Kissing Magic

by Day Leitao

  Cayla came into the room flushed. For some reason Karina felt embarrassed, as if she were interrupting or witnessing an intimate moment.

  Karina tried to get a conversation going. “So, did you guys talk it out?”

  “Not really, no. So many things happening, and right now… We weren’t into talking.”

  Cayla then asked more about Siphoria and the Darloom castle, and the girls ended up talking a little before going to bed. Karina focused on the parts that weren’t painful and tried to keep a neutral tone. It was already hard for Karina to admit to herself that she hadn’t forgotten Sian and her heart still hurt. No way she was going to tell any of that to Cayla, lest the girl think Karina was the biggest idiot in the world. Worlds.

  When Darian had asked to see his mother’s grave, he didn’t imagine he’d find a mausoleum with a huge statue of her. So much of his past that he still didn’t recall very well. He wished she hadn’t died when he was still so young, and at the same time wondered how much she knew about her death and her future. What he most wondered, though, was why his brother had been left with his father. Maybe he knew. His people had a thing of “letting the storm pass”, or “let the river run its course”. He wasn’t sure if it was the best approach, but he couldn’t change anyone’s mentality.

  He heard steps behind him and knew who it was before even turning. Cayla wore a loose white dress and looked like a vision or a painting.

  “You woke up early,” she said.

  He gestured to the statue. “This is my mother. I think it was about time we made the introduction.”

  “I sometimes think it’s so unfair that your mother should be dead.”

  “We each have our own path to walk, right? Losing my parents was mine.”

  “Maybe.”

  He reached out and held her hand. She smiled. He asked, “Did you sleep well? How’s your friend?”

  “Karina’s fine. She’s with Leena now. Why do you worry so much?”

  “I look at her and I see my brother.”

  Cayla winced. “Poor girl, she’s not ugly. I’m not saying your brother’s ugly, but he looks like a guy, and she looks like a girl. A pretty girl in fact.”

  “Very funny. I’m not the only one who sees him in her. Did you see how well received she was? I heard some whispers. They consider her Sian’s… I don’t even know what. Future wife, something. And he’s my mother’s son, so they’ll respect her.”

  “They spent a lot of time together, Darian. They were actually a lot closer than I thought. So maybe, I don’t know, she has his energy in her or something.”

  “That’s possible.” Darian took a deep breath.

  “How do you feel? Looking at all this? Is it all strange or do you remember it?”

  He thought about it. “Both. I feel it’s familiar, but at the same time, I feel like I’m looking at a strange reality, as if I were looking at me in a dream or something. It hurts, you know, that they didn’t trust me to keep my memories.”

  “I don’t think it was you they mistrusted. You went to Siphoria castle. What if you were tortured or something?”

  “Right. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust me, it was just that they sent me somewhere where they feared I might be tortured. That definitely makes everything better, Cayla.”

  She looked at him for a moment, as if thinking, then said, “At least you met me. Was it that horrible? And maybe you shouldn’t have this information, this magic, at the time. Maybe what they did was right.”

  “Maybe. Still, things come back to me in flashes and I feel so strange. But it doesn’t matter.” He looked at her. “I have a question for you, Cayla.”

  “What?”

  “You know, all this agreeing to marry, it was rushed, and maybe even unnecessary. The threat from the Arlenia king wasn’t even real.”

  “We don’t know.”

  “No. Still… It was forced, it was rushed. Would you really like to marry me?”

  Cayla rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”

  “No, I mean, really. Think about it. Would you live with me regardless of what happened? Would you have my children?”

  “Our children, selfish.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Fine, you want to debate that? It depends on how many, because I’m not having more than two or three.”

  “As little or as many as you want.”

  Cayla looked down. “I know what this is about. It’s because I said I wasn’t raised to be a peasant. It was rude, it was offensive, and I was angry. But part of it is true. I would have trouble adapting if I moved away from the castle. But being with you would make everything much easier.”

  “You were right to be angry. I was…” He still had trouble understanding what had happened. “Listen, before your mother went away, she made me promise that I would look after you, and that I would assume the title of king. I broke that promise, by the way, that day we fought, but… When I say I don’t like being king, I mean it. Somehow, maybe, I thought I was doing the boring stuff for you. I was trying to help.”

  Cayla looked in his eyes. “I’ve prepared to become queen since I was a little girl. It would be odd for me not to do it. It was odd to be tossed aside. But I need to ask you then; if you hate power so much, do you still want to be with me? Because we might never have the chance to go to a little house and live a normal life.”

  “I know. But it doesn’t matter. Home is where you are. Our little house could be a shack or a palace.”

  Cayla wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s settled then.”

  He kissed her forehead. “It is.”

  “Then let’s deal with your brother and that Darloom thing.”

  “Long day ahead.”

  30

  Let’s Talk

  Karina’s heart pounded as they traveled south towards Siphoria and the Queen’s castle. She’d gone over this many times, and she still thought she had to talk to Sian. Hopefully it wasn’t her stupid heart tricking her just because it wanted to beat near him. But no, she didn’t really want to see him, and that was part of why she was so nervous, as she had no idea what it would be like to see him again.

