Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 27: Maze of Mirrors Pt.1

"Luke," I repeated for the hundredth time as he stalked towards the inn we were temporarily staying at. Ever since we'd left the garden and I'd teleported us here through the mist, I'd been trying to get him to talk to me, but he wasn't replying. 

"Luke," I said, catching up to him. "Don't shut me out. Talk to me." 

"No, never," Luke finally whispered, stopping beneath the overhang of a coffee shop. "It's just . . . I just don't want to talk about it." 

I narrowed my gaze at him, taking in his pale face, the terror in his eyes, the stiffness of his posture, and sighed. "Well, when you're ready, I'll be here." I patted his shoulder. "Come on." 

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, but didn't resist as I opened the door to the coffee shop and tugged him in. 

"Getting us coffee," I replied. "It's been nearly thirty hours since I slept. I'm going to fall asleep on my feet." 

Luke rasped out a chuckle and sat down at the table in the back corner with me. When our drinks arrived, I couldn't help but notice the way both of us wrapped our hands around the hot mug, as if the warmth could drive away the chill we both felt. In the air, and between us. 

"Do you wanna go first?" Luke finally said, tearing his gaze away from the mug to look at me. "What were those shadows? Do you actually have them?" 

I shrugged, keeping my hands relaxed around my drink. "No. Atlas seemed to think I had shadow powers, but I don't. That demonstration on the mountain was just me turning the mist black." 

Luke cocked his head, pinning me with his startling blue eyes. "Are you serious?" 

I kept my face nonchalant as I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if I told him I didn't have that magic, he might have killed me. But after that demonstration, there's no way he's going to kill me. You saw the look in his eyes. He thinks I'm too valuable. So now, you don't have to worry about me," I finished, patting his arm. "What? Don't you think if I really had these 'shadow' powers I would have used them already? It'd be so much easier for me to beat your sorry ass in sparring if I did."

"Show me that again," Luke said, but I knew from the relief in his eyes that he believed me. I smiled and placed my hand on the table between us, palm up. I willed the mist into my hand, forming a ball of white fog. 

"Look," I said, my eyes fixed on my magic. Black, I thought, and a tendril of black swirled from the centre of the ball, like food colouring in water. 

"Wait," I added, as Luke blew out a breath and opened his mouth. I looked up, grinning at him. "There's more." 

One after another, colour after colour, I willed the tiny blossom of magic in my hand to turn, going from black to deep purple to indigo, lavender, aqua, forest green, yellow, orange, and then scarlet. Glancing up, I saw Luke staring at my magic, wide-eyed with awe, and smiled softly as I shaped it into a heart, blooms of purple blossoming to replace the red, and held up my hand. "Here, take it." 

"I-wait, what?" Luke said, meeting my gaze. "Take . . . the heart?" 

I nodded. "Yeah. The heart." 

Luke blinked at me, then slowly reached forwards for my hand, his fingers grazing mine. I tipped my magic into his outstretched palm and closed his fingers around it, clasping his hand in mine. "So you never forget that I'm with you." 

Luke opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it, shaking his head, a smile forming on his lips. "You're unbelievable," he muttered, raising his head to smirk at me, though his eyes were shining, his lashes wet as he blinked. "You're seriously unbelievable." 

"I know, and that's why you love me," I replied, reaching over to wipe a tear that escaped from his lashes. 

Silence from Luke, and then,

"Do you love me?" 

I froze, my thumb stilling on his cheek, as his question clanged through me. 

Did I love Luke? 

No, my head instantly shouted at me. No, you don't. You can't love him. He's your enemy! You can't and you don't love your enemy!

But then, a tidal wave of memories of the time I'd spent with the boy sitting across from me flashed through my mind. 

The first day we'd met in camp, when he'd asked to tour me around, the shore of the lake when he'd given me his jacket because he'd known I was cold, the overwhelming relief in his eyes when I'd woken up in the Big House after my near-death encounter with my grandfather's pet to see Luke by my side, the first time he'd taken me stargazing, the days we'd spent together in secret last winter watching the snow fall silently, the times he'd dragged me, against my will, to go play stupid zombie games, the magical night we'd spent together on the fourth of July, the dance we'd shared on that beach in Costa Rica, all the memories I'd made with Luke over the last two years bubbled up inside me, and suddenly, I realized something. 

I could no longer imagine what my life would be like without him, without his smile, the sparkle in his eyes when he looked at me, the comforting sound of his voice, everything that made Luke Luke. 

"I-" I started, opening my mouth, and then closed it, gasping, as a jolt of pain shot through my head. Suddenly, the space in the shop felt too tiny, the air too thick, my chest too tight, my muscles too weak. 

"Ri?" Luke asked, grabbing my wrist and standing up, pulling me to him. "Are you alright?" 

I shook my head, trying to clear away the sudden blackness invading my vision. "I'm fine," I choked out, my hand gripping his forearm. 

"No, you're not," Luke said. "What's wrong?" 

"My head feels like it's going to split apart," I managed as another bolt of pain tore through me. What the hell was happening? I'd been just fine a moment ago, why . . . 

The blinding pain behind my eyes intensified and I gasped, all the strength flooding out of my body. If it hadn't been for the arms wrapped sturdily around me, I would have collapsed to the floor. My vision blurred, the shadows creeping in, and I had enough sense left to throw a net of mist with the last dregs of my strength to hide us from any prying eyes. Dimly, I heard Luke call my name, and then the sensation of being picked up, the warmth of his chest, and darkness swept over me like a wave, pulling me down into its spiralling depths. 

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