughly mad.”
His expression shifted then, taking on a quality that sent a different sort of thrill through her. “And if I were to chase you?”
The laughter died in her throat. “You wouldn’t—you cannot—surely you would notactuallypursue me through the gardens!”
He began a slow and purposeful walk toward her, that roguish grin still in place. “Wouldn’t I?”
Run, my lady!Thimble shrieked with delight, diving down to tug at Aurelise’s thumb with her tiny paws.This way! Quickly!
The prince took another deliberate step, and with a squeal that would have mortified her in daylight, Aurelise darted past him and ran into the night.
Her feet flew across wet grass, her nightgown and wrapper plastered to her skin, the soaked fabric tangling about her knees. She ran past the carefully manicured rose bushes, their blooms heavy with rain. Past the ornamental fountains that overflowed with the evening’s bounty. Past hedges trimmed into fantastic shapes that looked like creatures in the night.
Behind her, she could hear the prince’s laughter, his footfalls, steady and unhurried, as though he could catch her whenever he chose but was enjoying the chase too much to end it. Thimble flew beside her, squeaking encouragement, her tiny form a pink blur against the darkness.
Her lungs began to burn, her legs to shake, but still she ran, powered by something wild and free she hadn’t known existed within her. The rain streamed down her face, and she was laughing again, breathless and exhilarated.
Finally, when she could run no more, she stumbled to a stop near the edge of the palace’s lake. Her chest heaved as she bent forward, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Thelake, Veilmere, stretched before them, its surface dimpled with raindrops. In the center, barely visible through the rain and darkness, sat the small island with its ancient stone archway—the Veil Gate that led to the Shaded Lands.
“Well?” Prince Ryden asked, coming to stand beside her, his breathing quickened, though far less uneven than hers. “Was I correct about the running?”
She straightened, pushing wet strands of hair from her face. “That was … that was actually rather wonderful.”
“I do occasionally have good ideas,” he said with false modesty, and for some inexplicable reason, Aurelise was suddenly reminded of R and his ‘almost always Right About Things.’
The rain was beginning to slow now, softening from a shower to a fine mist. They were both thoroughly drenched, her nightgown and wrapper clinging to her form, his shirt having become nearly transparent.
He looked out across the lake, and something in his expression shifted. “Has it occurred to you, Lady Aurelise, that you could complete two dares tonight?”
She tracked his gaze across the water, understanding dawning. Dare number eight. Take a midnight swim.
“Absolutely not.”
A spark of mischief curved his lips. “Why not? You’re already soaked through.”
“Because … because …” She fumbled for an excuse, but her words died in her throat as he reached for the hem of his shirt. “Stars above! What are you doing?”
He began to peel the sodden garment over his head, and she spun around, pressing her hands over her eyes even though her back was now to him.
