She turns around and stares into his forget-me-not blue eyes, the weight of her words heavy in her chest. She is surprised by the calmness of her voice when they leave her mouth, empty and cold like winter winds.
"I didn't wake him."
His eyes bore into hers, the depths of the oceans he sails and the skies he wanders. But Aurora doesn't falter under the gaze, holds her head up high instead and straightens her back; she is queen, she will not cower before any man.
He rocks on his heels, good hand clasping the banister of the balcony as he considers his answer. "A true love's kiss can break any curse," he says at last, and her heart thrashes in her chest like a caged bird. Doesn't he understand? Can't he see? "And I have seen him downstairs," he continues, lips curling into a smirk that doesn't feel right. "Very much alive, Your Highness. I should like to wish you all the best."
She hates him so much, she thinks, hates him so much she wants to rip his heart out and show him how much pain a person could take. (She also thinks about Phillip's gentle eyes and about disappointment she sees behind his uncertain smiles.)
Her heart may break if she says the words out loud, but she has to, the heavy weight of her crown urging her to be brave. "My kiss didn't wake him, James." And it's all your fault.
He blinks, his brows furrowing and fingers flexing around the banister. She wants him to apologise for the damage he has done, for the burning hole in her chest that calls for him like a sirens' song every moment he is away.
He is by her side in a heartbeat, warm fingers touching her cheek and lips setting her skin on fire. Aurora feels him with her whole being, her body melting under his touch like candle wax. It is what she has been missing, what she has been needing so desperately those long days and nights after she left his ship to take back her kingdom. "I will not let you go, then," he breathes against her mouth and she thinks that neither will she.