Borrowed Magic (23 page)

Now they just had to find a way to save the
kingdom.

By the time she
got to the castle, her shoulder was burning. She closed her bedroom
door and leaned back against it, murmuring the spell that would
lessen the pain. It worked immediately, but she also felt the
downside – as if she was an hourglass tipped on its side until she
used the magic, and then she was righted again and a little bit
more of the sand fell through. Still, she sighed in relief and
opened her eyes to find Philip standing by the window where anyone
could look up and see him.

“What are you doing here?”

He must have heard her come in, but he only
turned around when she spoke, her words sounding angrier than she’d
intended.

“Don’t worry. No one saw me come in.”

She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Standing right in front of the window kind of negates that.”

For a moment he looked surprised, as if
being seen hadn’t even crossed his mind. Then a frown creased his
brow and he moved away from the window.

“Why are you here, Philip?” Her weariness
seeped into her words. “Do you realize what would happen if Kern
knew?”

“I had to see you.” His voice was tight,
controlled. “After today…” He scowled. “How can you do it? How can
you stand there and accept the congratulations and smile? How can
you kiss him?”

“How can I not?” she cried, throwing her
hands in the air. “It’s the only way he truly relieves the pain. Do
you actually understand the hold he has over me?”

“Yes, but pretending is one thing. Him
kissing you is—” He seemed to struggle for control. “He’s my
father!”

“You think I don’t know that! That it
doesn’t disgust me as much as you. Believe me, it does. More. But
I. Don’t. Have. A. Choice. Not until we find a way to stop him. And
your anger only proves he’s winning.”

They stood across from each other, each
breathing hard, each with angry lines etched into their faces, and
then Philip’s shoulder’s fell. Two strides later, she was tucked
into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he said into her hair, his
breath tingling against her forehead. “None of this is your fault.
I’m just so jealous I can hardly think straight. And he’s—”

She knew he couldn’t
finish, couldn’t imagine her kissing his father again. She tilted
her face up until she could see his. “We
are
going to find a way out of this.
We have to.”

A smile touched the corners of his mouth and
then softened. His hand moved to her face, his thumb tracing her
cheekbone. Then everything went still.

A second later, he kissed her. It started
soft and tender and full of heartache and everything they’d lost.
Then he pulled her closer, until she wondered if she’d ever breathe
again. It didn’t matter. If she was dying anyway, this was the
perfect way to go. Then, suddenly, his head jerked up and he cocked
his head to the side, listening.

“They’re back.”

Something approaching panic seized her, and
she rushed to the window. Sure enough, Daric, Kern, and their guard
sauntered through the gate, laughing as if they were schoolboys. It
was enough to freeze the blood in her veins. And not only because
Kern was back and Philip was in her room. The sight of Daric and
Kern together was just too terrible, especially when Kern glanced
up and saw her, a wicked smile pulling at his lips.

She spun around. “You have to go. Now.”

He only nodded, seeming to understand the
danger they were in, before quietly slipping out the door.

Twenty-five

Kern was
different after the engagement, as if he’d already won. He gave her
more freedom, kept the pain away. He didn’t even taunt her as
often. He must have truly felt he had her exactly where he wanted
her – and that she was too terrified to disobey him.

It helped that Philip was playing his role
so completely. He stayed away from her as much as he could. Maren
knew it was partly because of the fear of what Kern might do if he
found out. But that wasn’t all of it. He couldn’t bear to see her
with Kern.

Which is where she’d just escaped from. From
his touch, his torture.

She walked into her room, still shaking, but
the sight of Kira, still as a statue across the room, stopped her
short. She called her name, but Kira didn’t move, just stood in
front of the table, staring down at something Maren couldn’t
see.

“Kira!”

Kira spun around, her eyes wide.
“Something’s wrong.” Her voice trembled and Maren swallowed her own
dread. “There’s magic. Here. In this room.” She pointed to what
Maren could now see was a folded piece of paper laying on the
table.

