Reckless Magic (27 page)

“
It doesn’t matter; I’m not
here to kill you; only to protect her,” he nodded with his chin in
my direction and a surge of magic rushed through my
veins.

“
I should kill you,” Kiran
growled while stepping in front of me and blocking my body almost
completely from the other man’s view.

“
Don’t touch her,” the dark
figure lunged forward, but caught himself before he was within
Kiran’s reach.

They stood there staring at each other
menacingly. The petals continued to fall from the trees sweetly and
calmly. Complete silence surrounded us; I wasn’t sure what to do.
Seconds ago I felt the urgency to flee from Kiran, but now I felt
as though I must protect him; he clearly had the same instinct for
me.

Confusion washed over me. Although I
didn’t know who the cloaked man was, I could feel with every fiber
of my being that he meant me no harm. A vague sense of familiarity
flowed between the hooded man and me; his magic was very memorable.
Despite the man’s peacefulness towards me however, I did recognize
that he meant Kiran harm, and I refused to allow that to
happen.

“
Eden it’s time to wake up,”
the hooded man said firmly, and I knew somehow that he was right.
There would be no happy ending to this dream if I
stayed.

“
Please don’t be angry with
me,” Kiran turned around to speak to me, his eyes pleading. With
his back to his enemy, completely exposed, he gave me his signature
smirk and leaned down to kiss my cheek.

I closed my eyes, feeling the magic
turn to electricity, making every hair stand on end. Kiran’s warm
lips on my cheek made me forget about the other man, the man that
meant him harm. Such a small gesture, but his gentle kiss had me
reeling with dizziness. The last thing I heard in the dream was the
other man shouting a scream of rage; I felt Kiran disappear and
knew that I could now wake up.

My eyes shot open and I felt the bed
all around me. I was in my room, in my bed, striped comforter
surrounding me, pillows piled everywhere. I took in a big breath to
slow my rapidly beating heart. The dream felt so real, the forest
so vivid, Kiran’s touch so authentic.

I touched my fingers to my cheek, and
a slow blush rose to the surface. Usually my feelings for Kiran
were so confused, but in that dream they were crystal clear. I
smiled, remembering that in my dream his feelings were the same for
me.

I forced my mind to remember reality,
his crown, his girlfriend, and their betrothal. My smile
disappeared and I slammed my head back down against the pillows. I
covered my face with my arm and audibly groaned.

My dream was not only about a sweet
moment between Kiran and I, it was about his betrayal. My dream was
also about his desire to know something I knew I could never tell
him, although I didn’t even know what it was myself. Finally, my
dream was about the hooded figure that we'd met in the forest; the
man that haunted me even in sleep.

26.

“
Good morning, Eden,” Aunt
Syl sat at the kitchen island sipping a cup of coffee in her white
pajamas. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing her glasses; it
was such a comfortable feeling. I loved having breakfast with her
in the morning; it was something we rarely got to do. “I’m
surprised to see you up so early. Isn’t today Saturday?” she turned
to look at the clock, and I knew her question was
sincere.

“
Yes, today’s Saturday. I
don’t know, I had the strangest dream and then I couldn't fall back
asleep,” I rubbed my eyes feeling like I had had no sleep at all
last night. “Have you been at the hospital?”

“
Yes, since sometime
yesterday. Or the day before. I can’t really remember anymore,” she
yawned big, causing a chain reaction, and I yawned in response.
“The days are starting to run together. Do you want a cup of
coffee?”

I nodded my reply and she stood up to
get a big black coffee cup from the cabinet. I sat down next to her
seat and inhaled the aroma of the strong Columbian coffee she was
pouring into my cup.

“
Did you want me to make you
something for breakfast?” she asked while handing me the hot cup
and taking her seat next to me.

“
No thank you, this is
fine,” I smiled and looked over her shoulder at the newspaper she
had been reading. While she may have been an expert surgeon,
pancakes were a little out of her league.

