Reckless Magic (45 page)

“
But why didn’t Lucan try to
find someone who actually liked him back?” I asked, confused why
anyone would fall in love with someone who didn’t feel the same
way.

“
There are several reasons I
believe; you see Lucan was scared. His father had died suddenly,
leaving him the sole heir to the throne. Having no children of his
own, and a fear of also dying young he was pressed to find a wife
and begin a family. Since the Curse, no King has ever been able to
produce more than one male heir. I believe that he is simply afraid
of death; even still to this day. He is afraid of his precious
bloodline dying. I believe he hoped your mother would cure all of
that. You see, she is a very powerful witch; probably the most
powerful of her generation. And I believe that Lucan thought with
their combined bloodline they would be able to save the line of
kings.”

“
What does her blood have to
do with anything?” I asked, trying to stay focused. I suddenly
yawned and realize how exhausted I was.

“
She is the daughter of the
last remaining Oracle. If you remember, the Oracles were the most
powerful Immortals before the King’s Curse. Yes, that makes you the
granddaughter of course.”

“
But I thought all of the
Oracles were dead?” I was really confused now.

“
One remains, but I believe
his soul died a long time ago,” Amory mumbled the last part, and I
saw true sadness in his eyes. But then he continued quickly, “So,
with that kind of magic mixed, Lucan was hoping for a super-child.
He was hoping to bring back the old magic; the magic that
disappeared when Derrick cursed us. Unfortunately though, for your
mother, it was more than business that drew Lucan to her; he
actually fell deeply in love with her. All of his attempts to win
her over failed; and sometime during all of this Delia and Justice
fell in love instead,” he shook his head as if frustrated with the
memory of it.

“
Delia,” I repeated softly,
saying my mother’s name out loud for the first time. “So, he killed
them?” I asked, terrified of the answer.

“
No, he didn’t. They
outsmarted him, but he hasn’t stopped hunting them to this
day.”

“
They’re alive?” I was
shocked and stunned. My entire life I had been told my parents were
dead. How was it possible they were still alive? And where were
they?

“
Truthfully child, I don’t
know the answer to that question. Nobody has heard nor seen them
since I received you and your brother on my doorstep when you were
just infants, and even then you were the only proof I had seen that
they were still alive. In all likelihood they probably are dead. I
don’t how anyone could still be hiding from Lucan after this many
years,” he looked at me with such sadness in his eyes that I was
not sure I could bear to ask him another question.

“
So how did they escape?” I
forced myself to ask, remembering my interest in his story and
accepting his answers so far.

“
The same way we just did.
They planned it very carefully. They must have practiced for
months, maybe years, but they were eventually able to dismiss their
magic and survive. They were the first Immortals to ever be able to
live without magic. They conditioned their human bodies then to
withstand the flight and one night they simply left. The wedding
was planned and preparations were made, and then one night, when
court was being held here, without a word to anyone they just left.
Justice’s mother was a shape-shifter, one of the old ones, when she
discovered her son missing; she shifted to look like your mother
and played the part of Delia until she believed they were given
enough time to escape. When Lucan discovered what she had done he
had as many shape-shifters as he could get his hands on, executed
gruesomely until she finally came forward. Once she was dead, he
lifted the decree from execution to exile; but that is only part of
the hell shape-shifters have lived through over the millennia. Your
parents seemed to have disappeared forever, when about one hundred
and fifty years later, you and Avalon showed up on my doorstep.
Justice actually left you with Angelica and she brought you to me
per their wishes, informing that you were twins and that you were
theirs. At that time they were still alive, but that was sixteen
years ago. I do know she was healthy enough to bare twins,
something that hadn’t been done since before Derrick was
king.”

“
And Lucan would kill me
just because I look like my mother, although he thinks she’s dead?”
I clarified.

“
I am certain Lucan believes
they are alive; I don’t doubt he has never given up his search. If
he were to uncover that you were Delia and Justice’s daughter, he
would not only have you tortured, but most likely use you to bait
out your mother and father. If he ever found out you had a twin
brother, then I’m afraid all hell would break lose.”

“
Why? Why does it matter
that Avalon and I are twins?”

“
Twins have always been rare
within the Immortals, but since the King’s Curse they have been
non-existent. With the old magic twins were unparalleled for
strength and power and on top of that they have a telepathic
connection so they work together flawlessly. I have yet to see
yours and Avalon’s true abilities, but the fact that you are twins
is proof that you have all four types of magic in your recent
genealogy, which is a miracle in itself. The interesting part is,
you do not have the old magic, you have a new magic, something
Immortals have never seen before. You are a rare and precious
commodity Eden, something Lucan would do anything to possess…. and
use,” Amory spoke with awe in his voice, and I found myself
embarrassed by all of these facts. I was not sure if I wanted to be
the secret weapon in a war I didn’t even know if I agreed with yet,
for either side.

“
How do I have all four
types? I thought intermarriage was forbidden or whatever?” I asked,
changing the subject a little.

“
Let’s see, your grandfather
was a witch and an Oracle; your grandmother was a medium; they also
married in secret, but she was later killed because of it. Justice,
you're father, was a titan and his father a titan, but his mother
was a shape-shifter; something nobody knew until the fateful shift
that began it all. That’s all four types and Avalon too; but your
strongest traits are witch and Avalon’s are titan, although we try
to make him play up his other ones. If he were to appear like a
titan, people would be suspicious why he isn’t with the Guard,” I
laid back on the grass, unable to sit any longer and listened to
the melodic tone in Amory’s voice.

