Mage Magic (3 page)

“Pray tell, then,” Thedan demanded. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

“Raine has three protectors,” Theron reminded him. “I say we take her to the castle to her sister, where she will be far safer.”

“Are you sure Rory will be able to focus?” Thedan wondered aloud. “Now that she is mated her thoughts might lie elsewhere,” he added, grinning.

“I’m sure her thoughts lie in that direction often, as do her mates’,” Theron agreed, grinning as well. Then he seemed to sober. “But this is the course we need to take. I know with certainty that Raine is to be taken to the palace just as I know that the woman coming is meant to bond for eternity with us.”

Thedan didn’t question him. He’d been with Theron too long to ever doubt the truth his best friend spoke. “How soon shall we begin?”

“The sooner the better,” Theron answered. “More than our own fates rest on the actions we take. I feel a need to rush, but know not if it is my own desire to meet our chosen or the urgings of our goddess.”

“Then let’s find Raine and have her prepare to head to the castle,” Thedan said. “I’m sure she will be eager to see her sister.”

“I am,” Raine said as she slid her hood back allowing herself to become visible. It was a difficult moment for her. She’d always fancied herself in love with Theron and Thedan, had visualised the three of them together in more than one late-night dream. But she could tell by watching them, by viewing their eyes, that it was not meant to be. Theron’s visions were never wrong.

“It is not nice to sneak around and eavesdrop on others, Raine,” Thedan told her and shook his head.

She loved the mahogany of his skin, the way his deep brown waves touched his shoulders, the colour a perfect match to his rich brown eyes. She loved the way neither he nor Theron undressed her with their eyes or sought to woo and bed her for her royal blood.

And it was even nicer since they were one of the very few who knew she was the true blood princess of their people and not her elder sister, Rory.

“Ahhh, then you should not have taught me so well,” Raine laughed.

Theron shook his head and she thought again how magnificent he was. His hair and eyes were the same deep black of the night around them, his skin the earthy brown of a native. It was his eyes she had always been fascinated with and the markings around the tattoos he had on them.

All natives were gifted with tattoos, the markings a rite of passage for them. Many were given weapons that resided within the very skin that could be called upon as needed. Any native could be given these. She and her sister Rory were granted a bigger boon as the due of their royal blood. Each held within her skin a guardian, a dragonkin, which would leave their skin and take form to protect them when the need and call arose.

But none wore the marks of Theron, as none were gifted with the sight as he was. Raine had seen the grey smoke form and swirl within the inky depths of his black eyes when the goddess chose to show him something. And she’d been awed. She’d sworn once that the black marks that lightly fanned the bottom corner of his eyes began to glow. But it had been too quick for her to be sure.

“Raine,” Theron spoke softly, pulling her from thoughts that by rights she shouldn’t be thinking. They weren’t hers and she had no choice but to accept that.

“I have a bag packed and can be ready as soon as I grab it,” she answered. “I will not slow you down.”

She went to turn from them, but Theron stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“I am sorry, princess,” he said. She glanced into his eyes and knew he’d understood how she felt, what she’d hoped, and she was filled with embarrassment.

“Your mate is a very lucky woman,” Raine said quietly. “I pray that she will always know just how lucky.” She moved on and he let his hand slide from her shoulder. There was nothing for him to say. She was not the one chosen for them and there was no one to blame for it. “I will meet you at the edge of camp as quickly as I can. I will grab my bag and leave word of our trip. It appears that my sister has sent for me and charged you with the duty of taking me.”

“Princess.” Thedan bowed his head to her as she passed.

Quickly, she slipped her hood back over her head, cloaking herself once more in shadow. They rarely referred to her by her title, but used her name as she’d always implored them to do. But Theron’s vision was already changing things and she sensed this was only the beginning. She felt the slow glide of a single tear as it overflowed her eye and slid down her cheek. She swore it would be the only one she shed. It was a moment when childish dreams left her, and as she walked away she lifted her head, understanding the time had come for her to assume the right of her birth. She was the blood princess, the heir and rightful queen of her native people. Rory, Thedan and Theron could shield and protect her no more.

