Page 55 of Stolen Magic

“You think I wouldn’t find out?” the king continued, voice low and dangerous. “You think my spies wouldn't notice magic being gathered right beneath our noses? Or that no one would question a sudden storm summoned from clear skies, one that pulsed with traceable spellwork?”

My blood turned to ice. The storm, the magic Myst had drawn…I hadn’t realized they could track it.

“I’ve already told you,” Callan replied, his voice calm but firm. “There’s no danger. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“She’s been caught pulling raw magic from restricted corridors.Twice. And now the storm wardens confirm a magical anomaly centered over the royal gardens at the exact hour you just happened to be strolling with your fiancée.”

Callan didn’t immediately respond. My throat tightened as the silence stretched, my breath shallow. This was his chance to reveal the secret I’d entrusted him with that I could use magic, to prove my faith in him hadn’t been misplaced.

“She didn’t summon the storm,” he said.

“No?” The king's voice turned deathly quiet. “Then who did?”

There was a pause. I could almost hear the desperate war raging in Callan’s mind. “I know it couldn’t have been her. Throughout my years of study, I have learned how to detect magic and didn’t sense any around her…and I stood quite close to her when the enchanted rain started.”

“Is that so?” The doubt emerged as sharp as a blade.

“You know I’ve been studying these past several years.” Callan’s voice was steady now as he wove his lie. “I was testing a weather-manipulation theory and wanted to impress her, but lost control.”

The king’s disbelief was so thick it choked the condemning silence that followed. “You expect me to believe you, a barely trained novice, summoned a storm without authorization? Don’t be daft.”

“I didn’t intend to,” Callan replied. “But regardless I’ll take full responsibility for the mistake.”

“You’ll take more than mereresponsibility,” the king said. “For shielding a girl we both know is hiding something from the crown. My sources said she was seen skillfully channelingpower, an ability no one from her kingdom should still possess. That alone suggests foul play and espionage.”

“She’s not what you think she is,” Callan said tightly. “Gwen has had ample opportunity to do harm or betray us. You are well aware that your mages swept her room while she was out and discovered no magical artifacts. You’ll find no threat from her.”

“No,” the king hissed. “She’s worse. She’s a mystery that you’re foolishly protecting. I want to know why. Is it infatuation? Does she smile at you and make you believe you’re not just like me?”

Callan’s answer came immediately, quiet but firm: “Because I believe in her.”

A heavy silence followed. My heart swelled, chest aching with the weight all his words caused me to feel. He was protecting me, keeping the promise he’d made…even with knowing full well the price of defying his father.

There was a long silence before the king spoke again, low and dangerous. “If you defy me in this and continue to shield her, Iwillstrip you of your title as heir.”

“You’d see the kingdom fall to infighting just to punish me for believing in the woman who is to be our future queen—the womanyouinsisted on betrothing to me?” Callan said. “You taught me to serve Eldoria, and that is what I’m doing.”

“This extends well beyond any noble intention,” the king said darkly. “It’s become a matter of loyalty to the crown you are to inherit. I know you’re keeping something from me. If you won’t bring it to light, I will.”

I couldn’t bear to hear another word. A sob rose in my throat and I pressed a hand over my mouth to stifle it as I stumbled back from the door, the guilt cinching my racing heart unbearable. I had come here for revenge—to reclaim my power and tear down the throne that had stolen my past. But somewhere along the way, I had found something far moreprecious. And now he and whatever was growing between us were in jeopardy…because of me.

I pressed a hand over where the pendant Callan had given me rested above my heart like a quiet promise. Thanks to my deception, he stood at odds with the king who ruled this realm, risking everything just to protect the secrets I should never have let slip. I didn’t deserve his faith in me or his unwavering loyalty, and yet he gave them freely, sacrificing everything for me…while I had done nothing but lie.

A tear slid down my cheek, the first I’d allowed myself to shed since the day I lost Mother. For the first time since I entered these halls, I no longer cared about the magic I’d once burned to possess. I would find a way to protect him, even if it meant surrendering my mission to reclaim what had been stolen, my vengeance, even my stolen name. Because even though I had believed my heart had become hardened beyond redemption, I had finally found something stronger than hate, something I cared about more than magic.

I had foundhim…and now I had to let him go.

My heart wrenched at the thought of losing the single shaft of light that had illuminated my dark world since the fire and destruction of my childhood. But it was because of his goodness and the love I now felt for him that I knew he deserved better than the shadows and lies that followed in my wake.

I wandered the corridors in a daze, each familiar passage tugging at some memory of him, ofus. With every step came painfully dear recollections: the small bunches of violets he had the habit of leaving on my pillow after I once mentioned they were my favorite; the shy gifts offered without ceremony—a carved pendant, a book of myths from my homeland, a charm for restful sleep—each wrapped in quiet thoughtfulness that spoke louder than any courtly declarations.

Even the way he looked at me had become something I would carry, a memory all its own to cherish. Not like a prince admiring a conquest, but like a man seeing something precious he longed to understand. His gestures were given without fanfare, as if making me smile was reason enough. And yet for all his gentle generosity, I had given him so little in return.

A fresh ache bloomed in my chest. For all the details of our fabricated courtship—its titles, names, the web of lies I’d spun for the sake of my mission—I hadn’t trulyseenhim, not in the way he had me. I didn’t know his likes or dislikes, what lullabies had comforted him as a child, the fears and insecurities that haunted him, or all the dreams he held beneath the weight of the crown. All I knew was the heart he’d offered me, warm and unwavering…and that for his sake, I would now lose it.

Tears blurred my vision once again as I pressed a hand to the pendant resting against my throat. I had taken so much that I needed to give him something in return—not a gesture born of obligation or pretense, but something mine to offer, untainted by deception; a final moment unmarred by betrayal he could look back on when I became nothing more than a shadow in his memory after our inevitable separation.

My fingers curled with resolve. Just once more, I wanted to be near him—not draped in the illusion I wore for the court or the princess I’d masqueraded as, but the truemehidden beneath layers of glamours and deception. I wanted to give him something real, a final gift he could carry forward without the weight of betrayal—a goodbye wrapped in warmth from the truest part of myself.

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