The Seeker's Magic, page 6
“Of course I can walk,” I growled. “I’m not a child. And I’m not drunk.”
But the second I tried to step out of his grasp, I collapsed to the ground.
“Let me help you, darling,” he said, sliding his arm around my waist and curling me into his arms. I almost made a comment about being carried around like some sort of bride, but I refrained. The last thing I wanted was Rumple thinking I thought that way, because I was certain it would send him running. And I didn’t want him to run from me.
He took me inside and up the stairs until we reached my room. Thankfully, he still hadn’t put me down. Not yet. He stepped through, kicking the door shut behind him. I had no idea how he was able to maneuver through my room without the lights on, but it was like his vision was better in the shadows.
When he reached my bed, he set me down.
“Wait,” I murmured, even though he had yet to pull away from me. In fact, he reached out and swept hair from my face. Immediately, I leaned into his touch. I couldn’t help it. “I don’t…” I opened my eyes and locked them on him. “I don’t want you to go.”
“All right, darling,” he said in a low, silky voice. He sat on the edge of the bed at my left side.
I closed my eyes, content that he was still here, before I opened them again. “Did I do something to upset you?” I asked before I could consider whether or not this was a good idea.
“What?” he asked, genuinely surprised. “Why would you ask me that?”
I swallowed. I sat up, wiggling until I leaned against the headboard. “I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t train me yourself,” I said. “Why MaryBeth?”
“MaryBeth is the only person who possesses her magic after the Red Queen forbid it,” he said. “How that’s possible, I do not know. But it means she’s powerful. And she hates the Red Queen nearly as much as—” He stopped himself. “I knew I could trust her discretion, even if it meant dealing with Lupine.” He paused, angling his head to the side. “You know, he’s in love with you, darling.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “He’s not in love with me, Rumple,” I murmured, closing my eyes again. The thought of Jack having feelings for me was ridiculous. “He’s just…we have this history. For as long as I can remember, he’s always been around. With Anna. They were together for so long…” I shook my head, looking at Rumple. “They probably saw me as an annoying kid sister who always tagged along, who they always felt that they needed to protect because I never had magic.” I swallowed. “And anyway, I’m not interested in Jack.”
“Oh?” An arched eyebrow.
“Rumple,” I murmured slowly. “You know I don’t feel for Jack the way I feel for you.”
The words were easy to say, easier than I could have hoped for. I knew this was the residual effects of magic depletion. I knew that if I was in my right mind, I would not be talking to him like this. But I also didn’t want to stop myself from doing this, either. It was the freest I had felt in a long time, letting someone in, telling them how I really felt without worrying I’d get rejected or abandoned. I craved this. I wanted more of it.
“And I know you want me.” I leaned towards him so my face was inches away from his. We had already kissed a few times but suddenly, I wanted to do it again. I wanted to do more than just kiss him. “I know you do. The way you looked at me when I was on top of you tonight…” I swallowed. “I want you.”
“Alice,” he whispered.
Chills swept through my body, and I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I leaned forward and touched my lips to his. At first, the kiss was meant to be only that—light, a whisper across his lips, just because I wanted to feel them again.
But then his mouth responded to mine. A muffled groan left his body, and power swept through me. I had no idea I could make someone like Rumple feel this way. It made me feel secure in who I was, confident in myself. I didn’t think I had ever felt that way around anyone, especially around a guy I was into. My hands reached up to touch his cheeks as I slowly crawled off my bed until I was sitting in his lap. My legs mounted his, my core pressing into his pelvis. I sighed through the kiss, feeling his desire for me press against his inner thigh.
I thought I would be scared. I never thought I would ever initiate sex, not since I knew that it could be violent and ugly.
But Rumple made me feel things I didn’t know I could. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to give myself to him. I wanted him to be my first, my first choice.
“Please, Rumple,” I said as I pulled back. “Please.”
“You silly, foolish girl,” he murmured, his voice husky.
Before I could reply, his lips traced my jaw before slowly moving down the column of my throat. I tilted my head away, wanting more of his kisses. His lips pressed against my skin and I rolled my hips instinctively, clutching his forearms to keep myself in place.
His hands traced the sides of my body lightly, almost as though he was testing himself, testing me, trying to figure out how I would react. He was somehow gentle and firm at the same time. My thighs started to cramp from our position, but I didn’t care.
I didn’t care.
He ripped himself away from me, his fingers teasing the underside of my T-shirt. I could feel his fingertips brush against my skin and I closed my eyes, trying so hard to stop myself from begging him to do something.
“I…I can’t,” he said. His words sounded more surprised than I felt. “Not like…not when you’re…I can’t.”
“But,” I said.
“I can’t,” he repeated. He dropped his hands from my shirt and held my hips, slowly lifting me off of him.
“But you…you want me.”
“I do,” he agreed. “God knows I do. And I will have you. I vow that to you on my magic. But not like this.”
“Like what?” I whined, my desperation leaving me feeling stupid.
His eyes blazed back at me, pinning me in place. “You are drunk on your magic,” he murmured. “And as much as I want to take advantage of that, as much as I want to feel your body writhing under me and to hear you scream my name as I bring you to completion, I will not do so until I can fully obtain your consent.”
