by Day Leitao
He stared at her right in the eyes, holding so much feeling, concern. Karina looked away.
Sian took her hand. “Please. Forgive me.”
Karina sighed. “And you didn’t wonder what was happening when I took long to return?”
Sian blinked. “You came back right away.”
Karina exhaled. Time difference, perhaps. That explained why he was calmly looking at the mirror when she came out of the water—if he was saying the truth.
Sian tilted his head. “Why? Didn’t you? Didn’t you return right away?”
Karina debated how much she should tell him. The voice, no way. A little of what had happened, maybe. She sighed. “The mirror disappeared, the room disappeared, and I was left in this place outside, with some small ruins here and there, but no trees, nothing. It looked awful. There was this high tower far away, and those creatures.”
Sian frowned. “What? And how did you return?”
“I tried teleporting. I just went back and forth from the plains to the tower. Then I had the idea to jump in the water, and it worked.”
Sian wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry. Not even in my nightmares I would have imagined that. I would never have asked you to go across the portal if I thought—” He loosened his grip on her and moved away to look in her eyes. “Do you believe me?”
“Why do you even want that thing? It’s not for me, is it?”
“It’s for us.”
Karina got up. “Oh, and what a wonderful coincidence. You read all about a staff hidden in a secret dimension, then I’m the one called to break your spell, the one who can open portals.” She looked at him, and it hit her. How could she have been so dumb? So, so dumb. Karina swallowed. “Was it on purpose? To bring me here?”
“Which part?”
“Which part? What do you mean which part? Was this some plan?”
Sian shook his head. “I don’t know. I brought you here on purpose, yes. I wanted to take control of the castle, yes, so that was on purpose. But you know it. Why are you asking?”
“For someone who risked spending his whole life turned into stone, you sure were very careless in this castle. For someone who plans things so methodically, who reads so much, and knows so much, it’s odd that you’d be caught so unaware, while casually strolling in the garden.”
“You’re right. And you know the answer. You know the answer, Karina.”
“You did it on purpose? To bring me here?”
Sian had a satisfied grin. “I knew you’d figure it out.”
“For that stupid staff?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course not. Can’t you see? To bring you here.”
“Because you wanted to flirt with me? Have you ever heard of asking girls out? Taking them somewhere nice?”
“Yeah, in another dimension. Not that easy, Karina, not that easy.”
“You could have asked—”
“Asked my brother? More than I’d already asked? What should I tell him? ‘Could you please convince your girlfriend to open a secret teleporting tower, just so her friend could come and see me?’”
Karina stared. Yes, perhaps it would have been hard to contact her, but still. “What did you do? You transformed yourself in stone then asked a friend to go and get your brother?”
“No. I just told my, uh, he was my friend, to tell my brother. I didn’t remain transformed into stone. I just did it when my brother came by. And when you came by. It’s not hard to see when someone is approaching here.”
“What if you were asleep?”
“They wouldn’t risk coming at night.”
“And how could you do it, if you had no magic?”
“My friend did it. It’s a book from the castle. The castle itself has some magic. I learned how to use it.”
“The truelove stuff about the kiss was just yarn, then? You do realize you forced me to kiss you, right?”
“Love can break simple spells. I had to know what you felt. It was a test of sorts.”
“And did I pass it?”
Sian shrugged. “You cheated.”
Karina almost laughed. That was what he’d said back then. But it wasn’t funny now, especially if all that deceit was just to get the staff. “What about the kyons?”
“They clearly escaped my control.”
Karina jolted. “Your control? You were the one who sent those things after me?”
Sian pulled a strand of hair behind his ear. “See, it shouldn’t have gone like that. They should never have chased you guys when I was still not transformed.”
“What about coming to my house? Crossing a dimension?”
“It wasn’t easy, but I had to get you back.”
“You put my friend and my family at risk.”
Sian shook his head. “No, no, the kyons have no real risk. The most they’ll do is immobilize you. And they wouldn’t have attacked anyone else.”
“They were attacking your brother and Cayla. I saw it.”
“They wouldn’t immobilize them, though, they were just… creating confusion.”
“For what?”
“I needed a reason for you to stay with me. Yeah, look at me like that, like I’m some pathetic fool. Maybe. Desperate needs, desperate measures.”
“What about when they attacked us in the tower?”
He looked away. “I thought you’d like it. I know I fight well. I thought you’d like to see it.”
“Really? You scared the crap out of me to show off?”
“Not show off. I thought—”
“I’d jump in your arms thinking you were a hero?”
He looked away and fiddled with his hair. “Maybe.”
Karina pressed her hand on her face. “Why so many lies?”
“I never, ever, ever lied to you, Karina. Ever. Every single word I said was true.”
The nerve. “Really? Come with me to Whyland. The Kyons are after you. You are in danger. The Darloom castle has a new master.”
“Every single word was true. Every single word.”
“Yeah, just the words, not the sentences.”
