Unwanted Magic (The Ancient Magic Series Book 3)

by Stephany Wallace

  “Please, leave," I whispered, unable to speak.

  "What? No," Eisha said, as my heart ripped open. "Look at me, Felix. Please open your eyes." I took a ragged breath and forced myself to look into her eyes. "I shall not leave you. If you desire to cry, then cry. If you wish to scream, then do it, but I will not leave you. I said I would be here for you and I meant it."

  She let go of my face and brought me into her arms, wrapping them tight around me. Her hand pulled my head until my face rested against the curve of her neck and her cheek rested on my temple. The second her fingers began to caress the back of my neck I broke down. I had never been held this way.

  “It is all right. I am here for you.”

  Her hand tenderly caressed my back, and I fisted the sheets at her sides to stop myself from hugging her back. My body shook with the pain and relief of finally knowing who my mother was.

  Finally seeing her face, and learning her name.

  Eisha dried my cheeks as I stared into her eyes.

  “Was the last memory yours? Did you know my mother?”

  She nodded. "She was always happy and had the most beautiful laugh. She was very witty too. It was delightful to be around her."

  I smiled, looking at the way Eisha’s eyes sparkled with the memory. “Thank you.”

  I unconsciously reached for her hand, and silently cursed when I realized what I was doing, taking a deep breath I looked at her again.

  "Thanks for showing me that. You will never know what this means to me. I guess I should be surprised that my father fell in love with a Druid, but after knowing you, I'm not. I can't really fault him for that. You are not at all what I had been told. Your people are kind, forgiving and understanding, even when they shouldn't be. Granted, there are a few of you that still want to kill me, but that is a different story."

  She laughed and the way her eyes sparkled made my heart flip inside my chest. Fuck, I was in love with her.

  "Who knew history would repeat itself, mia Bella Stella.” I unconsciously leaned closer.

  She didn’t look away. “What does that mean?”

  I smiled admiring her. "My Beautiful Star." She blushed, and I grinned. My eyes roamed her face. "Why would you do that for me?"

  She lowered her gaze to my chest. "Because you were in pain and no one deserves to live with that kind of hurt inside them."

  “Not even your enemy?” I asked, leaning closer while her eyes pulled me in.

  Her hand lifted, and she placed it over my heart. I hissed at the contact and my eyes closed of their own volition. Her warmth rushed through me, and my body responded to her. Fuck. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to contain myself much longer.

  “You are not my enemy, Felix, and no one deserves to be in pain.”

  I opened my eyes and looked at her again.

  "If you only knew what your touch does to me." She moved her hand, and my heart protested. "Please, don't pull away. I need you to touch me. It's the only thing keeping me sane because I can't touch you." She looked into my eyes and placed her hand back on my chest. I instantly felt relief once again. "I felt your touch even before I was awake." Her eyes widened, and I smiled. "I could feel you in the healing spell. I didn't know it was you until the first time you touched me after, but it floods my body with warmth and relief in a way it's hard to describe. Your touch gives me life, Eisha. I need it, and I crave it even if I can't understand it, I want it."

  Her gaze filled with an emotion I couldn't recognize, and she put her other hand on my chest. My eyes closed again as the feelings inundated my body. Damn, I needed her. When I opened my eyes again, hers were filled with love. My gaze dropped to her lips, and I knew I was screwed. Art would rip my body apart until there was nothing left of me but I had to kiss her. I kneeled on the bed as my heart began to race and leaned over her.

  "What are you doing?" She asked, suddenly nervous, yet she didn't move away.

  “I have to kiss you, Eisha. I need you.”

  Her head tilted back as she held my gaze, and the way she looked at me killed whatever will I might have left. Third strike. I noticed her chest begin to rise and fall faster with her accelerated breaths, and her pupils dilated as she looked at me. I leaned into her. She wanted me to kiss her. Even if she didn't realize it, her body was begging me to.

  “If you kiss me, you will burn,” She said, breathlessly.

  I looked at her lips and they slightly parted. Fuck.

  “It will be worth it.”