I opened my mouth, ready to argue with him, ready to demand that he climb on top of me because he did have my consent, but he gave me a quick kiss.
“Don’t make this harder than it already is, darling,” he said. “Now, sleep, Alice. This conversation isn’t done.”
And with that, he disappeared out of my room, almost as though he had never been there at all.
8
By the time I woke up the next morning, everything that had happened yesterday had been pushed from my mind for the time being. I got dressed and padded downstairs before plopping into a seat at Peter’s dining table. My elbows were on the table, my face in my hands, and my shoulders hunched over. Everything inside of me was tense. Everything inside of me wanted to pounce.
“You look like shit,” came my best friend’s droll voice.
I didn’t even bother to pick my head up and look at him. I didn’t want to. It was like I was experiencing some kind of hangover, except it was way worse because every pound in my head vibrated throughout my whole body the way an earthquake started at the epicenter and moved out.
“What happened?”
I blew out a breath. Peter had no idea about my magic. I wanted to tell him—I did—but I wasn’t sure now was the best time.
Instead, I muttered something like, “Hangover.”
“Ah.” I heard him shuffle across his kitchen, and I imagined him taking a step on the stepstool and grabbing his trusty teapot from one of the burners on his old gas stove. “I have the perfect cure for hangovers. Trust me, I was an expert at that.”
I could barely grunt a response. In truth, this had nothing to do with hangovers. Part of it was embarrassment. Part of it was shame. I practically threw myself at Rumple last night. I was ready to have sex with him. I wanted it. And he had walked away. He was the one disentangling himself from me. He was the one telling me no.
And honestly? I was offended. I mean, I was glad. I didn’t think I was in any sort of mind to actually do what I wanted to do, and I was grateful that Rumple understood that. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks pinch with more and more shame. After what had happened before, I shouldn’t be offended that Rumple rejected me. I should be appreciative. And I was. But that didn’t cause the sting of rejection to go away, even if it was the right thing.
“Here.” I tilted my head back and cracked open an eye only to find that Peter slid a cup of tea in front of me. My nose wrinkled and I cast a glance over at my friend. “Drink. I know your thoughts on tea, but you know this will be good for you. After your little ordeal in the Blood Forest, I know you need some sort of rejuvenation. Drink.”
I blinked. Was he referring to my magic? Had Rumple told him anything after I had fallen unconscious and Rumple brought me back here?
“You know,” I said simply, looking at him. I picked up the tea, but waited. I wasn’t going to do anything until he answered my unspoken question.
Peter gave me a long look, nose wrinkled. Finally, he looked away first, pressing his palm against the coffee table. “I do,” he said. “Your friend had a discussion with me when he brought you back. He was very…” He paused, tilting his head, almost as though he was trying to figure out the right word. “Concerned.”
I frowned, bringing the cup to my lips and letting myself drink a sip. It was warm and sweet, pushing the senses from my body. My headache eased, but only slightly. Perhaps if I drank more, I would feel better, just like Rumple said I would.
“You say that as though you’re surprised,” I said after I finished the majority of the tea. I rubbed my lips, detecting a hint of lavender in it.
“Of course I’m surprised,” Peter snapped, his pale green eyes turning on me and flashing emerald. “Why wouldn’t I be surprised? This is Rumple—bloody—” He stopped himself, catching the words before he said Rumple’s full name. Regardless of how Peter felt about Rumple, he knew better than to say Rumple’s name. “He’s not concerned with anyone other than himself. As long as he gets what’s owed to him, he doesn’t care about anybody else. But clearly, that’s not the case. At least not with you.” He blew out a breath, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know, I thought Jack was the one who stood guard, who would bend over backwards to protect you. And I know he does. If you need it, of course. But, in truth, Rumple is the person who would do anything for you. And I’m not sure what to make of that.”
I swallowed, setting my teacup down on the table, not taking my eyes off of Peter. “What makes you say that?” I asked. I shouldn’t have asked him because Peter would be able to tell that I cared more than I should. Even if he didn’t disapprove of Rumple the way he had before, the last thing I wanted was for him to recognize that I was irrevocably in love with him. I hadn’t even come to terms with it. There was no way I could expect my friend to.
“He’s different with you,” he said. “Has he asked you for something? Offered to make you a deal? The two of you have been working together for, what, six weeks?”
That sounded right. “Something like that.”
“And he’s never pressured you in any way to give him something?” Peter raised his brow, emphasizing his point.
“No,” I said sharply. I reached for the tea again, hoping it would help my shaking fingers. I didn’t like what Peter was implying. I didn’t like the way my body reacted to it.
“Exactly,” Peter said, leaning back. “Exactly. He…he treats you differently. And I don’t know why that is. Well…he cares about you.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I said, dropping my gaze to my lap. The teacup was in my hand, though I hadn’t drunk any more.
“Rumple has a lot of enemies,” Peter said. “I think you understand that, but I don’t think you realize that if anything were to…were to develop between the two of you, you would have a target on your back.”
