A King's Heart

5.

Chapter Five: Ethereal Nexus

Prince Thomas and Kai stared at Mara in shock.

The possible death of the heir to the throne seemed like a light topic to Mara. she mentioned it so casually, the way you would mention that your dog ran away.

"Why are you staring at me like that? 'Tis rude to stare." Mara raised an eyebrow at their open mouthed faces.

Kai shook his head as he gathered his thoughts, "I beg your pardon but you caused the slow death to my prince?".

Mara rolled her eyes as she walked over to the tray she had brought in with her. She continued to prepare the tea she was making. Giving them a quick glance, she shrugged her shoulders, "I'm honestly surprised it worked, he could have turned into a frog if it didn't."

The open mouthed faces were back.

Prince Thomas felt lightheaded. Kai looked like he was ready to charge towards Mara.

"You mean to say that you", Prince Thomas pointed towards Mara, "had no idea if you'd be able to actually steal my heart?".

Mara let out a small chuckle as she turned back to them.

"Well I see your concern Tom but at least it did work and your not green or slimy"

"His name is Prince Thomas," Kai corrected her.

Mara simply ignored him as she walked to sit on the prince's bed and hand him the cup of tea she made.

"What's this?" The prince questioned as a strange scent hit his nostrils.

"A healing potion, it won't completely heal you but it'll help ease the pain and calm those black veins."

Kai was quick to comment, "How do we know you aren't trying to finish and poison him?".

Mara turned her head to look at Kai, "You really don't trust me, do you?".

Kai simply glared at her. Mara turned her focus back to Prince Thomas and led the cup to his lips. Giving him a small smile, she watched as he slightly opened his mouth and took a sip of the liquid.

Mara watched as the black veins wrapped around his neck slowly shrunk until it only remained on his chest.

"See that wasn't so hard. Now shall we get down to business, I did not break into the castle for nothing."

Prince Thomas felt like a weight was removed off his chest. He could feel his strength return as he stretched his legs and sat up on his bed.

"How can we help?" The prince questioned.

Mara flicked her wrist and a map appeared making Kai and Prince Thomas flinch. They had never seen magic up close, in fact they had never seen magic at all. Witches weren't a fairytale to them, they were full aware of their existence but seeing magic gave them a bad feeling.

"The spell I performed on you was done once a very long time ago. A powerful mage was successful and had no problem with the spell. He had stolen the heart of a queen who did him wrong and well, let's just say she didn't survive", Mara once again flicked her wrist and the image of a book popped up, "There's a book in Ethereal Nexus, that has the reverse spell. All we need is to travel to the heart of the enchanted forest and grab the book."

She pointed to the map where it showed the location of Ethereal Nexus, the enchanted forest that contained all magic creatures and the salvation of the prince.

"Why need our assistance? Why don't get it yourself?" Kai asked, making the prince roll his eyes at him.

Prince Thomas turned to look at Mara, "Why steal my heart in the first place?".

Mara let out a sigh as she stared at him, "Your heart contains a strong power, I thought I could use it for a spell that I wanted to perform. Things went wrong, so I'm here trying to make them right."

The prince furrowed his brows in confusion. "You're a witch, correct? Why need my heart for power?".

Mara laughed as she made the map disappear and stood up from the bed, "I am a witch not a fairy. I don't just have magic, I siphon it."

Kai gave her a look of confusion. Prince Thomas simply kept his gaze on her as she made her way towards the door.

"You are leaving?"

Mara gave him a nod. "I'll be back soon, to plan our travels. I have to go prepare my potions and spells."

"How are you positive we'll help? What if we find someone else and leave without you?" Kai questioned with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh Kai, don't be silly. It's quite simple, you need me" Mara smiled before she vanished.

a/n: surprise! double update! this book has been shown love in the past days since I've first published it and thank you so much!

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