Gathering Darkness (19 page)

“Cleo?” Nic touched her arm. “You've gone pale. What is it?”

She met his concerned gaze and a smile slowly spread across her face. “That sign I wanted? To give me hope? I think it just walked through those doors.”

LUCIA

AURANOS

T
he king had readily agreed to make Alexius Lucia's
elementia
tutor.

Yet somehow, Lucia hadn't realized that this decision would result in
actual
lessons
, having considered it merely an excuse for Alexius to stay at the palace.

Initially, back in Limeros, Magnus had tried to help her with her magic—encouraging her to use air magic to lift objects heavier than flowers, to summon fire magic that would do something more powerful than light a candle. For all her recent difficulties with her brother, he'd been the first to encourage her, to help her accept her burgeoning powers rather than think of them as evil, as it was with witches who were executed for their crimes. For this, she'd always be grateful to him.

Much more recently, the king had released an accused witch from the dungeons, in the hope she might help his daughter learn how to further control her abilities.

But the witch had been an inadequate tutor. She'd been offensively weak and easily intimidated by the far superior magic Lucia displayed with barely any effort. And that had been the end of her.

Alexius was quite different. After all, as an immortal, he was
created
from magic. Even in his mortal form, he embodied it. Although he readily admitted that the magic he could summon paled in the light of Lucia's prophesied
elementia
, he had full confidence he could be an asset to her. And to her father.

He and Lucia had shared one full day of lessons, from sunrise to sunset, locked in Lucia's chambers with the furniture and rugs pushed to the edges of the room to create plenty of space for them to move about freely on the smooth marble floor.

Similarly to Magnus's teaching style, Alexius had Lucia lift objects with air magic, and use fire to light small blazes. She used water magic to create ice, and earth magic to nurse dying plants back to life.

“I can heal your leg,” she said to him, having noticed his slight limp as soon as he arrived. “Shall I try?”

Alexius brushed his fingers against the fabric of his trousers. “That'll be impossible, I'm afraid. This cut will have to heal the same way a mortal's would. Earth magic—healing magic, either mine or another's—won't work on me anymore.” He offered her the edge of a smile at her look of dismay. “It's all right. There are many penalties for choosing to leave the Sanctuary. This is but one of them. I'll be fine, I promise.”

“I don't accept that. I still want to try,” she insisted.

“Very well, my stubborn sorceress. Try.” He pulled up his pant leg and unwound the gauze bandages. Lucia winced upon seeing the gash on his otherwise flawless golden skin. She shrugged off her surprise and focused, channeling as much earth magic as she could into the wound—just as she'd done when she'd healed Magnus after he'd been horribly injured during the siege to take this kingdom.

But where she'd succeeded with Magnus, she failed with Alexius. Still, she continued to try until she felt weary from the effort.

“Enough, princess.” He finally grasped her wrist. “Our final lesson of the day is this: You can't win every battle.”

More than anything, she was annoyed by her failure. And she hated that Alexius was hurt and she couldn't help ease his pain. That had been the end of yesterday's lessons; she had become so exhausted, her mind so filled with the darkness that naturally came from using her magic, that her body ached. She wanted to sleep for a week.

Still, her head swam and she marveled at the reality of having Alexius here in the flesh. So much so that, as she lay in bed that night looking up at the silk canopy above her head, she realized she'd barely asked Alexius anything about . . . well,
anything.
They'd talked of nothing beyond her lessons and her promises to show him the city. She swore to rectify that the following day.

He arrived shortly after her light breakfast of tea and yogurt with sliced peaches. The servant who'd brought the tray to her chambers eyed both her and Alexius with curiosity, so Lucia quickly sent her away and locked the door for privacy.

He brushed his gaze over her face. “You look . . . rather determined today.”

“I am,” she agreed. “Did you meet with Father last night?”

The king had insisted that the exiled Watcher give him updates at the end of each daily session. He would probably enjoy personally monitoring their lessons as well, but Lucia wouldn't agree to that. Luckily, he hadn't yet suggested it.

