Upon the Stars (Love Lines Book 5) Read online

  “Okay, I’ll probably call it a night then.” Dad said. “Will, I need to talk to you. Stop by my office in the morning.” Then he kissed my forehead, wished us good night and left.

  “Now, tell me everything,” I said, taking a seat between Christian and my cousin Melanie, whose expression was as pissed as ever, and I wondered why. Not that I remembered the last time I saw her smiling. Mel was one of those girls whose resting-bitch face was the only expression for both good and bad days.

  Evan smiled. “I told you guys she would see right through our bullshit.”

  I smirked, winking at him. “I had a great teacher, remember?” I said, recalling our classes with Evan. I was glad to know we hadn’t lost him during the battle with the other Lords. The darkness that had passed to him after his father’s death was gone for good now, unlike his newly opened power of masterminding, that he was still a little scared to use. But, Will promised to practice with him, which, I must admit, was going to be one hell of a practice session, considering the unstoppable desire of two Lords to kick each other’s asses and show who was the ‘boss’ here.

  “Professor Murray, always at your service,” Evan said, bowing ceremoniously at everyone sitting at the table.

  William rolled his eyes, saying, “Why don’t you go straight to business, Professor Smart-Ass Murray?”

  See? Time hasn’t changed their attitude to each other. However, I was sure somewhere VERY deep down inside, they didn’t hate each other. But admitting that was not an option for either of them. Damn their infamous egos.

  “Fine, as you wish,” Evan said in his usual bite-me manner. “So… We have news for you, Eileen. Some bad, and some even worse. Which one shall I start with, the bad news or the worst news?”

  “The bad news?”

  “William broke up with Mel.”

  “Evan!” My cousin gave him a murderous look. “Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut about my personal life?”

  At least now, I knew the reason for Mel’s widespread anger.

  “Why did you guys break up?” I asked.

  “We did not break up.” Will responded. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

  Melanie didn’t comment on that, which, I thought, was quite unexpected, considering she never missed her chances to say something sarcastic. Especially when it came to Evan’s misbehavior or her relationship with Will.

  I could almost hear the air crackling around our table, so I decided to change the subject to avoid someone’s unplanned murder. “So what is the worst news then?” I asked, looking at Evan.

  He gave Amanda one careful look, and then said, “I can feel Tara...”

  My mouth dropped open. “But…how?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea.” Again, he looked at Amanda, and only then did I notice the distance between their seats. Obviously, she was not happy to hear the news about Tara. I felt a little sorry for her. I knew how much Amanda loved Evan, as well as I knew that the feeling was mutual. But I could totally understand the reason behind her sadness. Evan and Tara used to be deeply in love with each other, and even though his feelings for her had changed a long time ago, I knew their relationship still bothered my best friend.

  “What exactly do you feel?” I asked Evan.

  That was the moment when Amanda rose to her feet and left the cafeteria without saying a word.

  “Shit,” Evan swore under his breath, running one hand through his hair. “She’s angry at me.”

  “She’s not angry, she’s scared,” Will clarified.

  “Scared of what?” I asked.

  “Of Evan breaking up with her,” Kevin, Evan’s brother said. He was sitting next to Elena, Marion’s daughter that he had been dating for a couple of months now.

  “Why would he break up with her? What am I missing, guys?”

  “It’s about Tara,” Evan said, looking a little guilty. “I can feel her love for me again.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. I didn’t know what to say to that.

  Evan spoke, “I know it sounds weird, considering she has just married another guy, whom she swore to love for the rest of her life. But I guess it has something to do with the magicians’ attack at the wedding. The spell that hit her somehow changed her attitude toward me.”

  “By intensifying everything she has ever felt for him,” Darcy added. She looked a little uncomfortable, which was not surprising at all. She and Evan used to date before he realized that his feelings for Amanda were stronger than anything he had ever felt for anyone. Well, yeah, my friend’s personal life was a little messed up, and it was not easy to keep track of his affairs.

  “Does this mean Tara is still alive?” I asked.

  “We can’t be sure about that,” Christian responded. “Marion could have created a bond or something to transform whatever Tara felt the moment she was attacked and after that into a message she wanted to send Evan.”

  “But what’s the point?” I said, puzzled. “Marion knows that Evan is now dating Amanda, and that they share something very special. Why would she want him to know about something that no longer matters?”

  “Maybe because it does still matter,” Will said.

  Judging by Evan’s gloomy expression, he didn’t like whatever was going on inside his mind and in his heart now.

  “Do you feel anything else apart from her love for you?” I asked carefully.

  “No. And before you ask, it is a one-sided connection. I can’t pierce into Tara’s dreams, if she’s still alive of course, or get any other information from her or Marion, or whoever else they might be staying with.”

  “Okay, maybe I will sound stupid, but how do you know it’s her love that you feel from her?”

  Evan didn’t respond to my question, but Darcy did, “Their feelings used to be strong and mutual, and if once shared, the memories of those feelings remain. They can be revealed with the help of magic.”

