Adelaide paled. Theo never talked to her like that. Her bottom lip quivered. “You know what, Theodore? You really are a jerk.”
She grabbed her bag and left.
I slowly turned back to Theo. “Geez. We sure know how to clear a room.”
He sighed. “I was too harsh but Ade won’t leave anything alone and I can’t have her interrupting our sessions. It’s too dangerous.”
“Why not? It seems like you would want her to be prepared.”
He bit his lip, drawing his lip ring into his mouth. “The magic you need to learn is far more dangerous and powerful than anything she’ll ever be capable of. I don’t want to see her get hurt trying to do something that’s beyond her abilities. It could kill her and you know how she is. She wants to do it all.”
I sighed. “I hate lying to her, Theo. Everyone lied to me and I really don’t want to do that to my friend.”
He swallowed. “Believe me, I understand. But it’s for the best.”
I looked him straight in the eye. “Lying is never the best option.”
“It may not be the best option, but it’s the only way to survive.”
Adelaide and Winston ignored me for the rest of the day. Frankly, I couldn’t blame them and I deserved their silent treatment.
I hated lying to Adelaide and Winston … I truly did care about him, but it was becoming obvious to me I couldn’t force my feelings for him into something more. I saw him as a friend, nothing less, and nothing more.
“I want you to light the candle.” Theo tipped his chin at the tapered white candle on the library desk. “Like with the book, I want you to look at it and think of what you want it to do—but please, for the love of God, don’t burn the place down.”
I frowned at him, unsure. “This doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. Maybe we should keep working on the whole summoning thing.”
He sighed and flopped in a chair, kicking his feet up on the table. “Fine.”
I stared at the bookshelf, finding a book to focus on. It had a royal-blue spine with gold lettering. I couldn’t read what it said from this far, but it didn’t matter.
Come to me.
The book shook.
Come to me.
It lifted off the shelf a little.
COME TO ME.
The whole shelf rattled and the books tumbled off—thankfully, only the ones on that shelf and not the whole wall.
Theo looked from the pile of books to me. “You’re getting too angry,” he surmised. “You’re still learning so it’s not going to come to you on the first try. You’ll have to work at it. It’s like a muscle. You have to make it stronger.”
I picked up the books and replaced them on the shelf. I tucked a few fly-away hairs behind my ears and squared my shoulders.
I focused my gaze on the same book again.
Come to me.
It slid out a little.
Come to me.
A little more.
Come to me … come to me … come to me.
The book shot into my hand. I stumbled back from the speed with which it hit me, but none of the other books came off so I took that as a win.
“I did it,” I cried, and turned to Theo.
He was grinning from ear to ear, clearly proud.
“Again,” he commanded.
I replaced the book and did it again, and again, and about twenty more times before he decided I’d mastered it.
“Try the candle now.”
The words I’m tired were on the tip of my tongue, but I knew I needed to learn this stuff and the sooner I did the better.
I stared at the candle, visualizing a flame, the way it flowed and glimmered, the slight heat it gave off and then …
“Did I, or did I not, tell you that you’d be a force to be reckoned with? Damn.” He clapped his hands. “I’m not going to lie, I’m surprised you got it on the first try—but at the same time, I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re amazing.”
My cheeks tinted pink under his praise. “Thank you.”
It felt good to have mastered the summoning thing and now this.
“I’m glad we didn’t burn the room down. That would’ve been hard to explain.”
I laughed too and blew out the candle.
“I know you’re tired. We’ll work more tomorrow. A couple more basic spells and we’ll work on bigger things before we move on to defensive spells. We’ll keep working on combat too—maybe we should start our lesson tomorrow with that,” he mused quietly to himself, following me down the spiral staircase.
I stopped, almost to the bottom, when I heard a voice.
Theo was muttering quietly behind me to himself once more and I turned around, slamming my hand against his mouth. I knew he was about to protest so I quickly brought a finger to my lips in a shh gesture.
His eyes widened and then filled with surprise when he heard the voices too.
The bottom two floors of the manor were the most used. It was rare for anyone to be up here. We’d never run into anyone yet.
“The wards are strong I promise you,” the first voice spoke.
“Are you sure about that? I saw—”
“Of course I’m sure,” the first voice hissed.
“I’m not trying to offend you, but it’s a concern if they’re weakening. If you’re weakening, Victor.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” It sounded like he tugged on his clothes. “They’re secure. We’re safe.”
“Don’t lie to me. If they’d get in here we’d all be pigs for slaughter.”
“How dare you accuse me of lying about something like this. I take the safety of everyone here seriously.”
“If you’re sure then.”
“I am.”
They shuffled down the stairs and disappeared. I let my hand drop from Theo’s mouth.
“Shit,” he whispered.
“Do you think he’s lying?”
“It’s Victor, I wouldn’t put it past him to lie to hold his position. If he’s not healthy enough to shield the manor, the committee would replace him.”
“What do you think it could be? If he is sick.”
He shrugged and his face twisted as he thought. “Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s get you back to your room.”
