Authors: Diana Nixon
“It's a rarity for the Wizardy, right?”
“Exactly. Despite the fact that Nora is really strong,
she began to lose her power. She used too much of it, practicing very strong
magic. That's why her hair lost the old color. Wasting so much energy, she
couldn’t restore it. We think that eventually she would have killed herself. We
can only speculate how much damage she would have committed against others if
she had not been caught. So she will stay under supervision. But the most
important thing… Nora is really Alexis’s grandmother. She was the one who
masterminded Camilla’s death, so that Alexis could come to Dever. Their family
has long been trying to take revenge on the descendants of Medellin and all the
Fairey because of their fault in Medellin sister’s death. The original plan was
designed by her sons who gave it to their descendants. According to Nora, Alexis
wants to be the one to gain the power of Eileen as the daughter of the most
powerful magician. She was waiting for her eighteenth birthday to bring her
plan to life.”
“How did Alexis learn about what had happened to Nora?”
“As it turns out, Nora had told her about her meeting
with Amelia before it took place. Alexis asked some of Ventura to find out what
exactly we were planning, and then to inform Nora about it. Alexis with the
festival going on wasn’t able to follow through. That's why Nora was a little
unprepared.”
“I'm speechless! So you escorted her and the Keepers to
the Council?”
“Yes. I went there together with Patrick. We had to be
on alert all the way to prevent the power of Frederic’s spells from weakening.
That’s why I’m so damn tired, and the show wasn’t an easy task for me today.”
“What will they do with Alexis now?”
“Nothing. She will be sent to the Council tomorrow,
because today is the festival. But the Keepers are already watching her, so she
can’t run away.”
“Good. By the way, why didn’t you inform us about your
return?”
“Oh, sorry, Christian! But I really wanted to look at
your faces when you knew that all those magic tricks were my handiwork,”
smiling radiantly, said Evan.
“Your surprise was a huge success. But we all almost
went crazy with worry when Alexis announced the beginning of your performance
and you were not around.”
“So it was a success. Good,” Evan said, “but now, if you
do not mind, I'll go to my room and try catch up on much needed sleep.
Everything else we can discuss tomorrow. Remember - Eileen can’t find out about
Frederic. He still wants to tell her everything himself.”
“Okay.”
“Well, see you tomorrow,” said Evan, going to the door.
Chapter 24. Guest
list (
Eileen)
That night I had a strange dream. I was like floating in
a thick fog. Someone was calling my name, but I couldn’t understand where the
voice was coming from. I tried to determine in which direction to go to find
the person to whom it belonged, but the voice was barely audible, as if someone
was trying to say my name using the remands of his strength. I didn’t manage to
find its owner, spending the whole rest of the night in that same fog.
Such a weird dream…
I was sweltering, when I woke up. The clock on the table
showed five in the morning. I tried to get up and saw Christian, who was
asleep, curled up on our small couch. He was still wearing his trousers and a
white shirt. Most likely he had been there all night. I didn’t feel the
headache anymore, but trying to get out of bed, I felt a notable trembling in
my knees - the weakness hadn’t passed yet. I got to the sofa and ruffled Christian's
hair.
“Hey,” I called him quietly, “Christian, wake up.”
“What’s wrong? Is it already time to get up?” he asked
sleepily.
“Why don’t you go to your room and sleep comfortably?
You spent all night on that couch?”
He rubbed his eyes.
“What could I do?” he asked in response. “I couldn’t
leave you alone.”
“I feel much better now. So you don’t have to stay
here,” I said, sitting down next to him.
“No. I’ll stay. You can’t be alone,” he said firmly.
I knew it was useless to argue with him.
“Okay, then take the bed. I can’t see you suffering on
that couch. I'll be back. I'm terribly thirsty.”
I went to the bedside table on which stood a pitcher of
water, poured some into a glass and drank. All the windows in the room were
closed, so that’s why it was stifling. I was used to sleeping with a window
open and even in the winter I didn’t close it all night. As I went to open a
window, I noticed that Amanda's bed was still empty. Hasn’t she returned from
the ball yet?..
I turned to my bed. Christian sounded asleep laying on
his right side. Fatigue was still wearing on all of us, so it didn’t take him
more than a few minutes to fall back asleep. I crawled into bed on the other
side, wrapping myself in a blanket and joined him in his dreams.
A few hours later I felt really hot again.
“Was Amanda back and had she closed the window?” I
thought in my sleepy mind. I was about to get up and investigate when I
realized that the heat wasn’t caused by the lack of air… Someone’s hands were
tightly embracing me. Christian! Oh, God! I didn’t even feel when he pulled me
over so close to him! I opened my eyes and saw his face just inches from mine.
He was still deep asleep. Great! How am I supposed to get up without waking
him? I tried to move, but he embraced me even tighter.
Not that I didn’t like being in his arms, rather on the
contrary... I liked it
too
much! So because of his proximity I felt hot
again, my pulse sped up, and I felt the steady rapid beat of my pounding heart.
Certainly this would wake anyone, but no, Christian’s breathing remained steady
and calm. I took a deep breath. Of course, I could wake him up, and get out of
bed easily... But, damn, how much pleasure this brought me being with him! I
didn’t want to go away. I smiled sadly.
“How could we tie ourselves into so many knots?” I
whispered. Why couldn’t we just enjoy our feelings, as all the teenagers of our
age do?
