Renewed Magic (The Ancient Magic Series Book 2)

by Stephany Wallace

  “That is not necessary. If you desire to leave us, then there is nothing I can do. I shall take you.”

  I shook my head as a tear fell. “That's not what I mean.” My eyes roamed his face, and I could see the defeat in him. I cupped his cheeks and pulled him down, kissing him. When the kiss ended, he rested his forehead against mine. His fingers caressed my neck gliding down my skin towards my chest. He held the stone necklace he had given me. The crystal rested between my breasts. “If you want it back I understand,” I said, reaching for the chain. He held my hands, stopping me.

  “No. I have given it to you. I know you are not able to see it now. Nevertheless, the fact remains you are a Fiosaiche Fàil. It will give you strength and keep your essence nourished. It is yours.” I nodded. His lips found mine again, and this time the kiss was soft and languid. His lips moved against mine as if he was trying to memorize them. “I had hoped to get a chance to be happy… with you,” he whispered.

  “Me too,” I answered, breathless and he claimed my lips again.

  His hands slid down my spine, and he pressed me to him. A million sensations exploded in me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me from the floor and pushed my back to the wall. My legs wound around him, while his mouth moved along my jaw and kissed my neck. His hips began to move into me, and he loved me for the last time.

  BRIANA

  * * *

  I had no idea what the hell had gotten into the Warriors, but I could swear I had spent the last two hours dancing with them. They laughed and took turns, something that Cyn found very amusing. I would have died of embarrassment to even think of saying no, so I had to keep dancing with each and every one of them. A few of the guys had even asked me twice. By the time I sat down at our table again my feet hurt. I took off my sandals and picked up my skirt letting my feet cool in the breeze.

  “You looked beautiful dancing out there, my Goddess.” Cyn’s lips brushed mine for a second, but he stopped as if he was holding himself back. He smirked and winked at me. My eyes instantly went to his dimple, and he shook his head.

  “We are not alone,” he whispered, and his gaze moved beyond me. I turned, realizing a group of women was standing there.

  “Hi,” I said, unsure of what they needed.

  They smiled and one of them bowed, coming closer. “High Priestess, would you please join us for the dannsa air na flùraichean?”

  I looked at Cyn. I wasn't sure what it meant. He smiled. “It is a celebration dance for the women, it is called The Dance of the Flowers.”

  “Oh,” I said, looking at the women once more. My feet protested, but they all looked so hopeful I would say yes. “I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know how to dance it.”

  “You need not worry, High Priestess. We shall show you.”

  I smiled and stood, taking the woman’s hand. “Ok.”

  I looked back as we walked to the dance area and saw Cyn stand and move closer so he could see us. The villagers moved out of the way creating space, and the women stood in a circle.

  “Come with me. The youngest woman said, holding my hand, and took me to the center of their circle. She stood in front of me. “You need only do as I do.”

  I nodded, noticing Cyn stood front and center among his people. I searched the crowd, but I couldn't see Lia anywhere. My gaze returned to Cyn, and my heart warmed. His face had a mixture of pride and excitement to see me do this dance. I turned to the young woman, hoping I could do this well for him and them. It was then I noticed all the women were holding a flower in their hands. They began singing. Not a song with words but a melodic tune. They sounded like Celtic angels. The young woman opened her arms and raised them towards the sky, I copied her movements and brought my arms down resembling a ballerina. She took a step to the left then to the right, swinging her body and rising on y ever time she moved. Our hands touched when she extended them forward with a delicate curve of her arm. She raised her left hand to the sky and spun. I followed the steps feeling my skirt and hair fly around me as I twirled. She smiled at me and nodded encouragingly. We began repeating the same steps over and over. Hands towards the sky and down to our sides, swing left, swing right, forwards and twirl. The women around us held hands and danced around the circle while I danced.

  “Do not stop, High Priestess.”

