The Princess and the Warlock

Chapitre Sept

"Now, mind you it's nothing as grand as the palace, but it's enough."

Kaius' tour was thorough, but extremely fascinating. He'd stop to point out the portraits and landscape paintings hanging on the walls. There was one of a woman and a man holding hands, both smiling at whoever was painting. "Did you know them?" I asked, eyes tracing as many details as I could.

"I tend to collect paintings, especially when the subject matter is what it is." Kaius smiled at the portrait before continuing on. "Spelled paintings are a rarity anymore. After the massacre, most of them were destroyed."

I looked back at the painting, my footsteps slowing. "You can feel the magic?" I reached up and touched the edge of the frame. It was cool to the touch. "I don't feel anything."

Kaius reached up and ran his own fingers across the canvas, and almost instantly the portrait transformed. The woman's skin took on a blue hue, and the man's eyes bled into a deep, abysmal black. But their smiles didn't change, nor did the mood of the photo. Just their appearance. "I don't know the couple, but they're passed around in the community. Markets and that sort of thing."

I narrowed my eyes at him, finally letting him lead me away. "There are markets for warlocks?"

He shook his head slowly, white hair brushing against his shoulders. "Not just for warlocks, Amora. For all of the magical beings in Wildwood."

All the magical beings in Wildwood. For some reason, those words made my skin crawl. I rubbed my forearm with the palm of my hand, trying to rub away the goosebumps. "What kinds of other beings are out there? Besides warlocks and witches."

"All sorts of creatures, you name it. And technically," he said, turning to glance over my shoulder. His eyes deepened in color. "I'm the only warlock left. This door—" he pointed to the door to our right. "It's a bathroom. In case you couldn't find the other five."

He was walking just a little in front of me, and I could fully take in how tall he was. His shoulders hid nearly the entirety of my view beyond him, but if I stood on my tip-toes, I could see beyond him, if only for an inch. It was a vast difference from Prince Grimond, whose eyes levelled with my own. "So how are you the only one left?" I asked him, wondering if I should've even asked. I made my voice small enough so that he could ignore me if he wanted to. I wouldn't have blamed him, not truly.

Kaius, though, wasn't going to ignore me. He stopped in the middle of the hall, turning to face me. I nearly bumped into his chest at how abruptly he stopped, backing up to a respectable distance quickly. "It's a long story," he said quickly, words nearly bleeding together. "A personal story."

I was sharing such a personal space with him that I wavered on my feet, squeezing the tips of my fingers tightly. "Friends share personal stories," I told him, intending to joke, but the words came out just as quiet as before.

The agelessness of Kaius must've been what threw me, because I found myself, yet again, just breathless from being close to him. It was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I was ridiculous.

Kaius reached out and brushed his thumb against the billow of my braid, slipping over my shoulder and twining down to my waist. Aimee had helped me clean it up from last night, and it looked more elegant than slept in. "Your hair," he said, passing over my question in the more polite way possible. "I didn't notice how long it was before."

I was as still as a statue, even after his hand fell from my hair. "I wasn't allowed to cut it."

We wavered for a moment, quiet, still, before Kaius reached up and tucked a lock of his white hair behind an ear, glancing down to his feet. "The library is right through this way. If you thought the bathrooms were exciting—" he snapped his fingers again, but this time, there was no magic. "You'll love the library."