Page 49 of Love Beyond Words
“Okay…what didn’t you tell me?”
“You’re going to hate me, Marcus.”
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. It made my heart ache.
“I could never hate you.”
I took a deep breath and braced myself.
“There was a portrait in the book. A portrait of The Eight. You were in the portrait.”
He didn’t seem to understand.
“Well, we are here now, aren’t we? Maybe the portrait is painted while we’re here.”
“No, you weren’t next to The Eight. You were one of the The Eight.”
I took another deep, shaky breath as I watched realization set it.
“I don’t think they’re inside your head, Marcus. I think your own powers are starting to come to the surface. I think you’re destined to be one of The Eight.”
Chapter 29
The sudden burst of magic throughout the castle startled him from his sleep. The magic of The Eight was connected—each could feel when another used their powers. This magic was different. It belonged to another.
Raudrich rose from bed quickly. As he stepped outside of Calder’s room, he could hear the others rousing. Such a change in the energy of the castle wouldn’t go unnoticed by any of them.
Ludo, whose room lay next to Calder’s, joined him in the hallway.
“What in the name of Brighid was that? It couldna have been Calder, aye? We would’ve known if it were him.”
It wasn’t Calder. If Calder had used his powers or tried to sever them from The Eight, it would’ve been recognizable. This magic was not.
“No, ’twas not Calder.”
Quinn appeared at the end of the hallway, and together they moved to meet him.
“Has anyone seen to Machara? Could it be her?”
As if summoned, Nicol entered the castle doors from his place in the garden. While he possessed no powers of his own, he was linked to the castle and all within it. He could feel the use of magic just like the rest of them.
“I shall make certain she is still locked away. Gather everyone else. We must discern what has just happened.”
As Raudrich watched Nicol run toward his bedchamber, he turned to look at Ludo and Quinn.
“I doona believe this is Machara’s doing. ’Twas not the magic of the fae.”
“I agree.” Quinn’s voice was sure and certain. “There was no malice in it, though it felt strong and somehow uncontrolled.”
Raudrich racked his mind for an answer. In truth, there was only one possibility, even as shocking as it was.
“The magic came from within the castle, aye? We can all agree on that?”
Both men nodded in agreement.
“And we know that ’twas not one of us. There is only one other answer, lads. The magic came from one of our guests. Either Marcus is a druid or Laurel a witch.”
Was it possible that he’d spent so much time with her and not seen it? Could she have hidden it from him so well?
