Reckless Magic (48 page)

“
I had no idea….” I laughed
out loud a little. “But I guess it makes sense,” I could now
explain away all of the times Amory seemed so paternal, apparently
he was just being grandfatherly.

“
I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to
spoil anything,” Kiran gave me his signature smirk and I swore I
fell even more in love with him.

“
It’s alright; something
tells me he was waiting for me to figure it out on my own.,” I
returned my head to Kiran’s chest, butterflies flooding my
stomach.

“
He should know better than
to wait for that,” Kiran joked lightly.

I couldn’t help but agree with him. I
hadn’t figured anything out on my own yet, what made Amory think I
would start with that?

“
God only knows what I have
left to figure out,” I mumbled.

“
Yes He does, but He’s
gotten you this far….” Kiran surprised me with his
answer.

“
Do you believe in God?” I
asked, confused.

“
Of course. Don’t you?” I
pulled my head away from his chest to look him in the eye; for some
reason I found it hard to believe he was serious.

“
I mean I guess I did when I
was human, but now I don’t know what to believe,” I left the
closeness of his embrace, feeling slightly embarrassed and walked
over to the balcony’s edge.

“
That seems backwards to
me,” Kiran responded and joined me. We stood silently for a moment
enjoying the beauty of Lake Geneva before he continued, “You
believed in God when you thought you were human; when you suffered
pain and hunger, tyranny and war. But now that you live above that,
with unlimited power and unlimited life you doubt that there is an
entity greater than you? Someone created all of this, all of the
beauty of the earth, all of the fragility of human life and all of
the extraordinary existence of us. Choosing to believe in a god
only when you are surrounded by death and destruction is to truly
not know God at all.”

Kiran put an arm around me and kissed
the top of my head again. Despite his point, I knew his feelings
for me were as strong as ever.

“
Am I not still surrounded
by death and destruction?” I asked, feeling characteristically
defensive.

“
No, you’re not. Believe me.
I’ve done my homework; you could not have a stronger genealogy. But
the rest of us, yeah…. maybe…. But isn’t that where we find our
substance? I think there is a certain beauty to death; a macabre
exquisiteness that brings meaning to life.”

I stood there gazing at Kiran with so
much emotion I felt like I would explode. Avalon was right, I had
no idea who Kiran was, but the more I learned, the more I fell
madly in love with him.

I threw my arms around his neck and
pulled him into another passionate kiss. He gladly
reciprocated.

“
Excuse me, sir,” Talbott
interrupted, like usual. “It’s time for Eden to go.”

Kiran paused for only a second to wave
Talbott away before returning to me. He pressed his lips against
mine fervently; lifting me off of the ground and making me forget
the world around me. Our magic became an intense force; rising
around us with an almost visible presence.

Eventually he returned my feet to the
ground and my mind slowly returned to reality. He smirked at me as
if holding onto a secret and my heart fluttered with the sweet
memories of his mouth against mine.

“
You just got here and now
you have to go," Kiran gazed at me with all of the intensity of a
boy madly in love. "I just had to know that you were all right. I
had to see you," he kissed the top of my head sweetly and
continued, "Before we join the others, I have something for you,”
Kiran led me back into his bedroom and pulled out a black, square,
velvet box from his suitcase.

He opened the box to reveal a necklace
and pulled out the long silver chain to expose a pendant
intricately woven with several black stones placed throughout. He
clasped the beautiful, complex accessory around my neck and the
stones turned from black to a brilliant shade of blue. I fingered
the pendant in my hands, amazed by the color and loveliness of the
stones.

“
I thought so,” Kiran said
cryptically and kissed me on the cheek. “Eden, when we return to
Kingsley things are going to be difficult. We won’t be able to see
each other or be together. At least not easily. I am going to
continue my engagement with Seraphina and go on like nothing has
changed. You will have to stay far away from me,” he cupped my face
in his hands and I saw the pain in his eyes.

“
But why?” I asked, scared
and upset.

“
I’m so sorry, love. But you
have to go on playing the part Amory created for you. As of now, my
father is convinced that you are not your mother. After several
interrogations, the most convincing of which was Seraphina’s, he
agreed to let it go. She was pretty adamant that you are no one
special, especially not Delia Saint. But that doesn't mean he will
stay pacified. We cannot draw any unnecessary attention to you. I
am determined to keep you to myself. His suspicions are small, but
you’ve raised his curiosity and so we have to keep you as far under
the radar as possible without making you disappear completely,” he
held me closer to him as if to prove his point.

“
So I can’t see you at all?”
I asked, afraid of the answer.

“
No, I will find a way for
us to be together, I will. But we will have to be extremely
careful. You can’t show that necklace to anyone; but I wanted you
to have it as a token of my love.”

“
Your love?” I said the
words religiously.

“
Yes, my love. Because Eden,
I have loved you avidly from the first moment I saw you and I will
love you completely with all that I am until the day I die,” his
eyes had hypnotized mine and I was transfixed by their passion. He
smirked sheepishly at me and I realized he didn’t grasp the
seriousness of my feelings for him.

“
Kiran Kendrick, I love you
too,” I whispered, my throat closed and my eyes full of
emotion.

He swept me into another passionate
kiss and I melted into his embrace. When he finally released me I
felt weak from my expended magic. Kiran led me back into the living
room, but not before I tucked his gift beneath my plaid work
shirt.

Avalon and Amory stood near the door
waiting anxiously. Kiran kissed my hand sweetly and mouthed “I love
you,” I blushed and joined my grandfather and twin brother at the
door.

“
Thank you again, Kiran….
for everything,” Amory said humbly before we made our
exit.

