Reckless Magic (42 page)

I finished as quickly and turned to
face the door. I decided the quickest route into the courtroom and
then took one final breath before throwing the bathroom door open,
sprinting through the lobby and bursting through the double brass
doors.

“
Lilly Mason is innocent!” I
yelled at the top of my lungs, adrenaline and nerves getting the
best of me.

40.

The courtroom was silent, all eyes
turned towards me; mouths fell open, a pin drop could be heard.
After my outburst, I found myself speechless; I was disoriented.
This was not at all what I had expected.

I took in the unexpected sight
quickly, unsure what to make of my surroundings. I didn’t know what
I thought I would find, but the courtroom looked more like a
cathedral than a place for judge and jury. The ceiling was vaulted
all the way to the top of the castle spire; large stained glass
windows extended two of the walls with elaborate and colorful
designs reaching from floor to ceiling. The other wall, not
containing the entrance doors was made of stone and practically
bare, except for a large tapestry hanging in the center.

At the front of the room was a large
imposing throne, at least twenty feet tall and made of what looked
to be solid gold. An extremely good looking man of maybe thirty,
sat straight edged, staring at me; his crown of more gold was
slightly cockeyed on his head. The crown adorned with rubies and
emeralds glistened on top of short golden locks, and matched his
closely cropped goatee.

I stood there staring at him,
wondering if I should bow or curtsy or continue with my testimony.
He was obviously the king; unfortunately, I couldn’t remember
anything I had practiced to say. He jumped up suddenly and I took a
step back; his simple gesture frightened me. He wore a long crimson
robe and swept it back as he moved to stand. The entire room of
people sat silently, waiting for him to say something.

My eyes finally fell on Lilly who was
positioned in the middle of the room, surrounded by rows and rows
of people forming a type of octagon around her. She was wearing a
simple black robe with a hood, and her vibrant red hair stood out
in stark contrast. She was boxed in on every side by what looked
like a witness box, sitting on a stool in the middle. Our eyes met
for only a second, but the gratitude she relayed to me in those
brief moments made my entire trip worth it.

“
Excuse me,” Kiran’s
familiar voice nearly shouted his apology and all at once he moved
from his place next to his father and towards me.

I looked back over at the king, whose
expression I couldn’t read; something like anger, or surprise or a
mixture of the two, but then there was something much deeper in his
eyes. Kiran practically ran to me from his throne that was barely a
smaller version of his fathers. He too was wearing a golden crowned
adorned with colorful jewels and sitting crooked on his head. His
longer locks, a little unruly underneath, gave him an almost wild
appearance, but one I was infinitely attracted to.

“
What are you doing here?”
he whispered fiercely in my ear. He grabbed my arms firmly in his
and shoved me forward to the base of the throne. “Curtsy,” he
whispered again even harsher and half pushed me into the position.
I was confused enough not to fight him, although this was not
exactly what I had planned. “Excuse us,” he said loudly again, only
this time he addressed the entire courtroom.

He turned to walk purposefully past
the rows of people and through a side door, dragging me along with
him. I tried to fight him off of my arms, after all, I hadn’t
finished my testimony, but his grip was so tight I realized there
was no use. Once we were through the wide brass door, he threw me
out of his arms roughly. I struggled to regain my balance and when
I finally was able to stand strongly I turned directly to give him
a piece of my mind.

“
Don’t even start with me!”
he spoke softly, but his voice was full of venom. “I told you not
to come, I ordered you not to come. What the hell are you doing
here?” he began to pace frantically, glancing at the door every
several seconds.

“
Somebody had to stand up
for Lilly!” I felt like shouting, but I used the volume example he
set instead, although I filled my voice with as much irritation as
I could muster.

“
Well you did that, didn’t
you? And made a fool of yourself! And now you’ll probably be
sentenced to a worse fate than she would ever have been! How could
you be so reckless?” he continued to pace, and glance at the door,
but eventually he added a nervous glance in my direction. His eyes
were filled with fear and anxiety and the way he looked at me made
my anger melt away despite the verbal lashing I was
receiving.

“
All because of a stupid
interruption?” I asked, finally taking the situation
seriously.

“
Because of who your parents
are and because you look exactly like your bloody mother!” he
finally stopped pacing and walked over to me, bringing me into his
arms. I let him, confused once again, but comforted by his
affection.

The door opened and he pulled me
tighter into him, shielding me from the intruder. I could feel him
hold his breath and when I looked up at him his eyes were shut
tight, but as soon as the door closed and it was clear the only
person that entered the room was Amory, he relaxed and exhaled. I
was so confused by his behavior; I had no idea what to
feel.

“
What are you doing here?”
Amory whispered, clearly enraged. “It doesn’t even matter now. What
are you going to do with her?” he turned his attention to Kiran,
practically pleading with him.

“
I can’t….” Kiran’s voice
broke and I heard the emotion in his voice. Tears came to my eyes
as my emotions were so tied up in his, I couldn’t bear to see him
so upset. “You have to take her; you have to get her the hell out
of here. You have to save her, Amory,” Amory stared, wide eyed and
clearly in shock at Kiran’s demands. “You can’t let him take her.
Please…. I can’t lose her,” his voice broke again and I saw that
his eyes were full of tears.

“
I don’t know what to…. I
won’t. I won’t let him anywhere near her,” Amory’s confusion
disappeared and I watched him mentally set his mind to a
plan.

“
Do whatever Amory says,
Eden,” Kiran turned his attention back to me, gazing into my eyes
and hugging my tighter. “You have to get as far away from here as
possible.”

“
No,” I said simply,
unwilling to be as melodramatic as these two.