“Yes, and I told him his daughter is doing quite well, and that he should be very proud.” He walked around the large room, his gaze landing on the canopied bed, the vanity table, the reading and study area through an archway to the left, and the open balcony doors that let in fresh air and sunlight. “We'll work in here again today, but tomorrow I think we should take your lessons outdoors to be closer to nature. Closer to the elements.”

“What about Melenia?” Lucia asked.

He grew still and glanced at her, his brow raised. “What about her?”

“Has she contacted you?”

“Actually, yes. She visited my dreams last night for the first time since I left the Sanctuary. She was very pleased to know I've arrived and made contact with the king. And, of course, with you.”

When she'd found Alexius in the city, he didn't mention that he was a messenger for another beautiful immortal with mysterious ties to her father. Alexius had said only that he'd exiled himself to be with her. Because he loved her. When he'd admitted the true purpose behind his arrival to the king in the throne room, she'd been blindsided and uncertain how to feel about it.

She knew that she was missing many pieces to the puzzle of Alexius's true purpose for being there. She wanted—no, she
needed
—to gather them all as quickly as possible.

“What does she want?” she asked, attempting to lighten her words with a smile. “And how often does this beautiful immortal woman plan to visit you in this rather
intimate
way?”

Alexius drew closer. His silvery eyes met hers, and she saw that they were filled now with an unexpected whisper of humor. “You're not jealous, are you?”

She bristled. “Of course not.”

“Melenia is my elder and my leader, even now that I've left. She cares for my well-being, especially in my first few days as a mortal. Try not to concern yourself with her or your father's interest in the ways of Watchers. Instead, focus on what's important: getting stronger, gaining control, and growing your power.”

“Does that translate to ‘don't be a silly girl who asks silly questions'?”

“Hardly.” The amusement in his eyes did not wane. “We should begin today's lessons. We'll burn off some of this paranoia you've woken up with this morning.”

Perhaps he was right. “Fine. Then let's begin.”

This second day of lessons turned out to be much different than the first. Alexius began by forming a flame in the palm of his right hand, which reminded her of the one she'd conjured to both impress and frighten the boy responsible for the explosions during the rebel escape. A memory she'd just as soon forget. She'd heard that Amara had been staying at the palace the last couple of days, but Lucia hadn't wanted to speak with her. Knowing Amara would have questions about her magic that Lucia wasn't prepared to answer, she wanted to avoid the other princess for as long as she possibly could.

She'd deal with her another day.

“Here's what I want you to do,” Alexius said, his face lit up by the flickering flame. “Concentrate on this fire I've created with my own magic—concentrate on it with every part of your mind. Without using any fire magic of your own, I want you to take this flame away from me.”

It took her a moment to understand. “You want me to
steal
your magic.”

“That's right,” he said. “This is quite different from what we did yesterday, which was just simple elemental manifestation.”

“Yes, so simple.” She raised an eyebrow.

His lips curved upward. “For you, it seems to be. However, I guarantee that this will be more of a challenge. Think of your magic as an invisible muscle that, when strengthened, will increase your control. You can conjure fire yourself, or you can take someone else's.”

“All right. My magic is a muscle.” She studied the flame dancing on the palm of his hand. She concentrated with all her might, until the world closed in around that small tuft of fire. She could feel the warmth of both the flame and Alexius.

Not her magic.
His
magic.

She focused as much as she could, until beads of perspiration formed on her forehead. “This is difficult,” she managed.

“Yes, it is,” was his rather infuriating reply.

She refused to give up. It took several minutes, but, finally, with great effort, the flame disappeared from Alexius's hand and reappeared in hers.

She inhaled sharply, then laughed with relief. “I did it!”

“You did. Well done, princess.” He nodded, his expression pleased. Then he waved his hand and extinguished her flame. He held out his palm and a second flame appeared. “Now, do it again.”

