The Silver Rose

by Rowena May O’Sullivan

  Rosa blindly looked at Zelda and her sisters, her eyes unfocused, her thoughts incoherent. “Rose … the rose.”

  “What rose?” queried Beth.

  “Warlock,” Rosa tried again.

  “What do you mean?” Zelda hunched down beside Rosa and brushed away the tear-soaked hair stuck to her cheeks.

  “Magic.”

  “She’s lost the plot,” said Alanna needlessly.

  Beth shot her sister a withering glance. “What magic?” she gently urged Rosa.

  “Aden. He’s magic.”

  Beth leaned down and placed a hand under Rosa’s elbow to help her to her feet. “Thank the Goddess. At last.”

  Rosa looked sad and defeated. “It’s all been one big lie.”

  “Look at her!” Alanna gestured to her distressed sister. “This isn’t the time to offer her false hope.”

  “It isn’t false hope.” Beth insisted. She grimaced and then shocked them all when she added, “Aden is warlock. I’ve known for some time.”

  “What?” Alanna was utterly dumbfounded. “You knew and you didn’t tell us!”

  Beth’s statement only added to Rosa’s shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Tears pooled in Beth’s eyes. “I couldn’t. I wanted to so much, but I couldn’t.”

  By this time they’d entered Rosa’s kitchen. Zelda snapped her fingers and a bottle of elderberry wine and four glasses appeared on the table. “Why not, child?”

  “Aden commanded me to secrecy,” Beth finally revealed, the heavy burden of keeping the truth from Rosa finally lifting from her aura. “He would have known the second I said anything.”

  “You mean I lost my magic for nothing?” Anger flashed cruelly in Alanna’s eyes.

  “Still always thinking of yourself first,” Zelda snapped. “Will you ever learn that not everything is about you?”

  “But we could have avoided having our magic bound.”

  “You knew the rules,” Rosa pointed out, her equilibrium returning. She was not sure how she felt, but the truth was out. At least she now knew who and what she was dealing with. “You chose to break them. Consequences for every action, Alanna. I chose to scry Aden, and my scrying bowl was shattered. Punishment is swift when knowingly breaking witch law.”

  “There’s more,” Beth elaborated. “Aden’s not just any warlock. He’s Dragon of Marylebone.”

  For once Alanna was speechless. Zelda smiled knowingly and poured the wine into the glasses.

  Rosa rubbed her palms over her cheeks and swiped away the smudges of tears. “Which explains the little dragon I saw in the woods the night you Called Goran down.”

  “You saw a little dragon?” Beth looked delighted. “I’ve seen him too.”

  A sound of disgust emerged from Alanna, but she said nothing when Zelda shot her a look that would melt ice caps on Mount Aorangi.

  “This means Goran is Aden’s apprentice,” Rosa commented flatly. She would have laughed if she were not so shattered. Aden had been so distressed and angry, yet it was she who had every right to be angry. No wonder Goran had been so skittish when she’d questioned him.

  Rosa gripped Beth’s arms, wanting to know the rest. “How did you discover Aden was warlock?”

  “It was the middle of the night,” Beth told them. “He was harnessing his power and I couldn’t sleep. I expect he couldn’t either. I walked outside and there he was. There was no mistaking who or what he was, especially when the little dragon appeared, but he discovered me watching and I was commanded to reveal nothing.” A single tear slid down Beth’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Rosa. I would never have willingly held any of this from you.”

  Rosa thumbed Beth’s tear away. “I know you wouldn’t.” She looked up at Alanna. Zelda and Beth turned to follow Rosa’s gaze. Nothing was said, but all understood. Alanna, if it had suited her needs, would have held such information close to her chest but not for the right reasons. Regrettably, Goran was right. Alanna’s magic would be bound for a long time.

  And then Rosa told them how she had revealed her magic and her hope that he would return the favor.

  “Well, he must have revealed something. And I’m guessing it wasn’t good.” Zelda gulped down her wine. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be in this sorry state.”

  “Didn’t you feel it?” Agitated at the memory, Rosa stood and paced the floor with her glass in her hand. “The display of power was incredible.”

  Zelda nodded. “Anyone with even a smidgen of magic will have felt it.”

  “What happened next?” Beth asked.

  Alanna apparently had decided not to speak again that night. She sat resolute, arms crossed in front of her, listening with a quiet intensity that belied her earlier display of selfish anger.

  Rosa fingered the chain at her waist. “It was the rose. He got very upset the moment he saw it and demanded to know where I’d got it from.”

  Zelda focused on the rose and frowned. “Isn’t that the one Alice gave you?”

  “Yes.” Once again, Rosa fingered the stem and the petals unfolded. It was one of the eccentric aspects of the rose. Her mother had never been successful in getting it to bloom. Both Beth and Alanna had also tried and failed. “The thing is, I think Aden crafted this rose.”

  Zelda nodded. “He certainly possesses the talent.”

  “There are few who could have. Leonardo definitely. There are one or two others, but my intuition tells me it’s Aden, and he wasn’t happy to see it.”

  “Why?” Beth asked the obvious.