  Taking the only chance I was ever going to get, I cradled her cheeks and claimed her mouth. My body awakened in a way I never thought possible as my lips lingered on hers. I waited for the flames to burn through my skin but they never came. My heart thundered in my chest at the realization, and I claimed her lips again. I kissed her deeply and slowly, taking everything I could from her lips as though it was the only way I could truly feel alive. I lowered her back to the bed and rested my body on hers as our lips moved together, and she kissed me back. My hands caressed her face, her neck, and her arms, wanting to feel her skin as much as I could. I was touching her. Fuck. I was kissing her, and she was kissing me back. My heart didn't fit in my body at this moment. We were both panting when our lips finally parted. I sucked her lips once more, and created a trail to her neck, relishing in the way her skin tasted under my tongue.

  “La mia Bella Stella…” I whispered, kissing the sensitive spot under her ear and she gasped.

  "Stop. Please stop," Eisha whispered, and I looked into her eyes, confused.

  "Are you ok?" I asked when I saw her eyes water.

  “I’m sorry, I have to leave.” I moved, giving her a chance to stand. “You must forget about this kiss. It never happened.”

  I shook my head as my heart ripped in two. “I can’t. Kissing you has brought me back to life.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek making her eyelashes glisten. "You must not kiss me again. Please. I am meant to be with another, I cannot do this. I need you, Felix. I need your help, but you cannot kiss me again. Please promise you will not kiss me ever again."

  I stood, and pulled her into my arms, kissing the tear off her cheek. I held her tight reveling in the feel of her body against mine. I gently wiped the wetness from her cheek; relieved I could finally do it and looked into her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I will not kiss your lips again. I promise.”

  My eyes closed as I kissed her forehead instead. I had lied to her. Her head rested on my chest, and I held her, knowing that was a promise I couldn't keep. I loved her and needed her, and when I kissed her, she kissed me back. Even if it had only been a moment of weakness I knew she didn't love Art, she hadn't been his, and I was not going to waste this chance.

  CHAPTER 13. A NEW MAN

  EISHA

  * * *

  My gaze followed Felix's movements as he trained with Ronan. His face showed absolute concentration, and I would even dare say peace.

  A month and a half had passed since Felix left the cave and moved into the small hut Cyn had the Warriors built for him. The change had done him well. He was fully recovered from the anemia and malnutrition suffered during his prolonged time in the healing womb. Nevertheless, the recovery had very little to do with him eating properly. I used to sit by his bed while he slept, and marveled at the way the healing glow filtered through his skin, filling, regenerating and reshaping his body. It was mesmerizing to see. Once the ability awoke in him, it took full control of his being. Felix joked that training with Druid Warriors had put him in the best shape of his life, but I knew the truth. The corded muscles that stretched from his neck and throughout his arms had always been part of him, yet they were now accentuated by his ability. His well-defined pectoral muscles and the perfectly cut abdominal and hips muscles seemed sculpted onto his body. Unlike the other Warriors, his body had not built in a hulking manner, it was lean and cut, or how he called it, ripped, and it gave him an agility the others did not possess. In my opinion, it was refined, and it wa
s certainly more than just training.

  My eyes roamed his back, and the curve of his spine down to the hips. It was soft yet strong. His skin glistened with sweat as he prepared to attack. His posture was perfect. The angle of his arm as he wielded the sword on his right hand was beautiful. He rotated his wrist as he looked for an opening with a half smile on his face. He was taunting Ronan. I smiled. Ronan had become his sparring partner, and they always joked together about how fast one could slam the other to the ground. They had become close friends.

  Ronan advanced, but Felix swiftly blocked him. Still, Ronan did not relent. He came at him again and again with his double-headed mace. The chain coiled and unwound as his arm swung forward, it went straight for Felix's right shoulder and neck. Felix jumped back putting all his weight on his right foot, and using the momentum he turned in a full circle, lifting his left knee and hitting Ronan on the center of his back. He swiftly recovered and swung his mace again. Felix ducked, throwing the sword aside and punched him in the stomach, pushing him back. Ronan lost his footing and anticipation filled my every cell. This was Felix's chance to take him down. He jumped up, and placing all his strength on his right leg, he straight kicked Ronan in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

  “Yes!” I yelled.