  The young woman said, and I nodded. She moved from my side and joined the others leaving me in the center. I continued the steps feeling like the prima ballerina each time I raised my arm and twirled. I giggled, feeling a kind of joy at this moment that I had never felt before. Not without Cyn. I twirled again and saw the women let go of each other and begin to spin around me. They held their skirts and moved closer to me then backwards, their toes raising and falling as they walked to the music. Their beautiful singing continued as they started walking past each other, intertwining and crisscrossing like ribbons on the breeze. They moved all around me as I repeated the steps as I was taught. They suddenly stopped and spun once more, then moved closer to me. Their circle continued moving, but this time their hands reached me. One by one flower petals caressed my skin as they touched me. The move had such a reverent, and spiritual quality to it that it overwhelmed me. They were praising me. My eyes found Cyn, and I could see the same emotion in his eyes. My gaze blurred as it filled with tears when the dance ended. I held the hand of one woman closest to me and hugged her.

  “Thank you, this was beautiful,” I whispered not being able to speak. I moved from one set of arms to the next as I hugged them all. Thanking them. Strong arms wound wrapped around me, and I turned embracing Cyn. Everyone began clapping. Laughter and joy surrounded us.

  Suddenly, Cyn moved back and hurriedly lifted his sleeve. I noticed the glowing lines had formed the map on his skin. A large red light showed in the center of it, warning him. In a split second, Cyn had pushed me behind him, and his Bow and Arrow appeared. My head whipped around when I spotted the Warriors' weapons materializing in their hands. They surrounded Cyn and I, immediately forming a barricade. The temperature in the air around us shifted, and a cold breeze engulfed us. The wind became stronger.

  The villagers rushed back, away from us and stood behind the line of Warriors that protected our backs.

  Frost spread over the ground as the air directly in front of Cyn and I became hazy and began to shimmer. The energy rippled.

  “What is happening?” I asked Cyn, scared. He shook his head but didn't answer. I stopped myself. Why was I scared? I wasn't helpless anymore. I stepped out from behind him and raised my hand feeling the magic rush within me. I prepared the spell in my mind in case I needed it and my hand glowed. He looked at me, and there was both reproach and pride in him.

  The energy in the air began to change and solidify in front of us. The next second, I was staring at a massive doorway made of large stones with different shades of blue. It was at least sixteen feet tall and ten feet wide. Two columns equally large framed it, and on its center, it had a double archway. It looked like it had been ripped from a medieval castle and placed here, in the middle of our village. The doorway had white markings on the stones that looked like tribal snowflakes if such a thing existed, and there was frost over it. On the top of the archway, on the very center, it had a symbol with the initials “W.C.” When my gaze returned to Cyn, I realized that he had relaxed his stance, and his Bow and Arrow had returned to its essence. So had the weapons of all the Warriors around us. They broke formation, standing behind Cyn and I, then knelt bowing their heads. Now I was even more confused. Cyn reached for my hand, and I let the magic recede.

  “Holy shit. What is that?” Lia's voice reached me, and I whipped around.

  “Sorry, but there is nothing non-cursing I can say to that.” She motioned towards the door.

  “Where have you been, I haven’t seen you in like four hours?”

  “Three, and it’s not important.” Art stood beside her and a few steps away I saw Cathair. I frowned. She had guards now?

  My gaze retur
ned to the doorway when Cyn squeezed my hand. At that moment the doors opened, and a blast of freezing cold wind burst through it. Ice grew on the arch like vines, and I could see a winter landscape on the other side.

  I gasped at the realization. “It’s a portal.”

  My voice left me when I saw black horses approaching, except it wasn’t the horses that left me speechless. Three men entered first, followed by two more who looked like medieval guards. Yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off the man that lead them. They stopped in front of us and got down from their horses.

  “Sweet mother of all things impressive,” I whispered, looking up. He was around seven feet tall. All three were. Even Cyn had to look up.