----

“
Scoot over!” I demanded
irritably while shoving my elbow into Avalon’s ribs. Sitting
between Avalon and Titus on the eight hour flight home was not
ideal for anyone. But it was Amory’s great idea of added
protection; although in my personal opinion totally
unnecessary.

“
That’s it!” I declared
loudly, and stood up as dramatically as the small coach cabin would
allow. “Move!”

Avalon obeyed and slid his knees into
the aisle so that I could pass. I walked unsteadily between the
rows of seats and past several members of the rescued Resistance
team, until I found Amory staring out of the window
pensively.

I fell heavily into the seat next to
him, not really caring if I bothered him or not. He looked up at me
and smiled. I grinned back, pleased that I had the upper hand, if
only for a moment.

“
What happens now, grandpa?”
I asked, barely able to contain my laughter.

His expression turned anxious and then
relaxed when he saw my smile. He laughed a little himself and I was
glad that at least it didn’t seem he wanted that information to
remain a secret.

“
When did you figure it
out?” he asked, still smiling, but not quite able to look me in the
eyes.

“
Kiran told me, kind of on
accident. He assumed I already knew…. silly him,” I said
sarcastically. Amory’s face flushed with embarrassment. “So you’re
the last remaining oracle. You seem pretty alive to me,” I
joked.

“
For now,” Amory flushed
deeper with embarrassment. “That’s a much longer conversation, for
a more private setting,” he cut me off when my I opened my mouth to
ask a million questions.

“
Ok, but I’m going to hold
you to that,” I paused for a moment before continuing, “So really
what happens when we get home?” I decided on a different topic that
I had just as many questions for.

“
Well first we explain
everything to Sylvia. That will be our first battle. She has been
worried sick. You’re lucky I was able to talk to her yesterday, I
hopefully softened the blow,” he gave me a stern, parental glare
and it was my turn to blush from discomfort.

“
Then what?” I asked
timidly.

“
I’m not sure; I’m afraid
most of this is now out of our hands. For the first time, in a long
time, our futures lay in the hands of someone I don’t know what to
expect from,” he turned his head to return his thoughtful gazing
out the window and I realized he was referring to Kiran.

“
But we’re not going to try
to kill him anymore, right?” I sounded more casual than I felt. My
throat closed with emotion and my hands trembled a little at the
thought. Even though I was on the side of the Resistance, I had no
idea if it was a place I could stay, especially if they tried to
continue with their original plans.

“
No, my dear. I could never
hurt someone you cared about so deeply. You don’t need to be
worried anymore,” he put an arm around me, and continued to look
quietly out of the small window.

I sunk into my own personal
pensiveness, wondering if Lucan would really leave me alone or if
he would hurt me in pursuit of my parents. If they were still out
there, where were they? I doubted I could help Lucan find them
anyways; I certainly had no way to look for them.

A hundred questions swirled through my
mind, but the questions that kept demanding to be answered first
were when would I get to see Kiran again? When would we get to be
alone again and when would I feel safe once more in his
arms?

As unlikely as our love affair might
have been, loving Kiran was the only concrete path I could imagine.
I was wholly consumed with a love that would probably get me
killed, but I would never have chosen any other way. I could not
have chosen any other way. We were truly destined for each other,
fated to be together…. we were star-crossed.

About the Author

Rachel Higginson was born and raised
in Nebraska, but spent her college years traveling the world. She
married her high school sweetheart and spends her days raising
their growing family. She is obsessed with bad reality TV and any
and all Young Adult Fiction.

Reckless is her first book, and the
first part in a four part saga, The Star-Crossed Series. Hopeless,
the second installment of the series will be out August
2011.

Follow Rachel on her blog
at:

www.onedaysomedayeveryday.blogspot.com

Read an Excerpt from Hopeless coming
August 2011

I followed Lilly through the other
side of the barn and around the large white farmhouse. A small
group of other Immortals walked silently with us. All of them were
the older generation except Avalon, whom I noticed was allowed more
of a leadership role than anyone else our age, including
me.

Angelica led our small group behind
the farmhouse and down into a storm cellar. Lilly and I followed
Conrad, Terrance, Amory and Avalon down a set of worn stone steps.
The men all carried fiery torches and as we walked through a
surprisingly long tunnel, they stopped and lit suspended torches
along the wall.

What I expected to be a typical
Nebraska tornado shelter, meant to protect from seasonal storms,
had turned into a long, but wide tunnel, leading further and
further into the earth. The already cold November night continued
to stiffen the frigid air the farther into the passageway we
walked.

Lilly’s hand in mine, I could feel her
tremble with anxiety. The look on her face was sheer determination,
etched with near panicked hysteria. Her already pale skin had
turned translucent by fear and her vibrant red curls framed her
face in a haze of frizz. I squeezed her hand, hoping to comfort,
except I couldn’t help but empathize her same fears.

Eventually we came to a thick stone
door. The small group ahead of us mounted their torches into frames
already nailed to the walls. Through the dim firelight I could see
small markings bordering the outline of the door and then another
large symbol set exactly in the middle at eye level: a snake,
wrapped in a circle, swallowing its’ own tail.

Angelica was the first one through the
door. She put her finger, just below her ear, where her jawbone met
her neck and I watched the faint flare of light. I realized she was
illuminating the same symbol of the snake eating its own tail, the
same symbol Lilly was on her way to receive. Angelica carried the
magic in her finger, from her neck to the symbol in the door. She
placed her index finger ever so softly on the serpent and I watch
with quiet awe as the door glowed in the same color as Angelica’s
magic before opening into a circular room.