Wicked Chase

♚ Chapter Eighteen

All three of us - Philip, the man whose name was apparently Randall, and I - turned our heads to the source of the voice and found my father standing a foot away from the circle that caged Philip and I in. His crown was a bit lopsided and his face looked worried and fear stricken. Alastair stood beside Ronan, his grey eyes blazing with anger.

"Step away from the Princess, Randall." This time it wasn't Ronan that spoke up but Alastair and the tone of his voice was haunting, challenging and full of rage.

"Alassy!" Randall exclaimed so chirpily that I jolted with surprise. "My old friend," he drawled, the wicked smile on his dark lips growing wider. "It's refreshing to see you. You're a guard here? What, you didn't even want to become a knight?" Randall paused for effect before he spat out, his face losing all sinister amusement, "Oh, that's right. You're not of noble blood."

Alastair's hands didn't fist at his sides like I expected but his jaw clicked into place and his grey eyes swirled more frantically with hotter rage. It was the mere, small changes that no one would notice which would give Alastair the upper hand. He appeared calm but by those small, almost unnoticeable actions, I knew he was anything but calm.

"This is not your fight, Randall. Leave the princess alone and we will promise you safe passage back to Fallonailes," Alastair said, his silvery voice smooth and calm but I hinted the underlying tone in his words.

"It became my fight when you became my enemy, Alastair Ignacio." The way the name rolled off Randall's tongue was like fire, like poison. The way this conversation was going made me come up to the conclusion that Alastair and this man, Randall, were once acquaintances. What I wanted to know, what I was trying to figure out, was how well they knew each other.

"Well, then you'll have to forgive me for fulfilling my duties," Alastair sneered and Randall opened his mouth to deliver a probably snarky comment but he couldn't because suddenly Alastair nodded at me and I knew what to do.

Distract him.

I took one step forward, dropped down and swooped a leg beneath Randall that sent him tumbling down. Randall's back hit the ground with a thud and before he could regain himself I quickly swept the dress away from my feet and swung a leg around Randall, straddling him by his chest as I bent down and pressed my arm against his throat, minimizing the air that entered his system. "I beat you last time. I can do it again."

His laugh was throaty but it was still wicked and it managed to make a chill gloss over my spine. "You can try, Princess, but do you really think I brought backup for no reason?" When I looked up I saw a few of the couples that had encircled us turn towards our direction and pull out small daggers from their suit jackets and from under their dresses. The daggers were small but what if they had had good aim and what if... What if they all knew magic?

Fear trickled down my spine and I pressed my elbow deeper into Randall's throat, glaring at him and I leaned in closer, so that his face was mere inches away from mine, "you think I can't take them?"

"Princess, I know you can't take them. You want to know how I know this? Because I know you don't know magic-"

Randall didn't get to finish his sentence. There was a deep shout, a chant that rose loud and I glanced towards the source of the voice and found Alastair, his body coiled with tension as his grey eyes were hard and angry, his face muscles clenching and unclenching the more he shouted. "Pulsaioh Eos Completraieh. Pulsaioh Eos Completraieh-" and then with much more force and conviction he yelled - "Pulsaioh Eos Completraieh!"

The people who encircled us fell down onto the floor of the ballroom immediately, their bodies slumping against the hard planes of the shiny floor as they all lost consciousness. I stared at Alastair is both awe and disbelief. The first time he had casted a spell in my presence I couldn't even focus on what he was doing because I was in so much pain in the Forbidden Forest where the Lockteer had attacked me. But now, watching him as he cast the spell, the foreign words leaving his mouth left me in awe and disbelief. I was in awe because the sight of Alastair was mesmerising - the power rolled off of him in waves, the atmosphere drenched in that power and dominance. I was in disbelief because I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. This magic was so real, so powerful.