Time in Love

Chapter Six

I know I must be dreaming.

In the amount of days between the time I woke up a year before my death I've never once questioned the how of it. I've only thanked god every night before bed and insisted that miracles do happen whenever I overheard somebody down on their luck.

Never once had I even...

"Looking a little winded there princess." Kai says as he says as if he delights in my utter shock. Though I can't blame him as my face must be horrifically nonsensical by now. The face of someone who's just seen,

"Magic!" I shout as he takes my hand spins me in a circle. I am weightless. I am a baby bird taking flight for the first time and I don't have the ability to fall but I won't because I'm actually, flying.

He catches me in a low dip and I can just make out his lips curving into a smile under the moonlight. It takes all my courage just to restrain myself from reaching out and removing his mask just so I can see him better.

His hair is long overdue for a haircut but instead of looking at like the stumbling drunk hippie who sometimes barrels into our yard, he looks like a prince.

And the way he smiles tells me he knows it.

When he lays me down it's like sitting in a warm puddle. A rather unpleasant feeling. I look over my shoulder and realize we're laying on a cloud and I'm facing the stars.

Although the wet drops of condensation creep into my clothing, a smile curls my lips.

"So, what magic do you wield?"

My head shoots up and I roll onto my elbows. "What?" I exclaim. Shocked by this question.

Kai gives me a narrowed look. "You can't lie to me, any magic user can tell another one."

I blanch. "But I don't?" I say and it comes out as more of a question that a statement.

Kai kneels down and brushes a hand against my cheek. It's warm and gloved and it sends a shiver down my spine. I don't want it to but my tongue catches in my throat.

Kai heaved a sigh before dropped his hand. "I don't like liars."

Every once of swoon leaves me like a feather in the wind. I shake my head as if that can stop my heart from half beating out of my chest. What's worse is that a voice keens in my head, a voice talking of guilt. Instead of facing whatever feelings were roiling in me I decide to pester Kai.

"You speak of magic, what are you exactly?" I question.

Amusement plays across his eyes and he lays down next to me, propping his hands behind his head.

"Whatever you'd like to call me. I don't go by any labels." He admitted casually.

Suddenly I regretted asking. I hated making decisions for other people. Especially when I came to a wrong conclusion. And so I said nothing.

"If you insist you aren't magic, then has anything weird happened recently? Anything you couldn't explain?" He says without looking at me. He stares at the dark sky as I stare at him.

I lay and turn onto my side to face him and I think. It wasn't like I'd seen a ghost. I'd come to the conclusion that my life with Romeo had been some kind of long horrible dream. Women dream of marrying prince's and living their days out in castles all the time.

'But they don't dream of being shot with a weapon they've never even glimpsed before and bleeding out on a wooden stage.' a little voice whispered in the back of my mind. I ignored it.

I also couldn't seem to explain why every-time I closed my eyes the conclusion of my death played behind them. I'd tried to nap today but found myself to frightened of the nightmares that plagued my mind.

Would Kai even think twice about any of this? Would he dismiss me like many undoubtedly would. When the awkward silence stretched to far I decided anything was better than the silence.

"The only thing I can think of, is that the other day I had a dream, a year long dream. I was married to Romeo and on our wedding day I was shot dead." I admit and watch his eyes widen as he turns towards me. I leave out the part where Romeo smiled down at my dead body. I wasn't sure that's what I even saw, maybe I was to disorientated from the blood loss.

"And you think it was just a dream?" He asks like I've just told him something obvious like "I just found out grass grows in the dirt."

"I'd assume if I was dead I'd know I was, I just think it's a nightmare." I state hoping he'll end the conversation.

Of course he doesn't.

"My brother looked at you as if you were a stranger yet you seemed to recognize him instantly. Because he was in your "dream." He finger quotes and I narrow my eyes at him.

"People appear in dreams all the time even total strangers." I argue.

"Yeah but you don't wake up knowing that persons name." He counters and I sigh.

"Is this why you dragged me into the sky? What if this is all a dream too?"

"All these questions when you should be thanking me." He says in a patronizing tone. For a minute I think of rolling off the cloud and seeing what happens then. But the logical part of me stays put.

"You threaten to harm my family and you want me to thank you?! And for some reason you can't even find the words to tell me why!" I snap, my patience wearing thin. He seemed shocked at my tone but I don't back down.

"If I told you everything you'd never believe me." He responded coldly. "And I was bluffing I'd never hurt any innocent people."

I didn't know what to say to that so I say nothing. He wasn't willing to tell me his secrets and I wasn't willing to tell him mine. We were at odds. But I a wait lifted off my chest knowing my sisters were safe.

"Why do I have to kill a man who could be completely innocent?" I question but he's rolls his eyes in response.

"Romeo is anything but innocent. He had time to change and step up but he didn't." Kai remarks coldly, his fingers closing into fists.

"You never answered my question." I state and he shoots me a nasty look. Somehow it only makes me smile though. He reminds me of a snarling poodle.

"I am not powerful enough to kill Romeo. He'd suspect me in a heartbeat. But if you've already weaved your way into his heart you can do it again." He assures me.

And that's all I get before his face softens and he hold out his hand to me. I take it and he pulls me into his warm embrace before soaring us back to the ground. My toes tap the cement a few times and I wobble but my body adjusts quickly.

He stares at me down in his arms in an expression I can't make out before I step out of his warmth and into the cold night air. People pass from both directions and they weave their way around us as we stare. I'm unsure what to say and grateful when he speaks first. "Take this, hide it until you're ready to use it."

He hands me a velvet box ceiled tight with ribbons. If I didn't know better I'd supposed it was a ring.

"Don't use it until you're ready to." He instructs. Then he whips around and blends with the crowd until im left standing there winded and restless. Full of questions I know I'll probably have to seek out myself.