Endless Magic (20 page)

Still, he didn't feel so cruel, holding my arm gently next to his muscular torso, leading me down the stairs. And Kate didn't feel like she was capable of manipulating anyone. In fact, she seemed almost too honest. Kiran's closest friends wouldn't be a part of a movement bent on his death. I decided it was just my imagination, only wishful thinking. With all of the bizarre interactions over the last two days and people so interested in my history, I was drawing hopeful, but farfetched conclusions.

At the base of the stairs, I breathed in deeply for the first time all night, despite the tight corset of my ball gown. I leaned my head against Kiran's shoulder, realizing how exhausted this weekend had been. I was glad for a day off tomorrow from the constant smiling and polite conversation, even if that meant back to being locked in my tower, alone and isolated.

“Did you get along with Kate?” Kiran asked, breaking our silence. We walked through the hedged pathways, still arm and arm. Our magic had reunited all around, encircling us with familiar affection.

We had come to a private alcove, with a stone bench set in between climbing roses. The moonlight illuminated the small space like an invitation to enter. Kiran paused in the middle of the space, looking down at me.

The magic between us became magnetic. Our eyes locked on each other, frozen in place by the sheer desire between us. The urge to tip my lips up to him became almost impossible to fight, and my blood heated to a quick boil, knowing the twitch in his smile revealed the same battle.

Kiran let out a shaky breath and took a step toward me. The scent of the flowers at night, and the warmth of the summer breeze floating over my bear arms drugged my senses. I was lost in him, swept away from the memory of what used to be between us and the pretense of our flawless lie over the weekend.

He dipped his face toward me just a fraction of an inch, subconsciously, my lips having their own gravitational pull and he was helpless in a fight he had already lost. But I couldn't let this continue. We were alone, with no audience to pretend for and if we kissed now simply out of desire, I couldn't justify my actions to myself. Or to Jericho for that matter.

He watched me with a new amusement in his eyes before taking a seat on the stone bench with legs extended and arms folded across his chest. “All right, talk,” he directed.

“I think we can both agree.... I mean, between us.... There is this obvious.... unmistakable even, attraction between us, Kiran,” I explained slowly, in case he didn't know why he wanted to kiss me all night long. “I think it's clear to both of us that there is something here.... something undeniable. Wouldn't you agree?”

“Yes, I would agree,” Kiran affirmed casually, his eyes smoldering. “How did you say it? Obvious and unmistakable.”

“Yes, obvious and unmistakable,” I sighed, finding myself a little exasperated by his seductive tone and the sudden trembling in my hands.

“Undeniable….” He pressed.

I cleared my throat and nodded, “But, I think we can also agree that this feeling.... this.... magnetism between us is because of our history together more than anything else. It's more habit than anything else.” I avoided his eyes, his brilliant turquoise eyes, piercing through the darkness and watching me without reserve.

“Mmmm.....” he agreed, noncommittally.

“But, if we were to kiss here, tonight, that might ruin this friendship we've carefully built over the last few weeks. And it would definitely complicate things,” I explained further.

“It would definitely complicate things,” Kiran agreed in a husky voice, but the expression on his face told me he wouldn't mind the complications.

“Besides,” I continued, reaching desperately for a foothold to reason, “you have your pride to think about.” I lifted my eyes to his, determined to see his reaction; but I didn't get one. If anything the amusement dancing across his face made him more alluring, not less.

“And you have your principles,” he offered, to which I nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly, my principles!” It was the perfect response, he remembered my reasons for ending things between us and he still held on to his pride that kept us apart.

“Thank you,” I whispered and tried to ignore the disappointment sweeping over me. “I think it's this castle anyway,” I mumbled more to myself than to him, “we're too isolated.”

“Well, then I have good news for you,” Kiran announced cheerfully. “I have business for the next week, so I will be away from the castle for a while, but next weekend I will meet you and Sebastian in Paris, where we will pick up Amelia and bring her back home.”

“Oh, that is good news!” I tried to sound excited. And I was thrilled at the prospect of a Paris vacation. But there was something else bothering me, something that weighed down my spirit and dampened my mood.

Kiran took my arm and led me silently back through the gardens and up the stairs. We joined the ball again, dancing the rest of the evening away at a careful distance. The gathered Immortals looked on at us as the happiest, most in love couple of the century. But even as Kiran kept his gaze riveted on my eyes, and his hand tight around my waist, we knew the truth. This was all pretend, all a facade to reassure the kingdom that the Crown Prince would have true eternal life; an alliance made between my family and his. There was no real love between us, only a frustrating physical attraction in which neither of us wanted to indulge.

I remained in love with someone else. And Kiran remained a part of a Royal Bloodline that came with an expiration date.

“I'm going for a walk,” I declared loudly. I flung open Kiran's bedroom door and stared down the ten Titan Guards posted directly outside. “You are more than welcome to join me, but I can't stay cooped up in that room for one more second.”