“Every single sentence, then. Yeah, you were in danger of not falling in love with me, Karina. The kyons were after you. And I’m not sure you noticed, in case I didn’t give you enough hints already, I’m the new master of the castle.”
Karina’s stomach turned. “Why do you need this staff then?”
“For complete control over the castle and its power. I had just a little. Now I have it all.”
“Couldn’t you have told me that?”
“I sort of did.”
“Sort of doesn’t cut it, Sian. You said I had to get you the staff so I would no longer be in danger.”
He waved his finger. “I said I wanted it so I’d be able to protect you, and that’s true. It’s absolutely true.”
“Protect me from you. Awesome.”
“No. Protect you from everything and everyone.”
Karina scoffed a breath. “Did you think about protecting me when you sent me to grab the staff? Did you?”
“I had no idea it would be dangerous, no idea. It was a mistake and I’m sorry.”
Karina sighed. On one hand, maybe the problem was that she heard that voice and broke the mirror. Perhaps it had been her own fault. But she didn’t know how to feel about Sian’s lies. Not lies, according to him. Deceit, then. A chill ran down her spine. Her stomach growled, and her head hurt.
“I still haven’t eaten,” she said. “Can we have breakfast?”
“Of course.”
Sian stepped close to her, cupping her chin with one hand, and brushing away her hair with the other. Karina knew what was coming. She should turn her face or push him away, but she didn’t.
Kissing him, as he slid his arms to pull her close to his body, it was hard to be angry. Maybe she should be happy that he had it all planned, that the fact that she lived in another dimension hadn’t stopped him, that he’d gone that far just to bring her to him. It would be a wond
erful thought if it weren’t for that nagging feeling that he’d done it just for the staff. Karina pushed him away.
Sian looked in her eyes. “I understand you’re angry.”
“And hungry. Can we go downstairs?”
Karina ate in silence. Matheo and Georgia were there, and soon Aline and Joel came down, and that gave Karina the respite she needed to try to clear her thoughts. It was worse than she’d imagined. She looked at Sian now and then and tried to imagine him coming up with such a convoluted plan to bring her. But then, it wasn’t that complicated. The tricky part was getting Darian to bring her. Once here, he’d do everything to convince her to remain with him. Was it for her? Or was it for power, though?
Sian was drinking slowly from a cup, holding it in his long fingers. Karina loved his hands, and how they brushed her hair and held her, she loved his satisfied smirk, his ten thousand outfits, and the way he looked at her. She loved his smell, his voice, his laugh. Her knees wobbled and her heart sped up just by being near him. How terribly she’d failed at not falling in love.
Sian convinced her to go for a ride, and they flew away from the castle. Just the two of them in his small lift reminded her of when she went to Siphoria with him. That had been so different. She had been still trying to tell herself she didn’t like him, thinking that all she was doing was to save herself from kyons, when in reality she would perhaps have flown straight to hell if he’d asked her. All she needed was a good excuse. Well, he’d given Karina an excuse to spend time with him. Was it the end of the world?
They landed by a lake surrounded by some sort of pine trees. Tall mountains cast their shadows on the water. Karina closed the long jacket she wore. Sian wore a long coat in threaded wool, as if he’d chosen something cozy on purpose, as if inviting a warm hug.
Karina was still wary and suspicious, though. “Is there a reason we came here, other than talking? I mean, did it have to be here?”
Sian smirked. “Do you remember how I told you I wanted to bring you to the most beautiful place in Whyland? This is not quite it, but I didn’t want to fly too far.”
She tried to remember that. Right. “You mean over one year ago, when you put me in a cell instead?”
“From where you teleported away and didn’t wait for me. Yes.”
“You expected me to just sit there, while you attacked the castle?”
“I sure didn’t expect you to teleport away, and didn’t know you’d put yourself in danger, or I’d kept you with me. My father had asked me to kill you. I wouldn’t do it, of course.”
“Why?”
Sian frowned. “You have to ask?” He snorted. “I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a cold-blooded murderer, you know? I mean, you’ve been kissing me for two days, I sure hope you knew that.”
“I meant why your father asked you that. What would he want with me?
“He feared you had magic. He also wanted me to kill Cayla. And her sister.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I told you I didn’t kill you.”
“Did you put me and Cayla in a cell to protect us?”
Sian snorted. “Let’s not go that far. Well, maybe, yes. In a way, you had to be away from my father. I also thought having Cayla as a hostage could give me an upper hand. Not sure I’d like to use that hand, though.”
“What about me?”
“You? I meant it. I was going to come back to you. As a prince.”
“You think that would have impressed me?”
Sian had his superior smirk. “Yeah, I do. I just needed time to win you over.”
“You sure are confident.”
“I’m not. It’s the way you looked at me.”
“Do I still look at you like that?”
“Now you don’t try to pretend you don’t.”
That was embarrassing, to be caught ogling a guy who confessed he wanted to take the kingdom by force. And she hadn’t found him good looking at the time, just weird. Perhaps fascinating was the word, not weird. But the whole part about wanting to take the kingdom wasn’t that nice. “You’re different now, aren’t you? You don’t want to be a prince anymore.”
