Endless Magic (8 page)

I don't want you to worry.
I felt Avalon inwardly reject the idea, as if I suggested something ludicrous.
I'm serious Avalon, it's not like it was when you were in here. I'm safe. I am well taken care of, and other than having to pretend I'm madly in love with the prince, I have nothing to worry about.

The prince?
Avalon could not stifle his laughter at the reference and sarcasm he usually used to apply to Kiran's title. I felt his satisfaction that it was now the term that I utilized, but even still I knew he would never refer to Kiran with that much disrespect again. I could feel his friendship with Kiran, his loyalty; I could feel how much he felt he owed Kiran deep down in his bones and it confused me. Why didn't he remember that Kiran was the one who got us into this mess?
Ok, seriously, what is your plan?

I'm going to go along with all of this. I'm going to play their game. If they want me in love with Kiran, I'll be in love with Kiran. If they want me to sing and dance, I'll sing and dance. I don't know what is going to be asked of me Avalon, but I'm done fighting a battle of the wills with Lucan. I'm not going to give that tyrant a reason to murder an innocent. And in the meantime I'm just going to trust that you and the Resistance will find a way to kill him before May first.
I was sincere and straightforward with Avalon. There was no more reason to waver or think things over, I knew my role now. I chose this martyrdom. And I knew to my core, how much Avalon agreed with me.

What's May first?
Avalon asked, but I felt his confidence in the matter of assassinating a king.

“Eden, are you listening?” Kiran interrupted my internal conversation and I turned to face him along with Sebastian and Talbott who had fallen silent next to him. I gave him a perplexed smile and he asked again, “Are you all right with accompanying me this afternoon?”

At the same time, Avalon repeated his question rather impatiently,
Eden, what's May first?

“My wedding day,” I mumbled aloud. My face flushed red and I hurriedly explained to Avalon,
Oh good lord, I'll talk to you later.
“Never mind! What? What was the question?”

All three boys stood staring at me with a mixture of amusement and confusion plastered on their faces. I stood up, and smoothed out my black t-shirt, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“I can talk to Avalon again,” I confessed, clearing my throat and bravely lifting my eyes to theirs.

“We assumed,” Kiran grumbled, his hard blue eyes narrowing. “Did you hear anything we discussed?”

“No,” I growled. I cracked my neck and then straightened my posture. Pretending to love him might be a harder task than I wanted to believe.

Kiran sighed irritably, and then raked his hand roughly through his hair, “I asked-”

“Remember, you're in love!” Sebastian piped up, giving both Kiran and me an admonishing glance.

“Right.... Eden, I was wondering if you would accompany me today while I visited some sick Guards around the Citadel?” Kiran's voice tightened with the strained effort of sounding chivalrous, I could feel it in the waves of tension emanating from his stiff body how violently he did not want me to go with him. I smiled at the chance to irritate him, but more so at the opportunity to leave the castle during the day. Exploring the Citadel on a gorgeous summer day like today sounded perfect, even if it was with Kiran.

“I would love to!” I squeaked. I bounded over to him and kissed him on the cheek before he could react and then turned toward the bathroom. “I just have to take a quick shower,” I called before slamming the door and breathing deeply. Once the door was closed, I noticed that the handcuffs hardly had any effect on me. I wondered if it had anything to do with the open flow of magic between Avalon and me, or if it was just the excitement for the prospect of getting out of Kiran's bedroom. Either way, I jumped into the shower, hardly caring at all that I would be spending the day with him.

----

“Should I hold your hand?” I whispered to Kiran as we walked through the empty castle hallways.

“Although, I appreciate you taking this seriously, I don't think it's important for you to pretend to be so in love until guests actually start arriving,” Kiran said with an air of irritated dignity.

“Oh, I mean, I know. I just need practice. I'm not very good at hiding my real feelings,” I admitted. Kiran's indifference and coolness threw me off and I felt the continual need to defend myself as if he were constantly accusing me of ruining his life.