“
Ok, so now I understand why
I shouldn’t have interrupted the trial. But why didn’t you tell me
all of this before? If I would have known this, I wouldn’t have
gone to all of the trouble of exposing myself. And dream walking
to? Why didn’t you tell me that was real?” I whispered quietly,
rubbing my eyes to keep them open.

A million stars lit up the night sky;
I pondered for a moment that although I was half way across the
world this was the same sky I looked up to when I was home in the
middle of America. The night was still cold, but the magic buzzing
steadily through my veins kept my blood warm.

“
I couldn’t tell you this
before because I wasn’t sure if you would be able to hide it from
Kiran. I was afraid that if he found any of this out that it
wouldn’t matter if you came to Romania or not. I have been waiting
for Kiran to discover you this entire semester and turn you over to
his father, but I’m afraid I underestimated him,” Amory said with
almost curiosity in his voice. “And the dream walking, I hoped it
was harmless. I was afraid that if you knew too much, that if you
protected yourself from Kiran too much, that would also make him
suspicious.”

“
What do you mean?” I asked
through another wide yawn.

“
I think that Kiran has
always known, or at least he’s known for some time. I’m not sure
how he would have recognized you, but after his reaction in the
courtroom I am almost positive he is aware of your identity,” I
perked up a little by Amory’s answer. If he knew this entire time,
why didn’t he ever say anything to me? Does that mean he was trying
to protect me this whole time?

“
So he knew who I was, but
didn’t tell his father? What does that mean?” I rubbed my eyes
again, determined to keep them open.

“
I think it means he had the
same reaction to you that his father had with your mother. He’s
obviously hoping for a different outcome,” Amory replied, laughing
a little.

“
Star crossed,” I
mumbled.

“
What’s that?” Amory asked,
although I was sure he heard me.

“
Nothing,” I answered
quickly. “If you were so afraid of Kiran finding out about me, then
how come you had me enroll at Kingsley?” my questions would keep
coming as long as I could stay awake. I finally had someone giving
me answers, I was not about to give up now. But then I yawned
again, and realized it was only a matter of time before I was able
to fight my exhausted body.

“
I never would have had you
come to Kingsley had I known that Kiran would be attending. But by
the time we got the call about his arrival, you were already on
your way to school. I had intended to intercede, but I couldn’t get
to you before your run in with Kiran in the lobby of the
Administration building. After that I had to hope for the best and
protect you as best as I could. Kiran’s interest in you however,
made me a failure as it turns out,” I expected Amory to be
disappointed in what he considered a failure, but he sounded more
entertained than anything.

“
Why do you think he never
told his father?” I asked again, not entirely sure what to think of
the whole story. I closed my eyes, promising myself that I would
stay awake and listen even if my tired eyes were shut.

“
You said it best Eden….
star-crossed,” and then I found the sweet surrender of sleep
beneath a wide open Romanian sky.

44.

Eden…. Where are you?

Something stirred me from my
unconsciousness. I fought wakening, and attempted to once again
fall into the deep abyss of sleep.

Damn it. Eden, where are
you?

A sharper, irritated memory lifted me
once again from sleeps’ grasp. The memory felt strange, like it
wasn’t mine, and even stranger like it was stumbling through a
wilderness. I rolled over, and concentrated fully on finding sleep
again.

Sticks and rocks jabbed into my side,
poking through my oversized sweatshirt. My cheek was wet and grimy
from damp leaves that had become my pillow. Gross.

I sat up; realizing the memory that
awoke me was not actually a memory but Avalon stumbling through the
wilderness trying to find us. I rubbed my bleary eyes surprised by
the light of morning. The forest was brightened by daylight, but it
must have still been early morning because the sun was just barely
shining from the peaks of the eastern mountain tops.

“
Eden!” Avalon shouted
through the trees. Apparently he got tired of waiting for me to
figure out where his voice was coming from.

“
Over here,” I struggled to
shout back through a hoarse and scratchy morning voice. I cleared
my throat and tried again, “Over here.”

I heard Avalon not far away, making
his way noisily through the thick trees and underbrush. Someone was
with him, although it was hard for me to determine the identity of
their magic when I felt like I had just been run over by a bus. I
was not sure how long I was asleep, but it wasn’t nearly long
enough.

I stood up to brush the leaves and
dirt off of me. My legs and back were incredibly sore and I heard
several of my joints make a cracking noise as I fought to get to my
feet. I didn’t have the patience to deal with tired muscles and
aching bones this morning; I sent my magic surging through my body,
heating my blood and relieving the tension in my exhausted
appendages.

I felt instantly better, the magic did
its job and my bones and muscles felt better than normal; I wasn’t
sure if there was any hope for my external appearance however. I
did my best to pick off the damp leaves and wipe away the dirt, but
I began to think they had become a part of me. I reached my hand up
to the top of my head in an attempt to deal with my hair, but after
feeling around for a few seconds, brought it back down. There was
no hope. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to shave it off when I
returned to civility.

“
Holy crap.,” Avalon blurted
out as he made his way over the top of the last hill that separated
us. “What happened to you?” he confirmed my obvious
suspicions.

“
Ugh,” I grunted back, not
knowing where to even begin.

“
Good morning Eden,” Jericho
called in a very chipper voice, following close behind Avalon. I
waved at him irritably, remembering I had been the one to tell
Avalon to bring him and bent over to tug on my ruined
clog.

“
Where’s Amory?” Avalon
asked and I looked around confused. I didn’t remember when he left,
or if he left; I didn’t remember anything. I must have been
sleeping hard.

“
I don’t know,” I said,
feeling out of it.