Maren leaned closer and saw her own name
written across the front. She didn’t recognize the writing or have
any idea why Kira thought it was magic. “It’s a letter.”

“No.” Kira reached for it with an unsteady
hand. “I saw it earlier and figured I’d bring it to you, but when I
tried to take it…” Her hand, which was now only inches from the
paper, suddenly shifted to the side. “I couldn’t.”

Maren now understood Kira’s unease. Kern’s
actions had tainted everything magic, good or bad. Whether this
magic was good or not, Maren didn’t know, but it didn’t feel like
something Kern would do. No, this was something else. Maren reached
out and felt her fingers slide along the rough parchment.

Kira drew in a sharp breath. “But how did
you…you’re not a….”

“No, I’m not a mage. The letter was simply
meant for me, and only me.” She tried for a reassuring smile. “Not
all magic is bad, Kira. And not all mages are, either.”

She smoothed the letter out on the table.
Her eyes flew first to the signature. “Halef.” Then she started
from the top.

Maren,

You’re not going to like what I have to say.
Of the twelve mages Daric gathered to defeat Kern the first time,
four have since died of natural causes. I have been trying to track
down the other eight, and every direction I turn, I’m finding the
same answer. They’re all dead. All of them. All died mysteriously
within two weeks of Kern escaping from that tomb. An act of revenge
is my best guess.

I hope there are other mages who might help,
but as of yet, I haven’t had a chance to find any. Give me a few
days. I’ll let you know if I find anything before then.

Halef

“Maren.”

Someone was shaking her, and she looked up
to see Kira, her brows drawn together in worry.

“Maren, what’s wrong?”

Maren leaned against the table. All dead.
Every single one.

“Maren!”

She jumped back in surprise and sank into a
chair.

“Tell me what’s going on. Let me help.” Kira
knelt beside her and grabbed her hands. “Why is there magic?”

Maren suppressed her own dread and blinked
at Kira, not knowing what she could possibly say.

“What was in that letter that has you so
scared?”

Maren opened her mouth and then shut it
again. There just wasn’t a good answer, at least not one she could
actually give.

Kira folded shaky hands in her lap and then
met Maren’s eyes with a bravery Maren wouldn’t have expected. “You
can tell me. You can also trust me. I want to help.”

“You don’t even know what you’re offering to
help with.”

“I don’t care. I’ve never done anything of
value, and I know something’s wrong. I’ve known it for a long
time.”

Maren knew her own shock registered.

“I’ve seen the marks on your skin. I’ve
watched them grow as you get weaker. I’ve also watched you get so
close to death I thought there was no hope. You can’t sit there and
tell me there isn’t more going on than that injury.”

No, she couldn’t honestly tell her that. She
stared at Kira for a long time and then came to a conclusion that
surprised even herself. She took a very deep breath. “That letter
was from a now-inconsequential mage. It said that all the mages who
helped capture Kern the first time are dead, most of them murdered
in the few weeks after Kern escaped.”

Kira’s entire body stilled. “And why would
you want to know that?”

Kira looked like someone who already knew
the answer to their own question but had to ask it anyway.

“Because Kern isn’t dead. He’s going to try
to kill Daric. And I’m going to stop him.”

Kira didn’t move, and Maren wondered if
she’d heard her, if it had even registered. But then she shivered.
“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Maren whispered, shocked as much by
Kira’s calmness as by the fact that she seemed to believe her.
Maybe the spell really did only affect things said about Teige.
“You believe me?”

“I do. I don’t know exactly why, but I do.”
She paused. “You were going to ask the mages how they did it and
whether they’d help you do it again?”

Maren only nodded, as if voicing it would
make it worse than it already was.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

What was she going to do? Honestly, she had
no idea.

She glanced back to Kira. “I’m going to give
Halef the few days he asked for.”

“And until then?” Kira waited for an answer,
but she didn’t have one. “Maren, I want to help you. There’s got to
be something we can do.”

Maren took a deep breath. “Go get Philip.
Take him to my father’s study and don’t tell anyone else what
you’re doing. I’ll meet you there.”

