Magic's Mark

Chapter 7

"When I saw you in that hotel lobby," he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I didn't quite realise what you were. I only acted on instinct, I knew Aaron wanted to hurt you so my natural reaction was to go against him."

"So that's why you helped me?" the question fell breathlessly out of my mouth. I tightened my lips and cursed myself internally for not staying silent.

"Yes. It was," he pushed that persistent blond lock of hair off his forehead again.

"But then I went home and started reading. I caught up on all those books we have in the library, I started reading all the legends of the Vortex. That's when it happened," his eyes searched me, as if I was holding some great mystery.

"I felt this pull towards you, as if I knew where you were. Almost like you had sent out your GPS coordinates on a map for me."

I nodded and thought back to the moment at Mr. Liu's when I had fainted.

"So what does it mean?" I heard myself ask, staying silent clearly wasn't my forte.

"It means you are tethered to her," Taylor broke in.

I felt myself jump at his voice, both Lucas and I instantly snapped our heads to his direction.

"Tethered?" Lucas voice was authoritative, any trace of softness gone. He clearly had not gotten that far into his reading.

"It means you're connected to her and she is to you," Taylor explained hastily.

Lucas involuntarily grabbed his left arm, for a moment he was rubbing it in silence as if the pieces of the puzzle was slowly falling into place in his mind. His demeanour shifted in an instant, he quickly grabbed my arm ready to pull me off, "You have to come with me."

Taylor grabbed my other arm, "She is not going anywhere with you!"

I started to feel like a toy in the sandbox again, I felt anger mixed with the hum of power swell up within me. Small sparks of blue energy ran down my arms, causing both of them to release their grips on me.

"I'm not going with either of you," I declared.

I leant back against the wall and stared angrily at them both. I had had enough crazy for a whole lifetime and I was done with being pulled around like a rag doll.

"Cara you have to go with me," Lucas voice was suddenly soft again. I could almost feel the frostiness emanate from Taylor.

"Why?" I heard myself ask.

Lucas groaned for a moment before taking a deep breath, "You won't understand this... But, I am fighting for the throne. I am one of the royals who are next in line to be king."

"Unless one of the other royal families don't get there first," Taylor added sourly.

"If you and I are linked. If my injuries become your injuries," he pointed at my arm, "Then your injuries could become mine."

He straightened out his suit and stared at me, his eyes had shifted to an intensely blue colour, "I can't risk having a weakness like you left out in the world unguarded."

Taylor huffed at my side, "She won't be unguarded. Remember? She has a warrior now."

Lucas snorted and rolled his eyes, clearly not calmed by the statement.

"You have to come to court with me. I can protect you, if you stay with me," his blue eyes were begging me know, for a second almost fooling me that he worried about my safety.

"That's not very smart of you, Mathlow," Taylor said.

Lucas raised one eyebrow at him but stayed silent.