Chasing Midnight - A Cinderella Retelling (Once Upon a Curse Book 3) Page 10

  I look up, finding his eyes. Radar, wavelengths, electromagnetic pulses—I have no idea what in the Mother’s name he’s talking about. But there’s no chance I’ll tell him that. “So when I use my magic, that thing in your hand can sense it, and can tell you my location?”

  “It doesn’t quite tell me your location,” he explains, pointing to the outer circles. “If I’m holding it, I’m the center dot. If you’re within range and using magic, you’ll come up as another dot within these wider circles, or a cloud depending on the breadth of the power, and then when I move in different directions, I know if I’m moving closer to you or farther away. Like the other day, during the speech, I knew someone in the crowd was using magic because it came up on the screen, but I only had a general idea of the location. It wasn’t until I looked through the camera on my drone and saw a single face glancing up toward the sky, separated from the pack, that I guessed the magic came from you.”

  More words I don’t understand.

  Humans have grown complicated in this new world.

  I open my mouth to ask more, but Prince Frederick snatches the device away. “My turn. What are you?”

  I sigh. I guess it was inevitable. “A faerie.”

  He stares at me and leans in, listening intently. But that was it—that was everything. I don’t have more to say.

  “And what’s a faerie?” he finally asks.

  “A faerie is a faerie.” I shrug. “So, why—”

  “Hold on,” he interrupts. “I just spent five minutes answering your question. You’ve got to give me more than that.”

  “No, I don’t. You asked a question. I answered it. It’s not my fault it was a simple question. Next time, think of something a little more stimulating.” He frowns but purses his lips, keeping them closed. I continue what I was saying before he so rudely cut in. “So, why were you holding that the day of the speech? How did you know someone with magic would be there?”

  “I didn’t,” he mutters. I can’t help but notice his tone is a little less joyful than a few minutes before, and a little more frustrated. “There was a blackout caused by magic last week, and the military pinned the location to St. James’s palace. I knew I’d be close by during the speech and I thought I’d bring this in case anyone used magic. Apparently, I got lucky.”

  “I guess you did.”

  “Do you know anything about the blackout?” He leans in close as though trying to intimidate me.

  I stand my ground. “It wasn’t me if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Who was it?”

  “That’s not my secret to tell.”

  “But you do know?”

  I shrug and glance back toward the party. Luckily, Ella is nowhere to be seen. The prince and I are drenched in just enough shadow that no one seems to have noticed our heated conversation. I turn back to him. “You said you don’t want to hurt me—why? I thought everyone in your world wanted magic destroyed.”

  “Maybe I find you intriguing,” he murmurs, stepping closer, as fluid as the darkness around us. The air grows thin as he closes the distance between us. I’m not sure I like the sparks igniting deep in the centers of his eyes. “Maybe I think the world would be a better place if people spent more time trying to understand one another, and less time ripping each other to shreds.”

  He brushes his fingers across my collarbone and down the outer edge of my arm. For some reason, the magic swirling beneath my skin brightens at his touch. Visible beneath my lace sleeve, a burning trail ignites, following the path of his caress and flaring a bright gold. My entire body tingles with the unfamiliar sensation. I look up to find he’s already watching me.

  “Why doesn’t your magic seem to affect the electricity?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Omorose mentioned a theory to me—it was a question she and the shifter prince were also trying to understand. My magic, and his magic, is natural. But hers, and all human magic, is stolen. It’s always fighting to be free. Omorose thought that inner battle she used to feel waging beneath her skin gave it more of an energetic charge than mine—maybe that caused those electromagnetic pulses the prince was talking about.

  But I don’t know. I can’t be sure.

  It’s too complicated to get into now.

  “Where does it come from?” he asks instead.

  I glance up at the stars barely visible through the cloudy sky overhead, to the branches swaying in the breeze, to the stones beneath my feet. “Everywhere. From everything. And from within. A spiritual connection no human could ever understand.”

  I roll my lips into my mouth before I say anything else. I’ve revealed too much already. Somehow this prince has fuddled with my brain.

  I step back.

  He steps closer and lifts my hand to his lips, then kisses the topside softly.

  “Dance with me,” he whispers.

  I yank my fingers free. “No.”

  “Just once.”

  “No.”

  “If you do, I’ll let you leave as soon as we’re done. I’ll tell the men waiting for my signal that I never found you. I won’t say a word about this to anyone. You’ll be able to slip back into the shadows and sneak away.”

  I swallow, throat suddenly dry at the subtle threat in his words. Soldiers mean guns, but I can’t let him sense my fear. “You couldn’t stop me if you tried.”

  For some reason, that brings a smile to his lips. “Fine. Then dance with me, and I’ll give you this.” He uses his free hand to hold the device up, taunting me with it. “No strings attached. I’ll let you take it with you so you can study it and learn how it works.”

  I lick my lips as my gaze drops to the device, then lifts back to him. Then down, and up again. Every one of my instincts screams that this is somehow a trap, that I’ll come to regret it, that I’m making a very bad decision. But what else can I do? It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get close enough to a human again to have this chance to learn their secrets.

  “One dance?”

