Endless Magic (21 page)

I spent the next hour just walking around, trying to read titles or wondering if the title I made out was actually the original copy of a book that seemed like it belonged in a museum under and airtight case and behind armed guards. My heart felt lighter in this room, relieved that even though I was fighting pure evil, there was an educated sophistication about the whole thing, a real history that belonged to the people as well as the illusive freedom I was determined to give them.

The room made me trust Jedrec in an unexplainable way. He fought my grandfather, but conceded that Amory was a skilled fighter and saved his life. He took in my tattoo with mild humor. And he brought me here, to a room that felt very much like escape.

Trusting a Titan was dangerous and I knew that. They swore their allegiance to Lucan and even if my plan for freedom included them, as of right now they were my enemy. They would do anything to protect Lucan for fear of their own lives and I had to remember that, because of that, I was their enemy too.

Yet I also trusted Talbott.

The door opened and I turned, thinking it would be Jedrec calling me from the books back to the confined space of Kiran's empty bedroom. Instead, Lucan stepped through the door, looking surprised to see me. We stared at each for only a moment, before I turned my attention back to the books my fingers rested on without bothering to bow or even acknowledge him.

I felt him stand in the doorway and stare at me. I didn't dare turn around and assess his expression, but I realized then that my defiance might have cost me something. I swallowed the lump in my throat and willed my defensive magic into control, realizing the broken handcuffs around my wrists should make me at least appear exhausted. I slumped my shoulders in an effort to look run down and sighed obviously.

Quick, heavy footsteps headed my direction and when Lucan's towering figure loomed over me, I had to drop my hand from the bookshelf to hide my trembling anxiety.

“Eden,” he greeted me curtly.

I turned toward him for the second time and nodded my head, forcing my lips into a smile so fake I felt like a cartoon. In general I tried to avoid addressing him all together. I couldn't bring myself to call him, “Your Highness,” or “Your Majesty.” I also knew that calling him “Lucan” or any of the other foul words I had rattling around in my head would get me into serious trouble.

“I'm glad you're here,” Lucan continued, still standing over me. “I wanted to congratulate you on your good behavior over the weekend. I appreciate your obedience. I understand that it is not in your nature to adhere to any kind of rules, let alone orders or commands.” Lucan's tone was purely factual, but still it was obvious he never thought I could pull it off.

A burst of short, derisive laughter escaped me and I turned on my heel to face the monster that thought he actually knew what I was capable of, or what my personality was like. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I am so happy to know that my efforts didn't go unnoticed,” I spat out sarcastically and then quickly added, “and that no innocent Immortal has to die today.”

I watched his eyes harden into steely slits of anger and he clasped his arms behind his back as if he were going to start a long lecture now. He was wearing a casual, but immaculately tailored suit and his royal robes were missing today. His crown, always tilted on his head, looked down at me mockingly, promising me I would never get one of my own.

“Despite what you think, or what I have led you to believe, I do not enjoy taking the lives of my people,” he answered tersely.

“Yeah, Ok,” I mumbled and stopped myself from rolling my eyes. I turned back to the books, and pretended not to pay him any attention.

“I know you do not have a high opinion of me, Eden, and let me be clear; I am not seeking one from you. But I do know your intention for me, for my family. I know you have your own aspirations for this crown, as foolish as they may be, and I would just like to understand how you think a kingdom should be ruled.” He stood beside me waiting for my response. The silence that settled over us was charged with intense expectation and I wouldn't have been able to keep my mouth shut even if I wanted to. His question demanded a response, not because the question came from a king, but because of the moral responsibility attached to it.

“With fairness,” I said simply and then added quickly but with more conviction, “with freedom.”

“Ah, yes. What is this imagined freedom you speak of?” Lucan snapped coldly. “My people
have
freedom. You had freedom until you started this idiotic mission that left me no choice but to strip you of it.”

“What about the Shape-shifters?” I accused. I saw on his face how fair he thought he ruled, how righteously and benevolently he believed he treated his people and I stood dumbfounded.