“
Don’t you understand what
he will do to you if he finds out who you really are? He is most
likely already suspicious, you look just like her,” Kiran pulled me
closer still, pressing my head against his chest. He rested his
chin on the top of my forehead. I wondered at the “he” they
referred to.

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” I said softly, but firmly. “There is no way I am
leaving Lilly! Do you know what I went through to get
here?”

“
I don’t care what you went
through!” he pushed me away with his arms to look me in the face;
but his hands never left my body. “He will kill you Eden, do you
understand that?” Kiran whispered fiercely to me, and I was
physically taken aback. I looked over at Amory hoping for answers,
but he simply nodded in agreement with Kiran.

“
Then you save her,” I
demanded, glaring at Kiran, firm in my solution.

“
You can’t be serious! I
will be lucky if I can explain you away. My father will never allow
that!” his accent was thick and crisp and every bit of irritation
and frustration was evident in it.

“
I am completely serious. If
you can’t protect Lilly, then I will stay and fight for her
myself,” I struggled from his grasp and folded my arms
stubbornly.

“
No, you will absolutely
not,” Kiran crossed his arms in an equally defiant pose.

A knock on the door leading to the
courtroom startled Kiran and he once again took a defensive pose in
front of me. Amory opened the door slightly, revealing a beautiful
woman with long auburn hair, adorning a dainty golden crown. I
watched as Kiran stiffened in front of me and I felt the surge of
magic that flared beneath his skin.

“
I’m sorry for the
interruption,” the women began, “But your father has requested that
you join us once again,” she smiled congenially at him, never
looking beyond him. Her eyes stared at the floor just before his
feet.

“
I’ll be there in a moment
mother,” Kiran responded softly.

“
Is that her?” the woman’s
voice was strained and almost too soft to hear.

“
Of course not.” Kiran’s
voice was masked by cheerfulness but he took another step backwards
in my direction, shielding me further from sight.

The woman’s eyes flickered once in my
direction before she quietly shut the door and we were once again
alone. Amory opened a wooden door parallel to the door leading to
the courtroom and I saw that it led to a dim hallway. The floors
and walls were made of the same stone as the courtroom.

“
Take her to my room,” Kiran
announced loudly and suddenly.

Amory began to pull me out of the
room, and I understood that Kiran’s demand was only for show.
Wherever Amory planned to take me would most likely not be Kiran's
bedroom. I fought Amory, but only weakly, I knew I had no choice in
the matter.

“
Please, Kiran,” I begged.
“Please save her.” Tears welled in my eyes and I wasn’t for sure if
they were for Lilly or Kiran.

He let out a soft grunt of
frustration, but I could see that his eyes were resigned. He would
help her. He put his hand on the door handle opposite ours, but
turned around quickly as if he forgot something. He took the length
of the room in two long strides and suddenly I was wrapped in his
arms and his lips were against mine.

Kiran pressed his mouth on mine
desperately. He dipped me back so that I was fully in his embrace.
I gave up all fight and let his lips melt into mine. Our magic
mingled together in a fervent, passionate, overwhelming force that
left me breathless and wild. His hand grasped at my hair, tangling
his fist into my dark locks.

When he finally released me, the
emotion in his face was indefinable but I understood it since it
was the emotion mirrored in mine. He pushed me out of the room
towards Amory and I found myself swept up in Amory’s tight grasp as
I fought to return to him.

“
Promise me nothing will
happen to he,” Kiran commanded Amory, and when Amory hesitated out
of confusion, Kiran demanded louder, “Promise me!”

“
I promise,” Amory whispered
quietly and with steady resolve.

Then the door was closed and I was
running down a dark hallway, Amory practically pushing me to move
faster. I was done asking questions. Nothing made sense; nothing
was ever explained to me. For now I would do as I was told because
Kiran asked me to, but there would come a time very, very soon when
I would get my answers.

I glanced over my shoulder at the
closed door and the room that only seconds ago housed the most
intimate moment Kiran and I had ever shared. As I ran blindly in
the dark, my feelings for Kiran were finally clarified. I loved
him, with every breath I had, with all of my soul, I loved him. And
I would do anything it took to be with him.

41.

“
Through here,” Amory
ordered, pushing me through another darkened passageway.

We had been running through the bowels
of the castle for at least twenty minutes. Amory seemed to know
exactly where he was going and I tried to trust him, but remained
skeptical. I was once again a sweaty mess and wished we could stop
for a moment so I could remove my sweatshirt. My hair flew wildly
about me, sticking to the perspiration running down my
face.

“
Where are we going?” I
asked, out of breath, stumbling a little in the dark.

“
As far from here as
possible,” he responded, pushing me forward with his hands. “And
through here,” he suddenly turned right and took the lead. I
struggled to keep up with him.

The passageway was dark and narrow,
there was barely enough room for us to face forward between the
cool stone walls. At one point we had taken stairs leading
downwards, so I assumed we were some where underneath the castle. I
was still unsure why we had to make this escape, but as long as
Kiran kept his promise, I would keep mine and follow Amory without
question.

“
Stop,” Amory whispered
fiercely, pressing his body against the wall and thrust out his
arm, forcing me to do the same.

We were quiet, both afraid of the
unknown. The only sound I could hear was my own frantic breathing;
I wiped the sweat from my brow, pushing my long hair behind my
ears. Amory also breathed heavily, but I had been surprised at his
level of fitness. He was awfully spry for someone of his
age.

“
Eden,” he said softly, but
gravely. “I need you to turn off your magic completely. I need you
to repress it like you did before you knew what it was. Hold your
magic in until we are safe. Can you do that?” he turned his head to
give me a serious stare and I nodded my reply.