We treaded carefully down the stairs and finally made it to my room without running into anyone. It was after one in the morning and I was ready to crash, like every other night. All this learning stuff was exhausting.
I went into the bathroom and took a shower before changing into pajamas.
Theo was already asleep in his makeshift bed on the floor.
Nigel snored peacefully from the bottom of my bed but cracked one eye open when I slipped under the covers and drifted off to sleep.
“Where is she?” a man in the shadows growled.
In front of me, on a cold hard chair was my father, Steven Pryce. He slumped forward, his hands tied behind his back. His head was lowered, but when he slowly raised it a glimmer of light from one dim bulb lit on his face, I saw how beaten he was. One eye was swollen shut, his lip was twice its normal size and bleeding, and the rest of him? He was covered in burns and cut marks.
“I don’t know,” he told the man hidden from my sight.
“Lies,” the voice hissed like a slithery snake. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying to you. You’ve kidnapped me, beaten me, tortured me, and yet I keep telling you the same thing. Just because it’s the answer you don’t want doesn’t mean it’s a lie.”
“Shut up.” The man finally emerged from the darkness and grabbed my dad by the face. His fingernails dug into his cheeks and he winced. “I want to know where she is. Where would she have gone?”
“I don’t know,” my dad repeated. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
“You’re useless.”
Before I could blink, the man produced a glimmering dagger that seemed to glow as if covered in flames and slit my father’s throat.
I gasped. “No!” I screamed, pain ripping through me.
The man turned to me, almost like he heard me, and I gasped once again.
He was different now.
Ghastly thin, with vacant black eyes, and long blond hair, but I’d still know him.
Thaddeus Lucero.
My biological father.
“Hello little one,” he called out. “I know you’re listening. I’m going to find you.” He smiled cruelly, and I shivered. “We’ll be a family again. Me, you, and your mother.”
“Mara, Mara, Mara, wake up. Please. It’s a dream. Wake up.”
I gasped and my eyes shot open. Theo had me gathered in his arms, his body damp from a shower and a very thin white towel wrapped around his waist.
“Breathe,” he coaxed, pushing my hair off my forehead.
I struggled for air, panic clogging my airway. I felt like I was still stuck in the dream world, as if my body was weighted down.
It’s not real. It can’t have been real.
And yet I still clung to Theo like he was the only thing keeping me rooted to this world.
I sobbed uncontrollably—I didn’t even know when the tears started—and clawed my fingers into his bare shoulders.
“Mara,” his voice was laced with pain as he said my name. “It was only a dream.”
I shook my head. “No, no, I don’t think it was,” I sobbed brokenly.
I kept seeing the dagger slice my father’s throat. My real father—the man who’d raised me and had always been there.
Theo’s chest was muscled and firm against me, but there was something soft in the way he held me.
He smoothed my messy hair off my forehead and looked into my sad eyes.
“What’d you see?” he coaxed.
He didn’t tell me I was crazy for thinking it was real, instead he actually wanted to listen. I was silently grateful he was there. I couldn’t have imagined waking up from this alone. I didn’t think I could have bared it.
“My d-dad,” I stuttered and Theo wiped the wet tears from my cheeks. I still clung to him like a buoy and I was lost at sea. I kept expecting him to push me away at any moment, to get distance between us, but either he hadn’t noticed our situation or he didn’t care.
“He was tied to a ch-chair. He was in a room, or a dungeon of some sorts. I don’t know. I didn’t pay much attention to that part.” I shook my head at my own stupidity. If the dream was real, then I probably could’ve learned something from the room—where The Iniquitous might be hiding. “He was …,” I had to pause and gather my thoughts before I continued. This wasn’t easy. “He was being tortured,” I finished, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “The man … He wanted to know where I was, but my dad kept saying he didn’t know. The man didn’t believe him. He kept asking him over and over, and my dad was already bruised and beaten. He even had cut marks on him like they’d sliced his skin open to let the blood pour out. Th-Then …” I closed my eyes, feeling bile rise in the back of my throat. “Th-Then he s-slit his throat.” My sobs returned even stronger than before.
“Mara,” Theo breathed. “I’m sorry.”
“He’s my only family. Was. He was my only family.”
Theo pressed his lips together. He didn’t tell me I was wrong.
“It was a vision, wasn’t it?” I asked through my tears.
He winced. “I’m afraid so. Not all Chosen have visions, but it’s not uncommon, either. If it felt so real to you, then I think it was.”
“That wasn’t the worst part,” I whispered.
Never in a million years did I think I’d be saying something was worse than watching my dad be murdered.
Theo tilted his head in waiting.
“It was Thaddeus,” I whispered. “Thaddeus Lucero killed him and … he knew I was there.”
Theo’s eyes widened in horror. “He shouldn’t have been able to sense you. You’re pure while he’s not.”
“Pure?” I asked.
“You haven’t toyed with dark magic,” he explained. “You haven’t altered your soul so that makes you pure. The only reason I can think of him being able to sense you is it must be because you’re his child. You’re essentially a part of him—a small part, with the way he’s altered himself, but still.”
