Crowned 10 - Lost and Found!

CHAPTER 10

     Heavy footsteps thumped against the dark floor as a man hastened down a spiral staircase through a flurry of men, drinking and dancing in between. Heads turned and eyes followed his hastening back.

“Lord Kairo, congratulations on winning over Bestia!”

“Brilliant party tonight, Lord Kairo!”

“Looking handsome as always, Your Highness!”

“Where are you rushing to?”

Kairo brushed past many a talking figures, letting their calls fall on deaf ears. He jogged past the dance floor and entered the room opposite to it. He locked the door behind him before calling, “Brother? Are you okay?”

The little room was dimly lit by a lamp placed on the center table, opposite to which was a wooden seat. It was a resting room for the servants, which had been taken over by Kaeo’s impatient grunts and whimpers.

“Kae, what’s happening?” Kairo asked as he kneeled beside the wooden seat, his eyes wandered over Kaeo’s pained expression.

“I—ugh, I can feel it, her magic,” Kaeo seethed through gritted teeth. His fist was clenched around a fork which he dragged over and over into the wooden seat.

“Close your eyes,” Kairo said as he placed a finger over Kaeo’s forehead and gently pushed him backwards, “Tell me what you see.”

Kaeo writhed under his brother’s touch and the fork was further pushed into the wood. “Arrgh, the’rre, there’s a, a fire,” Kaeo huffed as pain clutched his abdomen, “A big place is on f—ugh, fire, argh,” he grunted, voice deepened with controlled agony, “I can feel her stripping my magic.”

“It’s okay,” Kairo reassured, “She might need it. Tell me, what do you see? Give me a hint.”

Kaeo swore under his breath as he tried to concentrate. His body felt like it was being stabbed by invisible daggers and every hole was releasing his magic into the universe. Exhaustion took over his limbs and he let himself slip further into the curve of the wooden seat.

“There is a, um, trees, she is outside. The build—aargh, it’s on fire. There’s a magic circle, r-r-red and, guards, the crest, it’s the Count’s crest. Aramia. Ugh,” he grunted as pain ripped through his body, threatening to split him in half.

“Good work, brother,” Kairo smiled and knocked a finger against Kaeo’s forehead.

The ravenette fell limp, rolled off the seat and crashed against the marbled floor.

Kairo cringed at the loud thud Kaeo’s head made after hitting the table’s foot. “That’s gotta hurt…” he mumbled before a brilliant jade magic circle appeared under his feet and swept him away. “To think you had been so close…” Kairo muttered as he materialized in front of the burning occido wing at Count Aramia’s estate.

He whispered a spell and a small magic circle appeared within his right eye. Through it, he could clearly see the crimson magic circle over the estate. The circle throbbed furiously, unlike anything Kairo had seen before. He could feel the spell lending power from the very atmosphere around him. The roaring winds, the shivering leaves, the crackling fire, they are all sustaining the circle overhead.

“This…this is magic,” Kairo gasped in a whisper.

His bespelled eye caught sight of a pulsating red wave on the farther left of the magic circle. It seemed to be connecting something on the ground and something else in the burning building. The purest thread of gold was encased within, as thin as an eyelash, fragile beyond belief. Kairo wondered if he stared too hard, it would break apart.

He ran towards it and found a body being dragged by two guards. The pulsating red wave had one end connected to it and an orb of powerful crimson throbbed around the body.

Kairo looked up and spotted the other end of the magic entering the first floor of the burning building.

He snapped his fingers and a magic circle appeared under his feet, levitating him off the ground. He floated to a broken window and found a similar throbbing body, surrounded by raging fire and protected by the crimson magic. From his height, he could see two more waves pulsating on the opposite side of the estate.

Kairo casted a quick spell and brilliant jade magic circle appeared underneath the crimson. It sucked the fire away until all that was left was smoke and wails. As soon as his magic circle disappeared, Kairo entered the burnt ballroom, picked up the person and floated back to the ground.

“It’s a miracle!”

“The fire is gone!”

“All hail—”

With another snap of his fingers, the wailing guards were knocked out cold.

Kairo placed the two bodies beside each other and almost instantly, the overcast magic circle disappeared. The wind rested and the trees came to a standstill.

“It’s like the magic has a mind of its own…” Kairo whispered with fascination shining in his eyes.