“
Hey, how are you doing with
the whole Immortal thing?” she looked up from the business section
of the Saturday morning World Herald and gave me a concerned
look.

“
I’m fine; I mean.… I’m
coping,” I gave her a reassuring smile and contemplated my
feelings. I hadn’t really thought things through; I’d just accepted
everything at face value. I knew there were lots of things I needed
to learn and sort through, but at the moment, all I could do was
accept who I was and what I was capable of.

“
Well, if you ever need to
talk about it, I’m here,” she patted my back and kissed the top of
my head. She was the reason I never felt the need to think about my
parents until now.

“
It doesn’t freak you out?”
I asked, taking a nice long sip of the steaming hot
coffee.

“
Oh no, not at all. Amory
and I have been friends for years, long before you came along,” she
gave me a wink and I didn’t think I wanted to ask her any more
questions about that.

“
But you didn’t know my
parents?” I wondered out loud.

“
No, I never met them. Amory
and I were—" she was interrupted by the doorbell. We both looked at
each other and rolled our eyes; mentally calculating which one of
us was dressed enough to answer the door. The familiar tingling of
electricity pricked the back of my neck and a feeling of anxiety
washed over me.

“
I’ll get it,” I groaned,
standing up and regretfully setting my coffee down. I made my way
through the large chef’s kitchen to the front room; my slippers
made a padding sound as I walked over the hardwood
floors.

Not bothering to look at who it was
first, I threw the door open, and sent a rush of cool air into the
house. I didn’t know who I expected to see on the front porch, but
Talbott Angelo was probably the last person I wanted to see. He
stood in front of me, dark hair combed, green eyes blazing, holding
a bouquet of pink chrysanthemums. My mouth dropped open.

“
Hello Eden,” he said
calmly, accenting each syllable to clean up his accent. I tried to
mouth something in reply, but couldn’t make a sound. What was he
doing here? “May I come in?”

I moved out of the way silently and
allowed him to pass; this was so strange. I instantly regretted not
asking Aunt Syl to answer the door instead.

He walked casually by me and then
turned around to face me again in the foyer. I glanced through the
door one more time, looking for Kiran or the mailman or anyone else
to rescue me from what I expected was going to be a very awkward
conversation.

“
I am sure you are wondering
what I am doing here at such an early hour. I apologize for not
giving you advanced warning. I didn’t have much warning myself,” he
smiled apologetically and I subconsciously covered my stomach with
my arms, wishing I had a sweatshirt nearby to throw on.

“
Prince Kiran sent me over
this morning insisting that I made sure you were unharmed. I see
that you are,” he cleared his throat and glanced back at the front
door as if wanting to escape through it. I wished he would and
wondered why he didn’t.

“
What? Why? What is Prince
Kiran so worried about? And why didn’t he just call?” I flashed
back to my dream and found it strange that after such a vivid dream
of him, he would send someone to check on me.

“
Prince Kiran was worried
about your safety. When he woke up this morning he demanded that I
personally check to make sure you were alright; he seemed to think
you were in some sort of danger,” he shook his head a little, as if
annoyed. “And I don’t know why, but he said it was urgent. However,
I can see you are just fine,” Talbott continued to stand there
awkwardly holding the flowers. Despite Talbott’s efforts to be
nice, I saw glimpses of the side of him that hated me. I was
reminded of how rude he was to me at Kiran’s club.

“
Yes, I am fine,” I said
sounding more defensive than I had intended. “I still don’t
understand why he didn’t just call.”

“
Prince Kiran has been
forbidden from talking with you. He sends his apologies,” I
couldn’t help myself and let out a small laugh. I could deal with
the whole Immortal thing, but all of these royal rules and
standards of conduct were an entirely different matter. Talbott
shot me a confused look, but I didn’t have an explanation for him
and so I stayed silent. “Do you have a message you would like me to
relay to him?”