“Keep your hood in place,” Thedan said gently as they approached the castle. “You are not to show yourself until we say.”

“Understood,” Raine answered just as quietly.

They meant to protect her until Rory was summoned and she would do nothing to distract or make things difficult.

She remembered very little of the journey here as she’d been lost in thought most of the way. It was time to stop hiding behind her sister. Rory had protected her all through her life.

Rory had been the one to resolve the tough decisions, though she always spoke with Raine about them. Her sister had trained her not only in diplomacy, but also as a rogue. Rory believed that you should always be able to defend yourself.

So Raine knew how to wield a blade, how to pop in and out of shadows and move with stealth. She knew how to calm the masses, how to determine the decisions that had to be made. And as she’d embarked on this journey, this walk, she’d faced the toughest decision of her life. It was time to step out of the shadow, time to embrace the right of her birth and remove the burden from her sister. Rory deserved no less from Raine.

She watched as Thedan and Theron walked into the light of the torches outside the gate.

The closest guard flinched and lifted his sword. “Where the hell did you two come from? State your business or move on.”

It was Theron who moved forward and spoke. “We come to speak with the Princess Rory, who is a guest here. If you would send for her we will wait.”

The guard nodded and with a yell had someone heading in to find Rory. This showed Raine one thing for certain. Wilhelm’s control was at least diminished now, if not gone, for no native would have been allowed to set foot within these walls if Wilhelm held reign. Not when Queen Ona’s death had been blamed on a native, on Raine’s mother. Had Rory managed to clear their mother’s name so quickly?

Her thoughts ceased when a god appeared out of the gate. That was all she could liken him to, as nothing she’d ever seen could compare. He was tall and tanned, carrying the muscles of a warrior with ease. His smile was sincere and the flames of the torches reflected in the crystal blue of his eyes. But it was the way the torches seemed to make his blond hair glow a burnished gold that held her enraptured. She could feel her breath catch and released it when she felt her head getting light. It had to be loss of breath making her head light and not the man whom she couldn’t pull her gaze from.

“Please, come inside and wait while Rory is fetched,” he said, his voice deep, like a sensual stroke along her skin.

“We can await her here, Your Highness,” Thedan spoke, and both he and Theron bowed their heads in honour of the rank of the man before them.

So this was King Aslan. He was indeed a sight to behold. He didn’t seem to be cowed as many thought Wilhelm had made him. He seemed strong and brave and… And she was finding it hard to breathe again.

“There is no animosity here,” King Aslan stated. “You will find that you are welcome here, of that I promise.”

“We appreciate that, Your Highness,” Theron said. “But we would feel better if we conferred with Rory first.”

The king’s face briefly showed sorrow and she wondered what had caused that emotion, but it was there and gone so quickly that if she hadn’t been paying such close attention she would have doubted it had been there at all.

“What is it?” Rory came running into the clearing with two men hot on her heels.

“What has happened? Where is Raine? She is not unprotected?”

Thedan snorted. “Yes, you remember how Theron and I are always so eager to cast our duties aside and let her fend for herself.”

Rory grinned and pulled her lifelong friend into a close hug. Raine watched as she pulled Theron into it as well. It was nice to see the three of them together. “I’m sorry, I know better.”

“Indeed,” Theron said.

“Who is Raine?” King Aslan asked.

“I am,” she said and stepped forward, drawing the hood from her head as she walked into the middle of the lighted path.

Aslan felt as if his heart would explode from his chest as he gazed upon her. The way the torch light made her skin glisten and the way her brown eyes appeared golden. The way the flames reflected in her long ebony tresses giving them the appearance of a golden glow.

She pulled the eye and defied one to look anywhere but at her. Her royalty wrapped around her as if she wore it as a cloak. There could be no denying who she was. It showed in the way she stood, the way she looked, in the way she spoke.