I crossed my arms defiantly, and waited for them to challenge me. Kiran had been gone for four days and had taken Talbott with him. When Sebastian could get away from whatever palace business Lucan had him running around doing, he would visit me, but I hadn't seen him in twenty-four hours and hadn't left Kiran's bedroom since the Summer Solstice Ball.

“Well, you can't go by yourself,” a younger Titan spoke up. He looked me over with reserved malice, eyes that promised he would love a physical fight.

“I know that,” I snapped. “I wasn't planning on it.”

“We can't trust you to cooperate; it's not a good idea,” an older Titan, with a jagged scar running across his throat, declared.

“You don't have a choice,” I threatened, truly meaning every one of my words. “If you don't let me out of this room, I'm going to jump through Kiran's windows and leave you to explain how
you
lost
your
prisoner to Lucan.”

The Titans surrounding me came to a stricter attention, standing up straight and glowering down at me as if anyone of them was willing to physically restrain me right this second.

“You wouldn't do that,” the older Titan spoke again. “You know what's at stake, just as clearly as we do.”

“Right now, I am willing to do anything to get out of that room, trust me.” I tapped my foot impatiently against the stone floor and stared down my captors. They were on high alert, their magic flaring with the protective, battle-ready instincts that made them superhuman Immortals. Threatening well-trained, armed Titans was not going to get me anywhere, I realized a little late, and so I dropped my arms to my sides, sighed heavily and tried a different approach, “Please, I am going stir crazy in there.... I won't leave the castle, and I just want to walk around for a little bit. Nothing crazy I promise.”

I lifted my eyes to the older Titan that seemed to be in charge, pleading with him in what I hoped looked like a covert, grown-up version of puppy-dog-eyes. He looked down at me and then at his fellow Titans and raised his hands exasperatedly, letting them fall heavily.

“If you try anything funny you know what happens to those prisoners,” he threatened. I physically felt his resolve break in the form of his magic relaxing and then he stepped out of my way.

“I know, I know!' I agreed.

I bounded down the stairs enthusiastically with ten Titans following me. I didn't have any idea where I was going, but it felt so good to be out of Kiran's empty bedroom and walking around that I didn't really care.

“What's your name?” I asked, not wanting to make conversation with him, but I hadn't talked in four days, except with Sebastian and that was only briefly, so I couldn't stop myself.

“Jedrec,” he answered.

“How did you get that scar across your neck, Jedrec?” I inquired out of pure curiosity. “I thought we healed from all of that stuff?”

“How did you get a tattoo on your neck that defies your king and glows in the dark?” He countered, demonstrating how inappropriate my prying was. Still, I was determined to extract an answer from him and I had nothing to lose.

“I did it myself, and obviously, I did it wrong,” I explained sheepishly. “And if you remember correctly, my very existence defies
your
king.” I finished with firm confidence and Jedrec gave me a sidelong glance of disbelief.

“No, he wasn't. If he had been, he would have succeeded. This is mercy,” he tapped the ugly scar that wrapped around his thick neck. “Your grandfather was a skilled warrior, nothing and nobody could kill him.”

“Somebody killed him,” I reminded him. My blood soared with fresh pain from the memory of his death and I swallowed back the tears threatening to flood my vision.

“Only because he wanted to die,” Jedrec commented dryly and I had to turn my head to make sure I heard him right. There were suddenly a million questions I wanted to interrogate him with, but he shot me a warning look that I felt to my bones. This was not the place to press him for information. “This is the library,” he abruptly changed the subject and lifted his eyes to double brass doors. “It's an extensive collection, if you would care to look around.”

“Thank you.” I smiled politely and then swung open a heavy door and let myself in. The Titans remained outside the library and gave me privacy.

We had wandered through the castle on the first floor, passed the courtroom and somewhere below the ballroom. For some reason, I expected the library to be set up like a public library back home, with rows and rows of tall bookshelves arranged by the Dewy Decimal System and with cards on the inside cover of each book allowing you to check them out. But the castle, as I was frequently reminded, was more than a public gathering place, it was a personal residence for a family.

Although the room was very large, and there were bookshelves in the middle of the room set up in orderly rows and extending toward the back, the majority of the books were placed on floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves that lined the walls of the room. The upper shelves were accessible by a tall ladder that rolled along the wall, attached with wheels and a track to the rosewood paneled extremely vaulted ceiling.

The library was warm and plush, with a deep green carpet overlaying the cold stone floor I knew lay underneath. A long, boardroom-style mahogany table sat centered in the only open space not containing additional bookshelves. High-backed matching chairs encircled it, inviting any visitor to grab a book and spend hours at that table, shutting oneself off from the rest of the world.

I stepped cautiously forward, not wanting to disturb the peace of the room, and wondered if the books were shelved in any particular order. I turned right and ran my fingers over the ancient, worn book bindings of a shoulder-high shelf. Most of the titles were in different languages and seemed hundreds of years old. I was too afraid to move anything from its place and disturb the careful order of the library.