“
Is this because of
Seraphina?” I blurted out.

“
Well yes in part, I tried
to warn you,” he shook his head again.

“
What’s the other part?” I
asked, ignoring his ‘I told you so.’

“
His father. You are a
witch, isn’t that right?” I nodded my head yes, feeling odd to have
this conversation with someone other than Principal Saint or
Avalon. “Kiran is not allowed to marry a witch; he must marry a
medium by royal edict,” he said this with finality; I decided not
to indulge Talbott by asking any more questions.

“
Who said anything about
marriage?” I grumbled under my breath.

“
Eden, you must understand
that Kiran has responsibilities; responsibilities that he has so
far failed to take care of. He will one day become King and that
requires discipline; you are only a distraction to him.”

I flinched from his words, and then
instantly regretted looking weak in front of him. I was surprised
by his boldness however; not many people were very open and honest
with me. Despite my malicious feelings for Talbott, I could at
least appreciate his honesty.

I noticed that Talbott felt bad for
his harsh words and could no longer look me in the eye. He didn’t
offer an apology and I half wondered if he was waiting for me to
give him one.

“
That is beside the point,”
he cleared his throat and offered me the flowers. I didn’t take
them right away, but glared at their pretty petals instead. “Eden
will you please go to the Fall Equinox Dance with me
tonight?”

“
You’ve got to be kidding
me,” I held back my laughter and eventually took the flowers from
him, not knowing what else to do.

“
I wish I was; please
understand that this is Kiran’s idea.... no, Kiran’s order. I have
been ordered to make sure you are protected this evening,” he
clasped his hands behind his back and I saw a hint of his military
training.

“
Protected from what? No
thank you, I will be just fine…. here…. alone,” this was
ridiculous.

“
Please go to the dance with
me,” he softened his voice, but hardened his tone. “Kiran has
ordered me to stay with you; but I am afraid that he is the one in
danger. I need to be near him tonight,” Talbott looked down at the
ground.

“
You’re right, you do need
to be near him, and you’re definitely not staying here with me. And
I am definitely not going to that stupid dance,” the man in black
passed through my mind again and a feeling of uneasy started to
grow in the bottom of my stomach.

“
Eden, you don’t have a
choice,” Talbott said exasperated. “He’s the Crowned Prince; you
have to do what he says.”

“
You are kidding me,” this
was ridiculous. I was almost too angry for words.

“
No, I’m not. Please be
ready by seven,” he walked passed me and opened the
door.

“
What is going to happen to
Lilly?” I called after him, fuming.

“
I don’t know,” he replied
softly.

“
Well, aren’t you going to
do something?” I accused, tired of being told what to
do.

“
Lilly Mason lied to me, and
she lied to the Crowned Prince, she is on her own. I cannot help
her.... no one can help her,” he nearly growled the words before
closing the door behind him.

I stood in the foyer, flowers in hand,
staring at the door. I was so angry I could spit.

“
He’s right dear; you do
have to do what Kiran asks,” I turned to see my aunt standing in
the door-frame, arms folded, with a concerned look on her
face.

“
Ahhh!” I let out a small
scream of frustration, threw the flowers on the floor and stormed
up to my bedroom. If I was going to be treated like a child, then I
was going to act like one.

27.

I rummaged through my closet, throwing
piece after piece of clothing into a pile on my bedroom floor. I
couldn’t decide what to wear, against my will, to the dance. My
nice clothes seemed too dressy and my casual clothes seemed too
dumpy. I contemplated wearing the Kingsley uniform just to spite
Talbott, but decided that he wouldn’t care and I would look like an
idiot.

I’d never been to a dance before and I
didn’t know what to expect. My high school experience had thus far
been a disaster and the last thing I wanted to add to my long list
of high school embarrassing moments was an opportunity to willfully
show off what lack of dance moves I had. The only thing, in fact,
that could get me to go to the dance was a royal decree, which was
apparently what I was up against.