Fateful Magic

by Rachel Higginson

  “It’s alright,” the voice soothed. “I turned the light off. Please try it again. Please, my beloved.”

  Iubita mea. I remembered. Iubita mea meant my beloved in Romanian. That was the Romanian endearment he always called me in private.

  Talbott.

  My Talbott.

  I opened my eyes again. This time for him.

  I couldn’t wait to see him again. I needed him as much as he needed me. I needed to see that he was real. And alive. And truly here with me.

  It was dark, like he said it would be, but he hovered just over my face and my weak eyes adjusted over time.

  Slowly he came into focus.

  Slowly, Talbott became a real thing in front of me.

  Just as soon as I could make out his handsome, achingly-familiar face in front of me it blurred. It took my slow brain a moment to figure out that it was because I had started to cry.

  Hot tears streamed down my cheeks and my chest shuddered with the strength of my emotion.

  Talbott was here. With me.

  I never thought I would see him again, but somehow, by some miracle we were together again.

  My heart swelled in my chest until it hurt, until I was convinced it would burst inside me and rip through the cage of bones and flesh.

  I started trembling, rough sobs shaking my body. I had no words. He asked me questions, but I couldn’t answer him. It was too much to have him with me. I didn’t know how my fallible body would contain the intensity of my emotions.

  I felt too much and at the same time couldn’t feel enough to justify the greatness of being reunited with the man I loved more than myself.

  Relief. Elation. Pure bliss. Joy. Gratefulness. A lifting of the bone-deep weariness that seemed to stretch for eternity inside me.

  Talbott was with me again.

  “Lilly,” he murmured and then simply pulled me to him. I couldn’t move my limbs easily yet and so I let him cradle me against his chest.

  I stopped coming up with adjectives when I felt his warm chest pressed against mine and his strong, familiar arms wrapped around me. I didn’t have enough sanity to be creative, but mostly, there weren’t words adequate enough to describe this feeling.

  Out of all the times Talbott and I had been separated, this last one had been the worst. I had truly given up hope of ever seeing him again. I really believed that I would die at the hands of that monster and Talbott would be forced to go on living without me.

  But I was here now.

  And I never wanted to leave.

  “I missed you,” I whispered brokenly.

  I felt his chest tremble like the force of a mountain under siege, or the tallest skyscraper as an earthquake rumbled beneath it. My man, my Titan, was just as moved by our reunion as I was.

  His hot tears hit my cheek and prompted more sobbing from me. Talbott didn’t cry. I had never seen him break down the entire time I’d known him.

  And good grief, we’d been through a lot before.

  “I missed you too.” But there was so much more there, so much more depth to those simple words.

  We stayed like that for the rest of eternity.

  Or that was at least how it felt. He never made a move to leave my side and I didn’t lift my head from the sanctuary of his body for a very long time.

  When I finally grew curious enough to want to look around, I was sure that hours had gone by. A niggling conviction to do something about Terletov and stop the horrific engine of destruction he drove bothered me, but most of my spirit felt calmed just being in Talbott’s presence.

  I knew we needed to do something. I knew we wouldn’t be able to stay here for long wrapped up in our little cocoon of isolation. Eventually, our sense of duty and concern for the Kingdom would force us to act. But I also knew how precious these moments were, how rare and special it was to feel safe and content.

  “Where are we?” I asked after another long while.

  “Your parent’s house.” He shifted on the bed so I could see more of the room. “Do you remember anything?”

  I shook my head. “No.” That wasn’t true. I remembered a lot. I remembered too much. I remembered pain and agony like I’d never felt before. I remembered the feeling of suffocating and then the feeling that my Magic was leaving me. I remembered wanting to die and wanting to live just to see Talbott one more time. I remembered suffering so severely that I’d sworn I’d gone blind and that my limbs had been ripped from my body. I remembered way too many details of my time with Terletov. Just nothing that would tell me how I got here.

  “Lilly, you must tell me what happened. I must know.” His words rolled over me, searing my skin with their dangerous attention.

  “Not today,” I pleaded. “Please.”

  “Lilly…” His tone was a growl. I loved how he said my name, even when he wanted to murder someone. I had always loved how it fell out of his lips with his exotic accent.

  And ever since I’d known him, he had loved to say my name. Over and over, he would murmur sweet promises to me, always worshipping my name as he whispered the heart-stopping promises of our future together.

  In the prisons of Romania, when he knew what I was but could not be with me. Both times. When he would find me in a corridor at the Citadel and corner me with all his gruff seduction. In every intimate encounter we’d shared since we were sixteen years old, my name had been a constant in his vocabulary.

  God, this man could undo me with just my name whispered on his lips.

  And he knew it.

  I tilted my face to him and cupped his jaw with my clammy hand. I had to look atrocious. I could feel my wild hair frizzy and untamed and plastered to my face and shoulders. My skin felt clean but not clean at the same time and I didn’t even want to guess at what I was wearing.

  Still, he looked down at me like I was something so beautiful and precious he had a hard time comprehending that I could be real.

  Adoration shone in his eyes. Reverence lit his handsome face from the inside out. His Magic radiated with pride and joy and spread to every corner of the room. It wrapped around mine completely, pulling me into him so that we could never be separated again.