  I frowned, thinking about Darcy’s words. “But Tara doesn’t possess the power of magic.”

  “That is exactly why we think it was Marion’s handiwork,” Christian commented. “And we believe there is a way to use it against her to find out where Marion is hiding Tara…or her body.”

  Chapter 2

  Evan

  I didn’t like Christian’s plan. He thought we could use the bond that Eileen and I shared to see the place where Marion and Tara were staying at the moment. I truly believed Tara was still alive. Or maybe I simply refused to believe that she was gone, and that’s why I was ready to do absolutely anything to see her safe and sound again.

  The moment I found out about the attack in the church, I felt like a very precious part of me was ripped out of my chest. I didn’t love Tara as much as I used to, or to be exact – my feelings for her were different now. She was still dear to me, and I couldn’t let one stupid accident, that she was not even supposed to suffer from, take her life away.

  “I think it’s a good idea,” Eileen said, after she listened to what my friend had suggested to find Marion. “Christian is right, I’ve been in your head so many times, which, I must admit, has never been fun; your thoughts are either dirty or terrifying as hell. But I can try reading them again. And if I can feel Marion’s magic through the messages she’s sending you, I think it is worth a try.”

  I thought for a moment; my mind was desperately trying to come up with at least one good excuse to not let Eileen into my head. Then I remembered all those times when Tara had been there for us, and I gave up, realizing that Eileen had a point. If whatever she was going to do in my head would help Tara, Christian’s plan was worth a try.

  Slowly, I nodded and said, “Okay, let’s do this. But not right now. I need some time with Amanda.” No matter how much I was worried about Tara, I couldn’t leave my love alone. She’d been very quiet and a little distant all these days we have spent on Lake Tahoe. Sometimes I felt like she was avoiding me, and I guess I knew why. She was jealous. And maybe a little afraid of losing what she and I shared beca
use of the memories of my former love for Tara. I couldn’t blame her for that. Our relationship has just started to grow, and neither of us wanted to end it.

  “Is there any special time of the night when you get those mental messages from Tara?” Eileen asked.

  “Yes, at the break of dawn.” We all knew that the first rays of the morning sun were filled with the energy that intensified our abilities to rule over the powers we possessed, especially the magic. And of course, Marion knew that too. As a matter of fact, she knew everything about how to make the damn magic work properly. And considering she helped my transformation into the Master of Lords and her blood was now running through my veins, I had no doubt that creating a mental bond with me was as easy as a pie. The only disappointment was that it was a one-sided bond. That’s why I needed Eileen’s help. She was not me, but being in my head, she could feel the presence of the outer influence or traces of someone else’s magic, if there were any.

  “Okay, then let’s do this at dawn,” Eileen said.

  “Can I ask you to stay in Christian’s room tonight?”

  She nodded, knowingly. “Sure. Just be careful around Amanda, okay? She’s been very sensitive these days.”

  “I know. I will be careful.”

  I wished my friends good night, left the cafeteria and headed for the dorms.

  Never in my life had I been afraid of darkness. But the loud silence of the night made all my protective instincts go on high alert. I don’t know why, but I had this weird feeling telling me that something terrible was about to happen. Was I the only person who could feel that?

  I wished my mother were here with me now. I missed those times I could come and talk to her about the things that bothered me. She and I had been very close, until the numerous secrets of my family ruined it all.

  I hadn’t talked to her since the day we had to leave Britain. She knew I needed some time to get used to seeing her again, after almost six years of grieving over her so-called death. She didn’t push it. She gave me all the space and time that I needed to get ready to see her and talk to her again. Needless to say, deep down inside I was more than happy to know that she was alive. I wish I had known it earlier…

  I came to the door of Amanda’s bedroom and knocked. I immediately felt her presence behind the door. As well as many other things that she was feeling at the moment.

  “Evan?” She asked, a little surprised. “What are you doing here?” She was dressed in her blue PJs, her dark-brown hair was in a slight mess.

  “Am I not supposed to come and wish my girlfriend sweet dreams?” I forced a smile, still feeling like she didn’t want to see me.

  She sighed, leaning against the doorframe, with her arms crossed over her chest. “It’s good to know that you still consider me as your girlfriend.”

  “Come on, Amanda. You know I love you, don’t you?” I came closer, and touched her chin with my fingers, watching a soft, silver shimmer lightening up the spot where my skin touched hers.

  “I know. I can feel that,” she said, taking a small step back. “As well as many other things that I’m not sure how to explain.”

  I knew exactly what she was talking about. I didn’t try to hide my thoughts or feelings from her; she could read and feel them all. I didn’t want any secrets to stand between us. And right now, I had no idea how to explain what was going on with me, or why I felt like I needed to try harder to protect my love for Amanda. But one thing I knew for sure – I needed her by my side, now more than ever. I didn’t want her to feel unwelcome in my embrace, or even worse – to think that what I felt for her had changed.

  “Can I stay with you tonight?” I asked quietly. Her emerald eyes studied mine; she stayed quiet for a few moments, as if a part of her was for, and the other part - against my presence. Then she nodded and stepped aside, letting me into her room.

