as she doesn’t harm you.”
A tiny line, a microscopic distinction, and yet I have a feeling it’s the best I’m going to get. “Fine.”
“I’ll let her up.”
“Wait.” I push to my feet. “Send her up to the penthouse. I’ll meet her there.”
“Got it.” They turn and walk out of my office.
I force myself to count slowly to ten, long enough for them to reach the elevator, before I stride out of my office and make my way to the stairs. I don’t run, but I certainly don’t linger as I hurry up to the penthouse. Once I’m inside, I have half a thought to change, but that’s ridiculous. Aurora has seen me in many modes already. It shouldn’t matter if I’m wearing a suit or pajamas.
Still.
I take two seconds to fix my lipstick and run my fingers through my hair, guiding it back from my face. As I’m leaving the bedroom, I hear the front door open.
“Malone?”
Gods, her voice. I close my eyes and take a slow breath. Just because she’s here doesn’t mean this is going to go the way I desperately want it to. She might be here to tell me that my membership to the Underworld is revoked, or simply to say she never wants to see me again. Aurora’s the type to do that sort of thing in person rather than through distant measures.
I can’t dredge up my icy facade. It’s melted to a puddle at my feet. I am only me as I walk out of the hallway to find her standing in my living room.
She looks good. Better than good. Her hair is back to the bright pink she favored a little over a year ago, and she’s wearing black ankle boots, dark jeans that hug her legs, and a loose, gray knitted sweater. She’s utterly gorgeous.
She tucks her hair behind her ears. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I say faintly. I don’t know what I’m doing, what I’m supposed to say. Once again, I’m reminded my mother always taught me to never step onto a battlefield unless I’m sure I can win, and I’ve already lost when it comes to Aurora. If I’m going to be honest, I lost the second I saw her all those years ago.
She looks around the room, eyeing the gray chair. “That’s new.”
“Rogue took exception to the last one.”
Her lips curve. “That cat is a menace.”
“Yes, he is. It happened the day after you left. I think he missed you.” This is horrible. She’s here and yet not here, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. In the end, I can’t keep up this meaningless small talk. “Aurora, why are you here?”
“I talked to Hades.” She clasps her hands in front of her, still not quite meeting my gaze. “And I’ve talked to Allecto and Meg and Tink, and even Hercules.”
Where is she going with this? “I would think they’d want you as far from me as possible.”
“They want what’s best for me.” She gives a sad little laugh. “And they respect that I know myself well enough to know what’s best for me.”
I wait, but she’s too busy wringing her fingers together to keep going. I clear my throat. “What are you saying?”
“Do you know who I wanted to talk to the most while I’ve been working through things for the last two weeks?” She finally releases the death grip she has on her fingers and tugs at the hem of her sweater. “I was so angry and confused and hurt and then angrier, and even though all my friends were around me, there was only one person I wanted.”
I can’t breathe. I’m half sure I’ve turned to stone. “Who?”
She gives a breathless little laugh. “You.”
It’s what I want to hear, but I’m so afraid to trust it. “You hate me.”
“I…” Aurora shakes her head. “I had to hate you to deal with how much I wanted you. It’s easier to blame you than to blame my mother for her choices. She was gone, even before she died, and you were here and larger than life and constantly making me feel things I didn’t want to feel.”
“Aurora—”
“I realize that this seems too good to be true, but it’s what I feel.” She looks away and then back at me. “I’m a mess, Malone. I’ve been grieving my mother for twenty years, and there were times when I felt like there was no end to that feeling, but I’m ready to let her go. I’m sorry that I wanted to