Her laughter faded. “Again?”

“That's right.”

She placed her hands on her hips. “Did Eva have to do these sorts of lessons?”

Now Alexius was the one to laugh. “Well, Eva was an immortal, born of magic and power. The original sorceress was not a mortal girl whose
elementia
didn't awaken until the age of sixteen. So, no. Eva didn't have to do these sorts of lessons.”

Lucia knew she could complain and today's lessons would end immediately, but that wouldn't get her anywhere. Controlling her
elementia
was her sole purpose, and Alexius could help her. Plus, she couldn't say that spending hours upon hours with the boy of her dreams was that much of a hardship, even if she'd already found him to be a harsh taskmaster.

She focused on the flame, her brow furrowed with concentration. This time, it took her half as long to steal his magic. She held the fire in her hand and grinned at Alexius.

“Good,” he said. Once more, with a wave of his hand, the fire disappeared and reappeared in his palm. “Again.”

Her smile fell.

And so it went, the same lesson again and again—ten, twenty, thirty, forty times—until she could do it with ease. As they neared midday, Alexius finally called for a break and went to the balcony to gaze out at the landscape beyond the palace walls.

She stared at the flame, entranced by its beauty before she squeezed her hand into a fist to extinguish it. “You know, I've come to learn that this palace's library has many more books about your people than the Limerian library does.”

“
My
people?” Alexius glanced over his shoulder from where he stood at the banister. “You mean Watchers?”

“It's funny to me that you call yourselves Watchers.”

“Most of us don't. Only those who have had contact with the mortals, who coined that title for us. Really, a more appropriate moniker would be
Guardians
.”

“Because your kind was created to guard the Kindred.”

He eyed her with curiosity. “You have been reading some interesting books, haven't you?”

“Some. But there are many legends that have been passed down through generations. Generations that existed before the age of books.” Lucia once had a nanny who would tell her bedtime stories that the king or queen wouldn't have approved of, had they known . . . stories of beautiful immortals that could turn into hawks.

“My people,” he said, “were originally created to be guardians to this entire world, to help keep it safe. To protect it from anything or anyone who might wish to harm it. But some plans don't work out the way they're intended.” Lucia joined him on the balcony, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on her face. “Originally, six immortals were created to be these guardians. They are the elders of our kind, and they existed for centuries before the rest of us came into being.”

She was pleased that he seemed willing to share new information with her today. “Melenia is one of the six elders?”

He nodded. “Eva was one, too.”

“I read she was the youngest, and the most naïve.”

“That's not true,” he said quickly. “Actually, Eva was the first immortal created, which is why her magic was the most powerful. All who were created after her were somewhat . . .
less
. She drew a lot of envy because of this.”

Lucia frowned. This was not what she'd believed all this time, and it was a revelation. Eva was the first? “That isn't a well-known detail of the legend. It's not in any book I've ever read.”

“No, it wouldn't be. There are some who prefer to keep such truths locked away to serve their own agendas.” He winced, and began to rub his chest as if it pained him to speak.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yes, I'm fine.” A grin spread across his handsome features. “I guess you wore me out with our morning of lessons.”

That made one of them. Lucia felt energized, ready for more.

Looking down at her hands, she said, “So . . . my magic is the same magic Eva possessed. It's as if it's a separate entity entirely, which can be passed from one person to the next. Much like what we did with the flame.”

Alexius shook his head. “It's not nearly that easy. Your magic is a part of you, but it is powerful enough to survive beyond death.”

She struggled to understand all of this and her place in it. “Why me? Why was
I
the one chosen to receive Eva's magic after all these years? Why not some other girl?”

He looked around the room as if searching for answers, and his gaze caught on the silhouette of a golden hawk soaring past the balcony in the distance. His expression grew wistful. “It was meant to be you, princess. It's your destiny, no one else's. But I'll admit I can give you no tangible reason as to
why
you in particular. It simply . . .
is
.”