  “Just before he disappeared in a blinding display of magic,” Rosa explained, “he went white as a sheet. The lightning bolts of anguish shooting from him were the most frightening. I truly thought the flames would consume him. And then he disappeared. I don’t know where he’s gone or whether I’ll ever see him again.”

  • • •

  Rosa wanted to search for Aden all the next day, but it was as if her sisters and Zelda had drawn up a roster to keep her company, and she did not have a spare minute to herself. And they were right. He needed to come to her. The wards around her house reinforced, Rosa accepted nothing would prevent Aden from crossing them. He would come to her if he wanted to. If he wanted her …

  Eventually, close to midnight, he made his way to Rosa’s back door, recklessly setting off all her boundary alarms. At least he was willing to talk. She was waiting for him, standing framed in the doorway. “I didn’t know if you would come back.”

  Rosa let him in and walked through to the comfort of her lounge where she’d lit a fire. Spring had disappeared along with her happiness.

  “I have questions,” he began without any attempt at small talk.

  Irritation flared. He was the one who had lied. “You have questions? What about me?”

  “You know as much as I do.” His tone was blunt and matter of fact. “Marylebone instructed me to shield myself from you. I don’t know why.”

  “You’re here to ensure my fate is met.”

  Aden nodded. “I am.”

  Regardless of desperately needing Aden to tell her he was sorry, she was sure he felt something for her, and she’d hoped it was love.? If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t feel anything. If he didn’t care, he would be as icy as the day she’d first seen him standing across from the gallery.

  “I’ve found my future mate,” Rosa told him flatly, her message clear. Even now after his temperamental display last night.

  “You can’t have me.” Regret flared briefly in his eyes, before the dark cold ice returned. She shivered and fear pierced her heart.

  No. Don’t go cold on me! “Why not?” Frustration echoed in every word.

  “I’ve not heard the bells. I’m immortal. You’re not.”

  “I’m in my final year of training for mastershi
p,” Rosa insisted, knowing her future depended on success. “It’s only a matter of time before I’m offered a position at Marylebone.”

  “Mastership can take several lifetimes. It does not mean Marylebone will Call you. The higher you go, the harder the tests. Ascending is not easy and few achieve that status. You could grow old and die while attempting to attain it. I would not age. Are you prepared for such an eventuality?” He did not wait for her reply. “I think not.”

  His presumption made her blood boil. “Don’t tell me what I’m prepared for. You haven’t had to face the prospect of relinquishing your magic.”

  “Even though I’m immortal, the bells have not tolled for me. When they do — if they do — I will face the same decisions you do now.”

  “I don’t understand,” she cried in frustration. “How could you have reached your status in Marylebone without having heard the bells?”

  “I was born there. It’s my home. I’m a true immortal, born that way.” He shrugged, and she saw a flash of regret in his eyes. “Who knows the vagaries of the Fates? There are secrets aplenty even in the hallowed corridors of Marylebone.”

  “Don’t you know what’s happening in your own coven? What’s the point if you don’t?”

  “I report to Anton. Anton reports to the Supreme Council of Magical Beings. Many directives come from them. I believe this is one of them. We have to trust that all decisions made are for the good of all. A bad decision would upset the balance, and everyone who resides within its walls would suffer as a result. Your sisters’ attempt to contact Marylebone is a prime example of a bad decision.”

  “Trusting in a council that plays with people’s lives seems unfair.” She was bitter they toyed so liberally with her life. If what he said was true, then Zelda too had known all along about Aden. How could she have not told her? She felt betrayed and so alone.

  “It may seem that way to you, but no decision is made lightly, and to attain a position of such power is rare. Even the mental intent of a magical being is measured. A whiff of corruption, envy, or deceit is exposed immediately. Only souls deemed pure and evolved enough are Called to Marylebone. Those who do not measure up are banished from its halls. They become Earthbound until they can prove themselves. They can spend hundreds of years trying to regain their status. Some never succeed.

  “How do you think Alanna managed to Call down Goran?” Aden reminded her. “Her intent was contaminated with deceit, and Goran was unfortunate enough to be caught up in it as he was taking leave from Marylebone. Now he’s Earthbound. Until balance is restored, I have no direct apprentice to take his place.”

  “It’s gratifying to know not everyone at Marylebone is perfect. Not that I for one second wish Goran had been bound by my sisters’ mischief.”

  Aden clenched his fists in sheer frustration. “Perhaps you should consider a union with him. He’ll be here for a while.”

  “How can you say that to my face when it’s obvious to me you hate the idea?”

  “Believe me, it’s not said lightly. I wish I could stay. I wish things were different, but they are not and I cannot.”

  “Well, what else are you here for? Why don’t you just go away and come back in twelve days’ time to ensure my destiny is met. You don’t need to babysit me.”

  “I would not leave you alone until then,” Aden stated abruptly, but his tone softened and anguish crept into his eyes. He leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees, his hands clenched together. “Tell me about the rose?”

  His tension and pain was palpable. She fought hard not to soften. To care. “What about it?”

  “Who gave it to you?” Dark eyes flared into burning coals.

  Maybe he would tell her more after all. Relieved to see genuine emotion, she responded, matching his honesty. “I told you the truth. My mother gave it to me.”

