“Raphael, I’m surprised to hear from you so soon. I suspected you’d need at least a week,” Elisa said as she entered the throne room Raphael was nervously waiting in.
“A couple of days was all I needed. You did say you expected my answer sooner rather than later, and I’m not one to waste time,” Raphael said, a tightness to his throat.
Elisa sat down on the throne, her expression smug as she regarded the sorcerer. “And what decision have you come to?”
Raphael swallowed. “I congregated all my Followers a few days ago, and we have discussed every aspect of your proposal. I then put everything in their hands by calling a vote.”
“All this is useless information to me. I do not care how you came to your decision, simply what it is. Get to the point.”
Raphael was unable to make eye contact with her, instead settling his gaze on the serene blue sky just outside the stained glass windows. He continued gazing out when he finally replied. “My Followers have decided to join you in your quest. They will be arriving at the palace shortly and will be fully at your disposal.” He turned back to the queen, trying very hard to hide his disgust in those who were supposed to be dedicated to doing the right thing.
The queen smiled brightly. “Excellent! Then we shall begin as soon as they get here.” She got off her seat and placed a kiss on Raphael’s cheek. He willed himself to remain still. “You have made the right choice.” Yes, he believed he did.
The vote had ended being unanimous, excluding his own and Eric’s votes. No, Raphael didn’t think they made the right choice, but there was no going back now, only forward. And while his Followers might be sourly misguided, he was not. So he made the right choice for himself.
*****
“I know where we can hide out for a while until we can elicit some help,” Raphael told Eric when he returned to his home.
“We are going to be on the run now, aren’t we?” Eric asked gravely.
“As soon as the queen and the other Followers find out that we aren’t with them, we’ll be their first targets. We are going to have to hide until we find a way to fight back.”
Raphael grabbed the bag he packed before he left to speak with the queen and placed a hand on Eric’s shoulder to steer him out of the house. “I’m going to have to burn this place down. It will give us time until they found out no one died. But it’s enough time to figure out our next move.”
Eric nodded.
Once outside, both sorcerers spared one last glance at the house that had been their sanctuary for so long. “Huic locus u test directus, permissum illic existo incendia. Ignite vestry torva flamma, quod exuro ut ut mos nunqum idem eadem idem.” In this situation that is dire, let there be fire. Ignite your wild flames, and burn down that that will never be the same.
The house burst into violent flames and they remained staring at it for a couple of moments before making their way to the inn Raphael had visited so long ago. He almost hope to find her there… something good to come out of the bad situation. But another, more prominent part dreaded how she might react upon seeing him after all this time.
Before
They were sitting on the grass, Mallory’s gaze turned up to the sky, letting the sun soak into her skin. Raphael admired how peaceful she looked now. How beautiful. She felt his gaze on her and turned to him with a smile.
It had been months since he had killed her step-father, and slowly he had started falling for her. He reached out to her, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. “How lucky I am to have found you,” you said with a sense of wonder and Mallory shifted her weight closer to him.
“No, I am the lucky one. If it weren’t for your persistent pestering, I’d still be with my step-father.” She leaned in to kiss him. As every time before, she ignited a raging fire within him. He pulled her closer, and she climbed onto his lap, straddling him.
He placed his hands on her hips and hers went into his hair. The moment was so tender and sweet that Raphael almost forgot what he actually came out here to do. He knew it would crush her, but it would kill him. He pulled away and looked deeply into her grey eyes.
“Mall,” he began, brushing her raven hair away from her face. “I have to tell you something and you aren’t going to like it.” He didn’t like it. In the period of a couple of months, he had fallen in love with her. But until the two dark sorcerers had been apprehended, he couldn’t risk having her as a weakness. Andreas had already killed his friend. He couldn’t risk Mallory as well.
Her eyes grew wild, startled. “Raphael…” she said warily, her voice unsteady.
Raphael swallowed deeply. “We have to end this. I need to go back to Eerea and I cannot take you with me.”
She got off him and put distance between them. “You’re leaving me?”
Raphael’s eyes were pained. He knew If he told her he was going it for her own protections she wouldn’t let him go and be able to talk him out of it. He needed to break her heart, even if it destroyed him. “Yes, I’m leaving you. These last few months had been fun, but it’s time for me to move on.”
She started to argue, tears dripping down her cheeks, but he didn’t give her a chance to. “Save your words,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m not changing my mind.”
“Raphael!” she yelled as he flashed away, leaving her all alone and heartbroken, without an explanation as to why. He knew it was a jerk move, but sometimes it was okay to hurt people when you had good intentions at heart.
Now
Eric squinted at the sign as he and Raphael stopped in front of the inn. “Aunt May’s Inn for the Weary Traveler?” Eric said skeptically. “This is your idea of hiding?”
Raphael smirked. “Who would look for us here?”
“They won’t look for us in a cave either…”
“You’ll be fine,” Raphael said, slapping the boy on the back as a way to coax him to approach the inn. He pretended to be confident, while in reality he was filled with dread. What if Mallory was concealed behind those doors this very minute? Or worse, what if she wasn’t?
They were just about to reach out to open the door when it swung open and a face neither recognized walked out, followed by one they both did. Eric’s eyes almost popped from his head and he started backing up and away from the men coming from the inn.
“Raphael,” a voice from somewhere behind Kalen and the other man came. The voice was small and indicated a person filled with pain. No, not just any person…. But a woman. A woman Raphael loved.
Her grey ovals peaked out from behind Kalen, the recognition in them clear and disbelieving. “Mallory,” Raphael said, his voice cracked.
The man Raphael hadn’t recognized’s gaze darted between them. “Well, this is awkward.”
YOU ARE READING
Haunting Shadows (Book 2)
Fantasy"What if my sins are all I've become? Will you still love me if the Andreas you once knew is too far gone to ever get back?" Lana had survived burning on the stake, but at what cost? Every time she closes her eyes, she revisits the horror of burning...