  His grin deepens. “Just one.”

  “Fine. But we’re staying outside. I’m not stepping foot inside that ballroom.”

  He takes my hand in his, then rests his other palm on my waist. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Prince Frederick pulls me closer, until my skirt presses against his thighs and our hips are close enough to almost touch. I lift my free arm instinctively, raising it as a guard between us. My palm flattens against the hard expanse of his chest. I’m too afraid if I shift it, he’ll try to move even closer. Soft strains of orchestral music spill into the night. Music might be the only human invention I don’t loathe. It’s almost soothing as the prince sways side to side, leading so I’ll follow in rhythm with the steady beat. My body begins to relax—that in and of itself makes me tense back up.

  “What’s the purpose of this?” I ask, glancing up.

  Prince Frederick looks down, meeting my eyes. His mouth hovers an inch or two away, far too close, so I turn to the side.

  “Does everything have to have a purpose?”

  When I don’t answer, the fingers gripping my waist loosen. For a moment, I think he means to let me free, but instead, he traces circles over my hip and around my back, then up the curve of my spine. My skin tingles with his touch. It must be my magic—I refuse to believe it could be anything more. The prince leans his head down, nudging my hair aside with his nose until his breath tickles my neck. His lips hover above my skin, emitting a warmth I can feel despite the small space between us.

  “Maybe I just thought a dance would be fun.”

  I don’t believe him for a minute. He’s plotting something. I can practically hear the gears shifting in his mind, ticking like those human clocks Aerewyn used to love so much. I pull my head back until I find his eyes, recognizing the twinkle within them. Human men are easy to read.

  “Are you trying to seduce me?”

  “Why?” The edges of his lips curl up. �
��Is it working?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t find me the least bit charming?”

  “I find you repulsive.”

  He chuckles softly. The prince whips our clasped hands around, sending me into a spin, and then pulls me back so I roll into his arms.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  He pushes and I roll away. Inside, the music builds toward a crescendo. When it reaches its peak, he yanks on my hand and I stumble forward, half falling into his chest. He lifts his palms to my face and brushes his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping my makeup away. The glow of my faerie skin reflects in his eyes, bright as stars.

  I don’t know what he’s getting at.

  Luckily, I don’t ever find out.

  Something explodes loudly overhead, and I glance up to see silver-and-gold embers glinting in the air. Before I have time to understand what it is, the door to the ballroom bursts open and people spill through, only to freeze when they spot us standing there. Murmurs fill the silence. Suddenly, I understand what his trick was. While we were dancing, he moved us into this spot on purpose. He knew everyone would come outside to watch these colors blast across the sky. He wanted to expose me. He wanted the world to see.

  As another boom explodes overhead, I whip my head away and rip free of the prince’s arms.

  “Wait—”

  I don’t. I turn, opening my mouth to wrap the cloaking spell around me.

  Then a soft voice intervenes.

  “Nymia?”

  Ella stands a few feet away, face swiveling between the prince and me, crestfallen. She’s in pain—a pain I caused. The blood oath flares like fire beneath my skin, making me hiss. My vision spots and I sway on unsteady feet. Before I can utter a word to calm her, energy slams into my body—a potent wave of magic that makes me stumble back as a vine erupts by my feet. It breaks through stone and surges into the air, thrashing like a snake on the attack, sharp with thorns.

  The lights in the ballroom wink out.

  All around us, humans scream.

  “Ella!” I shout into the chaos, fighting the burn of the oath.

  More prickly stalks cut through the darkness, exploding through the patio, casting thunder and rumbling the ground. Chippings smack my cheeks. Dust clouds my vision. For a brief second, the madness is illuminated red, then green, as another fiery blast glitters across the sky. Through the crowd, I see Ella crouched down, hugging her calves and rocking back and forth as her magic gains a life of its own. For the first time, I don’t sense Aerewyn in the power. This is something primal. Something unconfined and on a rampage. Was this what my magic felt like before it was returned to me? During all those years I lived as a flower, and it lived enslaved beneath some human’s skin?

  I shudder and roll to my feet.

  I’m not sure I want that answer.

  “Ella!”

  She looks up from her knees with tearstained cheeks. “Nymia?”

  “We have to go.”

  “I can’t stop it,” she says, looking at her hands, watching them tremble. “I don’t— I can’t—”

  “Later,” I cut in and grab her hands. “We need to go. Now.”

  We’re already too late. Beneath the madness and the magic, I hear the gentle thunder of boots, the subtle click of those guns the humans love so much. I reach out with my magic, feeling each blade of grass being crushed by shifting feet. People are closing in on all sides. We’re surrounded. This ball was a trap—and we walked right into it.

  I pull Ella to her feet and spin, only to slam into the prince’s chest. He grips my arms, fingers digging into my skin.

  “Don’t leave, please,” he urges. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  I don’t care. I’m done playing nice.

  Breathing deep, I gather a storm inside my lungs, letting my magic flash like lightning beneath my skin as the power builds. Then I rip the radar device from his pocket, open my lips, and blow. A breeze slams into the prince’s chest and he flies back, knocked off his feet to roll head over heels, out of sight and lost to the mounting shadows.