  “Who gave it to your mother?”

  Rosa was puzzled by his question. Surely he should know. “I would have thought someone in your position would not have to ask me these questions.”

  “Are you going to tell me or not?”

  “Are you going to tell me why you caused a display anyone this side of the southern hemisphere with magical ability would perceive?”

  “I can’t.”

  “Or won’t.”

  “It’s … painful.”

  “I don’t see why I should tell you everything.” She was not going to let him feed her any more excuses. If it was painful, she wanted to know what that pain entailed. “Especially when you’re not prepared to do the same for me.” Rosa was done playing games. It was evident Aden refused to accept he was the one for her.

  “I want to explain,” he confessed unexpectedly, “but I can’t.”

  “Well, bully for you! Here I am, about to forfeit my magic or my life, and you’re finding my questions painful. I might not have a history to speak of very soon,” she informed him flatly. “Have you considered that?”

  The tension visibly increased in Aden’s tall frame. “Rosa. I know this is difficult, but the bells have rung. You must choose a mate soon.”

  “He’s right in front of me, but he’s way to stubborn to admit it.”

  But Aden shook his head. “I haven’t heard the bells. It can’t be me.”

  Was that regret she heard in his voice? “How many pass to the Otherworld without fulfilling their fate?”

  “Eight that I know of personally, and more than I care to admit since the Fates instigated this rule. They will not rescind it. They’re insistent no rogue witch becomes the focus of witch hunts ever again.”

  Rosa collapsed into the chair. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “Perhaps,” she whispered softly, “I’ll be next.”

  “No!” Aden moved swiftly, crouching before her and grabbing her hands in his large warm ones, the ice in his eyes gone. “No! It will not happen.”

  “Only you can stop it,” she responded, unable to prevent the tide of sorrow from revealing itself in her eyes any longer.

  “You’re wrong. Only you can stop it. This is your life. These are your choices to make. Not mine.”

  Rosa met his gaze and blinked away her tears. “I don’t know why you’re still here.” She tugged her hands from his. “And don’t touch me. If you’re, as you say, not for me, then it’s best you leave.”

  Aden shot up as if she had physically slapped him with her rejection. “If that’s what you want.”

  No! It’s not what I want. “I have decisions to make. As you said, it’s my life and I’m in control. I think it’s best you don’t visit me again. Stay in Raven’s Creek if you want, but leave me alone and let me get on with the decisions I need to make.”

  • • •

  Aden returned to Lavender Cottage and lay low, spending most of his time in his studio working on the scrying bowl for Rosa. He had failed in laying low in Raven’s Creek. What a disaster.

  Marylebone had also abandoned Aden. He’d received no word regarding his failure to hide his magic from Rosa and her sisters. Not a thing. The silence was profound, and any attempts he made at contacting his superior failed miserably. It appeared he was on his own.

  Goran, of course, thought he was demented. “You must tell her everything.”

  “It will interfere with her decision.”

  “And it might not. It might be what Marylebone wants you to do.”

  Aden huffed in frustration. “They asked me to shield my magic. Why would revealing everything to Rosa matter now?”

  “You’re denying yourself love because of what happened in the past. This is different. She has potential. Lydia didn’t have an ounce of it and was never likely to.”

  “What right have you to speak of Lydia?” Aden regretted the accusation the moment he uttered it. Goran had every right to speak his mortal sister’s name. For fo
ur hundred years, he had avoided any mention of her in Aden’s presence, and Aden finally understood how much that must have cost Goran.

  Buried so deep in his own grief for so long, he had not given consideration to Goran and the rest of his family. They too, as immortals, had had to watch Lydia die while they remained young, vital, and alive.

  “I take that back.” He was doing that a lot these days. “It was unkind.”

  “You deny yourself the memories of the gift of her life, short though it was. The Gods bestowed her beautiful soul upon us for a short time only, and I refuse to forget her. You should thank spirit for the precious times you had with her. She would not be happy knowing you think so little of her that you have cast her aside, forgetting her memory and the love she gave to you so freely.”

  Perhaps if his friend had spoken more plainly before now, Aden might not have nurtured his pain for so long. “The image of her dying in my arms is as fresh in my heart as if it were yesterday.”

  “She’s moved on in spirit. So must you, my friend. The bells did not toll for you then. Will you be ready for them if they do?”

  “You sure know how to hit home your point.”

  “And that is … ?”

  “Until I give up wallowing in the past, I can have no future.”

  Goran clenched his hands into fists and punched the air in success. “I thought I’d never see the day.”

  “So you think there’s a possible future for me with Rosa?”

  Goran shrugged. “You won’t know unless you try.”

  But would she have him now? It would mean revealing his past, every last, ugly detail. “I need to think on it.”

  “Don’t think too long. The festival starts in less than a week. By the end of it, Rosa’s fate will be sealed with or without you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  In the early hours of the morning when most of the mortals in Raven’s Creek slept, Zelda Mortiboy paid an unscheduled visit to Marylebone. As Prime Wizardess, she did not need to wait to be Called. Something had to be done. Those two foolish children — that was how she saw them — were headed for disaster.