-38
CALEB’S POV
“Does that mean ‘The Heart of Magic doesn’t exist at all…” I asked in a shaking voice.
“Unfortunately, yes son…”
My heart sank. What would I tell the Dark Lord, now? He had promised to resurrect my pack on the condition that I will give him the stone once it is recovered.
We decided to stay back in the cottage till the morning. Worry and apprehension kept me awake all night. Once I returned, the Dark Lord will find out the truth and God knows how many werewolves will become his prey.
Aurora hugged the old lady before leaving. She even promised to bring Tiara here once she had grown older. It was heart-warming to see Aurora form such a wonderful bond overnight.
My heart remained cold though. I wanted to feel the warmth, the happiness but there was only darkness; deep and unending...
I couldn’t help but wonder; would the things have been different if Aurora hadn’t come into my life? I would have been ruling the underworld with Lina.
A painful, deep sigh escaped my lips. Here I was useless, unable to save my pack…
We were walking through the jungle when a huge branch of a tree fell suddenly upon us. I jumped to the side as quickly as possible but it still managed to graze my arm.
Groaning in pain, I raised my head to find Aurora and Tyson huddled together. Aurora was standing with her hands over Tyson as if she had tried to shield Tyson.
*See, she doesn’t care for you… She will always choose Tyson over you… So what if you killed your sister to save her life… So what if you made a pact with the devil to locate her and save her… She will always choose him… always…*
I closed my ears and screamed as the dark voice kept resounding in my mind.
Aurora came running towards me and asked in an anxious voice, “Are you alright?”
I grunted and started walking. I kept walking aimlessly until splash! I stepped right into the cool waters of a lake. The crystal clear water dazzling in the sunlight soothed my eyes. The dark haze cleared to a great level and I could think clearly.
If only I could obtain the ‘The Heart of Magic’ I could delay the Dark Lord from harming my pack.
AURORA’S POV
Caleb was behaving very weirdly since we left the cottage. After the branch fell on him, he took off without waiting to let me apply herbs on his injury.
After a long walk, we finally caught up with him. I wanted to talk to him but the beautiful lake drew me towards itself. The cool, blue waters mesmerized me and made me forget everything. I sat on a rock next to Caleb. I caught a movement to my left and realized that Tyson had joined us too.
We sat there gazing into the calm water; each of us lost in our deepest thoughts. Suddenly, I felt an intense desire to see the ‘Heart of magic’
My eyes widened in surprise when I saw the reflection of ruby, red heart in the water. I immersed my hand into the water and cupped it so that the heart was visible in my palm. There was no reason behind doing this. I just felt like it…
“Aurora! You have been sitting with your hand immersed in water for God knows how long. Take it out else you will catch a cold.” Tyson’s voice sounded drawing me out of the trance.
Caleb and Tyson gasped as I drew my hand out. Nestled in my hand was a large heart-shaped stone. I didn’t need any affirmation that it was ‘The Heart of Magic.” I could feel its power flow through my veins.
“Bloody hell! Is that what I think it is?” Caleb said jumping to his feet.
I turned the stone in my hand and said, “It seems so…”
Tyson took the stone from me. After examining it, he declared, “This is indeed ‘The Heart of magic.’ I have seen it before…”
“Sorry, what?”
“I said I have seen it before. My mother had taught me how to identify it.” He explained handing the stone back to me.
“Didn’t the old lady say that the stone was shortly destroyed after the Dark Queen was killed?”
“Hmmm… I don’t know if it was destroyed or not… I saw it before the Dark Queen died…”
I staggered slightly and almost dropped the stone back into the lake. “Exactly how old are you, Tyson?”
“Haww! Tyson haven’t you told your age to the mother of your child yet, Tyson? He is ancient” Caleb said in a teasing voice.
“I am just 179 years old, not even 200,” Tyson said indignantly.
“Damn! That is ancient.” I couldn’t help but exclaim. Seeing his hurt expression, I added, “You look like you are in your twenties…”
This appeased him and his lips stretched in a wide smile. Maybe Caleb didn’t like me praising Tyson. He stormed off once again.
Letting out a deep sigh, I slumped on the rock saying, “What the hell has gotten into him? Is he under some spell?”
Tyson sat beside me and took my hand in his. I don’t know if it was the effect of the stone or something else, I could taste his feelings. He didn’t speak a word but I somehow knew deep down that he loved me.
Bloody Hell! I didn’t know where these feelings came from. I even knew that he was going to say something very difficult for him to express. When I raised my head to look into his eyes, I did see the confusion and apprehension in his eyes.
“I don’t know why I am saying this… It is definitely not in my interest...” He licked his lips and cleared his throat before continuing, “Caleb loves you Aurora. That is the reason why he is behaving like this. He can’t bear to see… Ummm… your concern towards me…”
My eyes widened in realization. It did make sense. He was alright until I praised Tyson…
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I just want to be fair, Aurora. Ever since we have set off on this journey, Caleb has been more like a friend to me than an enemy. If not for him I would have been killed by the dragon… moreover….”
His voice became heavy with emotions and I could see tears gleaming in his inner eye. “I saw the way he took care of you while you were in The Pearl Palace…”
He stopped speaking after that and buried his face in his hands.
“What about you, Tyson. How do you feel about me?”
His head snapped up and he looked at me as if I had asked him to hand over his kingdom. Poor guy didn’t see this coming but hey you don’t get to talk about other people’s feelings if you can’t talk about your own.
“I… Aurora… can’t we just let this slide…”
“I want to be fair just like you Tyson…”
He cleared his throat and said, “The thing that happened between was a mistake… We were never meant to be together… My life was so sorted before you came….”
I jumped to my feet and ran away before he could say ahead. I couldn’t listen to this.
His words pierced through my heart like a thousand daggers. I shouldn’t have asked a question whose answer I couldn’t bear to hear.
I was so sure about his feelings… I could sense them… maybe that was just an illusion conjured up by my mind.
.