  Zayra and her friend Jax piloted the lift. On the back were Karina, Cayla, Darian, and Liam. Liam was a little cooler and more distant than before, but she caught him staring at her sometimes. He’d insisted on coming, and then Darian and Cayla had to come as well. The plan to deactivate the towers interrupting communication had been postponed. That was part of what was bothering Karina. Perhaps her decision would cost them precious time. On the other hand, if she could get Sian to change his mind, things would be much better when the forces from the north returned. If she could get him to change his mind.

  Karina still remembered the Light Gardens, that wonderful hidden city, and was glad that her memory hadn’t been modified or wiped. But then, hadn’t it? If she’d been made to forget something, she wouldn’t know.

  The lift landed on a small private field on the outskirts of the city.

  Darian handed her a communicator. “Talk to him, and if anything happens, let us know.”

  Karina put it in her coat pocket. “I will.” She had to get used to the cool weather again, after some respite in the north.

  Liam said, “I still think I should walk with you. I can get you inside the castle, since I know Sian and his friends. I don’t think they’ve caught up to the fact that I changed sides yet.”

  “Thank you, but I need to do this alone.”

  Somehow, she thought that coming to the castle with Liam would only aggravate Sian. It shouldn’t, though, since he already had someone else. Still, she didn’t want to take any risk.

  Liam shrugged. “Good luck then. Do you think you can find the castle?”

  Was that really a question? “Well, it’s big. Not exactly easy to miss.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Darian said.

  Cayla hugged her. “Good luck.”

  With a deep b
reath, she walked towards the castle.

  The area around the castle had a fence, with a small gate and some guards in temporary wooden towers patrolling the area. Of course, the castle was illegally occupied, with a usurper claiming the throne. Nothing would be business as usual. Karina got in a line of people trying to get in the castle. It was mainly castle employees, who apparently didn’t want to miss their shift, but many of them were turned down.

  When Karina’s turn came, she said, “My name’s Karina. I need to speak to Joel or Sian.” She hoped maybe Joel’s name would help her and hoped first names would do.

  A young man in the entrance replied, “Everybody does, everybody does.” He gestured for her to go away, as one scares a fly.

  Karina sighed. “Can I at least wait? Can someone pass my message?”

  The man shook his head, seeming genuinely sorry. “We’re not a lot of people here to be passing messages. Try again next week.”

  Karina walked back to the lift annoyed. Darian and Cayla weren’t there, but Liam was.

  “I guess you were right,” she said. “Can you get me inside the castle?”

  Liam was sitting down and reclined back. “I don’t know. I was relaxing here, you see?”

  Karina rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll go there and be more persistent.”

  She started to turn around, but Liam then was in front of her. “I was kidding. Of course I’ll go with you. On one condition.”

  “What condition?”

  “You’ll take my arm.”

  What the…? He couldn’t be serious. “Perhaps I could take your arm, but I won’t if I’m forced to. You know what? Never mind. I don’t want any favor from you.”

  Karina walked away and then heard steps beside her.

  Liam had joined her. “I was kidding. I’ll obviously get you in the castle, even if I think it’s a terrible idea.”

  The polite thing would have been to thank him, but she wasn’t in a polite mood. He walked with her in a different way. They crossed the streets of Siphoria rather than going through the river. He seemed to be taking a long cut, but then, maybe it was just an impression.

  As they approached the castle, they went to a side entrance. It also had a guard, to whom Liam spoke and gestured.

  Liam walked back to Karina, “You can go in.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered. His presence had helped indeed.

  A guard took her by the arm and accompanied to the castle. She had the feeling that she was being dragged like a prisoner. Well, there was a big chance that she would be locked somewhere, as Sian’s enemy. Why was she doing this then? Well, deep down, she didn’t actually believe he would harm her.

  Joel intercepted them. “Easy, easy,” he told the guard. “She’s not a prisoner.”

  “I thou—”

  Joel gestured for the guard to be silent. “Fine. Just let her go. I’ll take her from here.”

  The guard turned around and almost ran away. It was odd seeing Joel in such different circumstances. Well, they’d never been really friendly to each other, as he barely looked in her direction. “I’ll get you to your room then get Sian. He might take a while, though, but please wait for him before going anywhere.”

  Karina imagined that she’d be put in a waiting room, like in the time she’d come to see Cayla, but they were walking to the residential area. Joel opened the door to a bedroom with a large double bed and a small living area with two couches and a small table. Joel left her and closed the door.

  Karina waited a few seconds and checked it: unlocked. She opened the door and peeked outside. There was nobody in the hallway. She could have run away if she’d wanted to, but that would have been really stupid, since she hadn’t come to the castle to run anywhere, but to talk to Sian.

  Karina sat on one of the couches, trying to get comfortable since it would take a while. But she had barely sat down when the door opened. Karina was thinking it was Joel again, who’d forgotten to tell her something, but instead, she had a surprise.