Though, as soon as the throbbing orb disappeared from the two bodies, horror caused his eyes to widen. For whom he remembered with warmth now laid cold and scarred. His feet scurried to her side and clammy hands picked up her curly brown head. Tears threatened his eyes as he pulled the limp body against his chest, whispering, “I-It’s okay, you’re safe now, nothing like this will ever happen again…”

The gnarly bite marks disappeared from her body as a magic circle appeared underneath Kairo’s feet.

Five days later, her eyes fluttered open.

There was a heaviness in her limbs that weighed her down and a clog in her throat that made her croak out, “Ah.” She closed her eyes again then reopened them as memories began spiralling in her head.

“Clary!” she shouted hoarsely as she shot up, instantly regretting both the actions. A violent cough wrenched her momentarily motionless. Her world spun as her head throbbed, threatening to burst open.

She swore under her breath as her eyes scrutinized the strange surroundings. She came to a very obvious realisation that she wasn’t in Count Aramia’s basement or her hardwood charpoy.

No.

She was in an unfamiliar lap of luxury, settled in between an army of soft pillows and a sinfully addictive bed. A calming scent wafted in the rich air surrounding her, accentuating the obvious wealth around the four-poster bed. Opposite to the bed, a fireplace of black stone crackled a warm glow.

Clary.

She raised her hands to get rid of the silk sheets and spotted colourful pins attached to her wrists. She pulled out a pin and seethed as a few droplets of blood marked the sheets. The pins were a healing tool, she recognised. Their needle tips were supposed to prick the veins of a patient and the tiny glass blob on the opposite end stored a healing spell or potion, whatever the caster deemed necessary. The pins were an Alchemy Type Mage’s speciality.

Oh.

She had almost overlooked it.

She was so used to them and suddenly, the scars were…gone?

‘Did Count Amaria finally sell me off?’ she wondered as she slipped out of the bed.

Her feet landed on the softest carpet known to existence and she could not resist the urge to rub her feet against it.

Clary. Her mind reminded.

“Yes,” she whispered hoarsely and pulled out the remaining four pins before getting up.

Dizziness overtook her sight and she grabbed the bedframe to stabilise herself. It was then when she caught sight of her attire. Her eyes widened as she faced the full-length mirror placed beside the fireplace.

She hadn’t seen herself in anything but the maid uniform for such a long time so it came as no surprise when an audible gasp escaped her lips. Though, instead of fascination, hers was scandalised.

For on her body was the very familiar and very classic, pearly white, iridescence embroidered, fae-woven, wedding dress.

Alarm bells raged in her mind.

‘Count Aramia totally sold me. Some creep wants to marry me. I need to run away, as soon as I can, as far as I can.’ She concluded and limped out of the bed room, which was connected to its own living room, past which was an opaque glass carved door. She gulped and limped to the circle widows. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realised that she was on ground floor.

She looked around the living room and picked an umbrella from the stand by the door. She would use it as a contingency weapon, she decided as she unbolted the window and jumped out. Her limbs were still weak and instead of landing gracefully on her feet, she plopped on the hallway, clutching her thundering heart and sweaty limbs.

“Elvira.”

The sudden acknowledgement made her jolt backwards. Her head hit the wall and a loud groan escaped her lips.

The person in front swore under his breath as he rubbed a hand on the back of his head.

Elvira looked up and found a pair of dark eyes glaring at her with annoyance. He seemed bothered by her presence, if not disgusted, yet the odd familiarity in his face made her breath hitch.

Her eyes narrowed at his face. The frowning thick brows, center-parted raven hair strands caressing the flashy eyelashes. Odd amethyst eyes wandering over her face, the high nose bridge representing the pride in his almond shaped eyes, easing into a philtrum and pouty peach lips.

 No way.

She had never noticed it…but there was a mark under his left eye.

Had it always been there?

She wouldn’t know.

She was so sure she dreamt them up.

But—no, was it a dream again?

Elvira reached out and her fingers grazed over his shirt-covered-stomach. The hard touch felt real. Her eyes widened to their brim as she whispered, “Kaeo.”

“Good that you have your wits intact,” the man replied, voice deep and so unfamiliar, “Now that you are up, I can finally use my room again. For star’s sake,” he swore under his breath.

No, it wasn’t Kaeo. The Kaeo she knew had brilliant blue eyes and a smile that would light up her world.

It was a smile worth dying over.

And Kaeo died five years ago…

I should find Clary.

Elvira used the umbrella to stand up. The stranger shadowed her frame with his lean build.

“Ex-cuse me,” Elvira muttered as she limped past him.