And then I wondered if that was exactly what he was doing. But was his animosity for me because I wouldn't fall willingly into his arms after my grandfather was murdered in front of me and my brother sat waiting for execution, or because he thought he had an actual chance of happiness with Seraphina, and when I interrupted his wedding day, I also interrupted his future wedded bliss?

“I am fully aware,” Kiran mumbled, holding the heavy wooden door to the outside open for me.

I breathed in deeply, stepping outside into the sunlight that instantly warmed my face. The stifling heat pulled prickles of sweat out of my skin and tightened my breathing for the few moments it took me to get used to the roasting summer air. I closed my eyes and lifted my face toward the sun. In a moment I would use magic to regulate my body temperature and stay comfortable. But I missed the sun. I missed the fresh air and so for this moment, I would stand human against the elements and relish the power of a hot summer day.

Eventually I opened my eyes, squinting them when the sunlight was too bright to cope with. I expected Kiran to sigh impatiently, or say something biting, but he stood there quietly staring at me, his expression softened and his eyes turquoise, deeply turquoise.

“I'm sorry,” I offered, not at all apologetic, “there was a while there that I never thought I would get to feel the sun again.” I smiled bashfully, for some reason confessing my fear felt like sharing something personal with Kiran.

“You should cover your mark,” Kiran ignored my confession and gestured at my neck. “The Titans we are going to see are on their death beds already; you shouldn't startle them with magical tattoos.”

“I didn't realize it was scary.” I admitted, pulling my still damp hair over my shoulder and securing it in place with a hair-tie I kept around my wrist.

“It's off-putting,” Kiran replied bluntly, turning on his heel and walking with purpose across the courtyard in front of the castle.

His comment pushed me into silence, I couldn't read him anymore. At one time we shared a genuine openness and ease. Now, even our conversations were forced and awkward. How were we ever going to convince the kingdom that we were in love?

I followed Kiran through the Citadel, marveling at the ancient architecture and delicacy of the manicured stone. The city could have held thousands of people, but most of the buildings remained empty. There were stores and apartments, little cottages and places for gathering. There were public markets and an elegant outdoor music hall, with a tall balcony and private seats. The roads were not big enough for vehicles, but the antiquated city didn't feel as though it would allow such modern convenience on its dainty roads and inside its old-world walls.

When we passed by an enormous fountain in the middle of the city, I stopped, moved by the structure and in need of a minute to catch my breath. Kiran paused too, waiting quietly for me to graze my fingers across the polished stone and gaze up at the ornate statues. Four Immortals stood in a circle facing each other, two men and two women alternating. Thick, stone robes flowed down in realistic wraps of fabric and four delicate and elaborate crowns adorned their heads. They held one hand casually at their side, while their right hands extended forward to strongly grasp at two enormous snakes, intertwined together, each curled around eating their own tail, one's head at the top of the circle, and one's head at the bottom hovering just above the bubbling pool. Water trickled down from the snakes into an elegant waterfall that hit the pool of water circling the feet of Immortal's in graceful musical chimes.

“What does it mean, Kiran?” I asked, breaking my reverent silence. I couldn't tear my eyes from the statue; it held meaning for me, even if I wasn't sure what that meaning was yet.

“The statue?” Kiran took a step closer to me, his fingers resting casually on the stone next to mine.

“The snake, I've seen it countless times, but I still don't know what it means,” I admitted.

“It's the symbol of immortality. It was given to our people when there first became a distinction between humanity and Immortals. The monarchy still uses it today, but even humans recognize it. In fact, your tattoo is very controversial. In the kingdom, only the royal bloodline is allowed to use the symbol, which is why I think your grandfather chose it for his rebellion,” Kiran explained. I pretended not to hear the venerating tone to his voice as he explained the meaning or when he spoke of Amory. I planned on killing him at the end of this, and for my own sake, I couldn't associate him with feelings, especially not with emotional ties to our people or my family.

“So what does the statue mean?” I pressed, knowing these polite moments between us were rare.