  “What do you think about this place? I mean the lake,” I said, hoping the change of subject would help her relax a little. Well, I myself needed a distraction too. After everything I’d been through for the last couple of weeks, simply being near Amanda already felt like the biggest blessing ever.

  “I don’t like it,” she said, wrapping both arms around her, as if trying to hide from everything that bothered her. “I’m scared, Evan…so scared.”

  “Oh, baby, come here.” I pulled her into my arms; her body relax in my embrace. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever.”

  “What if it was a mistake to come here?” She moved a little so she could see my face.

  “Honestly, I have the same feeling. But Frederick says that here we can find the answers we need.”

  “What if someone really wants to destroy us, like all of us?”

  I sighed, not sure what to say to that. “We are strong, Amanda. We have enough powers to stand against any kind of evil. Besides, Dever is a very well protected place. No one apart from those who are here knows how to find us.”

  “Not even your mother?”

  “No one. Patrick thought it would be better to keep our location a secret. At least until we know that we can get back to Britain.”

  “What if we never get a chance to go back there?”

  “Well… I think this is not a problem if we are together. I don’t really care where I live. All I need is you.” I smiled down at her, bending to place a kiss on her lips. The moment our lips met, I felt pure bliss running through me, filling every broken part and righting all the wrong inside me.

  It was still a little weird to hold Amanda in my arms, knowing that she was mine now. It’s been so long since the moment I felt something for her for the first time. After Tara, it was really hard to let myself fall in love again, and I seriously doubted I was still capable of loving anyone. When I started dating Darcy, it was like a breath of fresh air, but only with Amanda did I realize that the true power of love was what I was just starting to feel.

  Amanda and I didn’t have much time to spend together. We had a lot to catch up on, and I hoped that soon we would finally get a chance to enjoy our love and dedicate at least a few days to ourselves. Which would be a true miracle, considering how screwed our lives in Dever had been recently.

  Amanda broke the kiss and l saw a soft blush covering her cheeks.

  “I still can’t believe we are doing this,” she said, as if reading my mind. Well, she could read my mind, literally. But I knew how much she hated that ability of hers. She didn’t use it unless it was really necessary to do so.

  “Neither can I…” I said, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. “But it feels amazing, right?”

  She giggled, nodding. “Couldn’t agree with you more.”

  “Nice PJs by the way. I have never seen it before.”

  “It’s because you rarely spend the night with me.”

  I laughed. “My mistake. I will do better, I promise.”

  Her blush deepened. “I’ll hold you to that,” she said, pulling me to the bed.

  We shared a few more kisses, that to be honest, was too damn hard to break. But I was going to be a good boy tonight, no matter how little I knew how to be one in the first place, and give Amanda the time she needed to rest. Besides, I needed to get some sleep too, because my morning promised to be very interesting...

  That night, I didn’t notice the exact moment that I fell asleep, but when I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing in the middle of Rose Hellebore’s living room.

  “What the hell?” I thought to myself. “Why am I in Paris?”

  “Welcome home, Son,” my mother’s voice rang out behind me.

  “Jeez, Mom, you scared the hell out of me. Am I still dreaming?”

  “Yes. I’m in your head. But don’t worry; I can’t see where you are now. Obviously, the protective spells around Dever do their best to keep your location a secret.”

  I forgot how good it felt to see my mom safe and sound and in the house that we lived in before our lives turned to chaos.

  “Do you like living here?” I asked, t
rying to understand the meaning of the inner battle that was now happening inside me. A part of me wanted to come closer to hug her tight, when the other part still felt a little angry because of everything her imaginary death had put me through.

  “I do,” she said, smiling warmly. “And I love the new Murray family emblem.” She pointed to the image over the fireplace.

  “It was Eileen’s idea,” I said. “Her birthday present actually.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  There was a short pause when neither she nor I uttered a word, then I spoke again, “So why am I here?”

  “I needed to talk to you. I have been trying to pierce into your dreams for days, but only tonight did I manage to break through your mental defense.”

  It was probably because tonight was the first time in weeks when Amanda and I had managed to fall asleep in each other’s arms, and my worries about her and our future lessened a little. Other nights, I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened to me in the past few weeks. It was so hard to give myself a break, and just fall asleep with no worries and thoughts about the future torturing my mind.

  “What did you want to talk about?” I asked.

  Mom took a seat in one of the chairs facing the burning fireplace and said, “I’m not sure how helpful my information can be, or if it can be, but I have found out something about the magicians who accompanied the Lords to Tara’s wedding. I recognized one of them from my trip to Ireland. His name is Theodor Granzel, and he used to be the leader of a community that called themselves Clarions. They are gifted, like us, but they believe that our gifts are evil. They teach their children to be strongly against everything supernatural. And those who go against their orders never make it to their eighteenth birthdays.”

  “You mean the day that we start attending Dever?”

  “Yes. They say that Dever has become a place where evil is being born.”