  “You are slacking, my friend,” Felix told Ronan as I rushed into the fight.

  Felix turned at the sound of my voice and smiled. I jumped and swung my axe for his head, but he blocked it with his sword.

  "Good!" I shouted, touching the ground and turning to my right while Ronan stood. I swung low at Felix's leg, but he avoided the blow. Holding my arm and using my own thrust against me, he pulled me up and rolled me off his back throwing me to the floor. Swiftly standing, I smirked and threw my axe at his chest. Bending his body backwards, he caught it in the air just in time for Ronan's attack. He rolled on the floor and stood. They both swung at the same time, but Felix didn't block Ronan's mace. Instead, he swung the axe meeting the chain, forcing it to wrap around the axe. He pulled his arm back wrenching the mace from Ronan's hand and effectively disarming him. Felix jumped thrusting his left leg up and hit Ronan in the ribs with his thigh. Ronan held on to Felix's leg and threw him to the floor, but Felix quickly recovered, punching his stomach and chest from below.

  I could watch him fight all day long and never get tired. He could wield a sword, but his strength was undoubtedly his body. He relied on his core muscles, legs, and fists, and it worked exceptionally well for him. He called it kickboxing. He explained that he had been doing it for years, and it showed in the way his body switched so smoothly in and out of each position and could move with such dexterity. I smiled when he brought Ronan down, and pinned him to the grass with his knee.

  “You are done, my friend.” He smirked looking at Ronan.

  I ran and jumped.

  “So are you.”

  “Fuck!”

  I wrapped my legs around his neck tightly and flipped my body downwards, lifting him in the air and slamming his back against the ground. It was my signature move. I sat on his chest laughing.

  “I win! You should never forget your second opponent. They will wait for the perfect time to take you down.”

  "Ugh... I think you broke my spine." I laughed. He looked at my hips on him, and then at my face again.

  “Not exactly the way I dreamed I would feel with you on top of me.” I smacked his head and got up.

  “Ouch! And now my brain has detached. Thank you.”

  I laughed picking up my axes. He stood and helped Ronan up.

  "Hey, hit me!" Felix yelled, lifting his arms. I threw both axes at him and grinned as he cut them in the air and swung them up. The sun reflected on the blades, making them shine as they twirled. He juggled them over and over, and I was hypnotized. His display of power and skill was such a beautiful sight. Ronan handed me the water, and we sat on a rock while Felix put on a show for us. I loved when he did that. He twirled them in the air and caught them behind his back, then threw them up again turned in a circle before they came down and swung them, making them fly straight into the tree to our left. We clapped while he walked towards us.

  “Not bad,” Ronan said, handing him the water.

  “Not bad??” Felix protested. “I’d like to see you do that without slicing your arm off.”

  Ronan chuckled. “Oh, I can do that much better than you. I just do not wish to embarrass you in front of the lady.”

  We laughed. "Of course," Felix said, taking another sip of water. He looked at the river for a moment, and his whole body relaxed.

  “Do you like being here with us, my friend?” Ronan asked.

  Felix took a deep breath and looked at him. "Sure, what’s there not to like? I'm stuck who knows where, without contact to the outside world, half the Warriors want to kill me, and the rest of your people don't even know I'm here." Ronan chuckled, the humor was evident on Felix's face. His gaze focused on me and filled with intense emotion. "Yes, I love it here."

  He leaned in and kissed my cheek tenderly. His lips brushed my skin making my pulse pick up. Suddenly nervous, I drank more water and looked at Ronan, but he just seemed amused.

  “The truth is,” Felix added. “I have never felt so free in my life.” He looked straight into my eyes and smiled. “Someone else would probably be focused on what they can’t do or what they have lost. I realized the only things I have lost are the chains that were forced on me and weighed me down. Everything that made me one of them, and I am fighting as hard as I can, not to be that anymore. I want to be a new man. Maybe the one I could have been if life had dealt me a different hand. I want nothing to do with the Brotherhood." His hand gently cupped my cheek, and he caressed it. "The one thing I want more than anything in this world, and I would do anything for is right in front of me. There is nowhere else I’d rather be." My eyes searched his, and the truth in his words pulled at the strings in my heart.