  His hair was a pure midnight black, it was sleek and fell to his shoulders. The sides were braided close to his scalp the same as some of our Warriors wore it, yet his made him look magnificent. His eyes were bewitching. They were almost white. A frosted blue, so light that it seemed like it was glowing. My gaze continued to travel over his face. He had a long perfect nose and small yet thick lips with a beautiful curve on them, his bottom lip almost stuck out, definitely kissable, and a beautifully chiseled jaw. His body was ripped. I could see the muscles even over the white leather armor-looking suit he wore, with a white cloak on the back. My eyes returned to his face as the two others stood next to him. A small gasp left me when I noticed something I hadn’t before. There were markings over his arched eyebrows. Thin lines that curved and intertwined but they weren’t really drawn on his skin. They seemed part of his skin, and his ears were spikey on the ends. I looked at the men at either side of him. They were so similar, beautiful long nose, bewitching ice blue eyes, kissable lips, black hair and markings over their brows. Yet, they were very different. The one on his right, had short hair. Almost a modern cut, shaved on the sides and a tad longer on the top. His body was slightly more built than the leader, and he had a black symbol tattooed under his right eye. The man to his left looked remarkably like the first except his body was leaner. His hair was short as well, but the top was slightly longer and fell sideways over his forehead. It seemed so soft I wanted to push my fingers through it. He had rectangular, thin-rimmed glasses and looked like a badass, sexy-nerd, especially in that outfit. I liked him. The three were definitely brothers.

  They took a step forwards and knelt before Cyn and I, placing their hands on their hearts like the villagers usually did.

  “Our most sincere compliments, Cynwrig, High Priestess. We are the Princes of The Winter Court, and we have come on behalf of King Laeroth Gaerrath to welcome you, and pledge our eternal alliance to you.”

  I frowned and looked at Cyn, he smiled warmly as though he was seeing an old friend but didn't speak. “Please stand,” I said. When they did, I found myself almost stretching my neck to look at him. “Thank you for coming.”

  “It is our pleasure, High Priestess. My name is Kyr Gaerrath, first born and Commander of the Dark Army, and these are my brothers. Ash Gaerrath, second born and Knight of the Dark Army,” He said, signaling to the man on his right. Ash smiled and slightly bowed his head. I could swear I heard Lia whimper and I think he did too because his gaze focused on her, and his smile widened, dazzling us. “And this is Nyx, Gaerrath, third born, Knight, and Primary Guardian of the Royal Archives… the intellectual one.”

  Nyx smiled brightly, as though pleased by the introduction and bowed. “It contains the knowledge and history of the universe since its creation,” He said, excitedly.

  Kyr continued. “We are truly sorry, I have just realized we may have interrupted the celebrations.”

  “It is all right, Kyr. We are surprised to see you here, but we are pleased by it nonetheless. It has been a long time, Brother,” Cyn answered, and I realized that they knew each other.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude…” I said, my gaze drifting to the two scary guards behind them then returning to Kyr. “But, where is the Winter Court located, exactly?”

  “In the Fae realm, High Priestess,” Nyx offered, as if it was the most common thing to say. I supposed that for them it was.

  “What??” Both Lia and I asked. Ash chuckled.

  “We are Fae or Fairies, whichever you wish to call us.” Kyr announced, and my jaw dropped.

  “Fairies?”

  “What a minute. Aren’t Fairies supposed to be like this big?” Lia asked, using her thumb and index finger to show the size.

  “Common misconception,” Nyx replied. “A fable fabricated by humans who couldn’t fully understand our existence.”

  Ash smirked, and stepped closer to Lia. He held her hands and placed them parallel to each other about a foot and a half apart. “I’m more along this size, but I will make myself any size you want me to be, Pereleva cirith ossa uthsae.” He whispered the last part in her ear, and although I had no idea what it meant, my cheeks blushed violently.

  Crapola! Did he really just say that to her?

  He looked into Lia's eyes. His gaze became intense, and suddenly the markings above his eyebrows began to glow. The soft blue light moved under them swirling and retracing them. “I would love to spend some time with you, alone. You need not worry, it will be very satisfying.”

  His head tilted and he leaned into her, as though he was going to kiss her. Lia lifted her head to reach his lips. It was like he had hypnotized her. The next second, Art's hand was splayed on Ash's face, stopping him. Even Cathair stepped closer.