  “Tell me what happened? How did I come to be with you again? I didn’t think… I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”

  A whoosh of breath punched out of his chest and something dark and deadly flashed across his face. “I would never let that happen. I would never let you go.”

  My hand caressed his jaw and he seemed to lose some of that tightened edge. Talbott was more than a Titan, he was the strongest Titan. His muscles were deadly weapons and his Magic had been refined into a skillful instrument of destruction. He could kill, he could hurt, he could annihilate.

  It had taken me a while to get used to that. Especially when I’d been so afraid he would use all that scary talent on me.

  But then again, with me, he’d always been different. His granite muscles didn’t promise harm, they held me with an achingly-beautiful tenderness and devotion. His Magic didn’t rip mine to shreds and tear through me as he brought me to my death. It caressed mine and held it adoringly. His Magic sought mine above all others and fortified me until I felt like I could be just as capable and destructive as him.

  He didn’t hurt me, he loved me.

  And that made me the luckiest woman in the entire world.

  “I know you wouldn’t. I knew you’d come after me. But what he did to me… the things he-”

  A ferocious snarl thundered out of his mouth and his eyes darkened until they seemed black with anguish. “I should never have let him take you. This is my fault. What happened to you is my fault.”

  “No,” I gasped. With a strength I didn’t know I had, I scrambled to my knees and took his face with both hands. I faced him bravely, even as tears streamed down my face and my body swayed with wooziness. “This was not your fault. Don’t ever blame yourself. Talbott, what that man does is his alone. We were both victims. I know that you did everything
to stop him. I know that you would have fought to find me until your last breath. None of this is your fault, and I will not tolerate you believing otherwise.”

  He looked away from me. “My entire purpose is to keep those I am charged with safe. And yet, I have never been able to protect you. I have never been able to keep you apart from the evil things in this world.”

  A sob hiccupped through me. “Well, you could have definitely tried harder in high school.” It was meant to be a joke, but his expression turned tortured and utterly distressed. I leaned forward and kissed his nose and then his pursed lips. “My big, strong warrior.”

  “I’m very angry,” he complained. His eyes cut to me self-consciously. “Not at you, of course. But at myself. I claim to love you, but how can I if I cannot keep you safe? You have almost died too many times and I have been nothing but a spectator.”

  My kisses trailed over his sharp cheekbone and to the soft waves of his thick dark hair. “You have given me reasons to keep living. When my life has been so wretched, I wanted to do nothing more than give it up, you were the reason I didn’t. You were the reason I kept breathing. Kept living.”

  A tear fell from the corner of his eye and I thought my heart would shatter. To see Talbott so struck down because of what happened to me, was worse than any of the pain I’d gone through before now.

  “Please don’t blame yourself,” I begged. “Please just love me instead. Be with me instead.”

  “I’ll never leave you again,” he swore. “And you can’t make me. I’m not leaving your side ever again. You’ll have to learn to do everything while I stand right here.” His large hands went to my hips and he yanked me against him. He held me there as my body would have chosen to collapse in weakness. He was my strength when I had none.

  “I don’t want you to.”

  His Magic found mine after long last and the two entities mingled together. Mine felt revived with the strength of Talbott’s seeking touch. I could barely feel it at all and yet he seemed to bring it back from the dead. My breath stuttered in my chest at the overwhelming feeling of coming home. I missed this so much.

  He clutched me tighter to him. His face lifted just a fraction of an inch so that his lips brushed against mine. They moved over mine slowly, gently… so sweetly my chest ached with the poignancy of the moment.

  Talbott was kissing me, something I had stopped believing would ever happen again. And yet here I was, feeling his lips press against mine, wrapped in his arms, with the full-length of his body touching every part of me.

  I almost combusted from happiness.

  I pressed my lips to his more firmly. I could tell that he was trying to go slow and be careful with me. I knew that I was fragile. But the thing was… I was always fragile. There was always something wrong with me. And I was tired of it.

  I was tired of being delicate and sick. I was tired of getting kidnapped or hauled off to stupid prison. I was so tired of suffering.

  And even more of being tortured.

  The next person that tried to torture me was going to get a surprise when I ripped out their heart with my bare hands.

  Too much? Maybe. But that was how strongly I felt about never feeling pain again. I wasn’t one to be cocky or full of myself, but I’d been through more than my fair share of suffering and I was over being experimented on.

  Never again.

  And I was really over having to be separated unwillingly from Talbott.

  Talbott responded immediately while I deepened the kiss. Our mouths opened at the same time and for the first time in much too long, I tasted him. We both groaned at the contact of our tongues against each other, tangling together in that sweet symphony of intimacy.

  Tears pricked at my eyes again, but I fought to hold them back. I just wanted to enjoy this moment. I just wanted to revel in coming home.

  Talbott’s mouth moved against mine hotly but also familiarly. This was the only boy I’d ever kissed. The boy I’d loved since I was seventeen years old. The boy that had pursued me from when we were even younger. This was the boy that represented me in a bigger way than I ever could alone. And the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

  Carefully he moved me back to the bed and followed me down. His arms cradled me in that sweetly protective way I loved, but his mouth never lost contact with mine.

