I picked up a clump of hair and pulled it in front of my eyes. Sure enough, it was as black as night without a single glimmer of silver. I blinked back a cheerful tear. “I’m free,” I breathed. “I can look at you. I can look at all of you.” My joy spilled over and a rush of laughter pealed out of me.
Miron laughed, sharing my joy, then raced over and pulled me into a hug.
Our blissful moment was broken up by a painful groan from King Peter. “I wouldn’t celebrate too strongly yet.” He pressed a hand to his temple with a furrowed expression. “Unfortunately, there’s a side effect to trying to regain your power. Be warned, if you ever go back to drinking tea, you’ll be plagued by headaches for a few days until your power returns.”
Miron tensed in my hands, and I looked up at his distressed eyes. “Headaches?” he questioned in a serious voice.
Peter looked up, the pain clearly still distracting his focus. “That’s right. I believe they persist more the longer you’ve had your power masked.”
Miron’s eyes went as wide as saucers. Then he turned to Killian. “Can I have some tea? There’s something I need to know.”
chapter twenty-one
Miron is a mage...
For the next five days, I watched helplessly as Miron endured endless migraines as he solely drank boiled tea with every meal. At first it seemed like his suffering would be interminable, but after three days of being bedridden, the slightest lightening of silver began to show at his roots. Once the speckles of the metallic strands broke free, the pain seemed to ease little by little.
I sat anxiously by the side of his bed, rocking on a creaky wooden stool as I watched him sleep. Every once in a while he would stir, and a new hair would shimmer and shift into the vibrant color of a natural born mage.Had he truly never known?It seemed wild to believe that someone could live their entire life without ever knowing they had magic...
Although, at the same time, it also made complete sense considering that Ashbourne had never possessed any considerable amounts of magic. If Ashbourne’s water sources truly contained some form of substance that blocked magic, then it only made sense that all the mages appeared to be missing. They had been hiding in plain sight amongst the rest of the population and likely didn’t even know of their abilities. So why did the king bring them here if their powers were useless in his kingdom? Was it to weaken them? Perhaps he intended to prevent them from ever making use of their powers without his knowledge—which would certainly explain why he kept a private collection of his favorite mages.
It was sickening to think about.
Miron stirred once more and his striking blue eyes blinked open. My heart stirred as his gaze fell on me. I would never get tired of those eyes... Before a few weeks ago, I had only ever looked into the eyes of his father, but Miron’s eyes were completely unique to the rest of his family’s. Even Killian possessed a colorless gray hue in his irises. Miron’s eyes filled me with the same joy that a bright blue sky or a melodic blue jay granted me.
He smiled knowingly when he noticed my lingering stare, and I felt a hot blush swirl through my cheeks. “How are you feeling?” I lowered my lashes from his gaze, attempting to hide my shyness.
“A bit better, actually. I feel like my brain has finally relinquished control back to me.” He pushed himself up from the mattress, now sitting up, and I found my focus drifting to the collection of silver strands that dotted his trimmed hair. He raised his eyes and cocked his brow as if attempting to inspect his glittering head. “Be honest, how bad is it?”
I stifled a small snicker. “Not nearly as bad as you think. It would probably look a lot streakier if you ever grew your hair out, but right now it looks a bit like you’ve simply dusted some stardust atop your head.” I reached out to gently pet the glittering strands. Part of me missed my silver glow, but the freedom of being able to use my eyes was a far better deal.
“I never would have thought that silver was my color.” He shrugged with a cheeky grin. “You always wore it best.”
My blush returned, and I couldn’t hide it this time. “Oh, hush.” I tossed his blanket over his eyes and when he pulled it off, his grin was even broader than ever.
“Hey now, maybe that’s what my magic does! Perhaps I’m gifted with the ability to turn pretty young girl’s cheeks rose-red.” He laughed vibrantly.
I puffed up my cheeks and crossed my arms. “Are you certain? I suspected your magic might grant you the power to block out pain. Shall I give you a couple of test slaps to explore my theory?” I raised my hand in warning, and he grabbed his pillow to hold up as a shield.
“Whoa, now! That won’t be necessary,” he sputtered out between fearful laughs. “I don’t possess nearly enough silver to be a sorcerer.”
I lowered my hand but gave him a teasing squinted glare as he relinquished his shield. “That’s true enough,” I added. “Peter suspects that your silver is the mark of a caster, so you’ll need to test out any magic on people, plants, or animals in order to find out what you can do.”
Miron tossed his legs over the side of the bed and threw on his dark brown overcoat that hung on a nearby hook. “Well then, what are we still doing here?” He beamed excitedly. “Now that I’ve got my head back, I have a lifetime worth of troublemaking to catch up on with my new powers. Let’s go find us some people, plants, and animals!” He shoved on his boots, then skipped to his feet. Before sprinting out the door, he turned back to reach out his hand to me, but I hesitated to accept it. “What’s wrong, Elle? Aren’t you coming?”
My stomach knotted as I glanced nervously at the tent’s canvas door. “I... I haven’t really left the tents since we got here,” I admitted with a nervous twist of my dark blue skirts. “Even though my magic has been contained, I’m still a little anxious to...”
Miron’s face lit up in understanding and he crouched beside my stool. “You’ve never seen the outside realm before, have you?” His voice was sweet and gentle as he looked deeply into my timid eyes.
“I saw a market once with your father...” I bit my lip. “But it wasn’t exactly what I had dreamt it would be.”
Miron looked down at the floor briefly and muttered a quiet curse at his father before meeting my eyes with a calmer expression. “My father is a manipulator. He showed you the parts of the world he knew would drive you to his side. I know it’s a little scary to imagine anything else than what you saw, but... will you allow me the chance to show you how beautiful the realm can really be?” He stretched his hand out to mine with the most endearing glint in his eyes.
My heart fluttered sweetly at his soft gaze, while at the same time, my mind warned me that I was safer behind walls... I tentatively reached out my hand and felt my desire to be with Miron overrule my fears as I placed my tiny hand into his strong grip.
He raised me to my feet and smiled brightly. “Let’s go, there’s a place not far from here that I want to show you.”
I nodded silently. My tongue was far too twisted with heartfelt emotions to consider formulating any proper sentences, so instead, I simply followed as he guided me through the canvas wall and into the encampment. The bustle of people instantly flooded me with anxiety and nerves, but Miron’s firm touch balanced out my worries with his constant reassurance.He won’t leave me... not like his father did.