  “I forgot how annoying you were,” Art said, pushing him back and Ash chuckled. Lia blinked, and looked at me confused then laughed.

  “I thought you would behave better than this, Brother. You are embarrassing me.” Kyr said, apparently attempting to control his temper. “We did not come here for you to court humans. Besides, these females have clearly been claimed.”

  “Excuse me?” Lia asked, offended.

  “Here we go,” I mumbled and sighed.

  “We are not a possession to be claimed, and we are not ‘females’ we are women. Furthermore…”

  “If I may,” Nyx said, stepping forward. Everyone turned to him. “Kyr, brother. Human women have spent years fighting for the respect of men and their peers as well as equal treatment and rights. There had been many who have stood beside them and many who have fallen for their cause. They have come a long way since the beginning of their race, and although those terms may be perfectly acceptable to us, they are disrespectful to women. Some may even consider them degrading as it diminishes the value of their existence to something that can be obtained or possessed by a man. They have created a powerful movement called Feminism, to help them fight for their cause. One, I must say I'm very respectful of." He looked at Lia and me “Feminists unite. Reclaim the night!” He said, raising his fist in the air then stepped back. He stepped forward “Also, Girl Power!” He fixed his glasses and reclaimed his spot.

  I covered my mouth trying not to laugh. Kyr seemed like he needed a vacation from those two.

  “Thank you, Brother,” Kyr said to Nyx taking a deep breath. His eyes flamed when he turned to Ash. “Can you please stop using your royal markings to seduce these women?”

  I followed his gaze, and I saw Art trying to block Ash while he smiled at Lia. His markings were glowing again. “Oh come on!” Ash said, laughing. “That's one of my coolest tricks.”

  “Lia is not yours to seduce.” Art said, and Ash frowned.

  “Hey, you know how this works. I taught you everything you know. You should be facilitating things for me, brother, not making them more difficult.” Ash added, swinging his arm over Art’s shoulder.

  “Not with her.” Art answered in a clipped voice.

  “Oh, she's yours? I'm sorry, brother. I respect that.”

  “She’s not mine.” Art answered, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.

  “Then who's is she?” Ash asked looking at Lia, then his eyes focused on Cathair who looked particularly pissed. “Hmm, I see. My apologies, Warrior. I meant no disrespect.” Art'
s head whirled towards Cathair, but his eyes were fixed on Ash. “Interesting,” Ash added, looking at Art. “Okay,” he said, awkwardly and stepped back to Kyr's side. “You may continue, brother.”

  Kyr dragged one hand over his face and took a calming breath. He smiled again. “We are pleased that the prophecy has begun, and we have brought you a gift, High Priestess.” He extended his hand to one of his guards who stepped forward with an ornate silver box in his hands.

  My eyes widened. “For me?” I looked at Cyn. He nodded encouragingly. “You can trust them.”

  I stepped forward but stopped when the guard looked at me. He seemed smaller than Kyr and his brothers but was scary as hell. His armor was black, and it seemed made of some kind metal knit. It looked tough and impenetrable. Short chains hung from his shoulders, hips, and boots, and half his face was covered by this piece that resembled a turtleneck, except it was hard as the rest of the armor and left only his eyes visible. There was a black band painted across his face covering the eyes. They were light blue but not at all like the Princes. His skin was pale, and his hair was midnight black like the Brothers', but much longer than Kyr's and it was pulled back in a ponytail. There was also a small silhouette of a dragon painted black on his forehead.

  “Kah, Gallai, would you please remove your Sorhal istaeth Laeda? You are making the High Priestess uncomfortable.”

  The two guards lifted their gloved hands to the turtleneck that covered their faces. They murmured something I couldn't quite understand, and the material became as soft as silk. It folded as they pulled it down to their necks then it hardened once again. I gasped as they stepped forwards and kneeled in front of me.

  “We are sorry, High Priestess. We did not mean to make you uncomfortable. Please forgive us.” The soft, musical voices of the women startled me. They smiled, and their faces lit up. They were gorgeous, and they were fairies.