“What about them? Since you lack any knowledge of our history, let me enlighten you. They earned their exile; do not be fooled. From the beginning they opposed the monarchy and they could not be trusted. Later, there was peace between our two sides, or at least non-violence; but they are the ones who interrupted the balance, not the other way around.”

“My grandmother?” I pressed bravely. “Is that who you mean?”

“Of course, that's who I mean!” Lucan shouted at me, his anger flaring to life without warning. I took a step back impulsively, but he composed himself, tugging at his collar and then running his hand over his goatee. “Cecily destroyed any balance the rest of the kingdom had come to know. If you want to blame anyone for the cruelty those animals face today, blame her, not me.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” I hissed, appalled at his racist flippancy.

“That is the truth,” he leveled his gaze at me, daring me to push him farther. When I remained silent, he continued, “Besides, this is an ancient belief, and a popular opinion that is ingrained throughout the kingdom. You, my dear, are a lonely minority. And it is your rebellious human upbringing that whispers everyone has the right to be free and equal, not the truths of the world, of our world.”

“You're wrong,” I stated simply. “It doesn't have anything to do with being raised human, or being rebellious. Freedom is an inherent right bestowed upon every living, breathing thing by God Himself. Even animals deserve to be free.” I finished with deep sincerity and Lucan tipped his chin at me, thinking over my words carefully.

“But they are free, aren't they? Those animals you love so dearly.” His use of the word animals meant something entirely different from mine. “I don't hunt them. I don't bother them at all; they are free to live in peace within their own kind, as long as they stay away from my kingdom.”

“You mean they are free to stay in hiding. Your kingdom expands across the globe and your tyranny follows it,” I pointed out.

“Well, if that's how you want to look at it,” he conceded, almost smiling.

“And besides, by restricting interracial marriage, you are depriving our people freedom,” I continued. He pulled me into this argument and I was determined to get everything out.

“Their freedom? Ha!” Lucan mocked me, his eyes hardening again. “I have provided them with wealth and abundance. You will not find these complaints in the general population. Only a fool would reach beyond the extravagance of this life and defy me.”

“My parents are not fools,” I growled angrily before I could stop myself.

“Do not talk about your parents in front of me!” He shouted at me again, only louder this time, and with wild eyes that sent a shiver of fear tingling down my back. “How dare you even acknowledge their existence!”

“If you hate them so much, then why am I here?” I demanded, rising to his challenge. “Why are you forcing me into a marriage with your son? Why don't you just kill me and get it over with?”

A slow smile turned his unrestrained angry expression purely sinister and this time when the fear clutched at my throat, it was because of the indisputable evil that ran through his veins. “Eden, you are an abomination, a direct smear of defiance across my perfect kingdom, and yet look at what you are worth. That loathsome magic of yours is like nothing this kingdom has ever seen, purely unique and utterly invaluable. And as much as I want to drain every last ounce of it from your cold, writhing body, I have a son to think about. His future must be secured as well. Truly, I would like to watch him come to his senses and take that magic from you by force, and add it to his own as his rightful property. But there is a love there that even I cannot deny, and eternity is a long time to live in regret.”

“Wait a second,” I demanded, not believing him for a second, “You're telling me that you aren't going to kill me because you think Kiran's in love with me?”

“Exactly,” Lucan nodded. A serene, confident calm relaxed his ice blue eyes and I trusted this look even less.

“And you expect me to believe that you actually care about someone other than yourself?” I mocked, and this time I couldn't stop my eye roll.

The calm immediately disappeared from Lucan's disposition and his body became a rock-hard statue of grave earnestness. “Never question my relationship with my son. Do you understand?”

So violent were Lucan's mood swings, and so suffocatingly powerful was his magic that all I could do was nod my understanding and struggle to breathe through the oppression of his angry energy.

When I found my courage and my voice again, I continued, “Then you should be acutely aware there is no love between Kiran and me anymore. There was a time not that long ago, that I would have faced anything before I hurt him. But now, you will die together. Now, I will gladly kill you both.”