  I worshipped his mouth as he reminded me of things I thought had died forever: desire, connection… lust. Things that were so purely blissful, I had been certain I would never feel them again.

  “Marry me, Lilly,” he whispered against my lips after more of those endless moments where I lost track of time completely.

  I laughed softly. “I already said that I would.”

  His forehead rested against mine and he rocked his head back and forth slowly. “I want you to marry me now. Today. I want to make our bond so permanent, that nothing on heaven or earth or in the pits of hell could ever take you from me again. Marry me now.”

  I swallowed against this new, beautiful reality. “I want to be able to stand at my own wedding, Talbott. I want to be able to shower first.”

  He chuckled and I loved the vibrations of his chest. I put my hand on his heart and closed my eyes. I savored this moment, committed it to my everlasting memory.

  “I will give you two days, Lilly.” He sounded serious. I panicked just the tiniest bit at his firm command. “You may call Eden and have her join you, or whoever else you want. But in two days you will be my wife.”

  “Okay.” My heart started swelling again. “Yes. In two days, I will be your wife.”

  Chapter Two

  Then

  “I have news,” Amory announced from the back of the barn.

  The Resistance had gathered tonight at Amory’s request. I looked around at my fellow soldiers and felt my pride building.

  I had spent most of my life lonely and afraid. But no longer. I was connected to something now. I was part of something greater than myself.

  I was no longer just an F-you from my parents to the Kingdom. I was an active part of a rebellion trying to overthrow the unjust Monarchy.

  Sure, I was in more danger now than ever. But not by much.

  Besides, I had always been in danger. My very existence was a disgusting offense to my King. At least now my existence had purpose. At least now I could fight for the change I believed in.

  Once we were all seated in our usual places, Amory explained why we’d come all the way out to the farm tonight. “Our vision for the Resistance is changing tonight. As you all know, Lucan called off the engagement between the Prince and Seraphina Van Curen. And I believe we all know why he would do such a thing. Tonight, while we meet here, Kiran is with my granddaughter.” He took a long moment to pause, seeming to collect himself.

  Amory was usually stoic and commanding. I found it unnerving to see him struggle with emotion. Especially when I didn’t understand his emotion. Was he angry at Eden for entertaining ideas of a future with Kiran? Or was it painful for him to think his only granddaughter would marry into the Kendrick family?

  The longer I watched him, the more confused I became. He didn’t look like he struggled with the idea, he looked proud. He seemed… moved. Especially when he said, “The Prince is going to ask her to marry him and I have no doubt that she will say yes.”

  Every voice seemed to erupt at the same time. The majority of the Resistance seemed angry at Eden’s choice. The rest of them were beyond angry, they were livid. Even Avalon shouted something at his grandfather.

  Nobody wanted Eden mixed up with the Royals. Not even me. As the future King, I found him incredibly lacking. And as my best friend’s boyfriend or fiancé or whatever, I found him even worse. He hadn’t even dated Eden before he asked her to marry him. Their entire relationship, he’d been engaged to a different girl. Whom he’d treated just as poorly.

  I didn’t have any respect for him for those reasons alone. Not to mention, he’d been the one to get me thrown in prison in the firs
t place. After I’d helped save his life! And he would have let me rot there if it hadn’t been for Eden.

  I didn’t understand what she was thinking. Although… it was easier for me to understand that sometimes love didn’t make sense or fit exactly right.

  I had my own confusing emotions to deal with, so I couldn’t really judge her.

  “Quiet,” Amory commanded and the room fell immediately silent. “I have more to say.” He cleared his throat and with his rich, melodic voice, he continued, “I have lived a long time. Too long, some might say. I have been fighting this secret war for almost just as long. I am weary of it. I am weary of plotting and scheming and advocating for a selfish Kingdom that doesn’t want my help. I lost my wife.” He cut himself off when his voice broke with emotion. My own eyes burned with unshed, empathetic tears. “I lost my daughter, and I have only just begun to know my grandchildren. This long, endless life has taken its toll on me.” I held my breath in anticipation for his next words and it was only because I had ceased moving that I heard him mumble under his breath, “But it’s almost over now.” My ears perked up and I scooted forward in my seat. I didn’t think I could have possibly heard him right. I started to doubt myself. And then he went on, “In all my long history, I must say, this is the most I’ve managed to accomplish. This is the farthest I’ve ever reached and it is because of you all. You are the greatest group of soldiers I’ve ever fought with and more than that, some of the best people I have had the privilege to know. I have watched this Kingdom self-destruct for thousands of years. Immortals filled with prejudice and malice and brutality. There has never been a right time to supersede the Monarchy because there has never been enough good people to help carry out the task. Until you. Until your generation. These last sixteen years have been some of the best in my life. And I thank you for that. I thank you for being the people worth fighting for. Please stay these people. Our struggle for justice won’t end with Eden’s engagement. I hope in the future, no matter what happens, you remember the reason we do this.”

  Amory finished and walked straight to Avalon. He pulled him aside and began speaking quietly to him while the rest of us grappled with everything he’d said.