  “I am sorry, my friend. I am already taken,” Ronan said, making us both erupt in laughter.

  Felix took another sip of water and stood. “Ok, it’s that time of the day, people.”

  "Oh, sweet Mother Goddess, what have I ever done?" I asked, and Ronan chuckled.

  "Come on. You know you love this game." Felix winked, and I rolled my eyes trying not to smile. He grinned. "It's trivia time!" He said in an announcers' voice. "And the category today is?"

  Ronan raised his arm. “Who gets Eisha?!” I laughed. These two were so silly.

  “That’s right, folks. Today you’ll have a chance to win four thousand dollars, by just answering one simple question. Our contestant for the night is…” He extended his fist at me as though he was holding something. “Please say your name for the audience.”

  I sighed, amused. “Eisha Cinnia.”

  "Alright, miss Eisha. I will ask one question, and you'll have three seconds to answer. Are you ready?" I laughed, knowing what was coming. "Stop, you can't laugh this is a very serious matter," Felix whispered with wide eyes.

  I chuckled and cleared my throat. “Sorry.” I rolled my shoulders, stretched my arms and cracked my fingers. “Ready.”

  Felix grinned. "Alright Eisha, for four thousand dollars answer this. What does Art have that I don't? And go!" I laughed again, while he pointed his fist at me. "Stop laughing. You only have three seconds to answer." He complained chuckling and making me laugh even harder. "Wait, are you laughing with me or at me, because there is a difference." I clutched my stomach looking at his face. Ronan was laughing next to me. "Come on. I need an answer."

  “Ok.” I took a deep breath and thought about it. “Two millennia of experience fighting?”

  “Errr. Wrong.”

  “Everyone loves him?”

  “Errr.”

  “Chest hair?”

  “What the fuck, Eisha?!”

  I lost it. I fell on the grass and held my stomach laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

  "Why don't you just tell me his ding-dong is big
ger too and bury me right here already." He chuckled. "Damn it, woman!" Ronan laughed.

  “Again. What does Art have that I don’t? Go!”

  I sat up, and Ronan whispered something in my ear. I smirked and lifted my arm eagerly.

  “What is the answer, miss?”

  “Me?”

  "Fuck!" I laughed as he looked at Ronan. "That's cold, man. What the hell? I thought you were my friend." Ronan stood smiling and wiped his hands on his pants. "Low blow, man. I'll keep that in mind."

  “Sorry, my friend. I speak the truth.” He patted Felix’s back, picked up his mace and began walking. “See you later guys. I have to meet Eghan.”

  "Ok, hear me out," Felix said, sitting next to me. I chuckled. "Sure, he's tall dark and handsome and can probably kill me with one blow. So, he kills me. What does that really do to me?" I laughed. "I mean, if he kills me I can just come back as a ghost, and haunt the fuck out of his ass." I pushed him, and he laughed. "No, really. How much better than me can he be? I mean, can he twerk?"

  My eyes widened. “What on earth is that?”

  "You don't know what twerking is? Oh, I would twerk for you, but you have to look at my ass, and then you blush, and then I want to kiss you, and then we get in trouble." I narrowed my eyes at him but chuckled. “Besides, how much can he really please you if he can’t twerk?”

  I smacked his arm. “Stop.”

  “Just saying.”

  "Also, how do you know he's better for you than I am. How well do you know the man?"

  “I have known him for over two thousand years!”

  “But how well do you really know him?”

  I smacked his arm again. "Also, I am vastly older than you are."

  He wiggled his eyebrows. "Oh, that makes it all the more exciting. I love cougars."

  “What?”

  He laughed. “Never mind.”

  He got up chuckling and pulled me with him. His arms wrapped around me and took control of me. I couldn't help but give in into his embrace. My cheek rested on his chest while my hands settled on the small of his back. I could feel the exchange of energy as his warmth filtered through my skin. His fingers lifted my chin, making me look at him, and he kissed my nose. I chuckled and wiggled it. It always tickled when he did that.