I expected a dangerous confrontation between us. I expected Lucan to fly off the handle and slap me, or murder me, or something. But instead of getting angry he broke into laughter. He tipped his head back, exposing his throat, and laughed at me.

When the hilarity of my words subsided, he returned his gaze back to me and his eyes grew serious, “The time to kill me has come and gone. Your threats mean nothing. And in a few short months, there will be nothing you can do that will harm my son either. You will have your own magic to thank for that,” he finished arrogantly, referring to my upcoming wedding.

I recognized his pride, his disgusting self-assurance that promised him his immortality was secure, and I felt sick, “Your son will never get my magic. I will never give it to him. And don't forget that Amory died. You count on his magic to ensure your invincibility, but he died to give it to you,” I explained coldly.

“I am not your weak grandfather,” Lucan replied flatly. “Don’t forget that. And my son will get your magic Eden, it's only a matter of time,” he walked around to the other side of me, inspecting books at his eye level. “Are you aware of what Kiran's favorite pastime is?” he asked casually. I shook my head, wondering where he was going with this. “Kiran is an avid hunter. And he is excellent at it. He has hunted ever since he was a little boy, and his skill has developed into a powerful instinct that is incredible for even Immortal standards. There has never been a beast that has escaped him, not a prey that he set his mind on capturing that he did not eventually possess. His mind works in skillful ways to find his prey's weakness and then utilizes it to ensnare the beast. He's brilliant really. In Africa he claims dozens of lions, cheetahs, and all manner of wild beasts to his credit. Here in these mountains he keeps a lodge filled with his trophies. He is cunning and smart and when he puts his mind to capturing something that he wants to possess, he stops at nothing until it is his.”

Lucan paused for a moment, letting his words sit heavily in the air. I pretended to be interested more in the books on the shelves than Lucan's menacing threats, but I couldn't stop my hands from trembling or the lump from rising in my throat.

“Do not think you are anything less than a prize to be won, a prize that my son has decided he wants. You are the prey that he is hunting now. And it may be done out of love, but it is still a game, it is still an obsessive desire to win. I have no doubt of my son's ability, in his perfect readiness, to capture what he wants when the time is right.” He paused so that I could feel the full effect of his threat. I swallowed uneasily, unable to turn my gaze to meet Lucan's eyes that scrutinized me from only a foot away. “You are already in his trap, Eden, and soon you will be in his possession, another trophy for his hunting lodge. Child, we have already won.”

And with that, Lucan turned around and marched from the room. When he was gone, I collapsed against the bookshelf, my heart beating wildly and my pulse pounding against my neck. I refused to believe anything that he said, any threat that he made, or any lie he promised was truth. Still, my magic flared with an ominous warning. I steadied my staggered breathing and forced myself to remember that I wasn't an animal running from a hunter. I was capable of fighting back, of thinking clearly and of taking down this monarchy.

They hadn't won anything yet.

Sebastian and I stepped off the palace jet onto a small airstrip outside of Paris after a short flight from Timisoara. Our security detail surrounded us immediately and followed us to a waiting black sedan, the driver standing at attention and ready to open our door. Someone from the palace flight staff unloaded our bags from the jet and transferred them to the trunk of the sedan as we walked through the hot summer humidity and climbed into the cool, air-conditioned backseat, leaving our accompanying Titans to pile into two other cars that would escort us to the Paris Palace.

“Oh, my gosh, it is so nice to be out of the Citadel!” I shrieked, once inside the privacy of the car.

Sebastian just smiled at me, and glanced down at the two handcuffs I still wore. The chains that linked them together at one time had been sawed off and so they looked more like chunky, iridescent bracelets than shackles, but still, they were reminders that I was a prisoner on leave for good behavior and nothing else.

“Where are we staying?” I asked, unable to hold back my excitement as the car left the airstrip and headed toward the City of Lights.