Kira’s eyes went wide. “Philip? He
knows?”

Maren nodded.

“Ok,” Kira said. “Ok. I’ll get Philip.”

Maren paced back
and forth across the room. A few candles lit the room, casting
shadows that danced across the walls, only increasing her
nervousness.

Where were they?

There wasn’t a lot of time before Kern would
come to check on her. Even if he wasn’t as controlling as he had
been, he still didn’t leave her alone for long.

A soft creak sounded behind her, and she
spun around, part out of fear it was Kern, part anticipation that
it wasn’t.

Philip crossed the room and grabbed her by
both arms, examining every plane of her face. “What is it? Are you
hurt? Did he—”

“I’m fine,” she assured him before turning
to Kira. “Will you lock the door?”

Once they were all seated again, her hand
encased in Philip’s, she took a deep breath. “We need to tell Kira
everything. She wants to help but is under the same spell as Daric
and Adare. She’ll believe anything about Kern but nothing about
Teige.”

“Teige?” Kira asked, her brow wrinkled in
confusion. “Why would any of this involve Teige? He’s a hero. He
helped save the kingdom. We need to be concentrating on Kern and
his magic.”

Philip frowned.
“Teige
is
Kern.”

Kira jumped up, angry. “How dare you say
that? He’s your friend. I won’t sit here and listen to this.”

She headed for the door but Maren blocked
her path.

“She’s under Kern’s spell, Philip. And the
only one here who can do anything about it is you.”

“No.”

“Philip, please,” Maren begged. “She knows
too much already. If she tells Kern, he’ll know we’re working
against him. You need to use your magic.”

Kira flinched. “Magic?” She turned to
Philip. “You have magic? If Daric knew, he’d never let you stay in
Tredare. We’ve had enough of magic – especially from your family.”
She rushed towards the door, pushing Maren out of the way, but
Philip grabbed her, holding her as she struggled.

The light in his eyes was gone as he looked
back at Maren. “See? See what magic does to people.”

“Then help her,” Maren whispered.

Philip seemed to wilt in defeat before her.
Then he bowed his head and his lips moved silently.

A moment later, Kira stopped struggling and
looked up at Philip in awe. “How did you…?”

Philip released her and stepped back,
sinking onto the sofa. “It doesn’t matter.” He glanced back at
Maren. “Now can you tell me what’s going on?”

As much as Maren wanted to ask about magic
and what he’d done, she knew he wouldn’t tell her. She turned
instead to Kira. “Teige is Kern. He wants to kill Daric and become
king. He’s been using magic to control me.”

Kira paled but didn’t say anything, only
joined Philip in sitting down.

Then Maren filled Philip in on Halef’s
letter.

He folded his arms across his chest. “So
what do we do now? We have to assume no help is coming.”

Maren looked down at her hands and then back
up at Philip. “You could do to Daric and Adare what you just did to
Kira. Then they’d know the truth.”

“No.”

“But—”

“No, Maren.” He sighed. “And not just
because I don’t want to. If we want to defeat Kern, we must have
surprise on our side. Do you really think that if Daric and Adare
knew the truth they could wait, that Daric wouldn’t try to kill
Kern without any thought or planning? Especially with what Kern did
to their son? Then Daric would just end up getting himself killed
and ruin any chance we have.”

Depressing silence descended between them
until Maren stood and strode over to the bookshelves, looking up
with a determination born of nothing more than desperation.

“He must have a weakness,” she said,
scanning the titles she knew by heart. “There must be a way to kill
him.”

“He’s powerful,” Philip said. “It will have
to be something he doesn’t expect.”

“Like what?” Kira asked.

Maren smiled as she reached for one of the
dusty volumes. “A potion.” She made her way back to the sofa.
Philip scooted closer, peering over her shoulder. Kira perched on
her other side.

She flipped through the pages one by one,
and one by one, every potion was discounted. Not strong enough. Not
the end goal they needed.