“Why, because everyone would hate me?” I asked, my lip curling into a sneer. Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less what everyone in this town thought of me. I didn’t want to deal with it. I didn’t want to let them dictate the choices I made in my life.
“Because people would try to use you to get to him,” Peter said.
I blinked once, twice. “I…” I wasn’t even sure what to say to that. Shifting in my seat, I leaned forward and began to trace the rim of my teacup with the pad of my finger, not looking at Peter. “I doubt that anyone would consider me significant enough to Rumple in order to use me as some kind of, I don’t know, leverage.”
“The reason people fear Rumple is, before you, he had no weaknesses,” Peter said, leaning forward. He kept his voice low, though I wasn’t quite sure why. It wasn’t like anyone else was here. It wasn’t like anyone else was listening. “Now, around you, he changes into a mere man. And men can be brought to their knees by the right woman.”
“You sound like you know this from personal experience,” I said before I could stop myself.
Peter reared back in his chair as though I had slapped him. “Yes, well,” he said. “That part of my life is no longer relevant. All that I can say is that I do have personal experience falling in love with someone completely wrong for me. I thought she loved me in turn, but she only cared about power.” He sneered.
“Do I know her?” I asked before I could stop myself.
He shook his head once, stirring his tea I was sure had already gone cold. “It happened a while ago,” he said. “Doesn’t matter now. It was another time, another life. Those touched by magic age differently, so really, it was a blip in my life, if that.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me about the aging process?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “I mean, this feels like something significant to share, right?”
“Everyone in the magical community knows this,” Peter said. “Why would we have to talk about it? It’s in our nature. Did you take a biology class?”
I shook my head. “I hate science,” I muttered. “I think I took marine bio in high school and college to get my science credit.”
Peter gave me a sharp look. “And this is why you don’t understand the world around you,” he sniped. He took a long sip of his own tea, looking like he’d rather down the rest of his alcohol. “You know, no one has possession of their magic here, save for Rumple. It’s why everyone here fears him. They don’t like to admit it, but before your magic manifested, they were like you—unmagicked. They still are. Because of the Red Queen.”
“What about the Charmings?” I asked. I thought of Tom, rotting away in Neverland Prison, thought about how his parents had paid Beast for a false confession—something I needed to talk to Beast about when I had the chance. “Certainly they still have their magic. And Jack…” I let my voice trail off. I didn’t want to say anymore, afraid we might be overheard. I wasn’t sure by who, and maybe I was just being paranoid, but I wanted to be careful.
“Jack possesses magic somehow,” Peter said carefully, shaking his head and looking at his table. “I don’t want to speculate, though perhaps the Imp has some idea.”
“I think Rumple would have told me,” I said, though I wasn’t sure about that. Rumple had this way of withholding important information until I discovered it for myself or he believed he was protecting me by shielding me from the truth like he had about my father.
“Hmm.” Peter had the good sense not to argue about that. He cleared his throat. “In terms of the Charmings, as far as I know, their only magic is their wealth and influence. They also have close ties to the Red Queen, who does still possess her magic.”
“Wait, why does she possess her magic but no one else does?” I asked.
Peter shrugged. “She says she’s the only one capable of protecting Wonderland from threats,” he said.
“Like?” I raised my brows. “I thought the Mad Mage was dead.”
“Well, there are more threats than simply the Mad Mage,” Peter said. “You’ve been to Neverland Penitentiary. The type of people there are the most dangerous, deadly beings to ever be in Wonderland. They might not have their magic, but they’re still a threat. You’ve heard of James Hook, haven’t you?”
I wrinkled my nose, reaching for my cup of tea only to realize it was empty. “I think Anna mentioned him a few years ago,” I said. “Didn’t he capture a bunch of kids or something?”
“And no one knows where they are, to this day, four years later,” Peter said. “He’s a pirate, and when he had his magic, he had no qualms slaughtering anyone he believed was a threat.”
“A pirate,” I asked flatly.
Peter rolled his eyes. “Not literally,” he said. “An outlaw. He had his own code and he adhered to that and that alone.”
“How was he caught?” I asked.
Peter lifted a shoulder. “Somebody turned him in,” he said. “No one knows who, but whispers have come from the penitentiary claiming that Hook has every intention of getting out of there and getting his revenge. He claims he’s innocent.” Peter stood from his chair and took my cup in his hand. “That’s someone we would need protection from.”
I gave him a long look, letting his words sink in. I remembered the case of the Lost Boys, though there seemed to be missing girls as well. Why the press decided on a sexist moniker, I didn’t know, but I could admit it was catchy. Why they weren’t the Stolen Boys or the Captured Boys was simple. There didn’t seem to be any signs of a struggle, and some believed these kids ran away on their own.
Not that that mattered, when the police—when my father—had the man they believed was responsible.
“Wasn’t he the gym teacher?” I asked.
“Wonderland Middle School,” Peter said with a nod. “Every student went there, and all were assigned to his class.”
“But that’s all the evidence?”
He nodded again, then stopped, narrowing his eyes. “You aren’t thinking about looking into Hook’s case, are you?” he asked. “Because I don’t think that’s a good idea, Alice.” He started picking at his tablecloth.