“The statue is of the Oracles, Amory is that one over there,” Kiran pointed to a young man with strong arms and a dignified face. Even in stone, his hair could easily be described as dark and unruly and his eyes still held that deep mystery that proved he was more than human. “Before there was a castle on this land, before there were walls, this was simply a city and the fountain erected to remind our people of their equality. But now.... Well, now it's just an ancient landmark protected by magic so that none of the kings can destroy it.”

“Is that true?” I whispered, picturing the thousands of years between when this fountain was built and today where kings throughout the centuries, looking just like Lucan, tried with the entire power of their Titan Guard to demolish something so meaningful and symbolic.

“Yes, it's true. They've all tried, just like they all tried to kill Amory,” Kiran mumbled, tracing the lines of the stone with absent fingers.

At another mention of my grandfather, I couldn't help but lump Kiran in with his ancestors, “So will you try to? Will you try to destroy this fountain?” I demanded, turning toward him with crossed arms and leaning my hip against the cold, wet stone. There was a part of me, a strong but new part, that felt tied to this statue, determined to protect it.

“I'm not my father, Eden,” he said quietly, but confidently. He lifted his eyes from his fingers and turned their deep aqua intensity on me, “And unless you do something about my father, I will never be king.”

“I'm-” I started to defend myself against what sounded like a ringing accusation but Kiran cut me off.

“Listen, the Titans we are going to see all have the King's Curse and are deathly ill. I am hoping, I mean, if you will cooperate.... What I would like to try is your blue smoke on them.” Kiran paused, flinching, bracing himself for an argument with me, but after a few moments of silence he continued. “I know that they are Titans and you probably think of them like enemies, but I would rather not see any Immortal die if there is an alternative. I am hoping that you will want to help them.”

“I will help them,” I answered humbly. I agreed with Kiran, they were my enemies, but my fight was with Lucan, not with the Titans. I wanted our entire kingdom to be united. I wanted to end the bloodshed, and if I could, end the Curse as well. So I would do what I could and hope that if I could save them, they might change their mind about me. “If I can,” I added quickly. I didn't want to make promises that I couldn't keep. My blue smoke saved Avalon and I once from the King's Curse, but I didn't know what kind of power it had on others, yet.

“Thank you,” Kiran answered and stood there for a moment longer staring at me. His lips curved, and then twisted in the corner as if he were going to say something witty, but then a cloud of emotion crossed his face and he turned around instead, leading me to the outer walls of the Citadel and toward housing built into the fortification.

Kiran knocked on the first wooden door with excited anticipation. A middle-aged looking woman with long waves of thick black hair answered the door, relief flooding her face at the sight of him. She bowed respectfully and then her navy blue eyes flickered to mine in confused distrust.

“Callea, how is he?” Kiran asked, stepping inside the door. He pulled me inside after him, and then slipped his arm around my waist. I was startled at first, but then relaxed, realizing this was part of our game. It wasn't just guests, but current tenants we needed to convince.

“Not well, I'm afraid he is in the last hours. He will be so happy you've come, Your Majesty. You will lift his spirits.

“I hope to do more than that,” Kiran whispered, hope tinting his voice. “I've brought help.” Kiran looked down at me and instinctively I looked up. I stood stunned in his gaze for a few moments, trying to reconcile the indifference I knew he felt for me and the unnerving adoration displayed across his face now. His eyes twinkled in brilliant turquoise, while his full lips were curled into a loving smile.

“Is this she?” Callea asked, turning the fullness of her gaze on me for the first time. Her eyes could have easily been mistaken for black; their deeply dark tone shimmered in curiosity. But when the light hit them at just the perfect angle, the slightness in contrast between her black hair and navy blue eyes made all the difference. Her long slender fingers curled around her throat in anxious wariness as if I were a dangerous enemy and I watched her throat constrict while struggling to swallow underneath carefully manicured nails.

“Callea, this is Eden,” Kiran introduced us. He pulled me closer to him, his body pressing protectively against mine. “She can help Elio; otherwise I wouldn't have brought her.”

“I know who she is Your Highness, but I don't want her help,” Callea spat the words out angrily. I flinched from her hatred, from her narrowed eyes and obvious distrust.