  Good riddance.

  I grab Ella’s hand and run.

  “If you can’t stop your magic, then use it,” I call over my shoulder. “Create a briar patch to block our backs or a path to lead us forward.”

  She does both.

  I’m not sure if Ella even hears or understands what she’s doing. Her eyes are wild and crazed. But the magic hears, and it listens. A hundred vines shoot from the lawn, twisting and wrapping around us, providing the cover we need to escape. Up ahead, humans in gleaming helmets and black vests stand in a line, illuminated silver by the moonlight. They raise their guns, aiming at us. Stalks emerge like a defensive wall, bursting to full-size trees in the blink of an eye. The bullets thunk into thick trunks. I swerve left, dragging Ella behind me.

  While her magic still rages, we have the advantage. The humans depend on their electricity, and without it, they’re lost. So I keep running and call on Father’s darkness, wrapping it around us. We’re surrounded by so much shadow, the cloaking spell should provide enough cover to let us slip away. Without their devices, they won’t be able to track us. We just need to find a place to hide. We just need to get out of range, out of sight.

  Before we make it off the palace grounds, Ella falls.

  “Come on,” I say and tug on her arm.

  But it’s lifeless. When I turn to look at her, I can see she’s beyond listening. Her eyes have rolled into the back of her head, and her body twitches against the ground. Magic glitters in the air around her body, shimmering with a golden aura that’s starting to fade. Her innocent face scrunches into a knot of silent agony.

  “Ella?”

  I press my palm to her cheek, but the pain creasing her brow doesn’t ease, and I understand why. It’s her curse, taking payment for the use of this stolen magic. Just like Omorose, she made nature grow at the cost of her own life. I can almost see the edges of her soul rot, like petals turning brown as the life begins to leave them. It’s the first time I’ve been fully conscious to experience a human curse in action. And though I know Ella’s magic is stolen, that it belongs to my sister, I can’t help but wonder what she’s done to deserve this shredding of her spirit, an ache so intense that when she opens her lips to scream, not even a whisper emerges.

  Footsteps thunder in the silence.

  I gather Ella into my arms and hug her close, wrapping the Father’s shadows around us both. I never thought I’d shield a human with my magic, and yet here I am, holding her so tight there isn’t an ounce of space between us.

  The soldiers from before run across the lawn. I can barely see them move in the moonlight, only catching silver glints of light on their metal guns. But with my magic, I feel them step on grass, moving in careful formation, creeping closer and closer. If one of them walks into us, we’re done. They’d shoot before I had time to cast any sort of spell for protection. I try to stop Ella’s shivering, to hold her still, but it’s no use.

  The humans close in.

  I hold my breath.

  I hold Ella.

  I hold on to the cloaking spell.

  They’re ten feet away, then seven, then four. One of them steps on the outer edge of my gown, but the fabric is so thin he doesn’t notice it feels different than the grass. He lifts his other leg. I lean to the side, cupping my palm over Ella’s mouth so she doesn’t make a sound as his foot arcs over my hip. It lands on grass. He takes another step, moving farther away. Then another. I don’t think I breathe until the men are lost in the darkness behind us.

  “Ella, can you hear me? We need to get up. We need to hide.”

  Nothing.

  The Ella I met is gone. There’s no trace of Aerewyn or her magic.

  There’s just the curse.

  It’s heartache. It’s devastation.

  My eyes open in horror when a light in the distance blinks back on, casting a yellow aura around the park. Ella’s magic is no longer su
rging, which means the electricity is coming back on.

  I can’t use my magic.

  If they have one of the prince’s radar devices, they’ll be able to track us.

  I’ve never felt as exposed as I do the moment Father’s cloaking spell vanishes, displaying my glowing golden skin for all the world to see. Even with the city lights turning back on, in the darkness of the night, it casts me as other. I grab a few blades of grass and weave them into an emerald hood to shield my face, then lock my magic away. Without it, I feel weak. I feel powerless.

  I guess it’s better than being dead.

  After hooking my arm around Ella’s tiny waist, I haul her to her feet and carry her with me as I run across the lawn. In the openness of the park, we’re too visible. There’s a street in the distance, with tall stone buildings and enough crevices in which to hide, if I can just get us there.

  I do.

  My shoes slap on pavement as I cross the street and enter the maze of the city. Moving as fast as I can, I run down one road and another, turning as often as possible, getting lost. If I don’t know where I am, maybe the humans won’t find me either. As the street becomes more populated, I slow down, trying to blend. It’s not the easiest thing to do when Ella and I are both in ball gowns, but people don’t seem to stare. They’re all lost in their own worlds, lost in the fear shimmering in their eyes. The blackout has sent them back in time, into their own minds, probably to the day eleven years before when their lives were forever changed. All that matters is that they’re not concerned with me.

  Ella is still barely conscious.

  My arm aches from the exertion of holding her.

  I won’t be able to keep this up much longer.

  Just as I’m about to look for a place to hide, a voice booms down the street, magnified by some sort of invention. “Stop where you are!”

  A screech fills the air.