BEWITCHED & BOTHERED

36 ✰ Morning, October 23rd

I woke up at eight in the morning to the peaceful chirping of birds outside my window, a sound I've missed terribly since they've been replaced by the rumble of a motorcycle engine. Already in an improved mood, I hopped out of bed and stretched my arms out wide, soaking the feel of sunlight on my skin.

I realised mid-yawn, that I was being watched.

My focus shifted to the street below, at the exact spot where Callum had been the past mornings, and saw a pair of sharp grey eyes staring back at me. I clamped my jaw shut.

Magnus was here.

Out of reflex, I leaped backwards away from his field of vision, horrified that he'd just seen me at my worst—in very un-sexy pyjamas sans makeup. I raced to the vanity, grimacing at the mess of frizz that piled atop my head. With a frustrated groan, I tried to rub the sleep away from my tired eyes in an effort to wake up.

And then I screamed.

Not because I looked particularly horrible.

But because both my eyes were now dark brown in colour.

Less than a minute after I finished shrieking, a loud crash on the first floor snatched my attention, followed by heavy thudding footsteps up the stairs. Before I could dive under the blanket to shield my hideously baggy pyjamas, the bedroom door flung open, nearly detaching from its squeaky hinges.

"Where is he?" Magnus shouted, chest heaving in panic.

I stood like a baby giraffe in front of him, all jellied knees.

"...Good morning?" I greeted awkwardly.

"Where is he!" Magnus demanded again, grey eyes wild and untamed.

"Who?" I asked warily. "Sonny? Maybe halfway across the continent by now."

Magnus closed the distance between us, his hands coming over my shoulders to keep me still. His brows were rushed together in palpable concern, those beautiful lips slightly apart as he tried to catch his breath. 

"What happened, Lena? Why did you scream?"

It was probably wise to explain what really happened to calm Magnus down. But for reasons I couldn't comprehend, my mind couldn't string a single legible sentence together. 

Especially when the morning sun bounced off his golden skin, making him look like a living bronzed statue, the warmth completely contrasting the coolness of his eyes—eyes that saw nothing but me at this moment.

"Eyes...brown," I managed to whimper out as heat pooled between my thighs.

Magnus lowered his face down to mine to inspect my eyes, his proximity making my breath hitch. Although lust was probably the furthest thing on his mind at the moment, I had this burning urge to kiss him. To taste him again.

"They are."

"What?" I whispered in a daze, unable to keep my eyes from his mouth, so close I could feel them on mine.

"Brown," Magnus replied, his voice laced with confusion. Disappointment rushed through my blood when he let me go and stepped back.

His handsome features twisted in utter perplexity. "Lena, tell me what the hell is going on." It was an order, rather than a gentle plea. I assumed as much from the annoyed twitching of his mouth. Seeing it was enough to dampen my arousal. But only by a little.

"I told you, I'm losing my powers," I said as a matter-of-factly.

He frowned. "But why?"

"I'm cursed," I replied curtly, hoping this would put an end to his curiosity.