“He said he was going to find me,” I whispered, my lips quaking in horror. “Me, him, and my mother. He said we’d be a family again. I thought she was dead?”
Theo’s brows furrowed. “She is. He killed her. Maybe he’s gone mad enough to think she’s alive.”
I laughed but there was no humor in the tone. “How ironic. He killed my mother and now he’s killed the only father I’ve known.”
“I won’t let him take anyone else from you,” Theo vowed.
I swallowed thickly, my eyes flicking to his lips and back up. “It’s you I’m most worried about,” I admitted. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“Mara,” he breathed, and I knew he was seconds away from pushing me away.
“Don’t,” I begged. “Please don’t. I just need another minute.”
He wrapped his arms tighter around me and I was shocked he didn’t protest. He probably needed this as much as I did.
His body was warm against mine and I itched to kiss him. It actually hurt to keep myself from doing it. My body, heart, and soul yearned for him in a way I didn’t understand. I truly believed we were connected more than him being my protector, but I knew if I said something to him it’d only freak him out and have him push me away.
I counted down a minute and then I pulled away from him. I hated to do it, but I knew I couldn’t stay in his arms forever, and better for me to let go first than to feel like he was pushing me away.
He cleared his throat and stood.
I couldn’t help but appreciate the sight of him in the white towel and nothing else. His tattoos were dark against his skin and his hair was curling as it dried. He looked back at me and I waited for a wisecrack to come about my staring but none did.
He finally turned and the bathroom door clicked closed behind him.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
Theodore had this way of stealing all the oxygen in the room. It was like his presence was so potent it sucked it all out. I glanced at the clock and saw it was still early, but I knew there was no way I’d sleep now, so I got out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes.
“Don’t even think about coming out yet,” I told him through the door. “I’m getting naked.”
“You can’t tell a man that and expect him not to open the door,” he chortled.
“I will zap you,” I warned.
He growled, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I’ve already done it before, so don’t tempt me.”
He made some sort of noise, which I assumed meant he’d agreed to keep the door closed.
I changed into a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved black top.
“You’re safe now,” I called.
He opened the door and cracked a smile. “Look at us, doll face. We match.”
Sure enough, he was dressed similarly in a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, but his sleeves were rolled up. I couldn’t help but sport an amused smile.
Sobering, he stepped up to me and wrapped a strand of my wavy hair around his finger.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “About your dad.”
My lips turned down and I dammed back my emotions. “I guess that’s what happens in this world, right? I mean, you lost your parents. Everyone keeps saying this isn’t a war, but this sure feels like one to me.”
He sighed and let my hair fall. “It is a war, but most are scared to admit it.”
I bit my lip. “You have to make me strong enough to kill him.”
“Kill who?” he asked, confused.
“Thaddeus. I want to kill him.”
“Mara—” he started, but I silenced him.
“No. I want to kill him. I’ll find a way to train myself wi
thout you and do this, but I’d rather have you on my side. Now, are you with me or not?”
He studied me for a moment and shook his head. Finally, he sighed and smiled.
“I’m with you. Always.”
Chapter 22
PUNCH. PUNCH. JAB. PUNCH. DUCK.
“Again,” Theo commanded.
We were both covered in sweat. We’d been working on hand-to-hand combat for a good two hours now. I was exhausted but he kept pushing me, because he insisted you never knew how long a fight might last so I needed to build my stamina. I didn’t argue with him, because I knew he was right. I wouldn’t tell him, though—telling Theo he was right would give him bragging rights for a solid year.
My breath came out raggedly, and I flicked a piece of sweat-dampened hair from my eyes.
Punch.
Duck.
Jab.
Jab.
Punch.
“Good,” Theo crooned. “You’re getting quicker.”
I laughed. “Soon I might even be better than you.”
It was his turn to chuckle. “Don’t go getting cocky on me now, doll face.”
“Me? Cocky? Never,” I chortled, dancing on the balls of my feet.
He came for me and I blocked his punch. He chuckled and danced away. I crouched down and quickly jabbed at his side, landing a punch.
“Ooh.” He smiled proudly, not at all fazed by my punch. I knew it’d been a good one too, he’d probably get a bruise, but I’m sure he was used to it enough for it not to bother him too much.
I backed away, bracing my arms in front of my face. He threw a punch at my face and I dodged it, but I found out quickly he’d only been trying to distract me. He lowered and rushed me, tackling me to the ground.
“Oomph.” The air rushed out of my lungs as I landed on the ground with him on top of me. Since we were in the library there were no cushy mats to cushion my fall.
“Hey.” He grinned.
“Always want to get on top of me, don’t you?” I joked.
Before he could come back with a sarcastic retort I brought my knee up and shoved it into his stomach. He gasped as the air left his lungs and rolled off me clutching at his stomach. I hopped up and positioned my fists at the ready.
Enchant (The Enchanted Book 1) Page 20