“My father’s dead, in case you didn’t know. Either way, putting my father there would have been stupid. A lot of things I was doing were stupid, Karina. I didn’t understand or realize the extent of magic. Now I do. So it was a good thing you convinced me to quit and strike a deal.”
“I convinced you?”
“You saved me from some pointless conflict. There was no need to teleport away from me.”
“If you had told me you were going to give up, I guess—”
“I was going to come back and tell you.”
Karina laughed. “Were you really interested in me since then?”
“I just wanted to see you again. And that’s the whole point. I kept wanting to see you again. I have a plan for everything, and that’s how you’re here. Is it bad? Is it bad being here, by my side?”
Karina thought for a moment, then conceded, “It isn’t.” She rested her head on his chest. “But I’ll still need a way to go back home.”
“Home?” He sounded upset, then changed his tone. “In the Queen’s castle. I’m sure you can make its tower functional again.”
“You said I could use the tower here.”
“That was before. After what you told me, I’m not sure…”
True. It was better not to risk any more teleporting from the Darloom castle. “In the Queen’s castle, then.”
“It will work.”
Karina still had to ask something else. “And why did you need that staff? I mean, if it wasn’t because of the kyons?”
Sian was silent for a few seconds, then spoke slowly, “The Darloom castle concentrates more power than you’ve seen, Karina. Power like that can’t be contained for long. I thought it would be safer in my hand.”
She moved her head away from his chest and looked in his eyes. “What if I hadn’t given you the staff?”
“It would still be ours. No difference.”
No difference. Ours. Those words meant a lot. Karina felt calmer, but she still needed to know more. “And what is this power? What is it?”
“I’ll show you. At sunrise. Powerful time for powerful deeds.”
“Oh, no, I’ll have to wake up early again.” Karina laughed. “You know, I would never have never guessed you were a morning person.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Who says I wake up early for sunrises? More like staying late.”
“Why the change now?”
He brushed his fingers on her face. “You want to spend the night awake?”
Karina trembled at what the words implied. Or maybe it was just her impression. She tried to pretend she didn’t notice it, and laughed. “After having woken up at five or something?”
Sian chuckled, and it was so nice to see him in a non-sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, the timing is all wrong.”
He kissed her cheek and they spent a few moments like this, just feeling each other’s warmth. Karina again rested her head on his chest and heard his heart beating despite the thick coat.
Karina was at peace and forgave him for the kyons in her house and the lies. Or not lies, according to him. She had to ask, “Why the insistence in saying you were saying the truth? I mean, you were deceiving me, and you know it.”
“I don’t think I was deceiving you, just revealing things slowly. As for not lying, it’s just something with me. Words have power, and if I start telling lies, my words lose their value, and their power as well.”
“Magic power?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Not that I know of. There are legends of people who could whisper suggestions and make anyone do their bidding. I’m not quite there yet.”
Karina laughed. “You did pretty well with me.”
“Harder than I expected.”
She hit his shoulder lightly. “Oh, you thought it was going to be even easier?” She looked down, thinking. “Why
do you think my kiss didn’t work? When I kissed you to break your spell? If it was just a matter of a little attraction, I mean…”
“Right? You also got me confused. Maybe it’s the way you did it. If you didn’t know you had to put any feeling…”
“Maybe. I was so stressed and scared.”
“Was it your first kiss?”
Karina felt the blood rising to her head. “What difference does it make?”
Sian closed his eyes. “I’m an idiot. I should have known it. I should—”
“Excuse me?” The nerve. As if it were obvious nobody would want to kiss her.
He laughed. “Oh, I bet you’re picky, that’s all. I’m sure plenty of boys wish they could have kissed you. You know you’re pretty.”
“I guess I needed someone with a convoluted story to convince me to kiss me, and that’s how it took that long.”
“You needed me.”
“Sian, you’re so full of yourself, sometimes I think you’ll explode.”
He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, “You forget I also needed you. I’m just speaking from experience.”
Karina felt calm in his embrace, then remembered something. “There’s something else I wanted to know.”
Sian had a fake exaggerated frown. “More questions? I thought your quota was over for today.”
Karina shrugged. “I’ll ask tomorrow, then.”
Sian laughed and kissed her cheek. “I’m kidding. Ask anything you want, any time you want. It’s always better to talk, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. You never really told me what Faria said.”
Sian tensed, broke their hug, and looked away. “I did.”
Karina didn’t want to insist because it clearly bothered him, but the fact that it bothered him made her even more curious. “Not really, Sian, or maybe I didn’t understand it.”
Sian sighed. “She told me you already loved me.”
Karina was puzzled. “Why were you upset?”
“She also said you’d leave me.”
“Oh. But she must have been wrong or wanted to worry you. I’m not sure I loved you at the time. Love is something that comes slowly, right?”