Magic's Mark

Chapter 27

The sunshine warmed the back of my neck as I pushed my hair to one side, trying to wrestle it into submission as I walked down the grand staircase. My eyes catching on the beautiful chandelier before looking for any sign to prove I'm not alone in this big house. I hesitated for a moment, about to head for the dinning room, when a sound made me spin around. A maid with her long brown hair braided into a knot on the top of her head, smiled at me gently.

"Miss," she started.

"Oh, it's just Cara," I shot back quickly.

"He's waiting for you in the garden Cara," she smiled shyly at me.

"Thank you," I smiled back at her.

My bare feet sunk down softly into the green grass, the sun warming my face as I scanned the garden looking for him. My eyes landing on a table set up at the end of the garden, the white table cloth gently playing in the wind. I walked over to him, his back was facing me and he still hadn't spotted me.

"Morning," I greeted him as I slid into the empty chair.

"Good morning." Taylor's dark eyes glistened at me in the sunshine.

"So this is what you do as a royal heir?" I teased nodding at the breakfast buffet laid out in front of us on the table.

His eyes crinkled as he laughed before his featured slid back into a serious facial expression. I grabbed some toast, still warm, and started spreading marmalade across it as I felt my stomach sink as a stone.

"We have to talk about what happens now Cara."

"The matches?" I raised my eyebrow as I bit into the toast, letting the mixture of orange, sugar and carbs explode in my mouth.

"The royal court sees you as my partner. You've been through the funeral but there is plenty of ceremonial situations on the horizon before the new kings is crowned. You need to stay here, stay safe until all of this is over."

I nodded, studying his face as he poured himself a cup of coffee. His brows were furrowed and I could tell this whole situation was worrying him. I lent back in my chair, looking up at the blue sky.

"What do you need?" I sighed.

"I need you to be careful and help me keep up this lie that you and I are a magical power couple." He sipped his coffee, his eyes intently staring out into the distance.

I didn't realise it was such a chore. "What do you need me to do?"

I cut off.

"You need to stay here. Stay out of the way of all the warlocks."

"Apart from all these ceremonial situations when I have to act like I am a warlock?" I could hear the snarky tone in my voice but I couldn't help it.

"I quit my job at the Royal Star," Taylor countered. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he hadn't done it lightly.

"Why?" the word rolled out of my mouth before I could control it.

"Because the time to pretend I could be anything but an heir is over." A darkness danced behind his eyes. My hand automatically reached across the table for his, squeezing it. We are both stuck here. Why am I angry at him?

"So we just wait for new king to be crowned?" I confirmed lightly. I made it sound so simple. He nodded in reply. But we both knew it would be harder than that to get out of this mess.

We sat in silence. I stared at the clouds as they blew past above our heads. My mind raising as I tried to find some sliver of hope for us to work of. Taylor was staring grimly into his coffee cup. It didn't take a genius to figure out he would rather be wiping down a greasy bar counter in East London.