Aslan felt lightheaded as his breath seemed to catch in his lungs. She was the most incredible woman he’d ever seen and he was already under her spell. He felt like a fool when he noticed the others giving him strange looks. He was a king, not a boy, and she was not the first beautiful woman he’d met.

“Welcome,” he greeted, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. He kept his face smooth, revealing nothing. But he’d swear he felt a spark on his lips as he touched her skin.

And by the soft gasp she’d let escape, he knew she’d felt it too.

Chapter Three

Serenity kept her cloak over her, allowing the deep black to help her meld with the night. She might have been sheltered in the temple all these years, but she was wise enough to know she needed to keep to the edge of the roads, blending with the shadows there and away from any eyes that might be watching. Her journey would not be long, would probably take her only a day or two to make, but it was filled with danger. Of that, she was sure.

Her mother was right. She could discern how her power had changed and grown since leaving the sanctuary of the temple behind. It was a hum, a fire in her veins. She knew that she must guard that power and keep the reins tight as she could already sense the pull inside her. It would be so easy to let what she felt go to her head, to let it turn her into something—

nay, someone—she wasn’t. But the power she experienced in her veins was heady indeed.

If only she were a shifter or one of the natives then she would be able to cross the distance quicker. Instead, she would have to cover the ground one step at a time. She’d never been this alone before. She’d longed to step outside the temple walls, to see and experience the things others probably took for granted. Now she was. Yet it wasn’t the way she’d wanted.

Lives were held in her hands. So many lives. Lives that would forever be changed by the truths she carried with her, truths she planned to bring to light. How would they take her news? What would they think? She had the orb and apparently it would show them all a truth, but it was still up to her to get the five of them in one place and willing to go through the ritual to open the orb.

She wondered what they would be like, these siblings she’d heard of her entire life. She knew that none of them knew of the bond they all shared. First there were Aslan and Aurora, the king and queen by blood. They were Ona’s children, separated at her death. Aurora had been taken and raised as a sister with Lynx, the shifter. And wasn’t that a divine bit of humour. Then there was Rory, birth daughter of the native people. And Serenity, sheltered daughter of goddess’ priestess. All of them so different, so unique and yet with a bond formed by blood and magic.

She had been too lost in thought for too long and was taken by surprise when a man’s voice shattered the night.

“Who travels this way?” he shouted and the light of a torch appeared. “Stop in the name of Wilhelm.”

Serenity glanced up and found the man who belonged to the voice. “I go in the name of the goddess from her temple to the castle of Queen Aurora and King Aslan. I bid you, let me pass.”

There was laughter and coarse snickering, the sound of many voices. She heard the voice whisper, “She’s the one Wilhelm wants.”

So his dark magic had shown him. Did he know it was her? Or even who exactly she was? Did he know who any of them were or was he ‘in the dark’? The thought made her snicker as well.

“Halt!” The voice broke into her thoughts once more. “We will give you escort.”

“You will escort me to the castle?” she dutifully asked.

“We will see you safely to where you need to go,” he assured her as he moved to cross the space between them.

So he wouldn’t outright lie to her, just mislead her to get her to comply with Wilhelm’s wishes.

She murmured quietly and felt the power of the spell being weaved in the air around her. “I thank you for your kind offer but I fear that I must decline,” she stated. “All I ask is that you let me pass.”

“Being from the temple you probably aren’t aware of all that can befall a woman travelling alone out here,” he spoke.

She watched as he stopped, confused when he realised he couldn’t step any closer, and the way he shook it off as if it was unimportant.

“There are animals out here, some of which might seek to mislead you by taking a human form. People who can sneak around seeming to disappear right before your eyes. All kinds of things that could bring harm to you. Why, Wilhelm would have our heads if we let you go on so unprotected. You being from the temple of the goddess.”

“And why is that?” Serenity queried. “Is he the one who caused this darkness to descend upon us?”