  Sian came in, short of breath, in a long dark red overcoat. His face lit up when he saw her. “You came back! You’re all right.”

  This was weird. Karina had imagined this meeting, and in all her possibilities, this reaction had never occurred to her. She had always thought that he’d be angry, aloof, or the standard sarcastic Sian, but instead he looked at her the way he’d looked before she’d learned about his plans and they argued. Her heart was speeding up and was probably climbing up to come out of her mouth.

  Sian sat beside her and took her hands. “I heard about your lift accident. I wasn’t sure how hurt you were. I was so worried.”

  “I’m fine.”

  She could barely breathe. It wasn’t just his reaction and the surprise, but feeling his touch again, feeling his thin, long, fingers, and even just looking at him and realizing that none of her feelings for him had ever subsided. There was something special about the way he moved, the way he walked, perhaps even the way he held himself, plus just hearing his voice gave her chills. That said, she had to have some self-respect.

  Karina pulled her hands. “Where’s your queen?”

  Sian blinked, surprised—or perhaps pretending.

  She insisted, “You have a new queen, don’t you?”

  “You know it. Why are you asking about it?”

  “I’m just wondering where she is.”

  Sian frowned. “You’re not making sense, Karina.” He stared at her for a while, then said, “Do you mean…someone who’s not you? Some other queen?”

  Was he saying what she thought he was saying? But she had to explain her point. “I wasn’t here and I heard you had a queen, what am I supposed to think?”

  “I told you it was you, back in the Darloom castle, that I wanted you to be my queen. And I told you yesterday. You said you didn’t have any problem with it.”

  What? It was Karina? The super-duper more than pretty? Something inside her changed at knowing that it had always been her, as if warm water melted the ice around her heart.

  Sian looked incredulous. “Did you actually think I had someone else?”

  Karina was still trying to recover from the surprise. “Maybe.” But she couldn’t let her heart fool her again, couldn’t let herself get entangled in his pretense, even if his words from the bridge came back in such a force that shook her to the core. There were reasons why she was a queen. “Was it because I can teleport, and I can be considered a guardian? Do you know anything about the portals and stuff?”

  “Like I told you, Whyland’s different. It’s not just anyone who can come to the throne.”

  Of course. It had always been her because of a technicality, not because… Anyway. She had to keep in mind why she was here. “Sian, I need to talk to you.”

  “I’m listening.”

  His voice and eyes were soft and sweet, so sweet. That was perhaps the main reason she’d come to like him so much, and perhaps it was just part of his powerful magic.

  Karina struggled to focus back on the subject. “The Darloom castle, it’s dangerous, Sian. Darloom’s a creature, and it might trick you. It wants to come to Whyland.”

  “I know that, but the question is who is tricking who.”

  Oh, he was stubborn. “Remember when I retrieved the staff for you? That I told you there were these horrible plains with the creatures? Well, some of these creatures have come through. Something’s about to come through, Sian.”

  “Hold on. Where are those creatures?”

  “We killed them. A little south from that bridge.”

  Sian frowned. “What do you mean you killed them? How?”

  “After you talked to us. Me, Cayla, Alessa—”

  “No. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I knew you were there, but I thought there was no danger. I didn't know it, I swear.”

  “We didn’t know it either. I thought it was only the kyons. We were caught unaware and that’s why we had the lift accident. At least they didn’t come here, I guess.”


  Sian looked away then back at her. “I felt it. I felt it and ignored it. I thought I was just…” He closed his eyes and sighed.

  “You just found part of your magic. Congratulations.”

  Sian frowned. “It’s not magic.”

  “It is magic. Apparently you’re a spell speaker, and you can see people’s magic, among other things.”

  Sian snorted. “If I were a spell speaker I’d have convinced you to stay with me, so that makes no sense.”

  She had to get back to the point. “Anyway, those things came through. Every time you use that stupid staff you open a little crack between dimensions and these things come through. Every time.”

  “I didn’t know it. But I don’t plan on using it anymore.”

  “But that’s the thing. You’re dealing with dangerous magic.”

  “I’m done with it. I got what I wanted.”

  “It doesn’t end there, Sian. Apparently Darloom has some influence in this castle. It could manipulate you. They say it sees in your heart and manipulates your deepest desires.”

  “I know that, Karina, and because I know that I can block it. It’s not going to be a problem.”

  “You can’t be sure.”

  “I am sure.”

  Karina exhaled. “The thing is, while you’re here, taking the throne for who knows which reasons, there’s this thing that’s planning to cross over. And a good part of the army is away. This is dangerous and complicated magic. Step down, Sian, step down and let Lylah handle it.”

  He stared at her. “You’re afraid, then.”

  “Yes. That’s why I came to talk to you.”

  His hands brushed her hair away from her forehead. Karina’s entire body trembled.

  He said, “I understand you were upset I didn’t listen to you, but I don’t know how I would feel if I had wasted this opportunity. I don’t know how I would feel if I had given up plans for which I worked for months. I didn’t want to risk blaming you.”