My hand was resting on his chest, and I felt his heart
beating. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face and his lips... They were just a
millimeter away from me, and I wanted so badly to feel and taste them again. I
inhaled deeply his smell - a mixture of citrus and something sweeter. I liked
it when he used this cologne. The very same one he wore the day when we first
met in Dever. It always made butterflies in my belly break into wild dancing.
Just like now…
“No, I shouldn’t think about it!” I groaned mentally. If
it goes any further, I won’t resist and kiss him myself. Just a few days ago, I
said that I wasn’t ready for this relationship. And now everything seems to be
even more complicated!
“Okay, I should somehow get out of here... And the
sooner the better!” I thought. I tried to move again.
“Hmm... don’t go,” whispered Christian.
“Are you awake?!” I asked with my eyes wide.
“I didn’t want to bother you, since you were so
thoroughly examining me,” still without opening his eyes, he replied smiling
slightly.
“Christian Jason Patrick Fairey, shame on you!” I said,
turning away from his strong hands. “Let me go!”
“Not gonna happen! First of all, you haven’t said you
were awake already, and secondly, now it’s my turn to enjoy your intimacy,” he
smiled seductively.
“Christian, you are...”
He didn’t let me finish, turning quickly so that was
over me now.
“And,” he said, putting his hands on either side of my
pillow, “I'm not stopping you.”
He was looking straight into my eyes, as if hypnotizing.
In these mesmerizing emeralds, I saw a reflection of everything that felt
myself - the warmth and tenderness, obsessive passion and desire... As much as
I wanted to deny it, but we both knew perfectly well that some inexplicable
desire had always been between us. And now it was sweeping everything around us
– our minds, our souls and our bodies. And Christian’s intense gaze wasn’t
helping matters. I felt that my heart began to beat stronger, of course, if
such a thing was even possible. He leaned closer, so that I could feel his
breath on my lips. He was teasing me, showing me just how many things I was
missing every time I tried to escape my own feelings. It seemed as if I was
burning alive, losing myself in him. He was breaking my defense with every
passing second and I… I couldn’t resist him any longer, so I leaned forward
and our lips met.
Christian was right. I missed too many pleasurable
moments. And first of all – I missed him. His kiss was gentle and passionate at
the same time. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer to
me. It seemed like the whole eternity wouldn’t be enough for both of us to
enjoy each other. No languages were enough to describe what we felt for each
other. The light of the whole universe wasn’t enough to overshadow the shining
of our tattoos. And, despite the fact that we both were dressed, this light
filled the entire space of the room, creating an illusion of bright sunny
sparkling.
Unbelievable, but such a kiss should have taken all the
air from both of us, but it wasn’t true. We were breathing with each other, we
felt each other and we lived with each other… Nothing else mattered.
“Eileen,” Christian said quietly, “I’m losing my mind
with you. I can’t think about anything else when you're so close.”
He continued kissing me, first touching my lips, then
leaving the same light kisses on my cheeks and my eyelids.
“Just in a few weeks, you turned my world upside down.
I'm even starting to doubt whether I remember my life before you,” smiling, he
added.
“I can tell that you are not the only one here suffering
from amnesia,” I said, touching his cheek with my hand. “So what was my life
before you seems to be a distant past.”
“What shall we do with all this?” he asked.
“Nothing. Just go ahead,” I replied.
“What will happen to us tomorrow?”
“You ask too difficult questions, Christian. Next will
be what it should be - you and me. Everything else, I hope, we will settle
somehow.”
“Do you mean...”
“I mean, that I’m no longer able to resist your
perseverance, Mr. Fairey,” I said, opening the drawer of my bedside table and
pulling out a blue box with a medallion - a gift from Christian. “I think it
would be better, if you wear it on me yourself, so that would mean my answer to
your long-standing proposal... if it is still open, of course.”
Christian smiled happily.
“My proposal never lost its effect, Miss Clark. And you
know it pretty well.”
He pulled the medallion out and fastened it around my
neck.
“You're right, now everything is just the way it should
be,” he said kissing me again. Every time when our lips met my mind was melting
slowly, and I was drowning in the ocean of his tenderness. I knew that he felt
the same and that knowledge made our mutual desire even stronger.
“Man, will I catch the two of you half naked till the
end of my life?” rang Amanda’s very close voice. I pulled away from Christian
and looked at my friend’s smiling face. Christian, unlike me, showed incredible
composure. He didn’t even bother to move away from me, and was still firmly
embracing me.
“Sorry, sister. Didn’t want to ruin your date. So I
stayed in Eileen’s room.”
I stared in bewilderment at both of them. Amanda's face
was covered with a slight blush.
“Well, and I didn’t want to bother you and Eileen
because, after returning from the ball, I found you sleeping on our couch, so I
went to sleep in
your
room,” she replied.
“And Lucas, of course, couldn’t leave you alone during
this uh…
difficult
time in your life, right?” barely hiding his grin,
said Christian.
“Very funny,” hissed Amanda. “How did you know that I
spent the night in your room?” she wondered.
“I heard you coming back, but never thought that my
presence may embarrass you, so I stayed on the couch. And I heard you talking
to Lucas that you would have to go to my room. Your logic, of course, was quite
strange, considering that your bed was still free...”
“You said it. So what was the reason that made you
choose Eileen’s bed instead of mine?” Amanda mused.
“Hey, I'm still here too!” I said, reminding them about
my presence. “Maybe you should stop this pointless quarrel?
“We were just kidding, Eileen. Never mind,” said Amanda,
hiding behind the bathroom’s door. “And I won’t stay long, so you may continue
whatever you were doing there,” she shouted in addition.